In the morning, I got a taste of Tokyo rush hour. It wasn’t so bad. The subway cars were a bit crowded, but the whole system moves efficiently and I found myself on the other side of town relatively quickly. It just sucks how expensive the transportation costs are. The minimum cost of the Tokyo subway is still more than the maximum cost of the Beijing subway.
I had done a bit of research to maximize the efficiency of my day and I arrived at the first place just as it opened. The Institute for Nature Study is basically just a big park and the Grutto Pass only gave me a small discount on its otherwise reasonable ticket cost. There wasn’t anything spectacular to see and I was honestly surprised at the lack of signage that could serve an educational purpose of identifying trees and such. Its not that the Japanese/Latin names would mean much to me, but it seems they are really failing on their fundamental mission.
It didn’t take long to do a loop around the park and walk to the museum next door, which meant I was there about ten minutes before they opened. The Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum is the former residence of some prince who had a thing for art deco. The building was a work of art in itself and perfectly matched the ongoing exhibition exclusively featuring the works of Kisling. I was pretty pumped that I got free admission despite it being a special exhibition, but I really enjoyed myself. The museum is also notable for its gardens.
The Meguro Museum of Art, a couple blocks west, had an exhibition of Vienna School printers or something of that sort. Less my cup of tea. I followed the Meguro river north some distance to the Sato Sakura museum, which is completely dedicated to art involving cherry blossoms. The Meguro river is one of the prime cherry blossom viewing spots in Tokyo. I really enjoyed the museum and was glad it made it on to the itinerary.
Done with the Meguro section, I headed southeast to Ebisu noticing how swanky and upscale the neighborhood had become. Garden Place is the main hub there with a department store, condos, museums and a central plaza that was being set up for some Aladdin-themed promotional event. the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (TOP) only provided free access to one of the galleries, but it was a nice change to get a taste of a different artistic style.
The Yebisu Beer Museum was also right there with free admission to see a small exhibit detailing the history of the brand and beer in Japan. Yebisu was one of the first beers in Japan and the local train station (and by extension the neighborhood) was named after the beer. I wasn’t drinking yet, so I didn’t get to spend money at the on-site bar for some samples.
I followed the train tracks north to Shibuya, stopping at a brand new ramen restaurant which had a line out the door. The noodles were discounted for the launch, so it made sense that people were queuing for a bowl of noodles at 3 pm.
There were two more museums in the Shibuya area to hit before they closed up at 5 pm–one a private collection of porcelains and the other hosting a special exhibition on the lives of women in the Edo period. Both were quite nice. As I was cutting through the neighborhoods to reach the first of the museums, I came across a bunch of go-karts with “Not Affiliated with Nintendo” written on them. A group of foreigners in costumes (pajamas) were getting instructions on how to drive. I had heard that “Mario Karting” through the streets of Tokyo was a thing, and while I wouldn’t seek it out, I was glad to stumble across it. I loitered about until the group took off, but refrained from snapping any photos.
After finishing the museums, I wondered some of the streets around Shibuya on the way to the train station to dutifully snap my photo of Hachi (the faithful dog). Above Shibuya crossing, it looked like Starbucks was the only proper vantage point to take in the busy crossing, so I splurged on a super sugary drink and hung out at the Starbucks from 5-6 pm. Of course, all the tourists were blocking the window, so I sat where I could and just enjoyed my snack until I was ready to get moving again.
Having eaten lunch at 3 and just finishing a matcha scone, I wasn’t particularly hungry, so I abandoned the original plans to grab a dinner in Shibuya. I still walked up and down a few of the streets to take it in, but I was getting tired and wanted to get back home.
The subway back was pretty fast, and I popped into a fast food joint for a beef bowl for a simple dinner. That didn’t stop me from snacking later.
| Nature Study Institute | 210 |
| Ramen | 500 |
| Starbucks | 961 |
| Pasmo top-up | 1000 |
| Yoshinoya beef bowl | 480 |
| Snacks | 248 |
| Total: | 3399 JPY (217.5 RMB) (USD 31.44) |
Running Total: 34305 RMB (USD 4958.44)
Daily Average: 314.7 RMB (USD 45.50)
I visited 6 museums covered by the Grutto Pass: 5 free, 1 discounted. I wouldn’t have gone out of my way for any of them without the pass, but I would highly recommend Teien. I saved 5000 yen for the day.