It was raining today. But plans had been made and must be executed! Kaoru took Naomi shopping for the day so they left about 10.00. Brett, Simon, James and I left at a slightly more respectable 1030, and caught the train to Shibuya, so they could see the 5 way intersection. We went up to Starbucks and managed to get a seat to enjoy a drink. It was even crazier with all the umbrellas up!
But we had to leave and head off to the Suntory brewery! We met Kenichi at the station and caught a courtesy shuttle bus to the brewery. We were taken for about a 45 minute tour of the brewery, none of which we understood, and then enjoyed a couple of glasses of beer. The first was their premium, and the second was a more seasonal drink (which we didn’t like as much). We got a few photos, and then caught the bus back to the train station, where Kenichi left to go home and spend the afternoon with his family. And we went to Shinjuku to celebrate my bucks 🙂
We opted for a pub crawl. Given the bars were all smokey, we needed some fresh air between each of them! So we spent the next few hours in and out of bars, nibbling on food and drinking beer. After a couple of hours of this, Kaoru called me to say she and Naomi were back. So we decided to head back and get the girls and make plans for the rest of the night (dinner, etc).
The 6 of us went out for a drink first (Brett, Naomi, Simon, James, Kaoru and I), and then James went home for some rest. It was about 8.00 by now, and Kaoru managed to make a booking for us at a Shabu Shabu restaurant – something none of the others had done before. So we made our way through the underground tunnels of Shinjuku (to keep out of the rain) and enjoyed a 2 hour eating and drinking fest for ~$55 each! Everybody enjoyed the food, and the experience, and we definately over-ate, but it was all included so we had to get our moneys worth!
On the way home we went to Brett and Simon’s favourite bar – Pronto – for a night cap. It had been a long and enjoyable day, and we were happy to go to bed by the end!