We had a bit of a sleep in this morning. Paul and Lyn didn’t feel like an early breakfast so Kaoru and I went by ourselves. We entered the station and went to the meat restaurant but they had sold out. We ended up going to the stand up sushi restaurant. What better way to start the day?
We returned to our room, and I did a bit of work. Then the 4 of us left a bit before 11, making our way to Asakusa. I had organised an experience for Paul and I for the day, while Kaoru and Lyn went exploring the area.
And after a guided tour of the museum, we did an Ieido lesson and learnt a routine, using a steel (blunt) katana sword.
They then gave us foam swords and 10 seconds of trying to cut each others legs off, which was a laugh (and actually quite tiring). Our whole session took about 2 hours.
We met up with Kaoru and Lyn, and it was off to an Okonomiyaki restaurant. Kaoru and I had been to this one before with Michael and Leila – it is very old-looking, to add to the experience. I’m sure the same old lady was running the show. However this time there was a westerner working there as well, who was speaking fluent Japanese but also English. We had an enjoyable lunch, although being on the floor was tricky!
We went next door after lunch, as it was a “craft beer” place. However they didn’t have any hazy’s, or wine, so we didn’t have a drink, and instead wandered around for a while. Paul bought a pocket knife. After some aimless wandering, we hopped on a bus for one stop, and ended up at the “Golden Poo” – the Asahi brewery. We wanted to go to the 22nd floor for a drink, but there was a 30 minute wait, so we gave that a miss. Instead we hopped in a taxi for Akihabara, and wandered around there. Kaoru took us to a few interesting shops, which I hadn’t been to before.
It was approaching dinner time. We tried going to a Shabu Shabu restaurant but it was full, with a 50 minute wait (at 6pm!) So instead we went to a yakiniku restaurant, and got the “All you can eat”, for 6300 yen each. Paul and I got swayed to upgrade and include “all you can drink” for an extra 1000 yen each. And our 100 minutes began. We ate and drank and ate and drank….it was fantastic! We even got to finish with some ice cream! Of course by the end of it we had to roll out of our seats and in to the elevator.
We caught the train back from Akihabara, and went to the 7-11 at the hotel for dessert (another ice cream sandwich) and a bottle of sake. Back to Paul and Lyn’s room for a quick one, and then we were ready for bed.