Today started with a big disappointment when we made a rookie error, but improved quickly and ended up another busy and fun day.

First on our agenda was a visit to the Yayoi Kusama Museum. We didn’t get to her recent exhibition in Melbourne, so were really looking forward to seeing it. However when we arrived this is what greeted us:We should have made a booking – probably weeks ago. We looked online and it is booked out completely all week. We were so disappointed, and also had wasted almost an hour getting there. Although catching trains and navigating busy and complicated stations is all part of the Tokyo experience.

We stopped at a small Shinto shrine, called Tenso Jinja. It was founded in 1384 and is also called Ryudo Shinmei-gu (dragon light shrine) due to a legend that a dragon (ryu) used to fly there from the coast of Shinagawa (Edo Bay) to present a lantern. It certainly had a nice dragon statue.

The National Art Centre is a huge exhibition space dedicated to “making a contribution to culture through art in order to achieve mutual understanding and coexistence”. They have no permanent exhibitions, but host a broad spectrum of exhibitions in the large display areas. The design of the building itself is a work of art. Designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa, the wave-like glass facade makes a striking first impression. The soaring lobby contains 2 cone-shaped structures which house a salon de thé and a Paul Bocuse fine dining restaurant. Quite stunning. We had lunch (in the cafeteria for plebs on the ground level) and then admired some paintings by members of a Japanese art society.

Now don’t judge me, but we spent the rest of the afternoon in a shopping centre! Tokyo Midtown, in Roppongi is a new (2007) very upmarket multi-story mall full of designer stores and gourmet food outlets. Everything in it was tasteful and elegant, the epitome of Japanese design. There was also a temporary exhibition called Design Live throughout the centre, showing innovative design concepts and art works.