Today was mostly going to be spent in Shibuya, but first we
wanted to make a quick stop in Jiyugaoka to find a café a friend had told us
about. It’s called the Peter Rabbit Garden Café, and it sounded absolutely
darling. The menu is lovely, really colourful and using lots of fruit and
veggies. I’m a huge fan of Peter Rabbit, and really wanted to see the Japanese
take on a very old, English tale. We decided to go there for breakfast (and by
‘breakfast’ I mean dessert).
Disaster struck when we arrived at Jiyūgaoka Station, when I
realised I no longer had my Suica card. Stupidly, I’d put it in an unsecure
pocket as we travelled, and it must’ve fallen out. I was really upset because
it had over 8000¥ on it, not an amount of money I wanted to lose in such a
stupid way.
I attempted to tell the security what had happened, and it
was here that my basic Japanese wasn’t enough. Luckily, the security guard had
some flashcards with common English queries on it, and we managed to muddle
through. He told me that there wasn’t tonnes they could do at this second, and
to come back a bit later to see if the card had been handed in.
At this point, Hiro (Tinder madman from last night) had texted me, asking if I was enjoying my morning. I told him about the disaster I was in. He was suitably worried for me, and was asking me questions about where I thought I’d dropped it. I knew I’d gotten through the barrier with it at Higashi-Shinjuku, so I must’ve lost it between there and Jiyūgaoka.
Caz and I had started to walk toward the café – I was
determined to enjoy it, despite worrying about the Suica. Hiro had been quiet
for about ten minutes, and suddenly replied saying “Don’t worry, I found it.”
This guy that I’d not even been talking to for 24 hours, had called
Higashi-Shinjuku station and asked if someone had handed in my card. And they
had! He had given the Lost & Found people my name, and said I’d be by later
to pick it up. I couldn’t thank him enough for what he’d done. He kept assuring
me that “It’s of course!” and that it wasn’t a big deal. I was almost crying at
the kindness I continue to discover here in Tokyo – I am so appreciative of
Hiro, and to the anonymous person who went out of their way to hand my card in.
I don’t know of many capital cities where someone wouldn’t just take the card
and use it themselves.
By now, I was so ready for my Peter Rabbit dessert – the
worrying had created quite an appetite. I was also able to appreciate the café
a lot more now that I knew my card was safe.
We climbed up a few steps to a sort of covered porch filled
with flowers and plants. Inside, everything was wooden or blue gingham, with
squashy sofas and plush toys of Beatrix Potter characters. I asked for a table
and we were led out to the covered porch on the side of the building, to a
table with a Peter Rabbit plush sitting at it. The waitresses had gingham
pinafore dresses on and looked so quaint and cute. We settled down among the
plants, with the sun shining into the porch, and felt immediately relaxed.
There were checkered fleecy blankets scattered around, in case you got cold
sitting outside, and all of the tables had a plush companion sitting at one of
the seats. There were also Japanese translations of Beatrix Potter books
scattered around, which I had fun attempting to read.
We were given a souvenir coaster and a pitcher of water. The
waitress left us to peruse the menu, which was so pretty and colourful. You can
get both savoury and sweet things in the café, and the menu depends on the time
of year you visit. Caz opted for ‘Tom Kitten’s French Toast’, and I had the
Victoria Sandwich Cake. Unlike a classic Vicky sponge, this had ice cream
between the cakes, piles of whipped cream and a raspberry sauce on top, with a
tiny Peter Rabbit taiyaki on the side. Being a themed café, the menu was fairly
pricey, but the desserts were mountainous.
I definitely can’t complain about the portion size! I also got a cappuccino
because you could have a picture of Peter Rabbit on top and that tickled me.
