We had a small breakfast this morning as I was still recovering from all the food the day before. Y’s mom packed me some omiyage and then we were off to Tokyo Tower! It’s about the same size as the Eiffel Tower, 33 m taller, but the base of each leg felt narrower. It’s also 3000 tons lighter! After getting our tickets, we rode an elevator up to the first observation area. It was a clear day so you could even see Fuji-san! There was a cafe and a shrine, as well as a mailbox where you could get a special stamp on the letters you mailed there. The special observatory at 250 m had a bit of a line before we made it to the top. Such good views! Tokyo is huge.

We walked over to Zojo-ji, the nearby temple, for some good views of the tower, before they drove me to Ikebukuro Station. Y’s family were all so kind! They kept treating me to things and really included me in their family. I’m lucky to have met Y. Despite some traffic and panic, we made it to the station with 15 min to spare. I said my goodbyes and Y walked me to the gate. It was really crowded. The rush of people returning back to normal life from their families. On my platform, all the vending machines were sold out! I managed to get something from a vendor though. Didn’t want to be trapped on the train for 1.5 hours without food or drink. People in Japan don’t really eat or drink on trains, so I just tried to be clean about it. I still had leftover bread from a couple days ago and all the things Y’s mom gave me before I left to snack on.

Suddenly at one point, they had an announcement that the train was splitting. From 15 cars, 5 were being removed. This always happened to me in Europe. I had headphones in so I missed most of the message, but managed to figure out that I was in car 7 (I’ve never looked for the car numbers before!) so no matter what, I was safe. After the hour and a half, I was back at Takasaki station - also super full - and got back on my little train. Felt good to finally be home and in my bed.