Japan Trip 2023 - Part 2

By Green Snake

Day 5, Shibuya Day

We went to Zojo-Ji 増上寺 Buddhist temple. I got another fortune, which was not bad.

We went to Tokyo Tower, top deck, at 9 am, which was when the place opened. I reserved these things a few days in advance. The top deck is through reservations only. There were picture frames with pictures that moved suddenly.



The top deck (reservation only) was small yet fascinating. I saw Mount Fuji 富士山 and took some pictures for my friend



We went back down to the main deck. I saw some kids jumping on the glass floor which gave a unique view to the ground level. I said hello to the school kids. They enjoyed listening to my limited Japanese. I bought some souvenirs: magnets and postcards.

We made our way to the stairs of success, Atago Jinja 愛宕神社 Shinto shrine. I wanted to race with my friend but there was a sign telling us exactly not to do this 🥴. We climbed up, prayed, petted some cats, and bought more fortunes.



We got lunch in Aoyama Flower Market Tea House 青山フラワーマーケット TEAHOUSE 南青山本店.It has a very interesting ambiance and interesting food. We got some fancy tea and food. I personally got the Omurice, which was very "extra." They had plants growing out from under the tables and on the ceiling. I highly recommend this place.

We walked to Shibuya, got some matcha ice cream (with grades) at Nanaya Aoyama ななや青山店.I got the grade 7 one. It was very matcha-y.



We went to the Shibuya crossing area. But before we crossed, we visited the famous Hachiko Dog Statue. There was a long line of tourists waiting to take a picture with the dog. Legend has it that this dog waited in this spot for his owner everyday.



We crossed the famous crossing. We went to the adjacent Starbucks to watch people cross. Then we went to Shibuya Parco to go to the roof. We went to the big Nintendo Store.



We went back to a One Piece store to get some stuff for our other friend who couldn't make it. I was able to win at the crane game here. A gift for my friend.

We made our way to the Meiji Jingu 明治神宮 Shinto Shrine. When we arrived, I was amazed at the giant Shrine gate. Later, I remembered that we’re not supposed to walk in the middle path 🥴.



I prayed, wrote an Ema (wish), and got a poem. There was a ceremony taking place, so everyone was quiet. This place was like another dimension, and you completely forgot about the city.

There was a funny sign regarding using toilets.



We headed to the Harajuku area. Checked out Omotesando mirror entrance.Checked out Takeshita Street. It has a bunch of interesting dessert stores. Specifically crepes. There was a Warhammer store here too.

We had Okonomiyaki at Sakura-tei さくら亭. We cooked our own food using the English instructions. Before I left, I noticed that there was a real tree just growing out of the floor and through some small holes in the roof. Also there was another tree growing out of the floor, through a hole in a table, and out the roof. I noticed some alcohol that had udon flavor. Very whimsical 🥴. I should note that the passage to this place is not friendly towards large people built like WWE wrestlers. This place had a lot of interesting artwork.

The group split up. I went with some friends to Akihabara again to check out the Rosenkreuzer cosplay cafe. We had a great time learning Japanese from them.

~13.99 miles walked.

Day 6, Chiyoda Day

We started off by going to The Whale Monument 「鯨と海と人形町」松橋 博・中田浩嗣 in Chuo city.

Then made our way to Tokyo Station. Everything was closed because apparently 9 am is too early over there 🥴. We decided to make our way to Le cafe (east) de Joel Robuchon. We waited for a while, then got our first breakfast at a nearby cafe Coffeehouse Rouzu コーヒーハウス 羅苧豆. It was pretty good.

We went back to the go to Le Cafe. I noticed on the building directory, there was the legendary Sukiyabashi Jiro sushi restaurant. He's got a sushi documentary.(imdb: Jiro Dreams of Sushi, 2011)I later learned that there are four branches and we accidentally stumbled on one of them. I wish I could eat here but you have to get reservations months in advance. And a bunch of foreigners would reserve here and not show up 🤡 and also not follow proper etiquette 🤡.

Then we went back to Joel to eat our second breakfast. It was really interesting eating lemon linguine and the various desserts. Very classy stuff. It looks like Joel has a lot of branches here in Tokyo. I wish I knew more about such areas.

We went back to Tokyo Station. We checked out the Gachapon store, the Rilakkuma store.I bought some Rilakkuma shorts. We saw the Western architecture on the west side.

We made our move to the Imperial Palace. There was a big moat in the middle of the city with a bunch of colorful Koi fish. We headed to the Otemon 大手門 (big hand gate), which is open this day. Then we walked around the gardens of this place. We saw a lot of interesting fruit tress including one big citrus tree.

We all decided against the Chidorigafuchi Boat Pier swan boat on the moat. This whole northern area was pretty quiet at this time.

