The Shinkansen pulled into Tokyo station, it was crowded and a little chaotic but we managed to find our next train and we made our way to our apartment in Nishi-Ogikubo. We stayed in the same apartment four years ago and loved the neighborhood and convenience, so it was a no brainer to stay there again!

We dropped our bags off and headed out to Akihabara for the evening. Akihabara is the center for gaming and electronics in Tokyo. It was buzzing with people, lights and sounds. It was nuts!

After walking around for bit we decided to go to dinner, it was Fathers day after all.

We landed on a Yakiniku restaurant, basically that is japanese BBQ…on steroids. It was INCREDIBLE! They specialize in Wagyu Beef that you grill at your table. The beef melted in your mouth. It was hands down the best beef we’ve ever had! I dont think we spoke for a couple minutes, while we grilled the first pieces. Other than maybe to let out a little laugh and a “holy crap this is good” after we tasted it because it was that amazing!

The meal also came with a small tea cup of soup that was a white beef broth (top right of the plate in the pic below) that was incredible, a long rectangular plate of various little cold salads and kimchee, that was really good. It also came with a larger bowl of beef soup with rice that was also really incredible I wish I would’ve taken more pictures of this meal but I was way too busy enjoying it. Thanks to luke for documenting the meal, because I completely forgot to!

If u ever have the chance to have Wagyu beef, do it, you wont regret it.

Shinjuku View, Yoyogi park & Harajuku

The next morning we headed off to the government building in Shinjuku which had an observation deck in one of the towers. what is nice about this observation deck is that it’s free but you have to wait in a line that takes about a half an hour, which isn’t bad. The view was really great if it wasn’t for some clouds we could’ve had a view of Mount Fuji 🗻! Four years ago we went up in tokyo tower 🗼 for a view of the city. I have to say this was better, it was basically the same view, same ammenities and it was free. Its run very smoothly. Definitely go to the government building in Shinjuku vs the tokyo tower!

While we were hanging out up there, George suggested that I download the Pokémon GO app, karen and luke had been playing it since kyoto and it looked fun. I was like “ok”. Well, that app drastically changed the last few days of my vacation…in an obsessively good way! 😂

After downloading the game our agenda shifted a bit to looking for green spaces and places of interest that might have the most poke stops and gyms, it wasn’t hard because they are everywhere in Japan!

We walked from Shinjuku to Yoyogi park where there was another temple and lots of poke stops!

Harajuku

Harajuku is the epicenter of teenage hangout and cosplay in tokyo. Although, i have to say it was not as crazy crowded with people dressing up as it was 4 years ago. We wondered if cosplay may be on the decline in japan? 🤔 It was definitely a disappointment, especially since we prepped luke that he was going to see some weird stuff, but there was no one dressed up like last time. Last time there was an old man wearing a crazy hat that he had glued figures and stuffed animals to and someone holding a “free hugs” sign. This time is was a pretty normal street, maybe we were there on an off day?

Crazy go kart tour through Harajuku. Not sure I’d do it, but it looked as if they were having fun!

Takeshita Street- Harajuku

Shibuya

one of the busiest train stations in the world with a famously busy intersection just outside of it! it wasn’t rush hour when we were there, so these pics don’t do it justice for just how busy it gets!

We stopped for a quick pic at the famous Hachiko statue at Shibuya station. 33 years ago my sister diana and i waited by this statue on our fist day of school to meet an upper classman that would show us around our school. It was so nostalgic to be back there💗.

Hachikō (November 10, 1923 – March 8, 1935) was a Japanese Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno , for whom he continued to wait for over nine years following Ueno’s death.

Exploring our neighborhood at night There were so many cool local small eateries called Izakaya’s. they may be a tiny 6-seater shop that looks like someone’s storeroom. The dining style at an izakaya is small plates that you share of everything: sashimi, tempura, yakitori, tofu etc. i wish i could have taken better pictures of the inside of these restaurants but they were so packed with people I felt bad taking pictures of them while they ate their dinner.

Asakusa

Asakusa is a temple district in tokyo lined with shops and all the hustle bustle of an active temple and tourist site.

On the outskirts of the temple are more shops and covered markets. We found a conveyor belt sushi 🍣 place for lunch. The sushi was fantastic, but because it was linch time, their wasnt a large enough crowd that they were just making sushi and putting it on the conveyor belt, you had to order it. Which was a little bummer because we were hoping to see the conveyor belt in full action, but nonetheless it was really delicious 😋

After lunch we headed to Ueno park- such a great park to hang out in, and people watch and Pokemon!

We happened to catch a street performance in the park. He was really cool, we couldn’t understand a word he was saying, but he worked the crowd in the familiar way a street performer would, so it wasn’t hard to follow along! I was able to snap some great pics of him twirling a teacup on a paper umbrella, it was a really cool moment.

Ueno park has a really pretty lake that is covered in water lilies and lined with park benches, a perfect spot to rest our feet.

We found the Godzilla statue, it was about 6ft tall. I was expecting it to be a little larger, but we all agreed, if we saw this guy roaming the streets, we’d probably run! 😂

Our last night in tokyo ended at the hole in the wall ramen restaurant across the street from our apartment that we frequented last time we stayed here 4 years ago. The couple that run it don’t speak a work of english, but they had an english menu that they brought to us and we had another awesome meal at one of our favorite places. It was a great way to end our last night!

The kitchen

We were a little nervous at first because this was the only menu we saw, but were thankful when she brought out the english menu. She was so sweet and accommodating 💗

Packed up and ready to head home

Walking through the grocery store next to our place to get to the train station. It was such a great store with an awesome prepared food section!

We had some time to kill between when we had to check out of our apartment and our flight, so we headed to Shinjuku station, put our luggage in a locker and headed to a park for some last minute Pokémoning and sightseeing. Another beautiful park, the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, it was beautiful! We milled around untill it was time to catch the train to Haneda airport.

It was a fantastic trip, we all had a great time. I was ready to come home, but sad that japan is so far away, it would be nice to be able to pop by for visit without 24hrs of travel on either end!

But wait, theres more!

My final word on the amazing drink vending machines…why don’t we have more vending machines in the states? And with the variety these have! Waters, flavored waters, green tea, milk tea, cold coffee, lemonade, etc. I am going to miss these vending machines. They were so convenient to get a drink, they make being a thirsty traveler bearable. Thank you Japan!