The day I discovered Godzilla, King Kong and the Suica Penguin

On this trip, I am staying in the Shinjuku area its the busiest area in all of Tokyo. I am on the west side, which is a little bit more civilised and known as the business side. I am surrounded by lots of tall office buildings. 

It's 9am, my room is sorted and my bag is dumped, it's raining and a bit cold but I am raring to go out into the streets of Tokyo and see what I can discover. First, let's get my bearings and head down to Shinjuku station. There are miles and miles of people walking towards me, everyone has masks and umbrellas and I am definitely heading against the tide. I am wearing a mask, it's a weird experience to put it back on as at home (Sydney, Australia) we have not been wearing masks for 6 months now. Actually, there is not as many people as I would expect, are they working from home in tiny Tokyo apartments I wonder?

Yeah, there is a pedestrian tunnel that leads most of the way to the station, that's going to be a bonus on rainy days. I have made it into the bowels of the station, It is a destination its its own right, with 35 platforms and 200 exits. It's often touted as the busiest train station in the world. There is a big bank of suica machines, time to recharge my travel card. Tick. The signage is fantastic, so it's time to head for the East Exit and my first mission.

Oh my god, is that a giant cat on top of a building? Yes, it's actually a digital screen looking like a hologram on top of the police station. It's advertising for tourists not to get scammed by call girls in this area. Very effective. Now back to my mission, I ran out of time on my last trip to find this uniquely Tokyo spectacle. It's Godzilla looking down from the top of a building. 

Now a lot of walking, fun and exploring:

Eating a Pokemon bun filled with custard

Stumbling across King Kong in a back street

Going crazy in the Hello Kitty store

Watching trains head south

Finding Suica Penguin,
the symbol for the 
travelcard I use

17,240 steps later I can declare this day is a slice of true Tokyo fun to get me back into the swing of international travel! 

One mission left for the day, the grocery store for some supplies. In one word, overwhelming. Plus now my card won't pay, this has happened many times today, they don't want to take cash, and don't like my Suica card either, things have changed since the pandemic, before cash was king. The store manager is a whiz and he sorts it out on the self-checkout counter. In hindsight I think the cashier did not want to serve me, just wanted me out of her lane? Time to head back to base. 

So many confusing options, feel like
 I am an intrepid explorer 
just for getting cereal and milk :)