I say my goodbyes to Keiko and thank her again. The city continues. I know now that I have been traversing the largest urban cluster in the world. Today will be a walk in the park, literally. I have 50km to do only and have all day to do them.
I ride next to a river where locals partake in all sorts of hobbies and sports. Life is really enjoyable here. I can finally say, this is a place in Japan I would love to live in for a couple of years.
I take it easy, rest, get lost a bit, take photos and videos. I eventually enter the busier part of the city as I leave the river behind. As I look for a nice restaurant, I stop at an Indian food joint. The man outside, Ahmad, is from Bangladesh. We chat a bit and I tell him about my adventures as he tells me about his life. As we talk, I ask him how far is Tokyo? He responds me....you ARE in Tokyo. I look around. Holy crap. I am in Tokyo and I didn`t even know it. I feel so excited that I quickly leave my friend.
The city is beautiful. It is as busy as ever! I love it. I stop at another Indian restaurant a few blocks down and there I meet the owners, a lovely family of Nepalese living in Japan. Super nice, I quickly become friends with them as I eat a delicious meal.
Downtowns
I continue eat toward the center. That is the thing though....Tokyo is so damn large, that it has no real center. Well maybe the imperial palace is it, but when it comes to downtown, this city has more than one. It has a ton of downtowns! I traverse one of them. Shinjuku I believe. I am now dead smack in the center of the busiest place on earth...with my bike, with my strange clothes and helmet cam. People smile at me. They live in a place of 30 million souls....they`ve seen it all. Perhaps they dream of their own adventure as they look at me, dreaming of leaving the busy city streets for a while.
Terri`s House
I finally make it to Terri`s house. I met her at AllHands, back in Ofunato. Before reaching her place however, as it is customary to happen on my adventure, something amazingly improbable happens. As I ride across one of the busiest of streets in the city of 30 million, I hear someone speaking in Italian. I turn around and it is Florent! A friend of mine from AllHands!! What are the chances!!!! We laugh and joke as he tells me that I am not too hard to spot with my bike, but that the fact that we met by chance is just insane. We say goodbye and vow to meet tomorrow or the next day.
Pizza
I go find a pizza joint. Never has Italian food tasted this good. It was not the Pizza they make in Napoli that is for sure, and at almost 30 dollars, a small pizza is quite expensive. But eating delicious Japanese food all the time makes you miss the good old cuisine. So I splurge and enjoy myself.
Two minutes walking from Terri`s place, I head back and crash on my futon. Nite!
46km
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