Japan Adventure - Kyoto

🎶 Temples, temples, templestemplestemples 🎶 (sung to the tune of "Peaches" by Jack Black).

Japan has a lot of temples and shrines. But Kyoto has the most. In the city there are approximately 2,000 religious places – 1,600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines and you could throw a stone and hit a temple. But you wouldn't, because that's clearly not very Buddhist or Shintoist eh?

I visited three specific temples in my day and a half in Kyoto. Jōtoku-ji Temple, Fushimi Inari Shrine and Kinkaku-ji Temple. I should have done more, but the heat and my energy levels were both too high and too low by this point in my trip.

Jōtoku-ji Temple & Japanese Tea Cermony

I had booked this tea ceremony before coming to Japan and it was based in a Buddhist temple about a 20 minute walk away from my hotel. Before it started I was able to walk around the temple grounds and thanks to Google translate, learned a little bit about the temple. 

For example, here were "7 gods that bring good luck". The first one was Ebisu, the guardian deity of business and travel safety and is said to be the God of the common people. 

The tea ceremony was wonderfully done..the guide spoke great English and showed us with care the tradition and correct way to serve and make green tea. Here were some of the notes I took during the presentation:

- Matcha is ground up tea leaves. They are young leaves, picked fresh and immediately steamed and then ground. This specific matcha is from a suburb in Kyoto. 

- The teaspoon used in the ceremony is chosen specifically for each season and has its own nickname

- The Tea container is chosen specifically for the guests (ours had Carpe diem on it, in english)

- When the presenter holds the ladel in a specific way, it is to calm herself down, like looking at a mirror to refocus.

- When you drink, you turn bowl clockwise. It has a front with a pretty design. Then you turn it twice so the picture is shown back to the host when you are done.

- We were served light tea rather than strong tea. Strong Tea is 3 scoops per person and shared. It's like a paste. 

- There is no music in tea ceremony presentation, just silence. We can hear small sounds like tapping of spoon to have tranquality. 

After the presentation, I got to make my own cup. She was proud of my frothiness. 💁🏼‍♀️

Fushimi Inari Taisha

The incredibly instagrammable hot spot is a must for visitors to Kyoto and indeed it was a beautiful site. The more you walk up the 4km trail, the less tourists and less crowded it is and you can enjoy it even more.

This temple is dedicated to the gods of rice / agriculture. There are allegedly 10,000 of the famous red-orange tori gates that line the path up the mountain. 

 I wish I was able to hike to the summet of Mt. Inari, but I was incredibly over heated. Most movement in 38° (44° with humidity) is bananas, let alone walking up a mountain in the early afternoon sun.

However, I did make it up to the "Crossroads" section. Here I peeled off from the tourist route and came across a massive area of stone foxes. The fox is considered a messenger of Inari (the God of grain/rice/cereal). Google informed me it was "Kojingamine (Tanakasha Shinseki)" shrine. It was oddly quiet as I navigated its tiny labyrinth, but beautiful regardless and it led me to a breathtaking view of Kyoto city. 

On my way back down I ran into one of the cats that the shrine takes care of! I ended up buying a postcard photo to support their continued care. 

I got kind of backwards turned about when heading out and saw a few more smaller shrines as I made my way towards the train station. One had a golden Buddha and another was reflecting the Chinese zodiac symbols. I was quite enamored with a large, crazy-eyed statue made out of wood where you could buy a good luck stone to take from its belly. 

Speaking of fortunes, I tried my hand again at pulling one from this temple. Since it's so busy, instead of doing it yourself, you would pull a stick that remained in the box, read the number and tell an attendant what number while you paid. I got really excited because Google translate regarded it as a "medium blessing" (as opposed to a curse). I was so happy! But upon further investigation and translation from my friend Saya, it didn't seem to be that good with such things as "Love affair - will not come, "competition - know you'll lose" or "Marriage - not fruitful if rushing". Watch out for job burn out too because "if you lose passion for your job, it may cause trouble in the future". 2/2 fortunes have been a bust.

Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Temple

On my last morning in Kyoto, I took a long but easily navigable bus ride to see the Kinkaku-ji Temple. This temple complex is famous for its Golden Pavilion which sits on a reflective lake and is quite spectacular to behold. Like all places in summer, it was packed with visitors, but it was worth it. 

