Day 21

I still woke up ridiculously early this morning. Even though I'd closed blinds there was a small slit of light creeping underneath from 5am. I managed to snooze until just after 6. I then had a nice shower, using warm water for a change!
 
For some silly reason we'd agreed to meet for breakfast at 8. I went down to the lobby at about 7.15, bag packed and ready to head out straight after we'd eaten. Emily was down about 7.40 but we still had to wait for Mike and Phil. Bang on 8am we had all assembled and were finally ready to eat.
 
It was a buffet, I was so excited. I finished off three different platefuls and a bowl of fruit. That one meal was probably the most I've eaten in one sitting since I've been here! Myself, Emily, Mike, Phil and now Freya discussed our plans for the day and then we left her to it.
 
First stop for us was Pokémon Centre, which Emily had been wanting to go to since forever. We set off with our travel cards and navigated the tubes to where we believed it to be. Emily didn't know the exact location so we had fun asking around. We were in the right place all along, a fancy complex called Sunshine City.
 
I did have a quick look through the shop but I just struggled to drum up any enthusiasm for the characters I hadn't played with for more than a decade. While Emily lived her childhood dream, I had a wander around the rest of the centre. There wasn't much else to see, but as I got back Emily emerged.
 
Phil suggested a midday coffee and we were all well up for it, we'd seen a McDonald's earlier. I didn't want a coffee or a tea so asked for a hot chocolate.. all I got in return was a blank look. Orange juice it was. We made the most of our table and the free maps we'd found and plotted a route for the rest of the day, each having one thing we wanted to do.
 
My choice was first, a few stops down the line to Koishikawa Korakuen Garden. I have to say, I was impressed. Slap bang in the middle of the city, next to an amusement park and a train station, was a beautiful park. It reminded me of Central Park, once I'd passed the gates I'd completely forgotten about the outside world. I could have easily spent all day there it was so peaceful, however Mike's choice was next.
 
The Japanese Sword Museum wasn't quite as easy to find, I'd say it took a good hour. It didn't help that we walked the complete wrong way out of the station the first time round. Unfortunately, it wasn't as much of a success as my choice. First of all, it was ¥800 to get in and then, according to Mike (we didn't go in), it was just swords behind glass.
 
We found our way back to the station, taking a much shorter route, and headed to Akihabara. I was running out of money slightly, and had looked up a few places last night where I could exchange my sterling. Luckily, straight of the train station into the insanity of Electric City I found a Western Union.
 
With slightly more money in my pocket, I was excited to explore the 7 and 8 floor storey buildings, full of discounted electronics. I didn't buy anything but I did swoon slightly over the Samsung Galaxy S6. I took a sneaky selfie on one too so they know I've been there!
 
When everyone had had their fill of the gadgets and gizmos and anime and whatnot, we walked back to the station. I knew I was getting quite hungry now and sure enough the others were too! We got back to Osaki and looked for somewhere to eat.
 
After much deliberation we settled on The Wine House Picnic Club. I had spaghetti carbonara and it was delicious. I used chopsticks for the whole dish, even when there was only tiny bits left. I'm getting good at this whole thing. The bill was a bit confusing, but we worked it out in the end. Mine was a cheap night as ever, ¥1200 or about £6.
 
Back at the hotel, we hung around in the lobby for a bit and I tried to convince people to karaoke with me. I researched a few bars around and I think I'd found a great place, I just couldn't find any prices. I then couldn't find anyone that wanted to go with me, they were dropping like flies. My phone was dying so I gave in and went up to the room.
 
I wasn't tired yet so went to visit Emily on a whim. It sounded like there was a party going on in there! Freya, Kirsty and Jess were heading out to karaoke. Finally!! They were happy to let me tag along so we went to get directions from reception for "Smash Hits". We also happened to find Eleanor and she agreed to come for an adventure too.
 
With our maps stored safely in Freya's pocket, we were off. It seemed to be going all too smoothly, but that was soon ruined when we took a wrong turning. We realised our mistake when a very helpful passer-by told us we'd came out the wrong end if the station. Back on track, we soon reached the karaoke bar. They wanted ¥3500 each just for entry and 2 drinks.. seeing as it was already past 10pm and none of us wanted to be out late, we gave it a miss. 
 
Back on the JR Line it was, although I only had ¥24 left on my travel card. Luckily it could be topped up, and I could get back to the hotel with no more issues. We've agreed to try again tomorrow and find a cheaper option. In the mean time, I chatted to Em about life and stuff back at the room. I've also just found about 8 bites just from today, I hope I don't scratch them too much in my sleep!

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