June 7 last day

We were checked out by 10, with candy stashed in our pockets, having traded another package of Timtams for some magnets (a ninja and a geisha, this time). D was arranging a business meeting later that day over the telephone, so we didn’t leave til 11, and then we went straight back to Jimbocho to find that best ramen place we had had on our first day in Tokyo. Amazingly, after about half an hour of wandering the mazelike alleys, we found it, and only waited in line another half hour.



This time we both ordered the ramen and the fried rice, slurped our bowls dry, and rolled out of there clutching our swollen stomachs. It was as amazing as it had been and the line of businessmen was even longer than before. The chainsmoking old cook was as blankfaced as ever, but his little wife remembered us and kept nodding and grinning at us appreciatively.

We continued on to Asakusa and walked up the famous souvenir street which leads to a big temple. I was finally able to buy all those last-minute trinkets I’d wanted, and D bought me a kukeshi, a Japanese wooden doll, painted with cranes. We also paid 100 Y each to shake a tube, pull a length of wood out with a little number on it, open a drawer with that number and pull out a little piece of paper that would tell our fortunes. Both of us got very good fortunes, advising us that now was a good time to travel, marry, move up in the workplace, find the things we had lost, and meet the people who would help us on our way. The good fortune really seems to cover all the bases.



We also saw Asakusa's famous giant turd.



Then we were off to meet D’s camera contact guy at Ikebukuro. Unfortunately we hadn’t gotten to see much of this busy suburb during our trip, so after D finished his business, we took half an hour just to walk around and look at all the Bic Cameras. I am infused with a fiery hatred for Bic Camera, one of the biggest electronics chains in Japan. This store’s peppy falsetto jingle, played over and over, has nearly made my head explode on numerous occasions—you can hear it from blocks away, and at that sound D’s head snaps up and he starts walking faster, because he knows I will just stand there drooling with the pain while he searches for all his electronic toys.



Back to the subway we went, picked up our bags from the ryokan, took a quick taxi then a one hour train to the airport, and we were off, back to Oz…goodbye Japan!