Day 3: Shibuya and Baseball
A leisurely start to the day as everyone got ready this morning — or, you know, finished their morning run thru downtown Tokyo. We relaxed in the lobby drinking Americanos and breakfast snacks (those delicious squid-flavored peanuts) before meeting up and heading out at 9:30 am. We made a pit stop at 7-11 for additional breakfast items, including a custom Lily/TikTok-approved frozen grape and Mitsuya Cider drink.
Points for accidentally running a 10k around the Imperial Palace
The first destination of the day was Shibuya Crossing. The challenge is finding a good spot to view it from above (without going to the expensive rooftop bars). Our plan, according to the internet’s suggestion, was from the second floor of the nearby train station with large windows and a clear view. The plan worked, and we proceeded back to ground level to the Hachiko Statue — honoring a dog who came to the station every day waiting for his owner to come home.
Sheeee… Booyah!
Hachiko preview
Actual Hachiko Statue
Next, we actually made the Shibuya Crossing on the way to do some shopping. It was surprisingly not too crowded for a Saturday, but it may have been a bit early in the day. Most of the big shops and malls weren’t even open yet. Definitely no complaints though. It was still an experience and probably more enjoyable than when there is 3,000 people crossing at the same time.
Commence the shopping
We went to a shopping mall that had a variety of high end clothing stores as well as a top floor of several top gaming/entertainment retail outlets (Nintendo, Pokemon, Sega, and many others). We started there, but it was crowded, so we didn’t spend much time on that floor before venturing downward. We browsed but didn’t see anything we liked (that was also in a reasonable price range).
Next stop was the Mega Don Quijote store (after a brief power-up at Shake Shack for Jo and Lily). Expensive taste is not a problem here! Unlike yesterday’s two-level store (how pedestrian!), this Mega store had seven levels. We found more nail clippers and other various useful products.
MEGA Don Quijote
Finally, it was time for the main event of the day – a Yomiuri Giants game at the Tokyo Dome. We took the train and walked to the stadium. Tickets are somewhat hard to get, but we did our homework and scored seats a couple months ago online before tix sold out in minutes. Woo!
Tokyo Dome and Tokyo Dome City
As such, we were well-aware which seats were ours — despite one older gentleman’s strong protestations that these seats were his. We couldn’t really communicate this to him in English, but with the help of our phone and a beer girl, he and his wife were ultimately convinced to move to his correct seats… which were in the first row of the section! Lol, want to swap back???
Pure Metrodome nostalgia
We got some food (short ribs and rice in souvenir helmets) and beers for the start of the game. The atmosphere for a baseball game in the Toyko Dome is very lively. There is a large cheering section for the Giants (the home team) and a smaller cheering section for the opposing team — in this instance, the Chunichi Dragons. When your team is batting, your cheering section goes non-stop — singing, banging drums, waving flags, etc. The rest of the stadium is pretty even-keeled, but definitely enjoying the vibes.
Making some cyclone
Like in the US, there are beer vendors going through the aisles. But here, all of the vendors are women who energetically run down the aisles, turn around, bow dramatically, and work their way back up each section. They also sell mixed cocktails and sake. Being in Japan, we obviously opted for the sake.
Lamenting Giants’ failure to score with Sake girl
Foul ball signage and whistles warn fans
For additional sustenance at the game, the Tokyo Dome has a ton of gourmet options. We consulted the Giants-specific gourmet guide which lists each players’s favorite food item. But the choice was actually made months ago when we saw the souvenir helmet “full of sausages” option. We eventually found the booth, acquired the sausages, and collectively finished them off!
Mission Sausage Helmet underway
Everybody loves sausage helmet Part 1
Everybody loves sausage helmet Part 2
The game was a lot of fun, and since there is no pitch clock here, it took a while. Perhaps fans enjoy the extra time to chant and sing their songs. We all certainly enjoyed the extra air conditioning. And for one final treat, we also enjoyed the “getting blown out of the stadium” exit courtesy of the Tokyo Dome’s air pressurized roof. Ahhh, just like the good old days at the Metrodome.
Maybe Japanese baseball should consider the pitch clock
Great time cheering for another losing team
Thanks Tokyo Dome!
We trained our way back to the hotel to relax and figure out a dinner plan. After looking online, we couldn’t find anywhere that had the food we wanted and could accommodate a larger group on a Saturday night. So we ventured out to a nearby dumpling place that Cordwood noticed along our route to the subway. Sure enough, they were able to take us. We shared dumplings, spicy noodle soup, fried rice, and fried noodles.
Excellent ramen/dumpling spot right by the hotel
1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3…
Also ran by Tokyo Station accidentially
On the way back to the hotel, we made a small detour to Shiba Park — just west of our hotel. It was dark, so the Zozoji Temple was closed, but some of the outer gates were were visible. We tried to get closer to the Tokyo Tower, but most of the paths were also closed. Ok then, back to the hotel!
Tokyo Tower at night
Zojoji Temple Gate
Tomorrow is our last day in Tokyo and we’ll be heading to the Asakusa area. At dinner, there was a moment of contemplation if sleeping in was more important than an early-morning activity, but after a couple dumplings — we soon agreed with Belinda that we should absolutely pursue our Samurai (and Ninja) dreams tomorrow morning.
