Pop looks a little excited, doesn’t he?

Around the corner was this ^

Special privileges

Pop has some special lounge card that gives him privileges to goodies but unfortunately, LAX got rid of theirs. I don’t know why but his lounge pass worked at a quick spa place called Be Relax and I got my nails done (for free!)

Had to do it quickly because boarding started at 11.55 and the nail person did not arrive until 11am. She was so super nice too!

There’s our plane

Whatever you heard about JAL economy class… it’s ALL TRUE!!

Happy hour snacks

Side salad, capreses salad, cold noodles with bamboo and spinach (I think), and \240main course - baked salmon with dumplings, rice and a mini hot dog. For dessert- Hagen daz ice cream!

Do you see what I see to the left of my plate?? You’re correct!! That’s REAL METAL cutlery! The food tasted grea by the wayt. I guess they have standards with this airline because I have not found anything bad about them yet.

Oneka peko peko deshita. (I was hungry)

I have had: mineral water, tiny water bottle, green tea, miso soup, coffee and black tea. They definitely keep you hydrated in this flight. Every 5 minutes the attendants will come around with a pitcher of some drink. Perhaps it’s because we’re at the back of the plane? I don’t mind at all. Closer to the galley, (secret) lavatory. The attendants are all super nice and helpful. They also walk around with a smile on their face (unlike another airlines that had RBF (resting bitch face) for 2 legs of last trip.)

The seats are wider than other economy or premium economy class \240that I have been on recently and there is definitely more leg room on a JAL flight. \240Not that I would need the extra leg room but it’s nice to have. You notice right away too One would not think so considering the last airline we took was for the tallest people in the world!!

Again, the airlines (JAL) exceeded my expectations! It’s a little too squishy to snap pics in the lavatory (definitely a water closet) but it was actually clean. \240It did NOT smell like a flying porta-potty! Maybe the Japanese poop does smell like a bouquet of flowers (Joking lang, Sinigang!)

Ok. I finished my last cuppa tea. Time to study a little more.

By the way, this flight has been full of turbulence but it’s not scary. Doesn’t feel like we are falling or anything and air mask thingies \240have not been deployed. It’s just a little rocking motion for us all! To me it feels a little soothing.

See you all later (on the other side of the International date line)

Technically, it’s 03 December 2024 for us because we just crossed the date line.

It has been a LONG flight! We even arrived early in Tokyo (Haneda) I cannot wait to get out of this seat. I did try walking around a little bit but on a plane, how far can I go? \240Also, I am unfamiliar with the language here so we are ALL in for some laughs and how Pop and I got into an adventure. He showed me his list.

I don’t know HOW he was planning on achieving all the places he wants to go in a short time (originally 3 days). Maybe because I explained to him that it was impossible to do, he decided to add more to his list?! Whatever his reasoning, I’m just happy that he’s not locked in his tower and isolated. He has so many things to do and see that I hope we at least see ONE shrine/temple! Haha

View from our window at around 1-2am

We have a doorbell!

So I ventured outside by myself to find some coffee other than McD’s and below our hotel is a subway station! They have these Umbrellas that I guess you can rent/buy!

Morning sunrise #1

Sunrise #2

It’s illegal in Shinjuku to smoke in the street so they have these hidden places for smokers to get their fix

Here is the map of the subway and its surroundings

This is one of my breadcrumbs so I know where I need to go

https://www.takashimaya-global.com/en/stores/shinjuku/

Our favourite breakfast to start the day!

Our front view

Trying a different croissant - Spinach and feta

Bloemist is Dutch for florist. Pretty cool. \240

This is our fave St Bernard!! He helped us find our way home.

On our way back to the fancy mall - Time Square

Store listing

This one department store is comparable to say Bloomingdale or Saks 5th Avenue. It’s scary pricy but the merch there is amazing!! They have. Whole floor for stuff made in Japan only!

Tokyo Hands

This aas the side we were looking for! Tokyo Hands is a place that we would highly recommend for souvenirs or pasalubongs!

Funky shoes

Pop said that the Japanese have weird shoes. He wasn’t joking either!

Dinner- tonkatsu (…again)

Pop liked it last time and so we knew it was safe. We found it in the subway! Haha

Miso soup bowl

We were wondering why it was so tasty and when we got to the bottom of the bowl, we discovered it was baby clams!

Pop wanted to know what they didn’t let them grow a little bit more

See how small the shells are?

We liked it so much that we asked for a 2nd serving of soup

Yuzu dressing

I like the dressing so much that I ordered more so I could have more dressing! Hehe

Basket thingy

In a lot of the Japanese restaurants, they give you this hamper like thing. It’s so you don’t have your jackets or bags touch the ground! Ingenious!!

Our restaurant

Listing of eating places in the station

They have this whole capsule store

It’s bigger than you think

Parts of the subway station

Sunrise view from our room

That tiny pot housed my breakfast

The Advil has been what I’ve been using for size reference. That red pot is actually kinda small.

Oh look! It’s crème brûlée!!

Obviously, I cannot read in Japanese but it looked like milk tea and it was!

I also found pretty good cold coffee in the vending machine.

Those clear capsules are liquid sugar/ simple sugar. No need to wait for sugar to dissolve in cold drinks.

Breakfast

Now to shove all these things in our baggages.

Pop and I decided to hold off on Shibuya until we know how heavy or available space was remaining.

More coffee needed

Need to walk on this side of town today to find a green tea whisk set

Pop finally decided to join me

Cute izakaya alley

Headed to onkyu for a green tea whisk set

https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-shinjuku/article-a0001707/

Under the department store is a grocery and eatery

Nice tea lady but she doesn’t sell green tea

Pop and I were hungry after smelling the delicious wafts of mixed food stalls. \240It is in bad form to eat or drink whilst standing/walking unless you’re eating street food and this was not street food.

