Day 10 (Wednesday): Departing Tokyo :(

The night before, I tried planning a last minute early morning excursion outside of Tokyo for today but ultimately decided there just wasn't enough time to go somewhere and then be back before checkout time which was 10 or 11AM (I can't remember).
I planned to visit the Fish Market early this morning but the one day I planned for it was the one day in the month it closed. I woke up like at 5AM for it too. I ended up having loads of time and packed slowly. My flight was at 7PM so I had a lot of time to kill between now and then. I decided to explore Ginza a little more and then revisit Shibuya and Meiji-Jingu because they were a couple of my favourite spots. I decided to checkout of my hotel completely and they were nice enough to hold my bag for me at the lobby until I was ready to come back and get it later in the afternoon.
Right in the heart of Ginza, Nissan has a showroom that is only big enough to display one car. They had the Skyline which I believe is the new G37.

I reacquainted myself with Hachiko. I said my goodbyes and told him to be a good doggy and that I would see him again.

On my walk from Shibuya to Harajuku, it was nice to come across a sign of home.

I'm not sure what was going on inside this building but it might have been Cirque du Soleil.

At the Meiji-Jingu one last time.

For lunch I found this Korean/Japanese fusion restaurant literally 30 seconds away from my hotel. It turned out to be delicious and I was kicking myself for not discovering this restaurant sooner. The place was filled with businessmen in suits and many of them had disposable bibs on because it seemed like noodles were the specialty here. I had udon noodles in a soup that reminded me of a spicy Korean beef stew with various vegetables. It was just after noon when I was done lunch and I really had nowhere to go and nothing more that I wanted to see. On my way back, I stopped in at one of the many confectionary stores and picked up a box of sweets to give to the hotel staff as I really enjoyed my stay there. I picked up my bag and because I had so much time, I decided to walk to Tokyo Station. It was like because I knew I was leaving, I wanted to stretch my remaining hours in Tokyo as much as I could.

I was really sad to be leaving Tokyo. I had experienced and seen so much yet I felt like there was still so much more to explore. The best memories I had were not about places but of its people. I enjoyed being amongst them in restaurants, subways, lineups, malls, elevators, and just about anywhere that I could observe the little daily nuances that differentiate their society and culture to my life in Canada. I loved the way everyone was so polite and respectful. I loved seeing the hard work they put into making everything meticulously ordered and perfect. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong decade with the way I like a good old song. Now I think I was born on the wrong continent. I will miss you Tokyo! The 10 days I had planned was the perfect amount to explore Tokyo. If I had to do it again, I probably would have dedicated a day or two to explore something outside of Tokyo like Kyoto but I don't regret spending all my time in Tokyo at all.

By time I got to Narita, I had about 3-4 hours to kill before my flight. The name tag on the flight attendant who checked my bags was "Kawaii". I was about to saw Kawaii as in cute but she beat me and said Kawaii like the piano (which oddly enough is the piano I have at home). I thought the extra time would be a drag at Narita but it turned out to go by quickly. The Departure area in Narita is like a shopping mall with plenty of things to see and shop. I had about 2000 Yen left on my Suica card so I stocked up on Lemon Water, gum and Pocky until it was all spent. Here is my last picture in Tokyo waiting for my departure.

When I got back to Toronto, the first thing I noticed was how much empty space we have here. I got so use to everything being compact in Tokyo that I didn't see it as being crowded anymore but more of a convenience. Everywhere in Tokyo is accessible by foot or subway which is something I really missed when I got back. I have to walk 15 minutes just to get to a bus stop and then take a bus for 20 minutes to get to the nearest subway station. I guess if you lived in downtown Toronto, it would be more like Tokyo. It took me a real long time to adjust back to Toronto time. I think it took like 2 weeks for me as I actually felt home sick for Tokyo.On the flight home, thankfully there was an empty seat between myself and the next person beside me. The person beside me was this nice university student who was going to Cuba via Toronto to visit her boyfriend. Her boyfriend was a musician and she discovered his music online and then wrote to him. They then started and carried out a long distance relationship and this was only the 2^nd time ever that they were going to meet in person! Her English was fair but she knew more Spanish obviously so that she could communicate with her boyfriend. Even though she was younger than me, she had a lot of wisdom that I admired. She hated living in Tokyo because she despised how the culture in Tokyo was all about image (I wasn't sure if it was because I stayed in Ginza but that was something I definitely noticed; everyone in Tokyo was really well dressed in the latest trends and fashion and used a lot of makeup). I spent most of the flight home talking and writing about my trip trying to remember things from each day. I don't think I slept at all.