Unfortunately what had started as a seemingly warm and pleasant day had suddenly turned very ugly (in defense of the weather predictors this was all going as expected). Seriously grey skies accompanied by a drop in temperature was not something to look forward to.
The rain started just as I exited Shibuya Station in front of the famous Shibuya Scramble. This is the traffic intersection where at some point all of the pedestrians are allowed to cross at the same time producing a massive sea of humanity (only this time they were all carrying umbrellas).
The rain made walking around in this area a lot less enjoyable and the heavy crowds didn't help matters much.
Having missed out on lunch, I decided to have a quick snack. Why not try a Mos Burger. I'd avoided all of Tokyo's burger chains last time I was here but this time I felt it was worth giving it a shot.
I went with the classic Original Mos Burger. Essentially a patty on a bun with a thick slice of Tomato and a weird sauce/spread that seemed to mix Onions, mayo and a tomato sauce of some kind? I really don't know what it was made of. Possibly it's some kind of secret recipe.
Aesthetically pleasing but quite a mess to eat as the sauce gets on everything.
OK to try once but probably not something I will bother with again. I did wash it down with a green melon soda (my favorite Japanese soft drink) so that was an upside.
After Mos Burger I tried to make my way back to Shibuya Station but found that there were so many signs leading in so many different directions that I couldn't find a way to my destination that didn't involve retracing my steps. Serves me right for trying to find a shortcut.
Things were even more confusing in Shinjuku Station (which is admittedly the busiest train station in the world). I exited on one side in order to buy my Hakone Free Pass (not so free, right?) but was meeting Rachel on the other side if the station. That would be a problem. First though, I had to find my way to a particular counter somewhere in the Odakyu complex where I could buy my ticket.
One person at a Odakyu ticket window gave me a push in the right direction but it wasn't until I noticed a small directional sign for the Sightseeing counter that I was certain I was on the right track. For the next few minutes I advanced cautiously scanning the areas for more signs to my destination. There wasn't much to go on. I found one sign that said 40M ahead but when I had travelled about that far ahead I couldn't see anything useful. Finally I noticed another small sign next to an escalator directing me up a floor (news to me) and once I was on the correct floor I was able to locate the counter very easily.
Unfortunately now that I had left the platform I needed to make my way through the poorly signed and confusing tunnels, indoor malls and department stores in order to make it back to the other side of this immense station. Remember it was cold, dark and rainy outside and I didn't feel like getting wetter than I already was. Fortunately I decided to treat the station like a large maze and vowed not to get frustrated by my confusion.
As before, the best solution was to just be observant and keep an eye out for any sign that might be helpful. Soon after I saw one single mention of the southern terrace entrance and now with a general direction in hand I was able to proceed. Eventually another sign was spotted and in a few minted I was at my destination. My reward was a few extra minutes browsing at the large nearby Kinokuniya book store.
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