T&J Travels #10: Japan 2018 (Part 12)

+ Zojoji +

There are two buildings right in front of the Tokyo Tower which is quite popular for tourists: Daiden (Main Hall) and Ankokuden. On the right is a baby cemetery with rows of Jizo statues in red hats. I felt a bit sad seeing these as they are deities for stillborns and other babies that died early. 

We didn't stay here for too long (sun's a bit high now) and Reagan suggested we go to this other building where it's free to see Tokyo on top. 

Price: No Entrance Fee

+ Bunkyo Civic Center Observation Park +

It's near one of the subways and free. What more could you ask for? When we were there, there are a lot of seniors and some photographers. It did say that tripod is not allowed but they somehow manage to get some up. It wasn't as packed as I thought it would be, being free and all yet there's not much tourists here at all. 

Look! You can see the SkyTree from here!

Now, the observatory is high but not enough for other buildings to block the view of Mt. Fuji. You could see a bit of the snowy top but other than that taking a photo of it with all the surrounding buildings requires really good skill-- which I don't have.

Price: No Entrance Fee

+ Suga Shrine (and Stairs!) +

I haven't heard of the shrine my entire life but has come to my attention when a list of places from the anime movie Your Name came out. There were a few people there when we came which is an appropriate time too because the sun is almost set. Perfect for those dramatic selfies they've been doing. It was a bit awkward going up. I hope the residents forgive us in the sudden foot traffic we've caused.

When we left we didn't went back to where we came and I was about to complain that the walk is further than when we came but I was utterly surprised to see the post box that was in the anime too!

Price: No Entrance Fee

+ Shibuya +

Of course we need to see the Hachiko statue and Shibuya Crossing. Both Reagan and I love dogs and have watched the film of the same name so we would never miss this. It's a popular meeting spot but tourists seem to be well behaved here taking turns with the statue. 

From blogs Starbucks seems to be a popular place to watch Shibuya Crossing but at that time we weren't interested in going there at all. Also, being on the ground is surreal it almost had me panic with the number of people around. 

This Megadonki is open 24 hours so beware! You will be lured at all the shiny stuff!

Shibuya is not a good idea to visit this late especially if you are going to window shop. There are so many shops we've went in we've totally lost track of time next thing we know it's already midnight. We didn't live nearby and funny the trains give hours as estimate taking in account the time the trains would open. What we dreaded is now gonna happen-- we need to hail a taxi.

When people say that taxis in Japan are expensive, they are not kidding. Our 30-minute travel was a whopping 8330 JPY! If it helps, he was really nice. Our driver (who looked not less than 50 I tell you) even went out and bowed to us. These Japanese are too polite I love it!

+ Napolitan Pancho Shibuya +

When we had our dinner at Shibuya we've gone to a restaurant that was totally unplanned. We just decided to go into one which we only realized later on to be famous because there was already a line when we got out. It merits so because the FOOD IS FREAKING DELICIOUS!! They serve amazing napolitan spaghetti that I fell in love with. The serving is really big (even if you order the smallest size) and the flavor is unbelievably amazing. The sauce is perfect for Pinoys I wonder when are they going to have a branch here? Reagan and I believe if they kept the original recipe, it would surely be a hit! 

If there's one restaurant I would go back to, Pancho is definitely on the top of my list. I know it sounds funny that the most impressive dish for this trip is not typical Japanese but I could not recommend it enough.