Day 15 - Tokyo - Last day

T: Get up early and head down Dogenzaka for breakfast. The sweet old lady is on the front desk as she always seems to be. An Indian guy comes on duty in the evenings, presumably so she can go home, but she stays put and they spend the evening chatting in Japanese and watching game shows on the TV.

Back to the hotel for some final packing and we're ready to go. We head downstairs to check out and all the staff are there to send us off which is very sweet.

Heading down Dogenzaka with the heavy luggage is a nightmare. The wheels have collapsed on one of the bags so I've got it slung over my shoulder, wheeling the smaller Giordano bag we picked up in Hong Kong. We get to Shibuya station and onto the Yamanote train bound for Ueno. Luckily the train isn't too crowded and we get seats. At Ueno, the plan is to stash the bags in a luggage locker as we don't need to head out to the airport until after lunch.

The final indignity... as I'm lugging the bag with the collapsed wheels down from Ueno station the shoulder strap snaps off. Groan...

We get to the private Keisei Ueno station where we score a large size locker to stash our luggage, then we reserve seats on the 2:20pm Skyliner train to the airport.

We'd thought of heading to Asakusa but we don't have a huge amount of time now, and wer'e frankly exhausted, so we decide to just take the Yamanote line back to Ikebukero to mooch around some well known haunts for last minute shopping. I head to Loft and Seibu while Wayne heads to HMV. He's asked me to look for one of the solar powered blobby men we first saw in Hong Kong and have seen all over Tokyo but neglected to purchase until now. Just before we're due to meet for lunch I realise I've completely forgotten about it! Rush around Loft trying to find them and luckily do.

Meet up with Wayne, he's found a cute bakery and I've found a soba shop next to a cool owl statue, so we have kitsune soba for lunch then go to the bakery for some treats to eat at the airport.

Back on the Yamanote line to Ueno, pick up our bags and then take the Skyliner express to Narita Airport. Through the strict security and the check-in - we're checked straight through to Melbourne with a one hour connection in Hong Kong. We wander around the airport shops, even the chemist stores are cute!

At Hong Kong we barely have time to rush from our flight to the connecting flight which is at the opposite end of the airport.

In hardly any time at all we're home with the dogs - Robbie and Charlie - and our memories of a fantastic holiday.

Souvenirs











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