We headed back to the hotel to wash up. We watched some live sumo wrestling on the NHK tv. Then we went to Ginza to prepare to eat at the two Michelin star restaurant Ginza Fukuju 銀座 福樹.Not to be confused with the Ginza Sushi Fukuju.

We went to the restaurant first to locate it. For a restaurant with two Michelin stars, it was incredibly discreet. Before, we went to some department store to get special matcha tea, and also some cosmetics at Mitsukoshi Ginza 銀座三越.

Then we went to the Ginza Uniqlo, 12 floors of nice clothes. The Uniqlo was so extra. The first floor had a bunch of swinging t-shirts. They also had a hundred revolving mannequins. I bought a bunch of Japan-exclusive shirts.



There was a display for a German restaurant named Lion with a beautiful display of plastic food. I wanted to eat there but I only have one stomach. It opened in 1934.(Timeout, Ginza Lion)



Then we went to Ginza Fukuju. The food was incredibly exotic. I wasn’t sure what I was eating. I had to ask the people there, write it down, and look it up much later. I ate things I had no idea existed. It was delicious, very interesting, and was expertly prepared by our Chef.



I thought I was eating octopus, but then they told me it was Hamo eel. Also, we all had chopsticks holders that were cats. They were all different.

Me (to Chef): I like this cat. (pointing at the cat figurine)
Chef: (Japanese) *I'm not sure what he said, but he pointed at himself and said 'cat' in English.
Friend: I think he said his name is Cat.
Me: (Japanese) Is your name... cat?
Chef: *laughs* 🥴
Me: 🥴
Friend: 🥴

I ate a lot of exotic seafood and vegetables. We started with tofu, which I thought was some sort of cheese. It was prepared in a way I've never seen before. We ate Hamo Eel, Abalone, clams, the freshest Uni I've had in my life, and these interesting dessert noodles. I wish I was more knowledgeable in these things. These are things I normally don't eat or see. Very interesting stuff!

At the end of our meal, we were all satisfied, but there was some silence. We weren't sure if there was some hidden procedure or more to eat.

Me (to friends): Is that it? What now?
Friends: uhh..
*more silence*
Me: (Japanese) Is everything ok?
Chef: (Japanese) Yes.
*more silence*
Me: (Japanese) Check... please?
Chef: (Japanese) Yes.

The nice lady gave me the hefty bill. I said thank you in Japanese, paused, and then handed it to my friend, which prompted some laughs 🥴. My friend asked the chef how long he's worked for and he said 40 years. Amazing.

He proceeded to give us gifts of expensive rice, a food magazine, his business card, and sauce. If I ever get the chance to come back, I think I'll get the most expensive set.

Everything was closed at this time so we ended going back and passing out.

~12.10 miles walked.

Day 7, Free Day

We were supposed to do Disneysea, but many people decided against it a couple of days before this event. I just put it on the plan to do goofy stuff. My credit card declined a couple of times due to fraud prevention. Even after I pressed ok, the fraud prevention was still active for this specific purchase 🥴.

The group split up. I went with some friends to Ginza.

The morning was crowded and we accidentally went on a "woman-only" train. No one said anything. My friend pointed at the sign, which I read, and then realized. We then went on to another car 🥴.

We tried going to the fancy Bills Ginza breakfast restaurant without any reservations. We met this nice couple, who I thought were American but there were from Switzerland and I remember the lady saying she spoke fluent Japanese. They were a really cool couple. We had to wait 40 minutes so we decided to just go to Doutor and get some nice sandwiches instead,

Saw the Ginza Warhammer with a cool "Age of Sigmar" display.



Checked out a fancy bookstore in Ginza Six, Tsutaya Books Ginza. I got some bilingual books on Sushi. And one romantic comedy manga on Lum. We went to the top of Ginza Six rooftop. Had some ramen here at nice place called Ginza Tsuquiya ramen. The ramen flavor was light, clean, and enjoyable.(time out: Ginza Tsuquiya)I saw a cool map outside next to Bistro Aux Amis.



Then we went to Akihabara and went to Maidreamin. The place was very "moe moe kyun" and lively. I wasn't hungry for food. Since it was very hot outside, we all decided to get a dessert set. I highly recommend this place. Here is our maid's maidreamin twitter. Please be nice to her 🙏.(twitter: rune_mdreamin)



We split up even more. Before we did, I was told that dinner will be at Ponshuya at Chuo city. I gave my friends my pocket wifi. I ate at the Sushiro, sushi go round. I ate some great sushi for a low price. I played some of the arcade games some more. I saw a train arcade game, which I thought was wild. I was looking for an ATM and I wandered into an underground porn shop 🥴. I witnessed two Japanese girls play a claw machine. It grabbed the animal, dropped it into the hole, and it bounced OUT of the hole and back into the machine. Wow!



