They gave me the things they had brought for me from home, including decaff tea (impossible to find anything remotely decaff), lots of Cadbury's chocolate, some books and kanji cards that I had made for myself to learn some of those crazy Chinese characters.
Then I introduced some of my housemates to my family and it was nice that they could finally put faces to the names!
We walked up to Ningyocho and took the Toei Asakusa line down to Shinbashi (pronounced Shimbashi) station, where we changed to the Yurikamome monorail line which goes from Shinbashi to Toyosu in Odaiba, and back.
We bought a Pasmo card each (there's a Y500 deposit, which you get back when you give the card back, and then you charge it with money for subway journeys), which made all our journeys a lot easier and quicker. We charged each one with Y3,000 (£15) and that was perfect as they all had nothing left on them after our last journey!
We got on one monorail train but it got a bit crowded, and one going to the same place pulled in on the platform opposite, so I suggested we get that one. As we were getting off, the doors closed and my dad was trapped inside that one! He motioned that he'd go to Daiba station and meet us there. My mum, my brothers and I got the other one and followed him. Thankfully, we all got off at the same station and there was no harm done. The views were lovely over Tokyo Bay and Rainbow Bridge, just like last time I visited Odaiba.
We went to places I hadn't seen last time, like this Statue. Recognise it from anywhere?
Near here, there were a group of salarymen taking photos of each other (it was Saturday) and my dad tried to get a shot of them, but they caught him and roped him into posing with them as they took photos of the gaijin. It was so funny to watch, I tried to take a photo but missed it.
We walked to the beach and had lunch in a restaurant there. We passed two hilarious shops geared to dogs. One of them was a dog restaurant where you order a meal for yourself and your pets, and the other was a pet grooming salon. You could even rent a dog for an hour at a time!
We walked to a place called Joypolis (I'm sure they meant Joyopolis), which is a SEGA-themed amusement park and my dad and brothers went in, while my mum and I (who were too tired) wandered round some shops and then had a coffee to catch up with news and things.
By the time we were ready to leave, twilight had been and gone and the light was fading fast. That gave great photos opportunities of Rainbow Bridge and the city, including Tokyo Tower, beyond.
We took the Yurikamome monorail back to Shinbashi station, changed to the Toei Asakusa subway line and went to Higashi Ginza. Somehow my sense of direction took us to the famous sight of Ginza Yon-choume (fourth block) crossing. I think this is the second busiest pedestrian crossing in the world.
It was an amazing sight at night with the neon glow making it seem like midday.
We walked all the way to Tokyo station, and ate dinner there. Then we walked through the maze that is Tokyo station to ground level to find Otemachi subway station. We then got on my line (Hanzoumon) and I recited everything the announcement says as the train approaches the station.
It goes something like this:
"三越前。三越前です。銀座線・ＪＲそうぶ快速線はおのりかえください。出口は右がわです。足もとにご注意下さい。"
"Mitsukoshimae. Mitsukoshimae desu. Ginza-sen, JR Sobu Kaisoku-sen wa onorikae kudasai. Deguchi wa migi gawa desu. Ashimoto ni go chuui kudasai."
Which means:
"Mitsukoshimae. It's Mitsukoshimae. Please change for the Ginza line and the JR Sobu Kaisoku line. The exit is on the right. Please watch your step."
You might think that it's very sad that I know that by heart but if you hear it twice a day then you do find it nestling in your memory.
My family were very tired as they didn't sleep well last night and had had a full day, so they went straight to bed. I chatted to one of my housemates for a bit and then followed suit.
The guiding was going well so far. I realised I knew more Japanese than I thought. I'm constantly comparing myself to my amazing housemates and native Japanese people, and I think that's not the way to go about it, as that way lies madness!
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