50 hours in Tokyo

This weekend, a friend of mine was in town for just a little over two days.  That's not a whole lot of time when you're in a city like this one, so I had a hard time even whittling down the list of suggestions for things to do. We settled on a tentative itinerary, and in the end got through most of it.  Here's a recap of the last 50 hours:

Hours 1-3
Freshly arrived in the city, and not even checked into her hotel yet, my friend and I made our way to Rikugien garden to see the autumn illumination. (She gets the credit for this first photo, as mine turned out blurry...) After the garden we went back to my neighborhood for dinner.

     
Hours 13-18
We caught the train and made our way out to Kamakura, where we saw a big buddha, some little buddhas, and beautiful fall colors.

    
Hours 21-27
Back in the city, we stopped at my place for a break and made plans for the evening: dinner at La Colina (Mexican) at Tokyo Midtown, Christmas lights and a lovely vista from Tokyo City View, then ice cream at Ouca.

Flavors, clockwise from top: kiwi, kinako (soy bean powder), and baked sweet potato.
On napkin: salted kelp for a palate cleanser.

    
Hours 38-50
After a bit of extra sleep, we headed first for the Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku, which offers sweeping views of the city (including Mt. Fuji when clear)...for free!  After that we were off to enjoy sangrias at the Spanish Festival, followed by a trip to Asakusa, and a ferry ride down the Sumida River.

Look hard...can you see Mt. Fuji?

Tokyo Sky Tree

    
After all that, what was left but to let ourselves be spoiled at my favorite neighborhood eatery? The cook--a friend of mine--had asked me ahead of time what my friend would like to eat and had made specific food purchases accordingly.  As a result, we were treated to a tapas-style vegetarian meal that even included cheesecake made from tofu.  I tell you, it would be difficult to top a weekend like this...

I think I'm a pretty good tour guide. ;)