One Day in Tokyo

We only had one day in Tokyo so we had to make the most of it. And boy did we! We were all over the city seeing many different things. Luckily we had a pretty central hotel. It was a military hotel (my parents live on a military base in Japan) so the hotel was cheap and amazing! First things first, though we rode from their home into Tokyo and stopped at our first stop. Kimono Rental!!!

1. Kimono Rental. This didn't even cross my mind, but my mom had been wanting to do it for a long time and of course I was game! The shop she found was right next to the train station exit, so we hopped off the train and into kimonos! For $40 ($35 if you reserve online ahead of time) we were able to pick out a kimono (we chose the causal version because it was a hot day!), got our hair done and chose our accessories! The ladies in the shop were super friendly and we were out in about 30 minutes ready for our close up!

2. Walk through Nakamise Shopping Street for souvenirs & lunch. First we walked through Nakamise Shopping Street. There were so many amazing things to see, this was really our first experience with the busyness of Japan and I loved it. This was also my first opportunity to eat with chop sticks and I can say I didn't go hungry! LOL

3. Senso-ji Temple. At the end of Nakamise Shopping Street is the Senso-ji Temple. Again what a site to see! Our first temple! It was pure magic and awe. I described our entire time in Japan as surreal. There were so many things to see in such a little amount of time, it was dizzying. But so worth it.

4. SHOZO Coffee!!!!!!!! I'd found Shozo Coffee on Instagram and had pinned it just in case we made it there. I'm soooooo happy that we did. It was one of my favorite things we did! The shop was so tiny and cute! The coffee was delicious and the ladies inside were so happy and really surprised I found them in Instagram! My mom bought me a mug from there (one of three mugs I got in Japan! LOL) and then Spencer took a bunch of photos for me. I could have stayed there forever...but we had to move on.

5. Gotokuji Temple (Lucky Cat Temple). We arrived at the station for the Gotokuji Temple closing on sunset, so it was such a peaceful time to be there. The lighting was magic as was the site. There was a cemetery inside the temple, some beautiful buildings and statues. Plus TONS of my favorite...Lucky Cat! It felt so peaceful to be there after the hustle and bustle of Sensoji Temple. Plus the neighborhood surrounding the temple was where I would love to live, so many cute side streets, everyone hanging out their laundry and tons of cute shops and right next to the train station for accessibility to the buiser parts of Tokyo.

4. Shibuya Crossing + Hachikō Memorial Statue. And back to the craziness! We arrived at Shibuya Crossing in time for the lights to dazzle the setting! Crossing the street was fun and we went up to the Starbucks across the street for an over head view as well.

The Hachiko statue had a cute/sad story: the dog in the statue use to wait at this station for his owner to get off work everyday. One day, his owner died at work and everyday for 10 years, until he passed, Hachiko would come back and wait for him.

5. Sushi Go Round - Time to EAT! Across from a Taco Bell (made me LOL) there was a TINY sushi go round that we ate in for dinner. For the two of us it was only $12!!! Our first sushi experience and by this time, I actually loved eating with chop sticks!

Wow what a day. We were all over the city and saw so much. I was so excited to see what we saw, and it left me wanting more. By the time we arrived back at the hotel, it was all zzzzz's. LOL Up next the Starbucks Reserve Roastery (only 1 of 5 in the world!) and Disney Sea! Any questions about Tokyo or what we saw, leave them in the comments below! I cannot wait to share more of our adventures in upcoming posts!