Third day was still in Tokyo. While planning my trip, I contacted my friends who live in Tokyo and finally we agreed to meet at Roppongi Hills, a business, shopping, and entertainment complex in Roppongi area. We decided to have lunch together, but before that, to fill my empty morning schedule, I wanted to visit somewhere around the area. As I searched on the map provided free by the hostel, I found Roppongi Tower, just inside Roppongi Hills complex. From its observation deck at 52nd floor, visitors can see the entire Tokyo from above, including the city symbol, Tokyo Tower. Thanks to the 360 degree glass window. But, I think it's even better than Tokyo Tower because they provided seats *grin*.
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The megapolitan city and its green patches
Wish Jakarta has green area that large |
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| Enjoying the morning from high above |
Our meeting point was the odd spider statue in Roppongi Hills plaza. Why I say odd? The statue was black, huge and creepy. Plus its name was Maman. It became a funny joke for Indonesian since Maman is a traditional Sundanese (tribe from West Java) name for male and if we read it as Mamang (the creator was a French artist and Japanese also always read 'n' as 'ng' at the end of a word), it means 'uncle' in Sundanese.
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| Happens to be an iconic meeting spot |
Anyway, after the four of us met, we went straight to an Indonesian restaurant, Bali Cafe Putri, and order lunch set (which is cheeper than in usual hour *wink*). Besides the food, we were happy because the waiter and waitress were Indonesian. It was fun to speak Indonesian language to a stranger, even laugh together, just because he or she is also Indonesian. It seems to be true, when you are in foreign country, that sense of 'origin' becomes stronger, making a stranger into a fellow.
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| A warm reunion with lots of sweet stories, big laughters, and of course, delicious servings :) |
A short meeting indeed, but I had to continue the journey. There was a lost scene when I was trying to find the nearest mosque to do my sholah and it didn't end nice (wish I had a GPS *sigh*). Because I had to arrive on time in Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, I turned back and decided to jump into a train heading to Mitaka. From Mitaka station in JR Chuo line, we could walk or took a bus (¥500 for round-trip ticket). Even the bus was painted Totoro.
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| Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro) |
I was obsessed to visit Ghibli Museum after watching some of its production, such as Tonari no Totoro, Ponyo and Spirited Away. I had imagined that the place must be very intriguing. And it's true! The place brought you to a fantasy world in every single detail. Too bad, the visitors weren't allowed to take pictures. Instead, you can click on this link: http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/exibition/, which is the official site of the museum, to get an overall picture about what's inside. Oh, another thing is, every visitors were given a free ticket to watch original short movie at the theater, which was claimed to be the only theater in the world that has windows!
Time sure flew quickly while I was still enjoying the magical atmosphere. Two hours weren't enough to explore the entire building, but the museum was about to close. If I have a chance to visit Tokyo again, I will make sure Ghibli Museum is in my list.
Keep reading this series because the fourth day began with my first experience riding the bullet train, Shinkansen, to Kyoto. See you!
Extra:
Tickets to the Ghibli Museum can only be purchased at Lawson (convenience store) through a ticket selling machine called Loppi, if you live in Japan. For international visitor, the tickets can be purchased through designated travel agencies. Further information is available at their official site.
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