On day 2 of our Japan Travels, we squeezed in several Tokyo attractions such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku, Pablo Cheese Tart Cafe Tokyo (of course!) and Shibuya. We started our day at St. Marc Cafe with choco cro (chocolate croissant!) and latte (650 yen)…
For breakfasts, there’s usually a set price for a coffee and a confectionery. Although we chose latte, which was not a choice of beverage within a set, there was still a price reduction given to us 🙂 After a hearty breakfast, we headed over to Tochomae Station to visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building!
Japan Travels: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
As the name suggests, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is an office tower and headquarter for civil servants in Tokyo. The cool part about the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is the 2 free observatory at level 45 of both north and south towers. Standing at a height of 202 metres, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (also known as Tocho) offers magnificent views over the city of Tokyo. It is also open on Sundays!
North Tower Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
At the observatory of Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, you’ll be able to enjoy amazing views over the city of Tokyo. If you’re lucky, you’ll also be able to see Mount Fuji on a REALLY REALLY CLEAR DAY! There’s also lots of shopping opportunities (aka ling ling long long) which Kate really enjoyed 😛 There’s also a restaurant known as Good View Tokyo that offers views in the direction of the Tokyo Skytower. Breakfasts start at 9:30am. If you’re here during a week day, there are several posters that depicts the worker’s cafe at level 32 with prices starting at 600 yen for a meal. Not too bad…
South Tower Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
To visit the South Tower, we had to go back down and cross over from the North to the South Tower before ascending again. The views actually didn’t differ too much…
Address: 2 Chome-8-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo 163-8001, Japan
Opening Hours
North Observatory: 9:30 to 23:00
South Observatory: 9:30 to 17:30
Closed On
North Observatory: 2nd and 4th Monday of each month
South Observatory: 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
Japan Travels: Tokyo Attractions at Shijuku and Shibuya
After visiting Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, we headed over to Shinjuku to experience the atmosphere there. Of course, we utilized our 48 hours pass bought online together with the Keisei Skyliner Tickets…
At Shinjuku Train Station, we had a surprising find at the corner of the underground mall…
The green tea (strong flavour or 浓) at this particular green tea store was thick and creamy. Probably one of the best green teas we’ve ever tasted. Another indicator that the store sold good green tea was because it sold only green tea related products such as tea leaves, green tea and green tea ice cream.
At Shinjuku, we took some photos at a Sega arcade, Pachinko slot parlour and also a Tokyu Hands store. We took care not to visit Kabukicho because of all the negative reviews that we had read prior to our visit.
For lunch, we searched for a store that had a machine that took our orders. Hence, we settled for Curry House, a local curry franchise, where we had pork curry with sausage/spinach and fried fish…
Next we headed to Harajuku for…Pablo Cheese Tarts!
Pablo Cheese Tart Cafe @ Meiji-Jingumae Station / Harajuku
We headed to Meiji-Jingumae Station and took a short walk to Pablo Cafe. You’ll walk past a Gindako Takopachi outlet (usually with long queues) before arriving at Pablo…
There are actually 2 queues at the Harajuku Pablo. One queue is for takeaway while the other queue is for seating at the cafe upstairs. Of course, most people are there to have an order of the famous Pablo cheese tart to go. Also, the cafe has an additional tax for the same product. To enjoy the atmosphere of the cafe, this time, we opted for the cafe upstairs. After looking through the menu at Pablo, we decided on the berry cheese tart (860 yen) and the classic cheese tart Pablo smoothie (650 yen)…
Address Pablo Omotesando Harajuku Tokyo
1 Chome-14-21 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan
Opening Hours
10am to 9pm
The order of berry cheese tart is good for 2 to share and Kate (the expert here) says that it is better than the one in Singapore. As for the classic cheese tart Pablo smoothie, it was laced with apricot, which balanced the richer cheese taste. Overall, it was a great experience. While enjoying our dessert, we also observed ALL other guests having an order of the cheese tart EACH. Reminds us about the whole discussion about avocado generation. While at Harajuku, we also did some preliminary shopping at Onisuka Tiger…
If you believe in the “Made in Japan” (aka Nippon Made) quality, there’s a store next door that sells only Nippon Made Onitsuka Tiger shoes.
Shibuya Tokyo
The other Tokyo attraction we visited was Shibuya! At Shibuya, there is a sight that you must experience for yourself…
At the Shibuya crossing right next to the JR station, you’ll be able witness this strange but amazing sight of people crossing this road from all directions – a sea of people!
