About a week ago, one of my teachers was away on a business trip which gave me some extra time to look around Tokyo. I took this opportunity to look around two of the better known spots in Tokyo: Tokyo Station - famous for its location among powerful financial institutions, Tokyo’s stock market, and luxury shopping arcades; and Korakuen – home to the Tokyo Dome and a number of Amusement Park-like attractions.
Downtown near Tokyo Station
So, starting at Tokyo station on a beautiful mid-October day (the weather has been very mild with temperatures still hovering in the upper 60s today) I did some exploring near the station and in two popular shopping buildings known as the Marunouchi buildings.
The majority of stores were women’s clothing boutiques, but there were also many small curiosity shops selling small souvenirs and stationary. I managed to find a hybrid shop (which was half Sharper Image half men’s hygiene products) and bought a new cologne entitled “Tokyo: by Kenzo” which I’ve been using almost daily since!
Before leaving, I managed to snap some photos of Tokyo station, one of Japan’s first western-style buildings, which was based off a Dutch design.
A quick ride on the subway and before I knew it, I had arrived in Korakuen, best known for its Tokyo Dome City – a collection of popular western stores and restaurants, the Tokyo Dome baseball stadium, theme park attractions, and popular hot springs spa – LaQua. See for yourself
I started things off by walking over to the “Virtual Sports Plaza” which is basically a simulation sports arcade where you can test your skill & aim in soccer, pitching, tennis, golf, and more. Or maybe hitting a few in the batting cages is more your style? – not for me, I hadn’t swung a bat in about a year and couldn’t hit at all in the 70 mph cage! I had more encouraging results with the pitching games but after trying a few of the different games I came to the simple conclusion that it’s more fun to do the real thing…
By far the most enjoyable part was my visit to the LaQua Spa.
After paying the one-day entrance fee I was given a locker and access to different temperature hot spring baths and 3 saunas of varying degrees. Out of the 60 or so people in the men’s only section I was one of 3 foreigners enjoying the day at LaQua. Overall, the hot springs were incredibly refreshing and I felt like I really got my money’s worth.
To finish off my day of adventure I stopped off at the CPK for a familiar taste of home. The pizza was exactly the same as they make them back in the US at CPK and it was the perfect way to cap off a day of self-indulgence.
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2 comments:
CPK!
NUTTY!
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