Tokyo Redux VIII: Tokyo Tower

Ok, I couldn't really help it.
I know the view's not supposed to be that fantastic, but being the anime/manga nerd I am, I had to visit Tokyo Tower; it's totally a supernatural landmark for a inter-dimensional nexus. Also, I specifically wanted a Tokyo Tower charm for my bracelet.




Fortunately for me, one of the souvenir shops had exactly what I wanted...in a packet of a dozen.
What the heck would I do with a dozen Tokyo Tower charms? Seriously.
And then I found the individual charms,
and felt silly, but glad.

 

So, no observatory for me...I would have been catching one of the last ones for the night. This was quite catching by itself, though.

 

Sadly, I didn't get sucked into another dimension to save a dying world,

nor did I witness anyepic battles of good versus evil.

Just a rainbow of fluttery carp.

 

Some Indonesian guys (one of them is taking photographs above) had fun talking to me in not-entirely broken English, though, and were kind enough to take my picture for me.

As the Japanese say, "Yasashikatta, ne?"

I hate flash at night. So much.

Just past Tokyo Tower on the way to Onarimon Station, I found these dog statues. There was no sign translating what they were for in English, nor could I find anything about them in my guidebook.

Internet...to the rescue!

Someone else inquired about the statues to the Japan Times Online, and it turns out this pack of statues commemorates the husky pack of a Japanese expedition to Antarctica in 1958, whom they were forced to abandon. This would be the same pack on which the dog-survival movie Eight Below is based. (There was an older movie made in the 1980s in Japan--same story--called Nyankyoku Monogatari.) I haven't finished watching Eight Below yet, but the beginning was good, and my parents and grandparents all gave it good review.

 

Farewell, ye olde supernatural-magnet, ley-line nexus focal point...

Thus ends my Tokyo Monogatari, or Eri-chan in Tokyoland, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Not much about the bus ride back is worth mentioning...
I hardly slept because Jerkface behind me asked me to un-recline my seat after I'd only put it back a tiny bit. Plus I had a sakubun to write for my class the next day...about my Golden Week Adventures.

And just for good measure--llamas. Thank you, Tokyo. Thank you.