Travel Diaries: Japan (Part 3)
- Brooke
- May 19
- 8 min read
If you're just joining this series, you can catch up on Part 2 here.
And Part 1 here if you want to go back to the beginning!
TOKYO
3RD LEG OF JAPAN TRIP
DAY 8 (TRAVEL)
We got up and had one final breakfast at our beautiful hotel in Kyoto, which we were very sad to leave. But we needed to get back to Tokyo for the last four days of our journey in Japan!
We rode the Bullet Train back to Tokyo. We snacked on lobster chips, enjoyed Brice's favorite matcha ice cream, and counted our blessings for the couple hours long train ride. We're finally starting to get our bearings in this country! And the view of Mt. Fuji from the train was otherworldly.
HOTEL (TOKYO)
For the last leg of our trip back in Tokyo, we stayed at the Okura. This was a totally different vibe than Kyoto's tranquil Mitsui hotel we stayed at, but it had its own unique feel and still gave a respectful nod to Japanese culture, art, and modern design.
We didn't realize it at check-in, but our hotel was conveniently located next to the US Embassy in Tokyo. We found out later, which is why the hotel was so crowded with business folks of all kinds. We were a little in the minority as simple tourists. lol
Hotel Okura Tokyo - Photos courtesy of Booking.com
After some gift and souvenir shopping for our family and friends, we checked into our hotel and headed over to Shibuya Sky for a breathtaking (and windy!) sunset view of Tokyo from above. And of course, we had a cool photo opp at the top of the building. It was chilly too!
The view of Shibuya Crossing from above was wild!
We had dinner at the mall (because Shibuya Sky is at the top of the building and there are levels of restaurants below), then we went to our hotel and crashed out early. It was a quite a busy travel and activity day!
Highlights:
View of Mt. Fuji from the Bullet Train
DAY 9 (TOKYO)
Breakfast was included at the hotel, which you know just makes my frugal heart pitter patter. The buffet was huge! Everyone was super business at this hotel, so we felt a little bit out of place. lol
We also reserved a club level room, so we had access to food and drinks all throughout the day, which, again, made your girl so happy! We took full advantage.
We started our busy day at Gotoku-Ji Temple. I had to get my niece a little cat souvenir, of which there were PLENTY to choose from. lol
Adventures in Tokyo Day 9 - Gotoku-Ji Temple
Next up, we headed over to Omotesando Hills. Its a more affluent area and shopping district. Brice was excited to look at the architecture of the buildings and I was excited to go get a famous doughnut I kept hearing about from everyone!
*From Google: Omotesando Hills is a shopping complex in central Tokyo built in 2005 in a series of urban developments by Mori Building. It occupies a 250-meter stretch of Omotesandō, a shopping and residential road in Aoyama. It was designed by Tadao Ando, and contains over 130 shops and 38 apartments.
Adventures in Tokyo - Day 9
Finally! It was time for “I am Donut?," which I've decided is the most magical donut ever made. The line was long and we waited for over an hour (Brice wasn't too happy about that), but ohhhh was it worth it!
Secured the donut. Happy Brooke emerges!
Then, we went and had an actual meal (instead of a Japanese snack), and ate at Mom’s Touch for a switch up from all the yummy sushi we'd been eating. They had a jingle we kept hearing everywhere, so we had to try it! Also, being from the south, naturally, we are fried chicken connoisseurs, so we had to see what was up. Not too bad!
After Japanese fried chicken for dinner, we did MORE shopping, then headed over to watch the world's largest projection mapping display of Godzilla on one of the government buildings in Shinjuku. It was such a cool experience!
Red Light District was next, but I'll spare your eyes on that one.
*From Google: Tokyo's main red-light district is Kabukichō, located in the Shinjuku ward. It's a vibrant entertainment hub known for host clubs, hostess bars, love hotels, and various bars and restaurants, often referred to as the "Sleepless Town".
Lastly, we went to see the 3D billboards that everyone said were a must. They weren't wrong. These billboards were so crazy, y'all. Tokyo is living in the future. That's all I can say.
Adventures in Tokyo - Day 9
Highlights:
DAY 10 (TOKYO)
Day 10 in Tokyo brought us rainy weather, but that wasn't going to stop us from sightseeing or having a good time!
We started with breakfast at the hotel. It was always fascinating to watch the chefs cook omelets with chopsticks. I had these tasty puffy treats every morning of our stay. The sign at the buffet said they were some type of melon bread, but who knows?! I still don't know exactly they are made, but they were delicious!
Starting off Day 10 with yummy breakfast!
