A Tourist for a Week - Kappabashi-dori, Asakusa, Hama-rikyu, and Odaiba

I was blessed to have a friend from the US come visit us for 6 days during my birthday week. Because she was only here for one week I made sure not to waste any time. It was fun to be a tourist and see Tokyo through new eyes. She arrived on a Friday late afternoon so Saturday we had a full day without the kids since the husband was off work and could hang out with them. I took her first to Mitsukoshi, a traditional department store in Ginza, to see the store open. It is rather unique as bells ring and ladies in blue suits bow repeatedly to welcome you to the store. I walked her down to the basement to view the beautiful food and see strawberries that cost more than someone's groceries for a few days back in the southern US. From there we took the Ginza line to Kappabashi dori, a treasure of pottery. After a quick lunch, we walked to Asakusa and explored the temple there and some gardens. Then we took a boat to Hama-rikyu gardens, walked through the gardens, and took the Monorail to Odaiba, a man-made beach. We met the husband and kids at Odaiba for a favorite hamburger restaurant of ours for dinner. Thankfully the husband rented a car to come to Odaiba as our feet were exhausted. It was nice to be driven directly to our apartment and not have to walk from the station home. It was so fun catching up with my friend and being a tourist for the day. My husband was wondering how I could take so many pictures of sakura with Skytree in the background. She came at the perfect week for the sakura, as they were in full bloom. Tokyo is a special place during this time.