It’s the last day in the Princess suite, and no one is getting out of bed early today. We’re not ready to leave the room until well after 10. The kids have been on an easter egg hunt around the monorail stations, with only one stop left to collect we complete their hunt before heading to the mall for some brunch.
We discover a Disney store at the mall with more Beauty & The Beast merch than the girls can comprehend. So brunch is delayed, we go check out of our hotel so we can come back to the mall and approach the problem of what to buy with an appropriate amount of contemplation. Fid and I find a bar…
Some 3 hours later, it might have been days, the Girls are finished and we can head to Shinjuku – w00t! I get that Tokyo apartment living is on a scale that takes some adjustment, especially when you’ve spent the last 4 nights in a mountain oasis then in the Princess suite, but this AirBNB is tiny! There is barely 8” between the foot of the bed and wall in both rooms. I can lay on the bed and touch opposing walls with the palm of the hand and the sole of my foot. Boo leaves the bathroom proclaiming she won’t be weeing again until the Hello Kitty suite later in the week, this bathroom has no Toilet Shower. We’re all riffing on our oppressive digs when the pink one tells us to suck it up and enjoy the experience – wise words little one.
It’s 5ish, perhaps too late for Yoyogi park today so we head to Piss Alley for some yakitori dinner. We must have seen this place on doccos a dozen times, but it’s still fantastic to see everyone crowded into tiny rooms, hitting the sake and buzzing with energy. Smells wonderful. We find guy with some spare seats and squeeze in for our dinner.
The kids went nuts with the ordering, Fid floored us all by ordering both Kidney and Heart sticks, still wouldn’t touch the edamame though. An English guy squeezes past to dine on the end seat with us – we’re in Gamer town, this guy is a game designer here on work from London. He and Fid hit it off, he gives us a list of places to check out and we head off.
I’d like to say we’ve mastered the metro, but really that credit goes to the designers. This system along with Google Maps even telling us what platform to go to makes hopping lines to get where you need to be too easy. We sort ourselves some 3-day metro passes and head off to find some gaming cafés. 
Just like Safe Search, google maps needs a Safe Maps setting. But without Safe Maps, it led us through a nest of girly bar lanes on our way to the Capcom bar. It did manage to lead us past Godzilla street to its credit. Capcom wouldn’t allow the kids in so next on the list was the Star Café.
We walked past it twice before we realised it was the little doorway without a name, you have to go upstairs, Ffid spotted the Mario on the roof. Just like the Yakitori rooms in Piss Alley, this bar is tiny, 12 people max. Fid and I squeeze on to the end of the bar. Some guys from Oslo ask us if we game, Fid is made up – “Do you like Smash?” they ask, then they’re away, I don’t understand anything from that point. Another couple from Chicago join the Oslo guys and find in some “Smash” action. Fid goes loses as Sonic in the first round, but in round 2 they let him be Kirby and he is eventually the winner.
Weird our perspective on things, the guys from Oslo act like it’s amazing that we even know where Oslo is, let along having been to their country ourselves. They all exchange tips on where to go and what to play while we’re here – I hope fid took it in.
It’s 10pm and time to head home. We get to the platform on Shinjuku station, Garry said it’s the biggest station in Tokyo, and wait for our train. The crowd keeps building behind us. The train arrives, absolutely packed, and old lady elbows me to move deeper into the carriage, it’s sardine standing room only – I would have been on an equivalently packed train in Sydney twice in my life, and never at 10pm, amazing. This city is bursting with energy, can’t wait for tomorrow!