Day 15: Shibakoen, Azabu-Juban, & Roppongi

Today started off pretty good. Almost immediately, I had noticed that the vending machine outside my place was being refilled. You can really tell I've been drinking a lot of "Melong & Milk" drinks...

I had been wanting to see Tokyo Tower, so I whipped out the Tokyo Walks book again and entered the destinations for Walk 4 into my triphelper app. After getting that ready, I left and headed to Shibakoen Station.

From the station, I made a quick pit stop at Shiba Park, the namesake for the station (Shibakoen means "Shiba Park"). Tokyo Tower is actually basically next door but from here I kind of felt like maybe the tower was shorter and very close.

Don't let the perspective trick you though, apparently Tokyo Tower is the second tallest structure in Japan at 333 meters (1,091 feet). It's actually crazy that the Skytree I visited last week is almost double that height (634 meters or 2,080 feet)! The main observation deck of Tokyo Tower (the part with all the windows about a half way up in the photo) is at 150 meters (490 feet), which makes it super scary that I noticed this guy just dangling out there cleaning the windows.

Next door to Shiba Park is Zōjō-ji, a buddhist temple dating back to 1393. The main building was really big.

I also paid ¥500 to visit the "Mausoleum of Tokugawa Shōguns" but since Tokugawa Ieyasu wasn't interred there I wasn't personally super able to connect since I don't really know anything about any of the shoguns other than him. It was still pretty cool and solemn though.

I also saw more of those statues with red hats that I had seen on the first day of my trip, in Yanaka.

Here, I was able to learn that these are the "care guardian deities of children". They are dedicated to the protection of children as they grow up and as a memorial to babies that died during birth (source: plaque at Zōjō-ji). After a bit of online research, I think they are associated with Ojizō-sama although I don't think the plaque at the temple mentioned them.

Compared to Skytree, Tokyo Tower seemed much more manageable, so I decided to pay the ¥1,200 to go to the main deck (the top deck at 250m would have been ¥3,000 since I purchased my ticket onsite).

The view from up here was pretty good since Tokyo Tower is closer to the city than something like FujiTV (which you can actually see in the picture above) and has some free space around it so it isn't directly blocked by other tall buildings. From above Zōjō-ji doesn't look that big!

My view wasn't completely unobstructed though. To the west, there is the Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower, which is the tallest building in Japan (IDK the distinguishing features between what is a building and what is a structure lol). Due to its tallness and closeness, I didn't even capture the top of the building in my picture.

Also in the photo, on the very left, is the also-very-tall Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, the 6th tallest building in Tokyo at 238 meters tall (foreshadowing!).

I also tried this but didn't dare walk all the way across. I even made sure part of my foot wasn't on the viewing window!

I also decided on a whim to buy an accordion-style stamp-collecting booklet to do the stamp rally that was happening at the tower. I'm not totally sure if I collected them all, but I did get 4! The stamps seem to have been part of a Maizen Sisters collab with Tokyo Tower (IDK who they are but every company and city has a mascot character here, which I enjoy).

Now that I have a stamp booklet, maybe I should start collecting them at shrines and stations!

The final thing I did before leaving (wasn't it enough already???) was stop by the Tokyo Tower Beer Festival at the base of the tower. I didn't want any beer but was a bit peckish so ordered some schnitzel. I was just happy to have gone somewhere while a limited time event was still occurring after arriving too early or late for so many other things lately.

After leaving the tower, I headed through Azabu-Juban. I don't think I stopped anywhere here but the area seemed nice. Apparently this neighborhood is the main setting for Sailor Moon, TIL. The only thing I took a photo of on my walk here is this mysterious place that I saw that seemingly had every Pikachu plush ever made on display. IDK if they were a store or something but I didn't see a store sign or anything so I didn't dwell too long. Here's one of the window displays.

My next scheduled destination was the Mori Art Museum in the previously mentioned Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. After browsing for maybe an hour, I think I came to the conclusion that maybe it's OK if I stop coming to art museums. I just don't really get them that much and hardly ever get moved by the art, even with tragic backstories on the plaques. I might just stick to science and history museums going forward. Especially since the ticket to enter was ¥1,600.

Not every exhibit allowed photos but I did take a few pics of my favorite exhibits that were allowed to be photographed.

