Day 3: Tokyo - Preparations

Woke to an absolutely beautiful day in Tokyo today - blue skies as far as the eye can see, and nice fresh air with just a hint of autumn chill.  A great day for sightseeing, but unfortunately it's going to be a bit of a housekeeping affair. We need to get helmet comms sorted, do some laundry and generally get our shit re-packed for the trudge across town to Japan Bike Rentals. Anyway, before all that could start we headed out for a late breakfast at the local Tully's coffee, partaking of their decidedly Western offerings to go with their western style coffee selection.

Another visit to Tully's coffee for their breakfast set.

French toast, maple syrup and a Mocha with cream. Western decadence.

After breakfast, we walked down to the local laundromat to get our washing done. Noone wanted a pannier stuffed with dirty undies before we even started riding. Located close to Shinjuku-nichome, which we have quickly learned is the gay hub of Tokyo, the laundromat was bound to have at least one be-frocked transvestite. And, well, it did.

Laundromat de-jour.

With our clothes washed and re-packed into our unwieldy luggage, we started the trek across town from Shinjuku to Akasaka and the offices of Japan Bike Rentals. There we were treated to various informations, paid our bonds etc., and took a great deal of time transferring shit to panniers, getting suited up and all that jazz.

The bikes waiting for us at Japan Bike Rentals.

By about 7:30pm we were finally ready to roll out, and our first tentative trip back to Shinjuku was a little nerve-racking, but was ultimately, uneventfully, a success. Once back at N.U.T.S we spent another couple of hours attaching RAM mounts to the bikes for the various cameras we planned on taking.

All that settled, it was time for a quick bite before bed and an early start. We wandered through Shinjuku looking for a place to eat, stopping in two sepatate Okonomiyaki places but finding them "full" (we never learned if they really were). Finally we found ourselves back towards Sinjuku San-Chome and a pretty average Ramen+Gyoza place.

Some very average Ramen and Gyoza.

Bought from this place in Shinjuku-sanchome.

The food wasn't crash hot, but by this stage we weren't feeling all that fussy. We gorged ourselves on gyoza and noodles and wandered back to N.U.T.S; stopping en-route to pick up some tidbits from Lawson (the local convenience chain). Pokari Sweat and chocolate to go! Hey don't judge, we needed the energy for tomorrow's ride. Didn't we?