I am feeling better but did not get to sleep very well last night. My cough went away until I tried to go to sleep and my cough came back so I tried to sleep sitting up on the couch for a while. Fortunately the cough went away soon enough.

And the wind didn’t help much. Just before my alarm went off, I had a dream that I locked the door on my mom as a joke and I could hear her outside. It was actually the sound of the wind whistling in the vents.

The wind didn’t let up all day and I figured I might as well through caution to the wind and go to the harbor district. In fact, I went to Odaiba where I’ve heard all Japanese people visiting Tokyo go because it’s where Fuji TV has relocated.

I found Odaiba to be a depressing place it had faceless malls with stores I didn’t want to see.

Instead of being part of the bustling metropolis of Tokyo, there were expressways separating the faceless malls from a bleak looking amusement park.

There were a couple of fancy hotels (probably for the actors working at Fuji TV) but they were bleak and concrete with very little signs of life outside.

But there was Fuji TV. I went to see the stores and the floor where you could see into some of the studios but for the most part it was a kind of a disappointment all around.

I decided to walk back towards Tokyo across the Rainbow bridge. Back when I lived in Japan it was a romantic date destination for the youth of Tokyo to park somewhere and look at the rainbow bridge. That was twenty years ago and I think the bridge is just a bridge now though it is a big-ass bridge that spans the harbor.

I wasn’t sure if there was a way to walk across the bridge so plan B was to take the boat back across. There are several train lines and monorail lines as well, but I wanted to do something different.

I walked along the beach, which wasn’t all that populated and saw some people passing the time fishing. I finally came across a beach volleyball tournament.

As I went past, I realized that the main event was hidden behind curtains and the public didn’t appear to be invited. There wasn’t even an obvious way to buy tickets.

Looking back at Fuji TV, you can see several of the faceless malls in front, and the secret beach volleyball tournament as well.

Turns out the bridge walkway is a couple thousand meters long and you’re not allowed to ride a bike across. You can walk your bike and they had a strange contraption they bolted to your tire to keep you from riding. I only saw two bicyclists as I got onto the bridge and one other person walking across.

Here’s another view of Odiaba from the bridge.

And a view of Minato-ku from the bridge. If you look hard enough you can see the Tokyo tower and the Sky Tree.

While the bridge on the Odaiba end has a normal ramp access, it just abruptly ends at an elevator on the Minato-ku end and dumps you into the harbor district. I was kind of lost for a bit until I realized there’s always people and crowds in Tokyo.

So I headed towards a JR train station and lunch. I have this weird aversion to buying food where I have to buy a ticket from a vending machine before I eat, and that means that I’m excluded from most of the cheap food in Tokyo. I was even willing to just eat at McDonalds if it looked properly air conditioned, but I just started heading further and further in towards area that looked like I could find a restaurant. But I never did. I did see the Tokyo Tower getting closer and closer.

I randomly ran into Keio University (where all the “playboys” go).

Close by I found the sign of the day describing a well for a samurai worrier.

I finally made it to the Tokyo Tower and I think the trip was about 7 miles on the map (probably further because I made a bunch of side excursions).

Of course I didn’t go up, but I knew there would be ice cream at a tourist attraction. Even better, there were crêpes!

After that I had the energy to make it back to my hotel.

Finally, for dinner, I went to the expensive-looking tonkatsu place across the street. I’m not sure how they got the pork so tender, but it was tasty.