Day 1 Tokyo - Part 1

Is there any other place like it?  I don't think so?  An early start - still on Sydney time - 2 hours behind.  So at 730 am we set off for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) Office Building in Shinjuku.  After getting the instructions from the Conceirge, we headed below the Hotel to the Tokyo  Subway to get the train.  We stopped on the way at a coffee shop in the subway and had a small breakfast of coffee and an egg sandwich.  Next we walked the impossible to comprehend labyrinth of the subway.  from Kokkai-gijidomae we caught the Marunouchi Line to Shinjuku.  Once above ground in Shinjuku we realised that we were in a major business centre, within the major business centre of Tokyo.  Emerging in the Vatican like circular forum that is the TMG.  Enormous!  Both the North and South Tower have a viewing deck on their 45th floors.  After exploring a nearby bookshop (all books in 100 per cent Japanese) we headed up to the 45th floor of the South building to get a birds eye view of Tokyo.  Whilst the cloud had lifted while we were underground, the haze remained.  No Mt Fuji off to the west, but still an imeasurable city scape of skyscrapers as far the haze would let you see.  Unfathomable.
From here we visited the Tourism Office on the first floor to stock up on brochures.  We then decended underground once more to catch a train to Shiodome.  Shiodome is a "new" part of Tokyo, built amongst the oldest parts, Edo.  A dockside port shedding a skin and being reborn into a post-urban trendy cafe theatre district.  Alongside are beautiful botanic like gardens named Hama-rikyu Gradens.  Difficult to navigate above ground because of the express ways and massive towers with footprints a large as football fields.  Finally, we walked through the Gardens to the "water bus" depot, aka: ferry.  A trip up the Sumidagawa River to Asakusa.  The low set ferry travelled along Cherry blossom  lined foreshore areas often protected by high sea walls.  Tsumani's?  Once at Asakusa, we disembarked and realised after the 60min water bus trip that we were in a different area again.  Old-Tokyo, pagoda's, temples, buildings holding up electricity stations (or the other way around), a melting pot of new and old.  The smells, restaurants and little shops had a decidedly hotch potch feel with tourism prices.
We entered Nakamise Shopping Street through the Kaminarimon Gate where 30 million worshippers travel yearly to make their way to the Sensoji Temple dating from Edo times, 638AD.
We ate at a tiny little place run by 5 little old ladies.  I slurped some ramen and tempura while Matthew crunched on Seafood and rice.  Almost full we hit the markets agin and found more food to try.  Little puffy pink cakes filled with red bean paste and some vegetable patties smothered in a soya and chilli dressing.
At 2pm we called "time" and decided to head home and recharge and Skype the kids.  We caught the Ginza line all the way back to out hotel and felt elated we had pretty much navigated the whole day using no English and loads of trains.

Lovely to talk with the kids - although I suspect the highlight for them was seeing their own cute little faces on the skype home page as we chatted.  Glad Oma is OK and we shall talk again on Sunday when little Noo meets double figures for the first time.

Emily, if you are reading this we got you a present today.

Below some pictures of the days... about to have a relaxing bath then read up on dinner restaurants.