Also, my bad luck has been broken!! I drew my fortune again. Although this time, perhaps due to Japan's love of vending machines, I got it from a vending machine instead of shaking and pulling a stick. Clearly mechanical objects are more on my side because this fortune stated: "an unexpected misfortune will happen to you, but you can get it over if you behave yourself and are prudent. One of your relatives or friends will write to you after a long absence which will bring you happiness. Believe in God. Don't be serious" and "someone will help you realize your wish. Take it easy". Gotcha... things may not work out right now so just chill out and let it unfold. Pretty sure my therapist says the same things to me. 😁

Kyoto Meals 

Since I was on a bit of a downswing and tired, I didn't do too much other than these temples and tea ceremony. However, I did have some delicious meals. After the tea ceremony, I walked north to Nishiki Market. They had a mix of food stalls and a few souvenirs. I wandered around a bit but unfortunately most shops closed around 5 so there wasn't too much to see. I then headed to an amazing ramen restaurant that had vegan ramen!

I know everyone loves ramen, but I'm not a big ramen girl. I don't really love soup and the idea of eating something hot when I was boiling didn't appeal to me. But, when in Japan, you must Japan. So the hunt for a good vegan ramen (most ramen has pork in it) began. 

Kyoto Engine Ramen was amazing. The miso based soup was creamy and the egg free noodles were perfect. It had fried buckwheat seeds, Shinso leaves, corn, carrots, green onions and sesame. Highly reccomend it!

I also had another dinner at a conveyor sushi restaurant in the basement of a mall! Surprisngly a lot of great food can be found in the lower levels of department stores or malls here. I met a mom and daughter from California and talked their ears off while we sat together and enjoyed a meal. 

Unfortunately, my plan to meet up with a travel buddy, Daisy (from the Tokyo bar crawl), didn't pan out due to her losing her bag and staying in Tokyo for a night! But we plan to meet up in Osaka for an evening later. 

All in all, I definitely need to come back to Kyoto. I think I would make it my base and do day trips to Osaka as there's still a lot of the city I didn't explore like the Gion area, spotting a geisha, the imperial palace, and like 19,997 more temples & shrines.

Japan Adventure - Hiroshima

And now for something of a completly different vibe... Hiroshima and the Peace Park and Museum. 

I love history. Along with film, I studied it in undergrad with a focus on 1918 ~1975, WWII/Vietnam and American history. I also seem to have a morbid curiosity about sites of atrocities (as I've now been to Auschwitz, The Killing Fields, Pearl Harbour and the World Trade Centre). So obviously visiting Hiroshima was a must on my Japan list. 

The shinkansen was packed for this trip! It is the beginning of oban, a Japanese holiday where many people return to their homes and celebrate their ancestors. Reservations were tight and I had to book a later train that I originally wanted, but since I was finally adjusted to the time change, sleeping in a little bit longer was ok with me. Unfortunately, I overslept and my breakfast on the ride was an iced coffee and water from a vending machine just before boarding.

When I got to Hiroshima (about 2.5 hours from Kyoto), I quickly ran to a pastry shop to grab a breakfast snack. I had this amazing cheese curry bun/croquette and a banana pastry that seemed to look a bit more phallic than it was supposed to.

With my JR pass, I had free run of the Sightseeing loop which hit up a bunch of landmarks to see like the castle and the peace park. Due to heavy rains in the morning, the trains to Mayajima were all outta whack so I decided to forgo that famous water shrine and stick to just the Hiroshima core. 

I visited the Hypocenter location first. This was where, 600m above, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by the United States on August 6th, 1945. 66,000 residents died right away, while thousands more died in the following days and years. According to the City of Hiroshima website: "The exact number of deaths from the atomic bombing is still unknown. Estimates place the number of dead by the end of December 1945, when the acute effects of radiation poisoning had largely subsided, at roughly 140,000". At the hypocenter, there is just a plaque and a picture since most of the area has been rebuilt.

Hiroshima Peace Park & Memorial Museum

Next, I walked over to the Atomic Bomb Dome. This structure was the only thing that remained standing after the explosion. This UNESCO World Heritage site was certainly impactful juxtaposed with modern day Hiroshima.

