Lazy start to day and long breakfast and wrote postcards. Walked down to Shiba-koen station and got train to Yotsuya and then wandered backstreets.

Lovely soup and noodle lunch in very up market station food hall. Weather absolutely stunning - warmest day so far. Feels like Spring. Made after lunch purchase of perfume and aftershave as it turned out to be considerably cheaper than even duty free at Heathrow. Caught different tube line Marunouchi - to Shinjuku area of Tokyo. I pressed my nose up against the glass counters inside Tiffanys and dreamt of being Holly Golightly. Also went into Gucci but it didn't get our vote.

Next stop - the National Gardens. Gardens were lovely and magnolia blossoms starting to show. Met some talking gates, a taking drinks machine and, finally, an entire talking park which played 'Auld Lang Syne' as we left. Should have brought a tape recorder instead of a camera ...

Ponds had carp, heron and possibly a cormorant. Walked back to subway and went to Tokyo International Forum which was typically space age. Finally found a Starbucks so could get some decaffinated coffee at last, although the man serving advised it would take three or four minutes - he then forgot to bring it! Headed back to the tube via Tokyo's financial district and past the main railway station. Passed a talking bank and some talking trees. We opted for a Japanese meal in the hotel - interesting food. Very bland, lots of chewy, tasteless substances. Robin managed to eat more of the sashimi than I did - neither of us ate the thing that looked very like a garden snail! Washed it all down with large bottles of excellent Asahi beer. Packed our cases ready to leave for Osaka in the morning.