October 17-18: More wanderings around

October 17, 2008.

We visit the Ghibli Museum. This place is so popular that you have to book your ticket a month in advance if you want to go during the weekends. It was packed with school children and once again we were not allowed to take photos so I only have this photo from the outside while standing in the queue.



It is a museum dedicated to the works of Hayao Miyazaki and is a very wonderful place. He is sometimes described as the Walt Disney of the East and if you know his work you might agree (He made Howl's Moving Castle).

October 18, 2008.

We made our way to Roppongi Hills to check out the towers and buildings there.



The 21-21 Design site here has Japan's tallest building, a Tadao Ando and Issey Miyaki building and some cool sculptures.

Here is the Ando/Miyake Building.







This is the building that had a really interesting sculpture in it's foreground.





This sculpture reminds me of what the inside of aeroplane skins must look like.



Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. Japans tallest building. We got to go up to the observation deck and check out Tokyo from above.



There is this huge spider sculpture in the forecourt.







At the end of the night Naomi and I didn't really feel like going home so we went to check out a bookstore in Shibuya. The place was packed with teenagers just chilling out and riding hotted up motorcycles and cars. There was this amazing energy around the place that you only get around football stadiums and new years eve parties without the threat of any violence. I was told by a mate that this is the norm here on Saturday nights.