At this area, there are often survivors giving their stories. One survivor was busy telling his stories to a Japanese couple so I just read the English booklets he had available. This excerpt caught my eye.

To most of the Japanese, it seems Hiroshima is a tragic incident but they hold no lingering hostility towards Americans. They built this memorial not to only mourn those lost but to strongly advocate for the de-escalation of nuclear armament and a future with NO NUKES. Obama was the first American President to visit this site.

One of the most important places I visited was the Children's Peace Monument. When I was in Grade 5, we read Sadako and her story about the paper cranes. We diligently learned how to fold cranes (a skill I retain to this day) and I remember we did a whole thing for Rememberance Day about it. Mr. Finlayson really was the best.

Seeing the monument to Sadako and all the children who were victims of the bombing, as well as the thousands of paper cranes in closed in cases surrounding it, was very touching. Those cranes came from children all over the world. 

I took a/c refuge in a Cafe nearby that housed two interesting artifacts. One was a piano which was restored after the bombing in honour of a little girl, Akiko Kawamoto, who played it. Akiko died a day after the bombing. It was restored and now is played yearly during the anniversary. 

I also went to the basement that has been preserved and which used to be the basement of a Fuel Hall Rationing Site. A worker, Eizo, who just happened to go down to get some papers from the basement at that time, was the only worker out of the 36 employees to survive. There were panels in the basement to tell his story.

I walked around the rest of the park, finding the cenotaph, flame of peace and burial mound. I stood in line for about half an hour to gain entrance to the museum. 

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum was pretty heavy, but important. It houses articles like clothing and personalarticles from those who died. A particularly evocative one was that of a burnt up tricycle. I didn't take any pictures in this museum out of respect. It's something you should see for yourself.

Okonomiyaki & Bon Dori Festival 

I decided to have a late lunch of Okonomiyaki. This Japanese dish is found both in Osaka and Hiroshima with regional varieties between the two. It's made teppanyaki style on a hot grill infront of you. It is a savory pancake style dish with layers upon layers if different ingredients. I found one that had a pescatarian/vegetarian option with no pork and waited about 40 minutes to get in. 

It was worth it! The performance of them making it was almost like an art and the dish was delicious! 10/10 would reccomend upon a visit to Japan.

After gorging on food, I realized it was now too late to go to the castle (my 2nd plan for the day), so I wandered around for a bit before stumbling upon Hiroshima's Bon Dance Festival. They had dance, drumming and singing performances, games for little kids, and tons of food and drink stalls (I tried a delicious strawberry drink but definitely had no room for food). 

They had a big metal paper crane (symbol of hiroshima) at the entrance where you could make a crane and attach it. A guide was so incredibly impressed that this little white girl could make a crane without help that she wanted a picture with me afterwards. 💁🏼‍♀️😅💁🏼‍♀️. I also got a whole whack of stickers from a kind booth who thought it was very exciting to have a foreigner visit.

I was so glad to have experienced such a full and enriching day in Hiroshima. I am so impressed with their resiliency and kindness. I will definitely want to come back here to visit again. 

Japan Adventure - Universal Studios Japan

Clearly this is a trip designed by my own making as one of the highlights I was looking forward to was a day at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.

Sure, Tokyo Disney would be cool. But, do THEY have a video game theme park that you grew up with and am totally excited to interact with? Bring it on, Super Nintendo World!

Before we get to that epic experience, let's go through some of the highlights of the day!

I got an express pass (for WAY too much $), but it covered 4 rides where I could skip ahead of the giant lines. Sometimes it worked out in my favour, other times not so much (or a single rider was just as quick).

First up was the Spiderman Ride, where I zipped past everyone with the express pass. It was a fun immersive 4D ride where you go around NY battling Spidey villains. Once I got on, I remembered that I had been on it before the last time I went to Universal Studios Florida in 2010. Still, great fun! 4/5

The next one I went on was the Flying Dinosaur. I braved my fear of the drop down stomach feeling on roller coasters to tackle this LYING DOWN ride. It looped, it plummeted, at one point I closed my eyes (or passed out?) But it was reaaaaly good. 5/5

Some of you know how much I love Jurassic Park. I watched all of them (and Jurassic Worlds) during my first bout of covid! So I thoroughly enjoyed all the thematic elements of the Jurassic Park area. Including when a "raptor" and "triceratops" (and her baby in a stroller) came out for a little parade.

