Today is the day our vacation ends. We’ve done so many things, seen many sights, and eaten many foods.
Checked out of the hostel early so that we had enough time to browse the super touristy shops in Asakusa. I’m really glad that we did our gift shopping in the regular shops that the locals frequent because these stalls were swarmed with Chinese tourists *shudder* and the stuff being sold was overpriced stereotypical Japan things.
One thing I don’t think I’ve mentioned on this blog yet is Joanna’s love for capsule machines. I didn’t keep a running tally but I’m pretty confident she’s spent at least $30 minimum on them. She has very consistent luck when it comes to getting a prize that she wants which feeds her addiction. There were a number of capsule machines selling Asakusa and Tokyo themed pins in the area. She even got a super cute chibi Harry Potter keychain.
We headed to Meguro for Steakhouse Hama, the restaurant that Bob recommended to eat wagyu beef. You may have heard of Kobe beef, which is just wagyu beef from the Kobe region. I was slightly confused walking up to the huge office like building near the train station. It didn’t look like a restaurant would be in there but we walked in anyway.
Holy crap the lobby of this building was fancy. It seemed like this was a popular place for rich people to have their weddings and banquets because even the bathrooms had a stream with a walking bridge over it.
Finally, the restaurant was at the end of the long hallway. I felt out of place because the maître d’ was in a fancy black tie and we were in dirty peasant clothes.
Thankfully they took our coats and we were seated instead of told to please leave the premises. The meal was $58 for each of us and it started with a choice of scallops, abalone, or foie gras, then a few side dishes, and the choice between fillet or sirloin A5 wagyu beef. We chose different things so that we could mix it up. The beef really melted in your mouth and required no effort to chew. It was simply grilled in its own fat so you could taste the beef flavor.
We did some last minute shopping and left sort of late to the train for Narita airport. The train from Asakusa to Narita was kind of confusing, the map was hard to read, and every once in a while we’d have to get off and get on a train directly across from us. We stopped at the Narita station and I froze because I wasn’t sure if it was this one or if we continue on. I made a last second decision and decided to get off the train. Turns out I was wrong and we needed to get off at the Terminal 1 station instead. By this time it was 1 hour until departure time, the next train was in 25 minutes, and I was feeling very frustrated but there was nothing I could do about it now. We took a bathroom break and got some bread at the nearby bakery since it would probably be a few hours before they’d serve us dinner on the flight.
We arrived at the ticket counter at 6:10 with our flight departing at 6:50, they were kind of freaking out that we were so late. The check in person ran us through security and outgoing immigration. I was super impressed she could keep up in heels. We made it to the gate all sweaty and gross by 6:21 only to find that they were just starting to board people.
The plane was ready to take off on time and then they announced that due to an electrical problem, engineering needed to fix the issue before we could leave. So far we’ve been sitting here for about 4 hours, it’s 11 pm and they won’t let us off the plane. I’m REALLY glad that I mistakenly chose the wrong train station to get off on because it allowed us to get some food before getting on the plane. Kids are screaming and the passengers are agitated and hungry right now. Hopefully they can get it fixed and we can head home otherwise we’ll just have to stay in Japan a little bit longer…darn ^_^