When the waitress came over to ask how it was, we of course
sang “Oishii desu!” to which she thanked us and said, “I am very happy!” with a
big smile. She was the cutest! I might have made a bit of a booboo when she put
the bill on the table. I didn’t realise that we had to take the bill to the
counter at the front and pay there, so I slapped a 10,000¥ note on the board
with the bill and I think our waitress thought I was trying to tip her (she
didn’t take the money and abruptly disappeared to another table). Tipping is a
huge no-no in Japan, and is actually considered to be quite rude. I was so embarrassed when I asked a guy if I could pay (in
Japanese!) and he directed me to the counter. Our waitress saw me paying with
the same 10,000¥ note and smiled at me, so I think she realised my mistake. I
said, “Sumimasen.” and bowed though, just to be sure.
I would thoroughly recommend the Peter Rabbit Garden Café.
They really pull off the cute English country-style atmosphere. The menu is
dreamy, the staff are delightful, and it’s a calm and relaxing place to spend
some time. They also have a darling gift shop, where you can buy their special
Peter Rabbit bread rolls! I wanted to get a Japanese edition of the Peter
Rabbit book, but unfortunately it wasn’t available when I was there. I’d
definitely go back there to eat again – I might even try a main dish instead of
living off of dessert.
Feeling suitably full and rested, we made the journey to get my Suica card. It was quite exciting to use the machine to get a
single-journey ticket – the ticket was tiny too, which amused us. It only took
20 minutes to reach Higashi-Shinjuku, and we went straight to Lost & Found.
Hiro had written out a text for me, in Japanese, explaining that he’d called
ahead and that I was the friend who had lost her Suica. How helpful is that? I
showed this message to the woman at the desk - she went and got my card, which
was in a tiny evidence bag(!), and got me to fill out some details on a form to
say I’d picked it up and was happy with its condition. All the money on it was
accounted for, and I sent a good thought out to the anonymous person who handed
it in safely. I was thanking the lady at the desk and bowing the entire time, I
was so relieved.
Now that that debacle was over, we could move on with our
planned day and head to Shibuya. Technically we’d already been here – Harajuku
is in Shibuya and on the morning of the Mt. Fuji trip, we were in the central
area with the huge crossings and the Hachikō statue. But there was still plenty
we wanted to have a look at today.
I’d heard a lot about 109, the huge department store in the
middle of Shibuya, and wanted to see it for myself. It’s quite an easy building
to spot so we went there first. It was absolutely jam-packed, mostly with
tourists who had no spatial awareness. It was really annoying, so we only
managed a quick look around one floor before we had to leave. I hope one day I can
actually go and look at it properly, but I’m not good with crowds or bad
manners so I didn’t have the energy today.
It was getting on for lunchtime and we decided to try out
Lotteria, a Japanese burger chain. In the one we visited, you order downstairs
and the seating was upstairs. I sent Caz to secure a table while I waited for
our order. They have a bucket of fries on the menu. A bucket! We decided to
order one of those to share, then Caz got a classic burger and I got a double
cheeseburger.
I’m telling you, McDonald’s could learn a thing or two from
Lotteria. The burgers were thick and juicy, and so well-seasoned. They were
amazing and the best ‘fast food’ burgers I’ve had. The bucket of fries was also
good – crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and not overly salted. I’m
so glad we decided to try it out, and I think I’ll definitely visit Lotteria
again before the holiday is over.
After we wandered the side streets for a bit, we found a big
Pachinko parlour called RAKUEN. We’d wanted to go to Big Apple in
Akihabara, but the jetlag had defeated us. Pachinko was something we really
wanted to experience while in Tokyo, so we stopped at this one instead. It was
an immediate assault on the senses – bright lights, loud music, and the sound
of tokens pouring into trays. We were soon approached by a staff member who
very helpfully gave us a little booklet in English on how to play. We had to
look around for a bit to find two machines next to each other, settled in and got
playing!
Because gambling is illegal in Japan, Pachinko parlours
sprung up as a legal alternative. Instead of gambling with money, you buy
tokens and play with those instead. It’s a clever little loophole as you can
then exchange your tokens for prizes (and cash if you know where to go). Caz
and I had no idea what we were doing, but the men sitting on either side of us
pointed out where to put money and how to get the game started. The guide
booklet was consulted many a time. It’s a lot of fun, and I can see how people
get hooked on playing it – I didn’t even know what was going on in the game,
but it was still interesting me!