I also rode Jurrassic Park: The Ride (also in US Florida). It's a log flume ride where you get WET. In 39° heat, the soaking was quite welcome. But foolish me did not bring an extra pair of socks so I was uncomfortably close to trenchfoot by the end of the day. 4/5

Next up, the classic JAWS boat ride. I survived. I also used single riders to the best advantage, literally walking onto the ride. 3.5/5

I had lunch at an anime themed restaurant. It was called One Piece and is about pirates? I grabbed a fish n'chips kind of meal. But forgoing the curry on my rice after basic communication with the servers indicated it may have had chicken in it. 

Honestly, I'm surprised at the lack of allergen awareness there was at USJ. Even on 711 wrappers it says what each item contains. The ekiban I got for my Shinkansen also had symbols on it indicating what was inside. It was a little frustrating that I couldn't find it anywhere (even in japanese!).

After lunch, I was pretty hot so I went to watch a show. To my utter astonishment, they had a show themed around Waterworld. You know, the 90s flop with Kevin Costner sailing around and the kid from Andre/Napoleon Dynamite has a map tattooed on her back? Yeah that one. 

And you know what. It freaking KILLED. It was SO good. There were water-skiing tricks, flips from diving boards, machine gun effects, smoke, lighting, fire, plane crashes, a MAN ON FIRE. Honestly 6/5. 

After that mind blowing expeience I thought, hey, maybe every show is amazing! Let's check out "Monsters Live Rock and Roll Show", featuring classic monsters like Frankenstein and Beetlejuice (?). Oh God. It was awful. I def didn't expect to hear the Wolfman sing Bon Jovi today, but at least it was air conditioned. 2/5.

I checked out a bit of the kiddie "Wonderland" which was Snoopy, Hello Kitty and Sesame Street themed. The teacups are my fav ride at Disney, so I thought the Hello Kitty spinning cupcakes would be great. Nah, this is the one ride a single rider does not enjoy. 1/5

I made my way over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which I thoroughly enjoyed the last time I went to Universal. It was pretty similar ans the rides had not changed, so while I did enjoy a Butterbeer and loved the ollivander want expeience, it wasn't too overwhelming. The hogwarts forbidden journey ride is still 5/5 though!

I killed a bit more time before being allowed into Super Nintendo World by going on the Hollywood Dream Roller coaster. It's not a loopy one, just a big hills and corkscrews. But the cool thing is you can choose your own track to listen to. In honour of NOT getting Taylor Swift tickets, I chose "Shake it off" 4/5. I also went to the Minion World of Despicable Me where I rode a really fun 4D ride where you were being turned into a Minion. 4/5

And finally, the piece de resistance... Super Nintendo World. The main reason I got the express pass mentioned earlier was so I could gain access to Super Nintendo World since all the advance timed entry tickets were gone.

You enter a huge queue and I noticed numbers printed on the ground. I then googled the numbers as dates and realized they were connected to important Mario releases. Like in Oct 1988, when Super Mario 3 was released in Japan.

Upon entry to mushroom kingdom, it was sensory overload. Mario music, rotating creatures, and the incessant sound of kids gaining coins. You can buy a special watch which lets you hit coin blocks and collect coins as well as compete in mini games. I joined Team Toad (Kinopio in Japanese) with my bracelet and earned coins for my team on a leaderboard. It was really fun and interactive. Apparently it also ties to the Switch somehow (I don't have one) and can also be used in US California. 

There are 2 rides in Nintendo World. The first (with my express pass) was Mario Kart. You walk through Bowser's Castle to compete in a virtual reality/track ride Mario Kart game. Also earning coins on your watch if you had it. I was God awful at it, but it was really cool. 5/5

Yoshi's Adventure did not allow for single riders so like a schmuck I stood in like for 50 minutes to go on the 3 minute kiddie ride that slowly goes through Nintendo World with some Yoshi characters surrounding you (hello Baby Mario!). It was cute, but less impressive. 3/5.

