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Japan – Day 22 (return to Tokyo!)

Oh, Kansai…it’s been so much fun being here again, but it’s time to move on! I got up and finished packing then headed to the train station to catch the bullet train back to Tokyo. It was a little sad having to leave, but I had to smile when a rainbow appeared over by the mountains in the distance. I love you too, Kansai!

The trip to Tokyo was uneventful, and getting through Tokyo Station wasn’t bad. I got to my hotel early, but fortunately my room was already cleaned so I got to check in early. After checking the room, settling in, and taking a quick shower I got on the subway to TeamLab Planets.

I had such a great time at TeamLab Borderless a few weeks ago I decided I needed to visit their sister site. Planets is much smaller than Borderless, and there are actually directions to walk in. The first room was a bit of an exercise because it was basically a room of gigantic bean bag chair type things that you have to crawl and roll over. Then you have to roll up your pant legs because the next exhibit is a knee-high pond and they project flowers and koi all over the surface. The koi actually move depending on how the guests move and what we’re doing using motion sensors and detecting where the light breaks off, so it was really neat. There was also a replica of my favorite room at Borderless, the LED strand room, as well as the most vertigo inducing ceiling and wall projection room where you have to lay down to look up. Planets is much smaller than Borderless, it only took about an hour to go through, but it was still cool! If you had to only pick one though then definitely go to Borderless. Afterwards, I stopped at a curry place to get some dinner, then went back to the hotel to plot out my last few days here in Japan. Tomorrow I’m (hopefully) getting up EARLY to hit the fish market, but we’ll see!

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Japan – Day 4 (off to Kamakura!)

I actually managed to get up and out this morning! I made my way to Meiji Jingu at 8am. This shrine is unique because although it’s in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world, everything is so tranquil and green you almost forget you’re downtown. It also has these gigantic tori, and I made sure to hug the same one I hugged years ago. After the shrine, I made my way to Meiji Jingu Gaien, and walked down the road with gingko trees. Thanks to climate change, Japan has been experiencing longer and hotter summers these past few years, with this year being the worst. Since summer lasted so long, the fall colors have been delayed by AT LEAST 2 weeks. This weekend is the ginkgo festival in Tokyo, when the ginkgo leaves are supposed to be yellow and gold and beautiful at peak color, but when I walked down the road they were all still green, barely any other color in sight. It’s honestly disappointing, I timed this trip to be in Japan for the autumn colors and it looks like I’m barely going to catch the beginning of it while I’m here. I made my way back to the hotel to pack up and get to the train station to head to Ofuna/Kamakura. I had some time before I could officially check in, so I walked to Kannonji Temple, which has a gigantic Kannon goddess statue you can walk around. Then I went to Ryuhoji, a local temple that is known for its stunning Japanese maple trees during the fall…but as I said, the leaves have barely started changing. I caught literally two trees with some yellow in them. Without the colors the temple is pretty standard, which is such a bummer, I bet it really is gorgeous during peak colors. I was feeling a little deflated with the climate change indicators and all that goes with them, so I checked into my hotel then got some food and came back to do laundry. You can actually rent machines here and I haven’t done laundry since Paris, so, I’m out of socks. Hoping tomorrow won’t be such a reminder that our planet is dying!

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Japan – Day 3 (Tokyo)

Okay, so I didn’t get up super early today. Failure again. I got trapped in the warm, fluffy cocoon again (fueled by jet lag) and was lazy until around 9am when I finally headed out the door. The first stop was out to Asakusa, to see Senso-ji again. That temple, pagoda, and the Nakamise shopping street in front of it were one of my favorite places in Japan, and it honestly hasn’t changed a bit. Hell, they’re still selling a lot of the same stuff from 15 years ago. I guess if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! I did pick up a new door curtain and coin purse, and ate what seemed like deep fried mochi with a chocolate center, and then some regular strawberry mochi, and then I stopped for some tempura udon. I have a feeling I’m going to gain back all the weight I lost in Europe at this rate!

Before leaving the temple I picked out a fortune card, which ended up being the second best one you can get. I then stopped by the shrine next door and did it again and got the same prediction, so at least the two are consistent. I got back on the subway to Ueno Park and visited the temples and shrines in that area for a while. I was thinking about going to Shinjuku or Akihabara for a bit, but both of those areas are mostly shopping and I already spent way too much money, so instead I went to the hotel to rest my feet, eat some delicious oden soup, and change my clothes.

Once it was dark, I made my way to MariKar Shibuya, where you put on character onesies and ride around in go-karts throughout the city. I picked out Pikachu for my onesie, and opted for the hour tour. I think an hour was perfect. They have 2 and 3 hour tours that take you on the Rainbow Bridge, but I think the novelty of it would wear off after an hour, 2 tops, and my old back wouldn’t be able to handle it. Besides, they have one in Osaka too so I could try that! It was really just a blast, and my riding partner Godzilla was funny as hell. After the ride I swung by Family Mart for an egg sandwich and headed back to the hotel for the night. I also decided to just eat the kitty cake pop I got in Harajuku the other day, which was delicious too. Tomorrow I leave Tokyo and head out to Kamakura. My fortune said I would have good luck in my travels going south, and that was already my plan so huzzah!