Tokyo Tower & Shibuya Intersection

Matt is now working 4 tens so we had a long weekend. We took a second trip to Tokyo. This time we got out and explored the city! Our first stop was Tokyo Tower. I wanted to check it out after seeing it from the government building on our last trip to Tokyo. It's the closest thing to the Eiffel Tower in Paris that I have seen, so a picture by it was a must for me. We left the New Sanno hotel and made our way to the Subway.

Hiroo Station was the closest subway station within walking distance from our hotel. Sometimes it's hard to spot the subway stations!

The Hiroo Station is bright blue, making it easier to spot.

We went below ground and looked at this map to figure out how to get there.

It's a good thing Matt is great at finding his way around! He is my tour guide.

 

We made it!

Since its opening in 1958, the Tokyo Tower has been the world's tallest self-supporting steel tower. The Eiffel Tower in Paris is 320 m high. Tokyo Tower is 333 m.

We just had to get a "smoochie picture."

After visiting Tokyo Tower we headed to Shibuya. We got back on the subway and made our way to one of the busiest streets in all of Tokyo!

Shibuya is famous for its scramble crossing. It is located in front of the Shibuya Station Hachikō exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection. Three large TV screens mounted on nearby buildings overlook the crossing, as well as many advertising signs.

There were probably more people on these crosswalks than in my entire home town!

Watch this video of us crossing the intersection at Shibuya!

There were SO many people! It would be so easy to get separated, so I held onto Matt's arm and we made our way through the intersection. I can't imagine how much busier it must be at night!

We checked out some of the shopping. We had to get a picture for Sarah in front of the 6 floors of Forever 21. Wish you were here to shop with us Sarah!

Inside the store it was quite organized!

We continued exploring the area!

We saw this sign and cracked up.

Awwwww the Kernel, he reminded me of home.

We came across one of my favorite stores, Baby Gap!

The Starbucks overlooking the crossing is one of the busiest in the world. Its heavy traffic and the amount of advertising has led to it being compared to the Times Square intersection in New York City.

The Starbucks was too busy for us to get a table with the stroller, but I went upstairs to get a couple more pictures of the Shibuya crossing.

The Shibuya Crossing is often featured in movies and television shows which take place in Tokyo, such as Lost in Translation and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

On our way back to the subway this man was playing some music.

One last picture of the "fam" at the Shibuya intersection.

After a quick stop at the pastry shop we were on our way back to the hotel. We did take the wrong train on the way back, but managed to find our way without too much trouble.

Warming up in the pool and hot tub is exactly what we needed! We enjoyed it a couple of times this weekend!

Our next day in Tokyo we went to Akihabara, a district of Tokyo known as the electric town. We went to a huge store called Yodibashi Camera. I think they have everything there electronic that has ever been made! We went there to get a new charger for my Nikon which quit working for some reason. Sorry, no pictures from that day. We ended up leaving Tokyo earlier than expected, but that is another story for another day!

Looking at the calendar, 1 month from today and Lily and I fly back to the United States! It may not be home for us but to Mississippi we go for my cousin's wedding! I am getting excited for AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!