The other attraction near Shibuya station is the Hachiko Memorial Statue. Remember the Hollywood movie starring Richard Gere, about a dog who returns to the train station long after the owner has passed away? It originated from the dog Hachiko from Japan and Shibuya is where its memorial lies. Also at Shibuya Mark City, you’ll be able to enjoy reasonably priced but delicious sushi from Midori Sushi （美登利）…
If you are trying out Midori Sushi, the wait can be rather long. After we got our queue tickets (5pm), we had to wait for about 2 hours before we were seated (7pm). Hence, we recommend that once you’re at Shibuya, head over to Shibuya Mark City and get a queue number first. Thereafter, catch the sight at the overhead of Shibuya Crossing, followed by Hachiko Memorial Statue before going back to wait for your turn. This is because, you MUST be there when your number is called. Otherwise, you’ll miss your turn. The ticketing machine is at the entrance of Midori Sushi…
However, after all that, we were still a while away from our turn. Hence, we headed to the Ginza Lion (银座) Beer Garden for some pre-dinner drinks and snacks while checking on the number at regular intervals.
The sangria was pretty bad. Especially having tasted the sangrias in Spain, we knew that it wasn’t up to the mark, at all. Nonetheless, the Yebisu draft beer was great.
Before long, it was finally our turn to enter Midori Sushi!
The cool thing about Japanese restaurants is that green tea (or water) is always complimentary. Hence, we went directly to decide upon the food. This time, we opted for the Ultimate Sushi Assortment (with miso soup, mini crab paste salad and chawanmushi) which costs 2,000 yen and the California Roll which costs 800 yen…
Address Midori Sushi Shibuya Mark City Tokyo
Japan, 〒150-0043 Tokyo, Shibuya, Dogenzaka, 1 Chome−12−3, マークシティイースト
Opening Hours
11am to 10pm
The California Roll came in a huge portion of generous tuna and crab. Definitely good value at 800 yen. As for the Ultimate sushi assortment at Midori Sushi, though most sushi tasted good, not everything was fresh. Surprisingly, the umi was particularly disappointing. However, the fish roe sushi was shiok – small little “explosions” took place in our mouth on each bite. Yum. The soup, crab salad and chawanmushi, made the value of this set at 2,000 yen, really hard to beat.
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With our tummies filled with pre-dinner drinks, snacks and Midori sushi, we were so full that a slight food coma sat in 😛 Stay tuned as we visit Mount Fuji on day 3 of our 13 days Japan Travels!
Related Post
If you have just completed a post from our 12 days of travels in Japan. Find out more about this trip to Japan in the following posts below.
15 Travel Experiences and Things to do in Tokyo Japan!
Top 9 Things to do in Mount Fuji and Kawaguchiko Area!
Top 5 Things to do in Hida Takayama (高山)!
Top 6 Things to do in Nagoya (and food to eat)!
12 Days of Japan Travels: Tokyo Jimbocho and Imperial Palace Gardens Day 1
12 Days of Japan Travels: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Shinjuku Pablo and Shibuya Day 2
12 Days of Japan Travels: Mount Fuji, Lake Kawaguchi, Sanrokuen and Fujizakura Inn Reviews Day 3
12 Days of Japan Travels: Lake Kawaguchiko Natural Living Center & Sightseeing Bus Tour Day 4
Konansou Mount Fuji Hotel Review (湖南庄) : In-Room Onsen and Meals with views of Mount Fuji!
12 Days of Japan Travels: Lake Saiko Wind Cave, Ide Brewery Mount Fuji and Bus Ride to Takayama Day 5
12 Days of Japan Travels: Takayama Morning Markets Jinya-Mae, Miyagawa and Takayama Hidagyu Day 6
12 Days of Japan Travels: Takayama Hidagyu (Hida Beef) and Bus Ride to Nagoya Day 7
Takayama Hidagyu Beef: All You Need To Know!
12 Days of Japan Travels: Eating our way through Nagoya Day 8
12 Days of Japan Travels: Visit Nagoya Castle and Overnight Bus Ride from Nagoya to Tokyo Day 9
12 Days of Japan Travels: Ichiran Ramen & Kamiya Pub Reviews Day 10
12 days of Japan Travels: Tsukiji Fish Market, Ippudo Ramen & Akihabara Tokyo Day 11
12 days of Japan Travels: Ueno Zoo, Ameyoko Shopping Street & Giga Butadon Day 12
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