Biking Through Tokyo

Ann, myself and Ann's brother Mike
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Mike and Alicia had the idea to take us on a bike ride around Tokyo. In their building, they have a separate room for bikes. Ann and I borrowed bikes from neighbors, and began our ride. As I mentioned before, the sidewalks and streets are very narrow, so there's not much room to navigate. I thought I would smack right into someone before the day was through, but we did alright.

We started riding through a cemetery that's near their apartment, then we cut through some small side streets and rode through a few different areas of Tokyo. Our nephews Jens and Bryce looked like pros cruising around on the sidewalks (although Ann was a bit nervous for them as they zigged and zagged around pedestrians).


The Bollesen family leading us around Tokyo
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We stopped by the Sony building where they have their first floor lobby open for the public to try their newest video games and systems (Unfortunately, they weren't open at the time we were there. Unfortunately for me, maybe fortunately for Ann since I would have been there for a good part of the day partaking in the new toys).

We stopped for lunch at "Monsoon" which had some really great Thai food. They had blankets for customers in case they get cold. I had seafood pad thai, which was great.


Everyone at Monsoon Thai Restaurant
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After lunch, we stopped by Roppongi which is near Mike and Alicia's place. The Grand Hyatt is at the bottom of the Mori Tower which is a newer skyscraper in the Roppongi area. They had their own bike room for people to stow their bikes while there.


Mori Tower at Roppongi
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Room for Bikes at Mori Tower
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Mori tower is amazing. Lots of great restaurants and its own museum of modern art.


Mori Building at Roppongi
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We went to the top to get a view of Tokyo. You can really see how huge the city is from up there. Tokyo Tower is in this picture, which is a reproduction of the Eiffel tower (the Tokyo tower is 9 meters taller than the Eiffel tower, making it a superior tower (except in appearance)).


View from Mori Building (Tokyo Tower in Red)
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Here's a photo taken inside the museum. There's an exhibit where people lie on the floor and look at colorful lights. Little do they know there's a TV around the corner to allow people to look at them, looking at the lights.

Alicia thought this was pretty cool and told me I should take a picture. I did and a museum employee politely but firmly notified me that there are no pictures allowed and made me turn off my camera. Alicia's good at looking non-chalant and casual when trouble arrives. I felt a bit stupid, but I did get the picture...


Forbidden Photo
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That night, we went to Shibuya which is a popular night spot with the kids. It's a quick train ride from Hiro-o station, and is what I've pictured Tokyo to be at night with bright lights and video screens:


Shibuya
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When the traffic lights allowed us to cross, there was a huge crowd coming toward us. This was a great place to people-watch and take in the Tokyo night-life (that's about all we got of the Tokyo night-life, since Ann and I were ready to crash after long days of sight-seeing).


Crowds at Shibuya
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We topped off the night with a great dinner at Gonopachi restaurant which has delicious Japanese cuisine. We tried cold soba, and a bunch of other Japanese food. The place reminded me of a scene from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (I know, always with the kung-fu stuff). We had a great dinner, then went to Mike and Alicia's and crashed.


Dinner at Gonopachi
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