Tochomae

Day 28 (-4) PETS.

In Japan pets seem to be substitute children. They are indulged pampered and whole shops dealing with food treats and clothes, including rain wear and ear muffs. The most popular dog is the Chihuahua, and all other breeds of small dogs including the Papillon of which I have never heard. Cocker spaniels are large! but I have seen a few golden retrievers. A popular purchase is a carrier sling or pram for pooch, and this parlor at Mid-town for the pampered pooch was what was called a "Hotel,Short Stay"

Today it started to rain and predicted to continue for the next 3 days!, and temperature down to 18 degrees. Definitely cool!
So we went to Tokyo Mid Town to check out the shops and the outdoor art space. The place is full of brand named stuff, I'm not a brand name person myself (bargain shops rather) but a lot of Japanese seem to be brand name slaves. The centre is very luxurious and a shop, that I thought was a cafe, and I hesitated to take a photo, as I could see the waiter at the door. After he walked out I studied it for a few minutes and I realised it was smoking room, in keeping with teh plush centre. (L)
There is a design centre there, but we only toured the outdoor sculptures including this set of ?skittles?
We then went off to Tochomae, the Government buildings; Sounds boring but it is a great architectural space. Designed by Kenzo Tange, one of Japan's top architects, the monumental twin towers are said to be inspired by Notre Dame, but the curved design seems unique. The skyscraper has an observation deck, but a nearby building of about half the height was covered in mist so we left that for another day. The huge open space is surrounded by statues of women, and the curved buildings ringing the courtyard are stunning.