Then it was off to Kappabashi shopping street to look for Japanese knives, ceramics, and other trinkets to bring home from our trip.
*From Google: Nestled between Tokyo's popular Ueno and Asakusa districts, Kappabashi is a bustling shopping street known for its extensive array of restaurant supplies, kitchenware, and quirky food-themed souvenirs.
Brice found a matcha latte (shocker). Then we found Japanese ceramic ramekins in a style and design I wanted for soy sauce back home. We looked everyday for something like them, so I was happy to have finally found them!
After some shopping, we had an impromptu photoshoot for Brice before heading over to our next adventure!
We went to team Labs Planets for the coolest immersive art show. You should definitely do this if you're in Tokyo. We got some really cool photos at this place.
You can book tickets here.
The lighting in this immersive art experience was sooo cool!
The rain finally stopped and we went to Strada Pizza and had the best pizza imaginable! We were seriously blown away at how good it was.
Pizza in Japan?? Yep.
For dessert, I bet you'll never guess what Brice wanted. Ha, yes. If you're thinking matcha ice cream, you'd be correct. So we walked over to Tokyo Tower with full pizza bellies and made it happen. We even did the top deck tour and got another keepsake photo memento at the top.
Adventures in Tokyo - Day 10
Highlights:
DAY 11 (TOKYO)
This was our last full day in Japan! So of course, we had to test out the theory of one-size-fits-all with the pajamas provided by the hotel. As you can see, they do not fit all. I still look at this photo of Brice and have the best laugh. The sleeves! The pants! OMG.
Naturally, he had to try his ninja moves in them too to prep his mindset for our day ahead.
One size does not, in fact, fit all.
Sumo wrestling anyone? This was a practice that we were able to go to just with a simple research and some tickets we purchased online. They change locations frequently, so just check online to see when they're happening if you're there.
And we absolutely could not leave Tokyo without stopping one more time for my favorite donut from I am donut? This time, we went to a different location. But they're all over the city, so it was pretty easy. I can't say enough good things about these donuts! In fact, we never even got a picture of them! We just scarfed them down the minute they were in hand. lol
My favorite food from the whole trip! These dang donuts!
We came back to the hotel and just had dinner in the club level area. It was a full spread, so we indulged for our last night in Japan. We were too tired to even snap any photos. lol
To end our day, we walked over to this secret bar in Ebisu for a post-dinner cocktail. It was so secret that the outside looked like a sketchy public locker storage by a random street stairwell. But after a scary walk down several flights of stairs, it turns out, the place was actually really cool!
*From Google: Ebisu is a trendy area known for Yebisu Garden Place, a stylish complex for high-end shopping and dining. Nearby, Ebisu Yokocho food alley bustles with commuters eating ramen and grilled beef. Neighboring Daikanyama is a hip area with bars and designer boutiques.
The bar was a speakeasy called A10. It was pretty swanky inside. The design was sophisticated and thoughtful. We each had a drink and shared a snack. I even did a review for them (which I never do), so you know it was good.
Adventures in Tokyo - Day 11
Our last day in Tokyo was a good one.
But alas, it was time to head home!
Highlights:
Sumo wrestling
more donuts!!
Day 12 (TRAVEL HOME)
We flew out of a different airport than where we flew in, so we didn’t know how long we needed to be there. They wouldn’t even take our bags until an hour before the flight soooo we wagged all of them around with us (and had to buy another bag to bring home all the stuff we bought) for a good three hours, and finally boarded our flight to LAX.
If Japan hasn’t been on your travel bucket list, it should be! The Japanese people have perfected just about everything: pizza, skincare, cleanliness and the ability to value human life like I’ve never seen before.
Tokyo is the largest city in the world - 37.8 MILLION people. Can I tell you that we only saw three (!) homeless people while we were there? There was no scent of urine filling the streets, no drunkenness falling off the sidewalks, no trash on the ground, no beggars, just people helping people. People going out of their way to take care of others. People standing in lines to cross the street, not pushing and shoving to get to the front. I’ve never experienced such peace in such a chaotic city.
It restored my hope in humanity, that there were people more concerned with others than themselves. It was such an eye-opening experience, one we’ll never forget, and one that has sparked such a passion to travel and experience other cultures.
So Japan, THANK YOU!
And to the next country we’ll experience, WE READY!!
Make no mistake - we know that this was a trip of a lifetime! It was one for the books, for sure. But we played it smart and made a ton of great decisions that led to making this happen. I'll go in depth on the next blog about how to work your credit card points and book a trip like this for yourself.
Where should we travel to next?
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