Day Fourteen - Oh my God-zilla!

Today we all slept in (again) before heading out to Shinjuku, which is about 14 train stops from Akihabara Station. Shinjuku is a major shopping area in Tokyo. However, its fame comes from Shinjuku Station being the busiest railway station in the world and handles an amazing 1.26 Billion passengers per annum. It is incredibly large and designed to accommodate the 3.5 Million passengers that pass through it each day. Shinjuku Station actually comprises five stations; JR-East, Odakyu Electric Railway, Keio Corporation, Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway and is a connecting link between central Tokyo and the western suburbs. 

We largely spent the day in Shinjuku, shopping, or should I say, Maureen, Sky, Kyle and Jen went shopping, whilst I walked the streets taking photos and drinking coffee near giant Godzilla statues...more on that later. Maureen spent two hours in a six storey fabric store, Kyle and Jen shopped for Jackets and Coats and Jen picked up a cool Godzilla t-shirt. Sky picked up an Amibo (it's a Nintendo thing).

Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower

Shinjuku is a shopping haven filled with alleys, nooks and crannies everywhere. It's about as much underground as it is above ground. The shopping areas are pretty much defined by Shinjuku Station, there's West, South and East Shinjuku Exit shopping precincts.

As alluded in Day Ten's Blog (Out and about in Tokyo), Shinjuku also hosts a giant Godzilla Statue. 

Although, it's not really a complete statue, more so the top of Godzilla peering over the top of a building; the Gracery Hotel, Shinjuku Toho Building to be exact. Interestingly, the Building's owners Toho is the Japanese studio behind the Godzilla franchise. Most importantly however, it looks pretty cool. The best viewing point is from the streets below; but you can also head up to the 8th floor of the Gracery Hotel to take a look up-close. The catch is, you need to either be staying at the hotel or be a customer of Cafe Terrace on level 8. So, I had my AUD$12.60 Cafe Latte and checked out Godzilla. I also watched the Same-Sex Marriage debate, live from the Australian Parliament House. 

I then continued my walk through the streets of Shinjuku.

Here's a few pics from Kyle:

Jem ordered an Ice Cream Cone...with Fairy Floss

We all met up at the pre-arranged point in Shinjuku at 1500h and had a very late lunch at a Ramen Restaurant. 

Yum!

Afterwards, Maureen and I headed back to Nippori, because apparently there was still some material there that she hadn't bought yet. 

Dusk shots in Nippori 

In the meantime Sky, Kyle and Jen spent another half-hour in Shinjuku before heading back to Akihabara. We all managed to time our arrival back at the apartment pretty close together.

I think it's safe to assume that we are all shopped out...or at least I am. Oh and the Same Sex Marriage Act back in Australia was passed with a majority, which will now see same-sex marriages recognised and legalised.

Finally, this is a vending machine. 

A vending machine on the main street in Nippori

To say that they are everywhere in Japan, is no exaggeration. There are currently about 5.52 million vending machines throughout the country. In fact, Japan has the highest density of vending machines per area on the planet. Annual sales from these machines is over AUD$8 trillion annually. One factor towards their popularity and spread is Japan's low crime rate; even though most of these machines are left outside, they are seldom broken or stolen.