I did an ear cleaning and foot massage to fix my messed up blistered feet from all the walking in brand new boots 🥴. The place is called Akihabara Wanokuni 和ノ国. They have cute girls with traditional attire fixing up your body.(site: Akiba Wanokuni)

Then I made a trip to PONSHUYA 日本酒専門店 人形町 ぽんしゅ家. I had to ask for directions multiple times with my limited Japanese. From the train station workers, to a nice lady on a motorcycle, to some young students. I went there and my friends weren’t there. I figured because there’s no room (and that was the case). I ate some Chinese-styled chicken, curry udon, and drank some beer. I wish I ate more food.



I met with my friends back in the hotel. The group split up again. My friends and I went back to Akihabara to go back to Bacchus bar. Instead of maid uniforms, they were wearing Succubus costumes 👀. We saw a bar called "Misery" on the elevator. We had to check it out. They kindly turned us away. Unfortunately, it was not for foreigners. I should note that if you see such signs, it's not because of hate. It is because they cannot easily accomodate foreigners due to the language barrier. Such is life.

~12.1 miles walked

Day 8, Ikebukuro day

For breakfast: we ate the Unison Tailor Ningyocho. The toast had mayonnaise, mustard, and citrus maybe? It was excellent stuff. We went by train to Ikebukuro.



We went down and got some kit kats at the Kit Kat Chocolatory. Kit Kats have a lot of strange flavors here. They became popular gifts since they sound like the phrase kitto katsutoo きっと勝つとぉ, meaning 'you shall surely win'.(wiki: Kit Kats in Japan)For lunch, we had Tonkatsu Maisen とんかつ まい泉 池袋西武店 in Seibu Department Store. I wanted to go to the sushi-go-round across, but it was really packed. The Tonkatsu was very juicy, the breading was light and very crisp, and the house sauce was on point. I don't think I could easily find a better tonkatsu place back in the States. We did check out a nearby Taito station. The zombie game sign seemed intriguing.



We headed to the Sunshine City. Visited the Pokemon Store. Visited the largest Gachapon store ガシャポンのデパート池袋総本店 and bought a bunch of stuff. It was completely packed. If you go here and you don't buy anything, then you haven't looked enough.



We visited the nearby Namco store and we won some Chainsaw Man figurines. I got Power and my friend got Makima. It was a pretty win-able machine.

We headed west and we went to the nearby arcades like Round 1. It was pretty cool. They had gambling arcade machines. Like the physical horse racing kind. Also, they had this crazy card machine that looked kind of like this. I've never seen anything like it.

I saw a bicycle without locks or chains. As a New Yorker, where bike thefts happen as often as people blink, this was like seeing bigfoot.

A few of us went to the bar named Muscle Girls Muscle Girls 筋肉女子 マッスルガールズ. It's a bar with a bunch of muscular women. You can purchase muscle dollars and trade them to the muscular women where they'll do odd things. It was an interesting time. Everyone who visited the Muscle girls were American. We met two nice American girls from the midwest of America who were here to study. One studied Japanese for seven years and she spoke very well.

Afterwards, my group tried to go to Kura Sushi but the waiting list was too long. Also, no one knew how to use the ticketing machines since we’re all illiterate. I had to ask a worker and they pushed a bunch of buttons and said it’ll be a 40 minute wait 🥴. We went to Mcdonalds and ate the Samurai Mac.

We went to Shinkuku to SODLAND. We really wanted to go there to get a polaroid for our friend back in the States 🥴. We went there and it was closed. We looked up the internet and it turns out that they have some licensing issue 🥴. I wish they posted something on the front of the store.

We went back to Golden Gai to say goodbye to the people we met a few days earlier but they weren't there 😭.

We went to Hanazono shrine which was having a big festival. We participated a little bit in the food and the games. Then we headed home.



~11.37 miles walked.

Day 9, Go Home Day

We woke up and started our journey home. I ate some airport sushi at Haneda Airport, which was fairly good.

~3.77 miles walked.

Conclusion

The trip was a fantastic and I would summarize it in one word. "surreal." If you haven't been to Japan, I highly recommend you plan a trip and go. The people were very friendly, the food was excellent, and the city was like being on another very interesting planet.

Planning ahead greatly helps out. You can maximize the fun and minimize the problems. I didn't plan too hard and I didn't make the plan too rigid to allow for some flexibility. It was a little warm during a few days and that would slow us down.

Learning the language greatly enhances the experience but it is not totally required. You can use your translator app, although it is kind of slow and relies on battery.

Planning link here 🥴(link)

~95.73 total miles walked.

🥴