Shinjuku

This past weekend (in the time that Michael was not working), we went to Shinjuku. Shinjuku is a Ward of Tokyo - for instance we live in Minato. It's about a 25 minute train ride from our house and has the largest train station in Tokyo (and maybe the world??) - it's crazy. Shinjuku is a major shopping destination, and for part of the weekend (we haven't figured out the schedule yet), they shut down the streets to accommodate all the shoppers.

In addition to shopping, Tokyo-ites love to visit parks and gardens on the weekend. Shinjuku-koen is definitely our current favorite. The park has several different areas, including a French formal garden, a little "Mother and Child" path through the wilderness, and large lawns for picnicking.

Another popular activity is taking pictures. Michael is in good company! We thought he was going against the grain getting a big SLR camera, but anybody who is anybody here in Tokyo has an SLR. The rose garden at Shinjuku-koen was the photographers' favorite by far.


(We have some of those pictures too.....)


After the park, since we were in Shinjuku anyway, we headed over to Michael's heaven - Yodabashi Camera Camera. Yodabashi Camera Camera (yes, twice, that is not a typo) is a 6 story store devoted only to cameras, camera gear, lenses, filters, tripods, and basically anything else you could ever want to buy for your camera. We didn't buy anything (this time), but it provides a great excuse to make the trek to Shinjuku on a more regular basis!

P.S. - A big "thank you" to Mike and Trea who told us all about the treasures of Shinjuku!