I ran out of tokens fairly quickly and decided to step
outside for a minute. You’re allowed to smoke in Pachinko parlours and the
smoke and loud music were beginning to give me a headache. I came back in to
the man next to Caz shovelling some of his tokens into her machine and showing
her what to do to get more bonuses. It was so kind of him! She eventually
decided to stop while she was ahead and exchanged her tokens for some snacks
and money tokens worth about 3000¥! We went out to the place that took the
money tokens and got the cash, so that was an exciting windfall.
We went to Mega Don Quijote next. Don Quijote (Donki) is a discount chain store in several Asian countries, and the state of Hawaii for some reason, and it sells pretty much everything. With 7 huge floors of merchandise, the Shibuya Mega store is the largest Donki in Japan. We spent a while in there looking around – like most of the shops in Shibuya, it was absolutely packed with people. It was understandable because of the discount prices and the amount of cool stuff for tourists to buy. We saw so many amazing things and snacks, but again didn’t spend ages in there as it was too hectic. We’re going to find one of the smaller ones to do some real shopping in. I would definitely recommend it if you’re in the Shibuya area, though. It really is worth seeing.
There was a bar nearby that I wanted to check out. It’s called The Whales of August, and has a massive film-themed drinks menu. The owner is apparently a film buff, and will even mix up off-menu cocktails if he’s seen the film you request. It’s a dinky little place in the side streets with the izakaya and other bars. You pay a 500¥ table charge, then you can either go upstairs or into the basement to sit, and both areas are small and intimate. It has a real local, chilled out vibe. I immediately loved the décor and the almost secret feeling it gave me.
Unfortunately, we weren’t very impressed with the drinks.
Caz got a margarita which didn’t taste anything like a margarita. I’d ordered
‘The Dark Knight’ because I love that film, and it was aniseed flavoured, which
was gross. It also felt a bit rushed in there, like the staff were eyeing the
tables to see who they could move on to get another customer in. It was such a
shame as it seemed like a nice place to hang out.
We honestly would like to give the place another chance, as
Caz didn’t try a ‘signature’ cocktail, and mine was just a taste preference
thing. Maybe next time we visit Tokyo we will.
There had been some very bold talk from Hiro about coming to
meet us, so we told him where we were and hung around waiting. It was pretty
cold out at this point, and we were turfed off the kerb outside of a shoe shop
by an employee who said we couldn’t sit there. Caz was steadily making dire
threats towards Hiro for making us wait around, and I eventually texted him
saying I couldn’t be bothered to wait outside anymore and that we were going
for dinner.
So I didn’t meet my Suica saviour. I like to think he was
some kind of phenomenon, who appeared in my life briefly to help me before
disappearing again. More likely he saw the state of me from a distance and made
an about-turn. Or he overheard Caz saying she was going to steal a bicycle and
run him over with it. Take your pick.
We were right near a place called Shakeys which was,
bizarrely, a pizza place. They had an all-you-can-eat offer that had about 40
minutes left, so we popped in there to eat. It was a nice place and the staff
were lovely. The pizzas were a bit weird though – some of them had things like
seafood or cucumber on them and that really confused us. Luckily there were more
‘classic’ options like pepperoni and chicken. There were also dessert pizzas,
and they were delicious. Once the all-you-can-eat ended, we decided to call it
a night. It was cold and we were tired. It had been a weird day.
We probably would’ve gotten more done if I hadn’t stupidly lost my Suica card, but it was a nice day anyway. There are still things left on my Shibuya list that I’ll have to draft in later (or on my next trip, because I already know I’m definitely coming back to Tokyo). I think it’s better that we were a bit more relaxed today, it’s been pretty mad so far.
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