Reid Main

Today was supposed to be a relatively chill day as we only had two goals. Get to our hotel in Minato, Tokyo and do our laundry.

We weren't really in any rush so we took our time packing up before heading out to grab some egg sandwiches and coffee for breakfast. We rolled into Shin-Ōsaka Station assuming we'd easily be able to purchase tickets for the next departing Tokaido Shinkansen. Unfortunately, this was were our gaijin luck finally ran out and the ticket stations were absolutely overrun with people. When we got to the front of the line we came to the realization that it was going to be difficult to find any trains with space for our oversized luggage. The first available was departing in over an hour and was the Japanese equivalent of First Class so we had to pay quite a premium. Also, I was in such a hurry to buy the tickets (in case they somehow disappeared) that I did not realize this was not an express train so we ended up making a lot more stops.

Our original plans had been to catch a 10am train and roll into Tokyo a little after 12pm. Instead, we pulled into Shinagawa Station at 2:35pm. We boarded the Yamanote Line for Hamamatsuchō Station and then walked to the same hotel that we've stayed at previously, the mesm Tokyo.

By now it was nearly 3pm and we have only completed one of our goals. We still had to do our laundry and this was where our gaijin luck ran out a second time. We just so happened to pick the one laundromat that all of the tourists in the area seemed to know about. Luckily we found another one nearby, Earth Laundry, whose website actually provided real-time information on the availability of their machines. Two looked to be free and so we quickly ran our luggage over. The machines turned out to be wash+dry combos that we got working thanks to ChatGPT. 48 minutes later everything was clean so we packed up and returned to the hotel.

At this point it was 6pm and both Elsie and I were starving. We didn't want to travel far so I did a quick Google Maps search and found a local placed called Hachan Ramen. I am not exaggerating when I say this was some of the best ramen I have ever had. It was an amazing soy based broth topped with both wild duck and chashu. The next time I am in Tokyo this will be one of the first places I go to eat.

With our bellies full but our sweet tooth not yet sated we grabbed some snacks from a nearby kobini before returning to the hotel. We watched highlights of the day's sumo matches before heading off to bed.