DR YEEEEELLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOW!

We had plans to go either to the beach or to the mountains today, but Tom was still very tired yesterday so we decided to have another quiet day in Tokyo (if that is at all possible?!).  Today the weather has got warmer - about 24 to 26 degrees, but heavy with moisture (although not raining) so very humid.  Not the easiest of climates to walk around in.

Matt had been doing his research on Dr Yellow timings and was pretty sure he would be in Tokyo station around 11.30 (JR don't advertise his whereabouts, but nerds put up websites with predicted timings).  We were up and ready quite early today so we headed to Loft on the way to Tokyo station for a look around (just in case there was something we couldn't possibly live without - there wasn't) and then headed onto the shinkansen platforms waiting to see if the elusive Dr Yellow would make an appearance.

The first platform we tried had two 'out of service' trains between 11.25 and 11.40 so we thought it might be one of those, however, two other trains filled the platform so he wasn't going to be there.  We thought we would try another platform, there was an absence of young boys around which made us nervous that we might have got it wrong.  However, I did spot a gentleman with no luggage and a camera, so I was hopeful.

Big nose 

Excited boy!

I was right to be hopeful, as a couple of minutes later we spotted a yellow flash, yes it was Dr Yellow.  We got our video functions ready and shot away.  As happened in Aioi, Dr Yellow flashed right past us and to the end of the platform.  We were pretty sure he would be there for about 10 minutes, so we walked down and there we found lots and lots of small boys with their mothers - ah-ha!  We took photos, saw the 'men in black' get aboard, the driver get locked out of his cab (quite funny) and then got ourselves ready for his departure.  With a couple of hoots he glided past us.  We had one very excited boy with us.  He just kept saying "I can't believe we saw Dr Yellow" over and over again.

By now it was lunchtime.  We had noticed an okinomiyaki restaurant in the basement of Tokyo Station and decided to head there.  Bit of a mistake, we got horrifically lost in the place, at one point I thought we were never going to find a way out - we couldn't even find the train tracks, let alone an exit - Tokyo Station is enormous, think of Clapham Junction for number of tracks but times by 5, add an underground city and an overground city to it and you are getting a little of what Tokyo Station is like.  After what seemed an eternity we finally found the tracks and retraced our steps to an area we recognised and tried again.  Of course this restaurant was as far away as could be and then when we got there we found out they weren't making okinomiyaki - TYPICAL!  We chose another restaurant and had chicken in a number of different ways.

We then needed to plan the rest of the day.  Tom wanted to go to the Tokyo Edo Museum, but it was closed today, so he settled for a quick ride on some shinkansens he hasn't tried yet.  We headed to Omiya (not exactly out of Tokyo - but certainly towards the outskirts) a trip that takes about 25 minutes.  It was that or head a long way out!  

We went out on Max - the double decker shinkansen - great for looking down on people but the inside was a bit old, you couldn't even recline the seats?!  We then did a little shopping in Omiya (tea tonight etc) and headed back in on the Super Komachi (the bright red train) super super smooth and luxurious inside, although narrower than the other shinkansen, with it having a 2 + 2 seat arrangement rather than a 2 + 3 arrangment.

We then came home, to find a note from the resident directly below us telling us that we were stressing her out through our noise!  We have received complaints earlier during our stay, and have literally been tip toeing through the flat and have put blankets under all the chairs etc to help buffer the noise.  Poor Tom gets told off if he does anything other than tip toe.  It is very hard for a 5 year old not to jump about, but that's what Tom has been doing.  He's a good kid and I feel for him not being able to be himself for the sake of 'the devil woman downstairs'.  Matt was furious and went to see our hosts (who live next door to her).  She has complained about noise before with other residents and they can't understand it, so she and Matt went to ask the lady.  Apparently we have been jumping up and down in the lounge at 6.30 in the morning which has been stressing her out.  Anyone who knows me will know that isn't my behaviour.  1) We are on holiday so why oh why would we be getting up so early.  2) I'm not exactly mad about exercise and certainly don't do it at home, I have to be in the gym surrounded by people to do it.  3) I am not a morning person, there is no way I would exercise so early in the morning.  Matt told her that the noise certainly isn't coming from us: no-one is in the lounge that early.  Miki (our host) was very apologetic and says that the woman is a bit strange and that she believes us not her.  Phew, could be a case of not liking foreigners, or a case of the building behaving in a strange way so that noise from elsewhere ends up in her apartment.  Anyhow, we aren't going to lose any sleep over it!

Matt came back upstairs and we made tea.  Oh during this time I felt the building move.  I was sure of it, it happened twice.  It was an earthquake.  Very minor but an earthquake for sure.  Neither Matt nor Tom felt it,  and it certainly wouldn't make the news over here, but it happened.

Oh a typical story from a gaijin in Japan:  Yesterday when I was in a supermarket, I got excited because I found single eggs packaged up next to the packs of 6, 12, 24 etc.  I thought great, I can have dippy egg for breakfast (we have egg cups at the flat).  So bought it.  This morning I boiled my water added the egg carefully (thinking the egg was quite heavy) and gave it 4.5 minutes as it was quite big.  I put it in the egg cup, knocked it's head off and found a hard boiled egg inside.  I initially thought I had miscalculated the time to boil it, but then I had a mouthful of it.  It was salty!!!!!!  I got out the packaging and Matt read it: it was a pre-boiled egg which had been lightly salted.  Doh!!!!!!!  Not quite the breakfast I was expecting - I was thirsty all morning!