The whole area was very cleverly designed. From the knickknacks on the desk in Bowser's Library to the murals of underwater enemies in the bathroom. There was definitely more to discover here but I didn't have too much time left.

I finally ended my long day by a quick visit back to Harry Potter to use my express pass and then did a last minute decision to go a 4D anime movie called "Jujutsu Kaisen". Now unlike the other shows where I got by not knowing Japanese, this one... not so much. It was confusing and I was quite out of my element as a non-anime fan. It was also 945pm and I was exhausted.

Overall, epic day and I loved it so much!

Japan Adventure - Hakone

Aug 6 - Welcome to Hakone
I originally decided to do a sidetrip to Hakone before heading to Osaka/Kyoto because I wanted to see Mt. Fuji. There's no way I was gonna climb it (that was even before I learned about Japan's summer heat), and this town had great reviews of Mt. Fuji views and nature escapes.

But.

The skies in the summer are notoriously hazy and it was drizzly and foggy so alas, no mountain views were had.

But that's ok, because Hakone was beautiful regardless.

I arrived feeling a bit hungover from my previous night's adventures in Shibuya, but after a short Shinkansen (bullet train), a local train, and a REAL local clickity-clackity train (complete with switchback changes), I got to my hostel.

This is the only time on the trip where I couldn't justify splurging on a private room. Hakone is a resort town and as thus, has resort prices. I grabbed an 8 bed bunk in Emblem Flow Hostel and was pleasantly surprised.

Not only was my bottom bunk large enough to change sitting up, it had a privacy curtain and a oulet/lamp so it felt like a teeny tiny room.

But the biggest draw? Not just the fancy looking restaurant or big bunks? Definietly not the basic vibe of the common room. But... The onsen.

Onsens are public baths - but more like giant spa hot tubs. You need to get over that western shame about being naked because bathing suits are not allowed. Towels are not allowed. Flip flops not allowed. Just you and the warm healing waters.

Hakone is all about the onsens. It's located in a volcanic mountainous area where the hotels use the natural hot springs to heat their onsens.

After an expensive, small but satisfying dinner (mixed salad & seared salmon) - I tried the onsen. I had it all to myself and after googling "how to onsen", I enjoyed it!.

("How to onsen": shower before you enter using the handheld one or a western style stand up one, don't get your hair wet, leave your towel in the changing area, soak, then shower/wash hair and body after).

I went up to the common room hoping to meet people and I did! I met a traveller named Amy from England who was traveling around Asia before heading off to work in Australia. We hit it off and made plans to hang out the next day.

Aug 7 - Smelly mountains, swans and onsens
Amy and I started off our Hakone adventure by taking the inclined cable car outside our hostel in Gora Stn up the mountain to catch the Hakone Ropeway - a gondola that goes up and over the mountains. We were told we would get a great view of Mt. Fuji from here, but that was more of our view.

* side note - Buy the Hakone Free Pass, it gives you unlimited transit around Hakone (trains, ropeways and ships!)

When we got to the top of the mountain called Owakudani and all you could smell was sulfur. There were some slightly worrisome signs about what to do if a volcano erupted. But we were there for the snacks.

We tried some charcoal ice cream and it was delicious. Who cares if it's 10 am - you're on vacation! It tasted like vanilla, but man did it give me some terrifying looking 💩s the next day...

The main draw of the area were these black eggs. They are cooked in sulfur water which causes them to blacken. Our excitement quickly withered once we realized they weren't black inside and we just bought 4 hardboiled eggs for 500¥.

After the eggs and smelly mountain, we took the ropeway down to Lake Ashi where we boarded the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise on a pirate ship. The lake cruise took about 40 mins and while we were going on it, we kept seeing people on swan paddleboats going to see the famous Heiwa no Torii shrine.

So obviously, guess what we got.

It was a blast! Something I won't easily forget because it's not like I could have paddled solo! We saw a unique view of the shrine and equally lamented how tired our legs were.

