From there it was basically a question of using the tram to deliver us to the rail connection that would get us back to Tokyo.
If there was a decent view of Fuji on offer along the way, so much the better. We headed a few stops further along, and alighted at Eni when it looked like we weren't going to be unsuccessful.
On the platform at the tram stop, however, it seemed that the next tram to the terminus at Fujisawa was a better, and far closer option than heading all the way back to Kamakura. From Fujisawa, we’d be able to catch a train on the JR Tokaido line, where the services were probably more frequent than on the line out of Kamakura.
In any case, once we’d made our way there it was obvious conditions were far too hazy for Fuji viewing anyway. Riffing on the theme that the gods were teasing us, trying to get us to show our hands provided a theme to fill in time while we waited for the train to leave. We’d definitely pulled the right rein as far as the back to Yokohama options were concerned, with the train pulling in within seconds of our arrival on the platform.
That got us back to Yokohama, where we made the switch of lines that got us back to the hotel, followed by the trip back once we’d collected the baggage. We switched lines again in Yokohama, and while we’d hit the right platform, we ended up on the wrong train, necessitating a further switch that got us onto on the right line, but created an issue with a falling red suitcase and someone’s knee.
We got off the train at Ebisu, switching to the subway for the two stop ride to Roppongi. There, it was a case of taking the western exit, turning right, and before I knew it we were walking past the Ex Theatre, the concert venue for the next three nights. Madam’s immaculate research had us booked into Hotel S, just a few hundred metres further along the same road.
Checking in revealed a rather trendy establishment, and it was obvious that we didn’t sit anywhere near the target demographic. Still, there was plenty of room in the room, and they’d provided most of the regular amenities.
Interestingly, that didn’t include pyjamas, though there were bathrobes.
In any case, a relatively early arrival gave us the chance to take it easy for an hour or two before heading out to find somewhere to eat before the concert. It was already dark at five, and a walk back along Roppongi Street towards the subway station didn’t reveal much on the hotel side of the theatre. There were undoubtedly plenty of interesting options in the back streets and side alleys, but at this stage of proceedings a lengthy exploration of the options was not the name of the game.
We continued on beyond the Ex as far as the Oyster Bar which I figured would do very nicely, thank you. It wasn’t as if either of us needed a huge meal, and an order went in for an oyster puttanesca, an oyster and Japanese basil risotto and a draught Yebisu, which looked to be the right combination to keep us going.
The puttanesca was very good, but I'm definitely not a fan of Japanese basil, which worked its evil way through the risotto, overpowering everything else. Different strokes for different folks, but the draught Yebisu was, predictably, just what the doctor ordered.