Japan 2.2: Pokemon, Cats, and the Shinkansen

First thing in the morning, we walked over to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.  It had a Japanese, English, and French section.  I preferred the Japanese.  It was a fairly large garden, but did not have too many particularly impressive sights.  Nonetheless, it was a nice walk in the sun.

The French area of the garden

I told Miles that we would be going to the backup cat cafe, but since it would not be open until around 11, that we would have to hang out in the area first.  Half a block from the cat cafe was the Tokyo Pokemon Center, inside a mall-like building.  He was caught completely by surprise.

Miles was not interested in the Pokemon lipstick

The cat cafe had a nicer atmosphere than the one I visited on my previous trip to Japan.  The cats looked very happy and the staff were attentive, brushing and playing with the cats.

Next, we went to lunch, where Miles tried a beef bowl(beef, scallions, and rice).  He seemed to be getting the hang of using chopsticks.

This is the best picture I had of lunch.  Apologies!

I suggested we head to Nakano Broadway, which I had been to on my first trip.  It is four floors are filled with back to back toy stores, but Miles had had enough of shopping.  We returned to the hotel, Miles had a final conversation with the robot in the lobby, and we began our journey to Yamagata.  This is Yamagata city, inside Yamagata Prefucture(Japan's version of states).

After a thirty minute local train ride, we picked out our seats for the Shinkansen bullet train to Yamagata.  We had to wait about an hour before the next train would come.



The Shinkansen again blew me away with just how fast it was, along with the comfort of riding in one.  We both fell asleep for the two hour journey.  We arrive at 5:45.  It was dark and freezing outside.  Luckily, our hotel was just around the corner.

Our room is double the size of the previous room, with a couch and massage chair.  I used the massage chair for my calves, which were aching.  Tomorrow, we climb 1000 steps to see a temple, so I thought it would be prudent.  I also did some stretching in preparation.  We are both wiped out, so we are headed to be early.  We decided to put together Miles' haul from the Pokemon store for a photo.