Not to fear! Onsen is here! We bought tickets to an "onsen themed water park" called Yunnesun.  Not really know what to expect, we ended up in a whirlwind of tourist families and their very loud and excited children. I love kids, but not on my vacation. We navigated the minefield of floaty rings and small bodies through a "wine" onsen (red coloured dye), "coffee" onsen and "sake" onsen. We did indulge in a quick water slide before deciding to head to the more tranquil "traditional spa" of Mori no yu.

Talk about having to be ok with nakedness. I was suddenly surrounded by women of all shapes and sizes. Interesting fact, you aren't allowed to show tattoos in onsen (people think you're tied to the Yakusa if you have tattoos?). So Amy had to wear these flesh coloured bandages over her small tattoos.

After our Yunnesun adventure, Amy left for Tokyo and I went to find some dinner. I settled for a Cesar salad and cheese plate from a hostel next door (Hakone Tent Bar). And while this cheese platter was basically cut for the size of a mouse and not my north American cheese loving stomach, it surprised me by actually being just the right amount to satisfy me.

One more onsen when I got back to my hostel and then a quick Google of "how much onsen is too much onsen" (I had too much onsen), I had possibly the most complete and thorough sleep of the trip - no jet lag wakeup this time!

Aug 8 - Hakone Open Air Museum

For my last morning in Hakone, I headed to the Hakone Open Air Museum. I wish I had more time to explore it, but I was pressed for time and today was the day Hakone decided to follow the Japan trend of being hot AF. Yesterday was so lovely at like 29 degrees, I was spoiled. I felt like this dude:

This Open Air Museum was SO up my alley. You walked around various statues and installations (some statues moved), with small QR codes with audio guides at certain landmark pieces. I love Henry Moore and there were a lot of his collection there (rotating exhibit of 26 of his pieces). According to the gallery, "Moore believed sculpture should be displayed out of doors, 'Sculpture is an art of the open air,' he said".

One of the coolest pieces was a tower made out of stained glass by Gabriel Loire. You climbed its winding circular staircase to get to the top and see a great view of Hakone.

Even though I had planned Hakone to view Mt. Fuji, it's onsen and nature were more than enough to make up for it. Plus! A travel friend for the day!

Next stop, a completely different vibe: Universal Studios Japan. 

Japan Adventure: Tokyo

"Here we go!!" said in a Mario voice is what I have been repeating in my head as I begin this Japan adventure.

19 days. 7 cities. 1 Susan.

Here we go!

Aug 1 & 2 - Leaving on a Jetplane

To say I was nervous about this trip would be an understatement. Post-pandemic stress, decision fatigue, solo traveling anxiety... I was overwhelmed (and almost wanted to rage quit after dealing with some challenging train timetables in July). But now that I'm here, I couldn't imagine not going.

One of the big things I've been nervous of is meeting people. If I'm lonely in Toronto, why spend all this money to be lonely in Japan? But when I went to the airport and randomly struck up a conversation with some American teachers also going to Japan, I realized, maybe the outgoing "Travel Susan" is going to come out and kick second-guessing "Toronto Susan" to the back seat. 

The flight was long and exhausting, as most 13.5 hour direct flights can be. However, as a treat to myself (and thanks to my tax refund), I splurged and upgraded one class to "Premium Economy". And friends, let me tell you, I felt FANCY.

Some perks included:

- pillow and blankets

- seats recline decently and wider seats 

- free tolitres kit (with a reusable bag, eye mask, toothbrush, earplugs in it)

- free bottle of water and sparkling h20 or orange juice prior to take off

- printed out menu 

- a remote for the tv

And the best thing of all? NO ONE was beside me. SO FANCY.

So after 13.5 hours of flying, minimal napping, one xanax, two meals and a snack, one "Cocaine Bear" & one "Angels in the Outfield" -- I arrived in Nartia Airport.

I couldn't go straight to my hostel as I had to pick up my JR (Japan Rail) pass. I stood in the queue, made some reservations for future trains, grabbed a snack and headed on into Tokyo.

I stayed in Asakusa in a hostel called Tokyo W-Inn and it was a WIN! My room was large and comfy. Perfect for the 3am jetlag wakeup I kept getting. While it definitely lacked in a social angle, it did have an amazing view of the Tokyo skytree!

