We Wander… We Wonder!!

There is always a special place in our memory bank about our firsts. Shinagawa is that place that we will never forget as a family. It’s our first hometown in Japan. The town that welcomed us. The town that made us feel yes, we can live here.

Shinagawa is a lesser known city and barely hear it on any Japan tour books. It is outside the city of Tokyo, but almost everyone who goes to Tokyo will pass by Shinagawa 🙂 It is one of the busiest train stations. I remember getting dissuaded by one of our trainers on temporarily living in here. It’s busy busy busy, is what they said. We followed our instincts (not really, we are running out of options :D) and decided to take this area to live in while we wait for our long term home. And now that we are about to bid adieu to this very first place we call home in Japan, we cannot help but feel nostalgic. This is for you Shinagawa! 🙂

The best thing about Shinagawa is the Skywalk. It’s a covered walkway that connects many many buildings onto the Shinagawa Station. Rain or shine, you are protected by the Sky Walk. Along the Sky Walk are plenty of convenience stores, coffee shops, bookstore, lots and lots of restaurants. The middle of the inter-building is a big park with lush trees. It houses really loud crickets you hear ever so loudly. There will be photographers taking photos of the view and I try to copy what they do 😛 And usually it’s when an airplane pass by, just like the one in here.

Our building is 30th out of 31 floors. We recognize what a great privilege to have this view every day over the last month or so. Out in the horizon Mt. Fuji can be seen visible. Unfortunately, we came in during the rainy season when it’s cloudy almost everyday. The Tokyo Tower is visible on a clear day, the cranes, the trains, and planes. It is the first city we get to explore on our own. My kids will go out and find new parks on their own, get food and toys at the convenience stores, sit and play Pokemon at the cafes, and yes I even sent them to the grocery store. My 11yo has a secret park he would go to when he is “sad” because in his own words, you cannot feel sad seating in that park (awww my heart). Oh we will miss this place!

We may not be able to see Mt. Fuji on the daily because of clouds, but clouds make for amazing sunset. And every day right by our dinner table, we get a treat of this gorgeous sunset.

A walk around the neighborhood will make you feel you’re in any other neighborhood. There are parents pushing kids in stroller, people doing their daily run or walks, pets, cafes, vending machines. A few turns and it will bring you to the harbor. And this is our favorite place to be in Shinagawa.

Shinagawa may not be the “It” town, but sure hits us in the right spot. It is convenient location for all train routes (Shinkansen, Tokyo Line, all lines!); It is surrounded by offices mainly, and in the weekend you got the whole inter-city to yourself. Next time you come to Japan, Shinagawa is less crowded than that of the other famous cities around Tokyo. And less expensive on dining!

Will miss Shinagawa station. For comparison, this is very early in morning vs. coming home from work 🙂