In the morning, or rather around lunch time, Chie and I went to the gym again. She attended two aerobics classes while did shoulders, legs and arms. Afterwards I spend some time in the hot bath, just soaking.

Afterwards we walked slowly back along the Meguro-Gawa (Meguro river). Stopping by some small shops to check clothings and things for Coco-chan. We also stopped at the Baja Mexican restaurant to have a quick and small lunch. It was just enough for us and tasted OK for the price.

We continued to Tokyu store to buy dinner for Yoshiki-san and to buy some things that I wanted to bring back to Sweden. Then we walked home where I stared packing while Chie took a shower. It took about 1.5 hours to pack everything but now I am set for my trip tomorrow.

By 6 pm we entered YASAKA for another kushi-yaki dinner. Tonight they also had okura-yaki which is one of Chie’s favorites. We had 5 kushi (sticks) of okura-yaki. Yummy. After dinner we went to Tokyu store again to buy the things that we forgot earlier today. And then we went home.

Chie and I went to the gym in the morning. Chie attended two aerobics classes and I did some weight exercise and then 30 minutes X-country training.

Afterwards we walked to one of my favorite shops Bamboo Shots in Naka-Meguro. They had a sale from today. I found two long sleeved t-shirt. It turned out to cost less than a toy poodle dress that we later found in a beauty shop for dogs. Anyway, we also had lunch at a nice place where dogs are allowed (so I could join Chie 😀 ). When we were full we went and had an hour massage and after that we were too tired to do anything else but return home.

In the evening we had dinner at Iroha Sushi in Naka-Meguro. When we arrived the counter was full so we had to sit on the floor (Japanese style). But the counter is always better since we can order piece by piece and have a dialog with the chef. After bout we were moved to the counter and we stayed there for a few hours, eating sashimi, sushi, and miso soup.

Chie had to be in the office by 11 am today. Just for New Year greeting by the head of her organization. I was waiting at a Starbucks close by, drinking hot chocolate and reading a book. When Chie was finished at her office we went to Ginza to check out the New Year sales.

The weather was great so it was quite a nice time walking in Ginza between shops and department stores. One of our first stops was a store that had Hello Kitty things. On two separate floors. I got dizzy from all the Hello Kitty things. Anything from Hello Kitty socks to Hello Kitty laptops and paper shredder. We continued to check the different department stores as well, such as Mitsukoshi.

Around 1 pm we stopped shopping for lunch. We had ramen at a place a little bit off the big shopping street in Ginza. A small place called Hashigo where they served Tokyo style ramen, which differs from Sapporo style ramen we had when we were in Sapporo before Christmas. Still it was really tasty.

After lunch we continued to Shinjuku for more shopping – actually we did not do much shopping, just walked around and checked for low prices. In Ginza it had been a nice walk both inside and outside the stores. But in Shinjuku it was crazy. People everywhere. I sat down and rested while Chie was checking out the sales. And when we wanted to have a break for coffee and tea it was packed on all cafes. Many even had a long line outside waiting to get a seat. Eventually we found a cafe without a line outside.

There we had a 4 berry maple soda and a fresh lemon squash to drink. 1600 JPY or just under 100 SEK. No wonder there was no line waiting outside this cafe. We took our time drinking our sodas and waiting for Mina-sensei to arrive in Shinjuku. Or rather to wait for Mina-sensei to finish her shopping. Chie and I were to tired to join her.

When Mina-sensei finished her shopping we met her in ISetan department store and walked together to a Korean BBQ restaurant for dinner. Mina-sensei really likes Korean BBQ. Chie and I think it is mainly because she has a crush on a Korean boy band singer, but maybe we are wrong and it is just because she likes Korean BBQ. Chie and I like it too, without any crush on Korean boy band singers so I guess it it possible to like it without any crush. There is only one drawback of having Korean BBQ… Afterwards you really stink. You stink from the smoke of the BBQ. And you stink from all the garlic and red pepper. But it is worth it.

We had a fun time and when we finished eating we decided to continue to Taro-san and his restaurant Chaka-Chaka. Outside was really cold so we hurried over to Chaka-Chaka. There we just had something to drink, like white wine, Whiskey, and ginger ale. Not in a mix tough. And I only had one ginger ale. Still we had a fun time talking with Taro-san. Then we took a taxi home, since we were too tired to go by train.