Aug 3 - Sensō-ji, Tokyo Skytree & Claw Gamas

Jet lag had me getting waking up twice in the night! First at 1am - which I satisfied with a snack and then again at 5am -- which seems to be reoccurring daily even a week later! God bless Melatonin.

My friend Saya reccomended a restaurant for breakfast that was a cute mix of Western and Japanese food called Cafe Tomorrow Asakusa. For only ¥650 (~$6... Think ¥100 = $1 cdn), I got cheese on toast, scrambled eggs, miso soup, a small salad, and a coffee. The Cafe was filled with Japanese books and old clocks. Very cute and very busy.

After a walk along the souvenir shopping district, 

Nakamise-dori Street - where I tried my first strawberry daifuku (mochi wirh a fresh strawbery and red bean paste- yummmm), I headed into Sensō-ji Temple. 

Sensō-ji is Tokyo's oldest (completed in 645) Buddhist temple, built to honour Kannon, the goddess of mercy. It's giant red gates were impressive and going at 10am was a good call because an hour later, it was rammed.

I wandered around, reading the very few English signs, but mostly just marveled at how pretty it was. I donated some yen to pull a fortune stick as well. You make your donation, then shake a box with sticks in it while making a wish, pull out a stick which had a number on it, then open the drawer containing the number. Turns out I pulled a BAD fortune! After reading the English translation and feeling quite discouraged, I was told to wrap it around a pole there alongside other bad fortunes. Later on, I learned that this was so the bad fortune could be left behind and not carried with you. Phew! Dodged that bad luck!

Japan is HOT. I'm talking 35 degrees plus humidity bringing it up to the mid to high 40s. So a break in AC was definitely needed. Thank goodness my friend Amy told me about Pocari Sweat - a Japanese ion drink with to replenish lost salt from sweating. I'm actively working hard against heat stroke here! 

After a siesta, I headed over to the Tokyo Skytree, which was close by Asakusa. It's the tallest tower in the world (beats the CN tower by an extra 101m at 654m high). It's the 3rd tallest structure in the world. While it provided some great views, I wasn't that blown away. Maybe after climbing the CN Tower (twice! RIP 20 something athletic Susan), I'm just not as impressed with high views anymore. 

Enroute home, I checked out Taito Station - a chain of arcades, where I spent about $10 on claw games and ended up winning two little prizes (a kirby figurine and a hippo paper clip). 

Aug 4 - Tsukiji Market, Pokemon Cafe & Teamlabs Planets

Tsukiji Market was a must see according to most guides and friends who visited. While it is no longer the main fish market (that moved to Toyosu for wholesale fish selling and tuna auctions at 5am), it was still a great food market to explore. I went for brunch. I tried Tamagoyaki from a street vendor (rolled up sweet omlette) and then ended up going into a conveyor belt sushi restaurant (bless that A/C) hidden in one of the alleys to try some of the famous fatty tuna sashimi. It was the best tuna sushi I've ever had. 

After killing time and trying to stay cool, I accidentally on purpose found myself in 

Takashimaya - a very fancy department store before going to a late lunch at the Pokemon Cafe!

Now this reservation turned out to be the hardest thing to grab! Daily spots are released 31 days prior at 6pm JPN time and 5am Canada time! Luckily I grabbed one at 530 am after refreshing for 30 mins and navigating website crashes.

Everything is obviously pokemon themed. You can choose a meal that featured Evee, Snorlax or Pikachu as well as themed desserts and a "choose whatever pokemon you want" latte art. None of the meals were vegetarian but the evee plate was the closest (bread roll, salad, French fries, veggie quiche, clam chowder and a potatoe salad thing with chicken which I did not eat). I also got a Magikarp on my latte (bc its so goofy, abundant and ultimately useless so it cracks me up) and a pokeball dessert where you opened it up to reveal a character inside. I quickly realized there are now way more pokemon than my OG knowledge from the red/blue Gameboy games. 

But also can't forget a visit from the main man himself, Pikachu! A Pikachu came out and danced and waved to everyone. I had no idea what the host was saying about it (all japanese) but then they danced and sang along to "if you're happy and you know it" in English! My kindergarten skills were suddenly applicable in Japan, hahaha!

