One unique thing about capsule hotels is that they required all guests to check out daily by 10:00am. This isn't a problem for most guests, as they are mostly businessman who are on one-night stays. But, for longer-term travellers like myself, it can be a slight inconvenience as it means you have to pack up all your things and check out of the hotel by 10am for each night that you stay there. One benefit of the system, however, is that it forces you to get up and do touristy things. And on my second day in Tokyo, that's what I did.

I set off in the early morning of day 2 with Steve and Co. to do some exploring. We bought day-passes for the subway with the intention of checking out as many spots as possible. Our first stop was Akihabara, the electronics district in Tokyo. We had an in depth look at one of the larger shops, a multi-multi-floor complex that had every electronic item you could imagine; if it ran on juice, they had it. I didn't buy anything, but Steve picked up a mini-tripod with bendable legs for his camera (a purchase that proved both helpful and hilarious the next day at Tokyo Disneyland).

The next stop was Ginza, an area known for its contemporary architecture. It was worth a quick stop and good for a few pictures, but it was soon time to move on.

We seriously lucked out on our next stop. As Tokyo is the capital city of Japan, it is home to the Emperor and Royal family. They reside in the Imperial Palace near the centre of the city. For most of the year the estate is closed to the public and the royals make no appearances. However, once a year, on "Emperor's Day", the palace is opened and the Emperor and Royal family come out to address the people. And, you guessed it, our visit to the palace took place on that very day. Security was on high, as you can tell from the pictures; we were even searched before we went in. On the way in everyone was given a small Japanese flag, which would come in handy later. We then joined in a long line of people, and headed towards the palace. Once inside the gates, a large crowd gathered in front of the palace to await the Emperor's grand entrance. Soon after, he appeared with the rest of the royal family. He made a short address, with a few pauses followed by intense flag waving and cheering.....we figured he must have said something inspirational, so naturally, we joined in. It was a unique experience to say the least.

We then filed out in a massive exodus from the palace and moved on to our next destination. It was the so-called "heart of Tokyo", a place called Shibuya, which was probably my favourite spot in the city. It had amazing lights, similar to those at Shinjuku, and was incredibly crowed. It is home to the busiest (walking) intersection in the world. At one point, I stood on top of a pillar and took a video with my camera of all the people crossing. I would estimate that well over a thousand people cross every time the lights change. It's a good symbol of the craziness of Tokyo. Check out the video (there are also many, many more on YouTube):

Our final stop of the day was a well-known night-life district called Roppongi, a popular spot with foreigners. We were a bit dissappointed with it (aside from the TRIFriday's there---Jess, maybe your Dad can hook you up a job), perhas because it was mid-week and there wasn't much going on. After a nice dinner and a bit of exploring we headed home for the night. We wanted to get plenty of sleep in preparation for our next exciting day at the Magic Kingdom: Japan style.