Central Japan Tour Day 10

Fujifilm X100VI 23mm f/2: 1/250s, f/11, ISO800

The last day started at the iconic Tokyo Skytree tower. It was a brisk, gray day as a cold front had settled over the island, but visibility from the observation deck wasn’t completely obscured as seen in the photos below. There are 4 high-speed elevators that take folks up and down the tower and each one has decor representative of Japan’s seasons. We were told that “Summer” is generally considered the favorite. I went up in Autumn (the gold flourishes pictured below) and down in Spring (the pink-ish sakura pictured below). Having not seen, but heard about it, Summer has a fireworks-like festival theme.

At the bottom of the tower is a large shopping complex called “Tokyo Solamachi” which featured many unique shops including some pictured above like the pop-up Harry Potter one. I was very tempted to pickup a scarf of the house I sorted into, but I decided it’d make more sense to do so if I’m ever at Harry Potter world.

This next stop, Miraikan: National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation was quite a fascinating place. An interactive museum about the future is quite a unique and ambitious endeavor. I think it’s more accurately a museum about the passage of time highlighting issues that will affect us moving forward. I felt the language barrier here acutely, and would’ve loved to understand more.

Our final dinner in Japan was our choice from the Lazona Mall in Kawasaki, so of course my mom who was tired of Japanese food (what?) selected Hanbijae Korean restaurant. It turned out to be very good! I can officially say that, anecdotally, Korean and Italian food in Japan is also very good. As a former Apple Employee, I can’t help but to be drawn in by the glowing logo, particularly when abroad. And just like that, our time in Japan had come to an end.