It rained today. All day. And it was cold.

Our day started with a slight setback as we discovered that the activity we had planned to do was sold out. We’ve booked tickets for when we return to Tokyo later in our trip.

So we decided to go to Ikebukuro and visit another Pokemon Centre.

It was in a huge shopping centre so we checked out a few other shops afterwards and then had some lunch. Found a Coco Curry house, which was fortunate, as they do an allergen free curry which was great for Maeve.

Next up we finally visited a Tokyu Hands – they have an entire floor dedicated to stationery! I may have done a little purchasing…

Maeve may also have done some purchasing…

We could have stayed for hours but the boys were getting restless so we got a train to Akihabara.

I have to say, at this point, that we’ve done a pretty good job of negotiating the Tokyo subway system. We haven’t got on the wrong train, gone in the wrong direction, or missed our stop. We’ve pressed in tight with commuters – so tight that we didn’t have to hold on to anything. And we survived getting split up – when Maeve and I managed to get on a train before the doors closed but the boys did not. Always have a plan in case you get split up – especially if you only have one portable wi-fi unit!

Akihabara is the electronics district. Morgan had a short browse in a couple of places but, sadly, we’d really run out of time for electronics shopping as we were due at our next booked activity.

Akiba Fukurou – owl cafe. Here is Maeve standing outside the address, in the rain, wondering if we’re in the right place:

It was the right place, and it was worth the wait.

Inside everything is painted white, and there are little chandeliers. It is a small place and all around the walls, on low perches and high, are owls. Perhaps about 20 of them. The (two) staff wear all white and there are strict rules. Low voices, slow movements, only touch them on their feathery foreheads.

As you can see (above) Corwin hit it off with his owl buddy, who sat all fluffy and snuggly on his shoulder the whole time we were there.

Maeve made friends with two wee owls. The first one stood on her hand and made sweet little noises from time to time.

The other one started by sitting on her shoulder and then moved to a better vantage point.

Morgan started with a large owl (luckily there were convenient places to rest your arm while a couple of kilos of owl sat on it).

And he spent some time with a more medium sized owl too.

This is “Whitebait” and me:

And this is my second friend. Of all of the four of us, I’ll let you guess who got shat on…

I think you can see the moment when I realise that the pooping is inevitable.

Anyway, the less said about that, the better. We loved it, but we were cold and slightly damp and some of us had poo in our hair, so we headed home. Another konbini dinner. Always delicious.

Tomorrow we check out of our hotel and head for Osaka. We’re hoping for better weather.