The next morning, tragedy struck; one of my Loop earplugs was lost to the pandas, as was the domed cheesecake that Lu left the leftovers of in the fridge. Life waits for no one though, so on the morning train back to Tokyo, we ate more ekiben for brunch. I got another fish box, including a yellow chive nigiri, and Lu got a sampling of onigiri. Yellow chive is an Okayama specialty.

On arrival, we went straight for the Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo, which felt very much like a business hotel – very nice and clean, starting on the 37th floor and with an elegant decor inside. Unfortunately, the beds were the least comfy yet due to their use of western soft pillows.

While we had mostly filled up our new Muji suitcase in Okayama, we wanted to ensure we bought ALL THE THINGS, so braved the rain and headed to Ginza. My goal was two handles of whisky and some sake. Our Tokyu Hands umbrellas paid for themselves (RIP), as we made it mostly dry to the gigantic, multi-story flagship Muji store. Featuring a full cafe and restaurant, with surprisingly good fare, I was only stayed long enough for a quick coffee, milk bun, and salt and butter crescent roll. Then I was off to a bougie mall for my alcohol – the sake shop was quite affordable despite the decor, but the whisky shop was pretty pricy, so I moved on to Liquor Mountain. Feeling much more local and authentic, I got to enjoy tasters before buying, and bought a bottle of Fuji Single Grain for ~1/3 of the price as the US.

While originally our plan was to do a final omakase last hurrah, we realized we wouldn’t really top Miroku, and would rather spend the money on ourselves with a shiatsu massage instead. We grabbed Japanese Italian food at Spiroji on the way, a casual but tasty restaurant that was accomodating of foreigners, and a quick ice cream L’ibisco. Finally, the massage itself was classy and perfect. It was the best foot massage I’ve ever had, and the best possible cherry on top of a very fulfilling and relaxing trip.

Of course, the 320 yen Asahi in the hotel before bed was a close second!

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