Shinjuku is not Lost in Translation

Ever since I saw Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray running around Tokyo, I have longed to visit Shinjuku.  It is a vibrant and bustling district and considered by some to be the centre of Tokyo.

It is a commercial and administrative centre, home to the busiest railway station in the world and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the government’s administration centre.

Getting the train there was very easy from Nishi-Nippori JR Station.

It was 25 minutes on the metro and cost JPY200.

I was thrilled that it was a stunning sunny day.

It was also time for coffee.

Blue Bottle Coffee

Straight outta San Francisco, Blue Bottle Coffee are slowly taking over the world.  They have the most expensive coffee in town, amazing beans, entitled staff that refuse to make eye-contact, and uncomfortable seats. Love it…

Caffeinated up, it was time to go exploring.

They really love Marvel and cartoons here.

I heard there was a nice rooftop garden on top of the iSetan Department Store.

It was fantastic in the sun. Springtime is one of my favourite times.  The flowers are so sweet.

There is not much of a view from the edge.

There was a little shrine too.

I headed back down to the street, and started walking to the other side of Shinjuku.

It is really great that they offer free wifi on the street. It wasn’t very fast though.

I spotted a Kinokunya Book Store, and went inside to have a look. Unfortunately, unlike the Kuala Lumpur store and the Sydney store, there are practically no English books.

Walking under the train line, I finally saw some street art.

“You are loved from all over the world”.

I noticed I was heading towards the commercial area.  There was a cute little food area I thought I would come back to.

Commercial Area

This building reminded me of a similar one in London.

The Love Sculpture

I know this is one of many scattered around the world, but I think the message never gets old.

I kept walking towards the Metropolitan Government Building.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

I heard there is a nice view from the top, and it’s free to go up!

A swift ride up to the 45th floor.

And what a view!

There is a lot of promotion around for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics too.

There is a shop and restaurant on this floor as well.

There is even a little model of the whole building.

If you are in a hurry to get back, there is a huge underground tunnel leading to the train and bus station.

Feeling like some lunch, I headed back to the traditional-looking eating area.

Kameya

After looking where most of the locals went, I decided on some soup and noodles.

I think I’m turning Japanese…

This is officially one of my favourite cities in the world.  It’s up there with Mexico City.

I thought I wanted a coffee. So I went looking for a coffee shop called Verve.

By the time I found it, I was exhausted, and it was packed out with no chairs available, so I decided to pass and head home.

What a view of Shinjuku.

What a great day.

 

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