Soooooo… we went search of the food hall. What a bummer! First we had to walk down 2 flights of stairs with a walker and then we found what Pop was looking for… sashimi!

They even had a lunch special!! What luck! Yep!! BAD luck! It was only tuna and Pop is avoiding it for fear of a gout flare up. I understand completely!! Strike 2!

Then we looked again but they only had Japanese menus. So this was all we got - chashu pork! No rice! Strike 3!

We ended up looking for lunch 2.0!

So we headed back to Homebase and we know that there is an eatery in the metro/subway station because we ate there last night. This is the place we went to yesterday (picture below)

The long hallway of the metro station.

We found a place that had Hokkaido pork. Okay. Never heard of such a thing but might as well try it.

Look! We got rice this time!! Haha

Pop was tired after that long walk to the Keio Shinjuku train station where Onkyu is close to so he ditched me for dinner.

I was in search of ramen!!

I got lost a few times going through alleyways but I think I found it!!

Not the ramen I was looking for, but it works

It was cold and misty rain outside so it hit the spot.

See?? It was pretty good! Haha

Pop texted that he only wanted cake for dinner. So I obliged. I forgot to get a picture of it but it was chocolate take and tiramisu. In the meantime, I was in search of coffee.

Now trying to battle the crowds again for coffee. Perhaps, I will go back to the station and hit that Starbucks again. \240Change of scenery.

Nice!

They have these special lifts for disabilities. The buttons are lower not just on the outside but even the numbers are lower.

Sunrise

Breakfast

I wish we could read this! Haha

I think <B2> means basement 2?? I have no clue. So, I’m just waiting for 11am to be on the safe side. Are cannot really go outside because it’s a little chilly today (6*C) and there is lots for Pop to discover too. 🤩😁

One of the eateries in the Metro station

It’s a weird feeling seeing a Haitian place in Shinjuku, Tokyo! Haha

Hamburg & Steak

You see what I mean?? Weird places but continental! Love it here

I kept telling Pop to venture into this sport store.

Have YOU ever seen a sporting good store that is 10 stories high??

Here is the store listing …

Pop was in the mood for ice cream after his wonderful find of pants that do not require ironing or hemming up!! His find requires no alteration at all! He said, “my cousins have it made here!”

Pop and ice cream after his shopping at the sporting goods store.

Yuzu ice tea

Kinda sweet and bitter

This was really good wine! Wonder if we have it at home

Can you tell we like it at this place??

Oh my! It feels like ZERO!

You see what I mean?? Too cold for Pop! Haha

I better rush to the sweet shop to get him breakfast whilst they’re still open and have some stock… I hope!

Pop and I have to take 2 lifts to get to coffee place. We have to take one 1 to go down and another to go up. I know it sounds weird but that’s how it is here.

Pop in front of the Christmas decor

Pop’s latest toy and his morning news

Pop got these bone conduction headphones and he LOVES IT! It’s much louder than usual but in the other hand he can still hear around him and not mess up his hearing more. Which I appreciate because he’s not blasting in public.

Japan has changed a few laws recentlh.

You cannot smoke on the sidewalks anymore. You have to go to the designated smoking area. It’s actually nicer but some people (looks like mostly tourist) still do it.

Unde the green tree is where they are all hiding! Haha

As you can see here and in other pictures, their crosswalks are jumbo!!

Pop’s fave sporting goods store

Looks small but it’s 10 floors high. The pic below shows you HOW big it really is.

Our hotel is just to the right in the picture.

I had some very last minute pasalubongs to grab and I knew the Don Quixote (aka Donki) had them.

It is definitely NOT like the one in Hawaii. This one is actually scary squishy and overwhelming

Below are some videos of WHY the place gives me panic and anxiety attacks all rolled into one. I have to limit my visits there to a total of 10 minutes or I will have to hurt someone!

Even the lift is overwhelming!!

I brought the walker so I had a basket to bring the goods home.

In the short vid above, you can see that I had to fold the walker a little bit so I can maneuver around the squishy aisle! 😳😵‍💫🫤

Even the ceiling has stuff on it!

If you listen carefully, you can hear their jingle playing and blasting at what sounds like full volume. Even with a full store, you could still hear the jingle.

Phew! I made it out alive! Haha

The buildings around Donki

Pop and I walked the Subnade to see where it would lead and there are these stairs in the station.

The stairs above leads you downstairs into the metro tube.

Across the ateeet from our hotel. We only went there once.

Pop wanted to try something different but did not want to venture outside the building. Instead we walked the metro tube (or Subnade) and he tried ramen for the first time.

Eating ramen without splashing all over the place takes great skill…

Which I do not have!! Those noodles will whip your cheeks if you’re not careful!

But we managed it

Here is what we ordered.

2 days ago we had lunch here…

Here is the crosswalk again but this is one you see from our window

Haha! Mainz is nicer than Wiesbaden!

Pop sent me out to exchange some cab money and you can see our hotel from here (and a pachinko hall)

That’s the crosswalk from our room.

Sunsetting over Shinjuku

That’s a small sample of the crowds that cross the street

Pop didn’t want to go too far. So we tried the place downstairs. It’s some buffet.

Sample of dinner …

The wine was good!!

Sample of dessert

Some weirdo jello with berries and mozzarella cheese pieces.

Pop’s small sampling of dessert

Well… that ends our day today. I finished packing for us and checked us into our flight tomorrow afternoon. I hope we can sleep a little.