Day 4 summary

Wednesday 4th November:
Moved our luggage from Asakusa to Ginza. Discovered once again the labyrinth of subway underpasses and exit gates dependent upon the train service you used - here, there is the JR line, subway and metro. There may be one "station" name but the exits will at either end of the town and use different lines.

Walking down Chou St (main street) of Ginza was like walking through shopping brand heaven - my favourite intersection for instance, which is right behind the hotel, has Bvlgari, Vuitton, Cartier and Dior on it! We had noticed people with "Hakuhinkan Toy Store" bags earlier in the week and discovered it was in Ginza so went to check it out - 6 floors of toy store, but not excessively large floors. Not as impressive as we'd hoped for and my god, the noise of squeaking/singing/chirping/laughing toys did my head in!!

Ikebukuro was the night destination. Probably the first real exposure to bustling crowds. Walking up roads illuminated by advertising signs only, with everything flashing and changing, kinda makes it feel like a sideshow alley. Found Sunshine City, in the Sunshine Building, and went up to the 60th floor for the observation deck. Yes, the city glitters and sparkles below, with clusters of highrises and the occasional sports field or tennis court in sight. But since you're that high up and everything is rather distal, it's just lights, below, on small structures!