After satisfying my inner child, I checked out teamlabs planets, down by the waterfront. It was an immersive art exhibit - kind of like a hopped up Nuit Blanche minus all the drunk teenagers. You had to go barefoot as there was a water portion too. Here are a few highlights.

I was in love with it! You start off by walking up an inclined hill with light and water cascading from above. The first room was called "the soft Black hole" where you had to climb through giant soft beanbags where "your body influences anothers" with each step you take.

The "infinite crystal universe" exhibit was mind blowing and very instagram worthy. You enter a pathway full of hanging twinkly lights and mirrors reflecting them. It was gorgeous.

The room I did not like was the water exhibit. You walk around in ankle-knee deep white murky water while projections of multi-colored koi swim around. The texture of it, the white water, the people -- not my type of sensory enjoyment. 

My favourite two exhibits involved flowers. The first had live orchids tied upside down and when you walked through them they rose up to make space for you while the other ones moved down to cover where you were before. It felt like I was in Avatar or a magical fairy land. 

The other flower exhibit asked you to go in the middle of a planetarium type room and look up. Hundreds of images of flowers cascaded around you. It reminded me of the Van gogh exhibit in Toronto but 1000x better. I spent a solid 20 minutes just watching, almost meditating and feeling quite peaceful despite the crowds. 

Aug 5 - Exploring Shibuya

I quickly learned that Tokyo is so massive that you could easily spend a week or more here and wouldn't see everything, so for my last day, I decided to stick to one neighborhood- Shibuya. I did do a pitstop in Shinjuku to see the 3D cat video billboard, but other than that, today was all about Shibuya!

I met up with a Guru walk hosted by a teenage local, Kosuke, who coincidentally studied in Canada on a high-school exchange! 

We started off at the Hachikō statue at Shibuya Crossing/station. This Japanese dog is remembered for his loyalty and how he stayed at the station for 9 years after his owner passed away - becoming a mascot and symbol for the neighborhood. If you've ever seen the Futurama episode where Fry's dog waits around the pizza place not knowing where his owner was, that tearbreaking episode was inspired by this story.

As the tour progressed, he showed us around the streets near the crossing, pointed out landmarks, reccomendations, temples, etc. We also saw a Kendo training session which made me miss fencing!

Kosuke also explained some temple etiquette and traditions which were super helpful to know for future visits. Some of his advice was:

- Always bow before entering and exiting a temple

- When you enter and see a fountain: Wash your left hand first, then right, then take a sip of water with your hands. This cleanses your mouth before you pray

- If you see a path with different coloured stones in the middle, walk on the outer part because the inside is for God.

- To offer a prayer/thanks you need to: throw in a 5¥ coin, bow twice, clap twice, say your prayer/appreciation in your head, and bow again. 

I had lunch at a sushi restaurant reccomeneded by our guide, Kura Sushi Shibuya Ekimae. This type of conveyor belt sushi was where you ordered food on a screen and then your food was zipped towards you when ready! They also had a Gashapon (small capsule toys) game where you got to play after every 5 plates. I didn't win and couldn't push myself to eat more than 7, but ended up getting one for filling out a survey anyways. 

I refreshed back at my hostel before returning to Shibuya for a dinner/bar hop found via Air Bnb Experiences. Our group was led by the incredible Jenese, a travel influencer and guide (instagram: @flipjapanguide ). She made everyone feel at ease in our group of 3 American, 1 German, 1 Canadian and 1 French traveller. After our shared dinner, we hopped onto two more bars and a club. 

The first bar was chic with a cool Japanese nook with cushions to sit on. The next one was a cool rock bar (with a signed shirt from the Interrupters who I just saw a few months ago!). Throughout the night we tried lemon sours, Umeshu, sake and beer. But the highlight was a drink called the "Flaming Lamborghini" which was a shot to split with 5 different alcohols that was set on fire. We ended the night at a club, which although it doesn't get busy til 12am, we made our own little dance floor before I split off from the group to catch the last train home.

And phew! There it is, 4 days in Tokyo. I'm so glad I took the courage to go on this trip, even if I didn't have anyone to go with me. Im having a great mix of solo time and forcing myself outnof my comfort zone to meet people and try new things. Thanks for reading this epic post! I'm off to Hakone next!