Spending a Rainy Day in Tokyo

Gate City Plaza, Tokyo

Our first day in Tokyo, despite jet lag and all that, we got up at 7a.m. and was out of hotel room ready for breakfast by 7:30am.  Last time when we were in Japan a few years back, we were with a group of people and had a guide therefore, we did not get too much time to explore on our own. For most of our journey this time, it would be just my husband and me, so we had more freedom to do things ourselves.

We needed to use WiFi to send some emails, but had a hard time last night at our hotel because our cell phones don't work in Japan.

Many People were there Enjoying their Morning Coffee

To use the hotel email, the front desk sends its password to the users to their cell phones.  We headed to the Gate City Plaza near our hotel, looking for either McDonald or Starbucks to use the internet.

 Lots of people were there already at about 8am, mostly Japanese business people, all dressed in their white dress shirts and grey/ dark coloured pants, having a coffee or breakfast.

The place was full yet very quiet as everyone there was either eating or reading on their own. There was little or no talking between the patrons there.

A courtyard at the shopping mall

We had our breakfast at McDonald trying their local tuna McMuffin, different and yummy! There were many different food for us to choose from in the Gate City Plaza, a modern and beautiful shopping mall.

 It was raining cats and dogs which meant we had to spend a little more time in the mall than we had planned.


Good thing the mall was designed in a circular way with huge floor to ceiling windows and bringing the beautifully landscaped outdoor garden to the inside.

Though the space is small, Japanese made the best of it!

Though the property where the shopping mall was not huge and there was no large grassy area, the architects of the building were able to make use of what small space it had available and turned it into a peaceful and beautiful garden with pieces of interesting architectures dotting the garen.

We noticed there many people sitting, eating, reading, relaxing, doing work and simply lingering for a long time in this part of the mall.

Japanese enjoying their quiet moments in the mall

One thing for sure, though there were many people sharing this common public space,  people were very quiet, and respectful of others' space.

There was no loud talking, yelling across tables, blasting loud music nor talking loudly on their cell phones.

The mall is decking out for a special festival

We spent a much longer time  in the mall than we expected. We did a little bit of shopping and when the rain subsided a little headed back to our hotel.

On our way to our hotel, we passed by some workers setting up and getting ready for a street celebration.

Looking forward to the next few days visiting Japan

Hope we will get to see some of these street celebrations during our stay here!


R.T.
 Tokyo