Day 3 - Roppongi, Ginza and Shimbashi

I decided to give Roppongi-by-day a chance to check out the museums (and maybe get another glimpse of that lady and her poochmobile, a pushchair designed specifically for her dog). On the way, I really enjoyed seeing the "women only" carriage on the tube - men feeling up women on trains is a real problem here, and although I know it happens in other countries, the Japanese have taken the perversity to the next level - apparently there is a bar/train wagon full of women in Shibuya somewhere that men can pay to enter and fondle the women to their heart's content. Sick. Anyway, at least girlies have a solution during their commute now...

I made my way first to Nogizaka. It was nice and early, which means I was alone in the quiet garden of the house of General Nogi and its nearby shrine. In 1912, the General and his wife, to prove their loyalty to the emperor Meiji who had just died, committed seppuku (sacrificial suicide) in their house, which still stands here. It's only open two days a year, on the eve and anniversary day of their death, but you can still peak through the window at their bloody shirts, which have been specially preserved.

Down the street, I found Tokyo Midtown, the newest and highest tower in Tokyo, set in incredibly minimalistic gardens with designer children's playgrounds and the Tadao Ando/Issey Miyake 21_21 Design Museum. From here I called my friend Nick, for whom I used to work in the bookshop. I invited him to travel the hour it would take him to get here (Tokyo is a VERY spread out city) to see the Turner Retrospective with me, but he called me a cultural bore so I joined Krusty for lunch in Hibiya Park instead. It's not like I see much of him, so I thought I had better make the most of it (he was off to Brisbane this week and probably Korea next week...). I then went back to see the Turner show, and found it be absolute pants, not because of the space, which is good, but I mean, some of the winners are just taking the p***, like Creed's lights switching on and off... Come on... I enjoyed Grayson Perry's ceramics though, and even though I LOATHE it as art, it was quite interesting to see Hirst's dissected cows up close. From a biological perspective.

Finished the experience off with a look into the frilly basement Cafe Fontana and its muzak, where I had a 'peechee pai': a whole peach, pit and all, covered in pastry and cream in the company of a rouged old lady. Wow. And after that gluttony, dinner was out of the question. Good job Krusty was stuck at work...