Japan - Back in Shinjuku

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

I took the JR bus back to Tokyo from Nara. The reason I went with them was because the Willer bus company didn't have any seats available on their bus back. Now the JR bus was only Y4,020 (as opposed to around Y6,000) for the Willer bus. But it was way more cramped, so I'm not sure if it was worth it. The only saving grace was the fact that some of the passengers who booked seats didn't show up. So a few of us got some extra space.

The bus left the JR Nara Station at 9:15 p.m. It made two bathroom stops along the way (while the Willer bus didn't stop at all. Both had onboard bathrooms). The JR bus also made some extra stops to pick up people which also took some extra time. No matter. It still got to Shinjuku station at around 6:00 a.m.

Of course the city was all but dead at that time. It was too early to check into my capsule hotel, so I wandered around with all my crap again.

My first planned stop was the Tokyo Metropolitan Buildings. They're two towers in the Shinjuku area that offer good views of the city from their 45th floor observation decks (at 202 metres). Unfortunately when I got there at about 7:00 a.m. it was still closed to the public. The note on the door to get in said they would be open at 9:30 a.m. Augh!

I spent the time mostly sitting in nearby "Central Park" (I can't remember the Japanese name) killing time. Again.

There was a group of early risers performing Tai Chi to keep me entertained. But they didn't stay too long. A couple of teenagers came by and looked to be practicing a play. That wasn't very interesting. Then a group of people in business attire, all wearing pink scarves, came by with plastic bags and began going around looking for trash to pick up. There's a homeless population that uses the park as their campground.

I went to line up to get to go up to one of the two observation decks. You have the choice of either the North or South Tower. Pick the South. The North has a restaurant in it that takes up around 1/3 of the viewing space. Unless you plan on eating there you won't have access to it. The South Tower provides you more of a 360º view.

After visiting the Metropolitan Buildings I headed to nearby Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. It's located southeast of Shinjuku Station. There's a Y200 entrance fee. It's relatively inexpensive. Quite a few people were there enjoying the lovely day. The Japanese are highly regarded for their skill in gardening. It's simply unmatched by any.

I spent two hours at the garden before heading south to Harajuku (Meiji-jingumae station F15 on the Fukutoshin Metro Tokyo Line). I thought I'd try to see if any of the young kids were dressed up in their cosplay costumes to take some shots of them, but there were none to be found. So I headed to the Meiji Jingu Shrine.

Since it was my second time there (the first was in 2007 when I first visited Japan) I only stayed an hour and a half before heading up to my hotel. It had been a long few days of travel. First the long plane ride to Japan. Then the overnight bus ride, followed by a day of walking in Nara, followed by another overnight bus ride back to Tokyo. I hadn't gotten much rest, so it was time for a break.