This exhibit depicts "bomb ponds" in Cambodia, created by carpet-bombing by the US in the Vietnam War.

This exhibit that depicts tables (representing colonialism) on traditional weaved fabric. The description was similar to this but I can't find it on the Mori Art Museum website directly.

After looking around for an hour or so I was pretty exhausted, to be honest. There was some pretty cool and interesting stuff and if you 'get' art I'd recommend. Otherwise, maybe not.

I wanted to see how good the view was from this building, so I paid another ¥500 to get a ticket for the "Sky Deck". I had been thinking this was the indoor one for some reason so thought it was weird when I had to use a coin locker to put away my bags, but to my surprise this was on the rooftop of the building. One minute I'm getting off the elevator and ushered towards the stairs, and the next I'm standing next to a helipad on top of the 6th tallest building in Tokyo.

The view from this 238 meter (781 feet) rooftop observation deck made the main deck at the Tokyo Tower and the FujiTV Hachitama observation deck seem so short (and both are present in this photo!). This was also pretty scary but I tried not to think about it. The rails didn't directly overlook the side of the building (not that I looked down anyway) and instead were inset a bit on top of the outer roof.

From here, we could get a good view of the city. Unfortunately it was pretty hazy so I couldn't see Fuji. In this photo, we can see downtown Shibuya on the left (the group of taller buildings in the distance) and on the right we can see Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Shrine (still technically in Shibuya).

I didn't know this until seconds before writing this, but apparently this building and its observation decks (even the roof!) have been in both Your Name and Weathering With You! I guess I've basically turned it into an anime pilgrimage.

After leaving, I walked a bit to visit a popular design museum, 21_21 Design Sight. This museum is one of those concrete, glass, and steel sunken-in-the-earth type of buildings. I'm sure you can imagine it, but just in case you can't here are a few photos.

Into the concrete abyss below

What even is design?

Jokes aside, I did think the building was cool. The exhibit was "The Ordinary", a collection of items that had a deep influence on daily life. There were things like like cutlery, lamps, beds, and my beloved Hermann Miller Aeron.

To answer an earlier question, this is design

If I didn't understand art museums, I really don't understand design museums. I was glad that it was showcasing everyday items I could understand and relate to at least.

After staying a while just to make sure I didn't totally waste the ¥1,400 entrance fee, I decided to go to the Tokyo Midtown mall next door to grab dinner. I had actually intended to make it to another shrine today but it was nearly 7PM or something already so the shrine had already closed. Since I wasn't in a huge rush, I decided I'd eat dinner and then head back.

It turned out that I ended up in the fancier section of Tokyo Midtown, the Galleria. I didn't know at the time though, I just thought the mall was incredibly fancy (I never made it to the other wings/buildings so that still may be true). Anyway, I felt incredibly under-dressed since I was just wearing shorts and T-shirt and carrying around my drawstring bag. So far in Japan, I usually feel at least a little under-dressed since everyone seems to really have it together fashion-wise and it seems like Japanese guys just don't wear shorts unless they are literally on a run or something. But here, I was probably the only person not in a suit.

I looked to see what restaurants there were and there were at least 2 with Michelin stars (Hinokizaka, the only Japanese hotel restaurant with a star & RyuGin, a 3-star restaurant). I think I read one of the descriptions saying to dress smart casual but I decided not to even try to go because I felt casual but not smart. I also am a bit hesitant to go anywhere the chef might see me directly see I don't think I particularly good food reactions so that makes me nervous and I don't even know why.

Anyway, I decided to go to an unagi restaurant so put myself on the waiting list but after like 20 minutes of waiting there alone (like the only one in line), I realized I didn't actually have any time to spare since I needed to work relatively soon. Since the train would be 40 minutes back, I decided to head home.

I picked up carry-out when I transferred in Ginza and actually had to stop at Muji and Bic Camera to get a screwdriver and some kind of oil for my clippers because I really needed to trim my beard and something was wrong with my clippers.

Maintenance in progress

After an infinite rabbit hole of videos, I think I learned how to adequately maintain my clippers and resolve the issue. Also I didn't know this but apparently the voltage going to the clippers can impact if they extra loud and buzzy or quiet and working well (sorry, I literally have no idea on the technical terms lol)

A busy day with lots of museums and observation decks. One of my most active days, and probably one of my most expensive days too.