The weather forecasts were correct -- it drizzled the afternoon of the day we were supposed to go to Tokyo Disney and September 30 was also a wet (and cold) day for us.
We took the train from Ikebukuro to Mitaka -- we had to switch somewhere and got a bit confused but managed to make it to Mitaka where we had breakfast at Muffinari. (We were amused by my brother's text message, instructing us which trains to take and what time they arrive:
"Take train A. Arriving 9:42. Transfer to train B. Arriving 9:47."
The Japanese are very exact about time and can guesstimate how early or late (<-- a rare occurence) they will be for an appointment by catching/missing their scheduled train. Johann and I just decided to leave our hotel 30 minutes early to give ourselves some leeway.
Muffinari is an amazing muffin shop. They serve both sweet and savory muffins. Johann decided to try out their Lox (salmon and cream cheese on bagel) while I had a peanut butter and chocolate chunk muffin with hot chocolate.
<-- look at that gloriously crisp muffin top! (It reminded my of that Seinfeld episode - 'Top of the muffin, to you!' =^_^=)
It was a lovely light breakfast.
We then walked to the bus stop that would take us to the Ghibli Museum.
<-- we didn't get to ride the Ghibli bus because it was full. =( We had to wait for the next bus, which was a regular bus.
My brother told us that we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the Museum -- they do have some outdoor areas where it was permitted.
<-- it's a water pump -- apparently, it's a big hit with kids and teenagers who have never seen or used one before. ^_^
<-- outside of the children's section are these benches with little cranks on them.
The Ghibli Museum has a small theater where they show short films that they've made throughout the years. We were able to catch the first show and managed to get good seats. (The shows are about 10 minutes long and are shown 30 minutes apart.)
My brother has been to the Museum 5 times but has never tried the cafe -- so we lined up early.
<-- when the cafe opens, they hang a "welcome" sign around her neck
<-- the specials for the day
<-- while waiting, they have a box of storybooks and flipbooks (of animations that they have made)
<-- inside the cafe! (My brother was very happy that he finally got to try it out.)
Johann had their beef in gravy on rice while I had the pork croquette sandwich. We also shared a strawberry shortcake for dessert. ^_^
Outside, the line to the cafe was getting longer and there was no sign of anyone inside leaving -- it was a nice, cozy, comfy place and the food was delicious.
The pamphlet from the Museum begins with the words, "let's get lost together" and explains that the place isn't arranged in any logical way -- it was created to inspire people to go exploring into the lesser-known nooks and to discover Ghibli magic in those places. ^_^
I wondered why the Museum didn't allow one to take pictures of the inside -- but after walking around the place, I think I know why --
It's such a magical place and it's quite difficult to describe the place or the experience of going through the place. I grew up watching Miyazaki's works (way before I knew their significance) and visiting the Museum was a dream come true.
I noticed that I was smiling throughout the tour as well. ^_^
After the Museum, we walked through a Park that would lead us to the nearby city of Tachikawa. Where my brother brought me to Yurazawa, a hobby shop. This one had the biggest selection of cloth <-- more on this later
Then we took the train to his city -- Kunitachi, where he brought us to see his university and his small place "nearby" --
Hitotsubashi isn't as well-known as Sophia or Waseda or the University of Tokyo but, apparently, it's a very prestigious place that many students aspire to attend. (My brother *koff* is a student there. *koff* <-- proud sister mode)
When we were waiting for my brother, we saw a large group of high school students on tour of the school.
We then walked to my brother's place --
It was cute because the sidewalk had markers telling you how far/near you are to the university. (10m from the university. 20m from the university. etc.)
My brother's place was about 2km from the university -- it was a bit of a walk but we saw lots of interesting sites along the way.
<-- did I mention it was still raining?
<-- cute way to display your house number
<-- I thought this was really clever. You know how annoying rain sounds as it drips done your roof? The have these cute chain like things that slows down the dripping (and even makes a pleasant musical sound. ^_^)
After visiting my brother's place, we went to another city, where my brother treated us to dinner. (Our last dinner in Tokyo and our most memorable one!)
Yakiniku!!! Wagyu!!!
<-- scallop
Everything was so tasty! The meat was tender and insanely juicy!
I couldn't help but be amazed at the marbling of the meat. (We passed through a grocery in my brother's city of Kunitachi and standard meat looked like this -- the Japanese don't compromise on quality, which justifies the price of certain items there.)
The next day was our last day in Tokyo. Our flight was at 2 in the afternoon but we had decided to take the airport bus instead of a train. Because Tokyo traffic was very unpredictable, we chose to ride an early bus 9 am and our estimated travel time was 2 to 3 hours, depending on the traffic.
We arrived at the airport at around 11ish and went through all the check-in procedures.
We had lunch at a small restaurant inside the airport --
<-- glorious onion rings!
While we were waiting for our flight to board, I was already thinking about when I would be going back -- if I had my way, I'd go back there tomorrow. ^_^ (But I need to save up again.)
I had such a lovely time in Tokyo and I'm so happy I got a chance to go. (I think a big part of what made the trip so nice was that my brother was there to show us around. ... and to treat us to a glorious Yakiniku meal! >_<)
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