5 May 2010
Tokyo Metropolitan Building, Roppongi
One of the main tourist attractions in Tokyo is the free viewing floor on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building. I took a photo of this when I arrived but today I am going to go up it. I thought I might have to line up for ages, the internet suggests this would be the case, but when I got there it was so quiet I thought it was closed.
I walk in the door, its pretty dark in the lobby, its only then you appreciate how huge the floorspace of the building is. I spot some security guys and wander over, theres no line at all, you get in the lift, it has one button for the 45th floor.
Once you are at the top it is pretty impressive, but its a shame about the smog. It seems I attract smog wherever I go. The atrium is huge and theres a number of tourist shops selling crap, and about 30 vending machines, same price as on the ground.
I have to wait a while for it to start to get dark, so I venture off to find the bathroom, which is quite a distance through dark concrete hallways.
Now, this is the second time this has happened, but in Japan its not unusual for a girl to be in the bathroom cleaning it. If I was the only guy in the bathroom I might have thought you are supposed to come back later, but no, they are all using the urinals, so when in Rome....Only this girl really has no shame, as shes on hands and knees cleaning between the urinals, I thought she was going to clean my shoes.
After the building experience I headed to Roppongi, which is where most white people hang out. This is a strange place, its even cleaner than the other areas of Tokyo, its really not crowded at all, but then theres black african guys trying to give you cards to bars where girls try and convince you to go to a love hotel where a black guy informs you that you now owe about a million yen. I dont mind these guys talking to me and trying to give me a card or whatever, but a couple of them grabbed me, which is an asshole move.
There really wasnt anywhere interesting in Roppongi to eat, so I decided to walk back to Shibuya, which took about an hour, and my feet are suffering for it.
Had a nice dinner in Shibuya but the pictures below can tell that story.
The Tokyo Metropolitan building is two towers but its one huge one for about half the height.
The typical skyline shots, enjoy the smog.
Despite all the best camera brands being Japanese (actually every camera brand?), a lot of Japanese people are clueless about how to use cameras. One guy has a full on expensive looking tripod, various lenses on his huge DSLR that has every add on like battery packs and the biggest flash I ever saw, hes got his whole family up there with him and hes taking photos behind glass with his huge flash firing. He seemed really dissapointed with the results.
I sat my little camera on the case against the glass and set the timer, and a number of people then followed my lead with lots of oohs and aahs.
Roppongi, stock standard shot of the lights of the area.
Tokyos copy of the eiffel tower off in the distance.
The hard rock cafe is off in a back street and is deserted. I saw another one some place and it was also deserted. I think the photo is great though.
There are lots of nice cars in Tokyo, nearly as many as London, so I dont bother taking photos, but then when you see an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, you have to take a photo. These are not available in Australia.
For dinner I went to Pepper Lunch in Shibuya, theres one of these on George Street in Sydney but I have not eaten there. At the Sydney one you do not pay a vending machine though.
I have realised the advantage of having a vending machine inside a restaurant, your minimum wage staff never get to handle money. Hence they have no ability to rip you off if you happen to own the business.
The setup is a lot like last night.
Dinner arrives raw on a sizzling plate so you can cook it yourself to your liking. Its pretty delicious, the pepper sauces are very nice as well. The rice goes nice and crispy as it keeps cooking as you eat. For 680 yen its about $7.50, so pretty good value I think.