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[zacharyja]

Monday, June 17, 2024

Kyoto Railway Museum, Iwatayama Monkey Park, and Samurai Museum

Today began at the normal time of around 9, where we got ready and headed over to the Kyoto Railway Museum, which I was pretty excited for as I had heard there were tons of decommissioned trains to see there. Before getting inside we stopped at a small restaurant nearby to get some food and I ended up settling on a Teriyaki Chicken Pizza, which is something I have never heard of outside of Japan, and figured I like them both separately so I may as well give it a try! The pizza itself was not bad, it was a bit floppy but the combination was surprisingly good.

After this we headed to the museum and were immediately greeted by an older passenger train as well as one of the first Bullet Trains produced. These were both very cool to see up close, and I enjoyed getting to see how far along the Bullet Train has come in terms of both speed and design. This O Series Shinkansen could only reach speeds of about 130 mph, whereas the newer Töhoku Shinkansen can get to above 200 mph. I also couldn't believe that the Shinkansen originally began operations in 1964, which is insane to think they've had ultra high speed rail travel for 60 years now.

The museum also had a really cool model train exhibit showing a large portion of Kyoto and displaying many of the famous trains that one might encounter. They also had a massive outdoor railway roundhouse which displayed tons of really old locomotives. After the museum we walked around Kyoto for a bit before heading to a train bound for Arashiyama to see some monkeys. Once in Arashiyama we made way to the mountain to hike up to the top where we can see the monkey park. With this being my second time here, I had already experienced but like many other second visits, it was nice not being here while it was raining and it is always cool to see the same things on a different day as I can get more out of it the second time around. There seemed to be more people this time and less monkeys out and about, although we still got to feed them and see them all walking around as per usual.

We spent a good amount of time here monkeying around before making our way back down the mountain. On the way out we we decently hungry and also all simultaneously in the mood for ice cream so we scouted out a place to get some soft serve. This wound up being a cute Rilakkuma themed ice cream place which was not only tasty but also & 7 EDul. While this definitely hit the spot we were still pretty hungry for dinner and walked around the area for a bit trying to find someplace to eat, however it seemed to all be dessert places for some reason. Nonetheless we eventually found a place serving meat and rice boxes which I will never turn down. The meal was pretty tasty and I left the restaurant feeling satisfied and satiated - two of my favorite S adjectives.

After dinner, we wound up taking a taxi back to Kyoto and ended up near the Shijo Kawaramachi area where we walked around some looking for something to do before heading back to the hotel.

[zacharyja]

Sunday, June 16, 2024

Exploring Kyoto, Nijo Castle and Kyoto Tower

Goodmorning, today began at about 9:15 with a brisk shower and a swift change of clothes before heading over to the Hongan-ji temple area again, this time within the operating hours. Once here we were all impressed by the stunning beauty of the temples here. I was glad that we were able to actually go inside of this temple, as many only allow you to view from the outside. This allowed for some really great up close views of the interior which all are insanely extravagant and donned with golden finishes. This complex was pretty massive and included quite a few different temples, all of which were massive and quite the sight for sore eyes.

While here we realized we had reservations for a mini pig cafe and had to quickly head over to the bus stop to make it to Shijo Kawaramachi in time. We got there about a minute late but it was okay as they were not mad at us thankfully. We were then escorted up to the second floor where all the pigs were hanging out, they gave us a blanket to cover our legs and then the pigs seemingly instinctually came over and sat in our laps. The pigs were very adorable and were surprisingly cuddly. They were all chewing on something the entire time which seemed to calm them down a bit. The pigs were a lot of fun though I felt kind of bad for them as many had chewed up ears and we even saw two of them get into a bit of a tussle and according to the employee they are not exactly friends.

Following this we headed over to Nijo castle, and this was my second time here so I do not have a whole lot to say other than it was pretty nice to see for a second time though not much changed (and hasn’t since 1603). But being at the former residence of the first Tokugawa shogun always feels remarkable.

After walking through the palace and viewing the castle grounds, we made way for Kyoto Tower, which is not very tall in contrast to the Tokyo Skytree that we just visited. Though it was nice to get to see all of Kyoto from the top of a very tall tower (130 meters, by no means small but is dwarfed by the 630 meter Skytree). The view was cool but I can only be impressed by so many observation towers, as eventually swathes of city from above just look the same. This one was pretty cool though as it was lower and you could make out more of the buildings. We were able to see Toji temple and the Hongan-ji temples from a birds eye perspective and I was a fan of that (pictured below).

After viewing Kyoto from above, we went back to the hotel to rest up for a bit before getting dinner. We were all decently hungry and since it was father’s day we decided to go out somewhere nice, this consisted of me searching for a nice Teppanyaki place somewhere nearby. I found one that had good reviews and looked good that was about a 15 minute walk away inside a hotel within Kyoto station. It was rather tricky to find the place and we ended up having to ask for help, though we made it eventually. Once at the restaurant we were treated pretty nicely and given a seat in front of one of the grills, we then picked out our set course for the meal and ordered a drink.

I ordered the wagyu steak course which came with Citrus flavored Salmon Confit with Cervelle de Canut and Caviar that melted in my mouth like warm butter, Potato Potage soup, specially selected Japanese Kuroge Wagyu Beef Filet, various grilled vegetables, salad, garlic steak rice, miso soup, Japanese pickled vegetables, and a dessert consisting of mandarin oranges on vanilla and raisin ice cream. This meal was phenomenal and it was really fun to watch the chef meticulously prepare everything for us, my dad and brother even ate prawn brains which seemed kind of gross to me. The restaurant also had a great view of Kyoto Tower at night when it was all lit up, very cool experience overall!

Once we finished our meal, we headed down and went back to the hotel to get some rest.

[zacharyja]

Saturday, June 15, 2024

Back to Kyoto and Shijo Kawaramachi

Today began with waking up around 9 and then checking out of our hotel in Tokyo. We then walked to the nearby station and took a train to Tokyo station where we could then take the Shinkansen over to Kyoto. We had a bit of trouble getting our tickets, as having to buy both the super express and the base fair tickets can be confusing. Though we figured it out and got on a train and arrived in Kyoto two hours and 20 minutes later. This was a pretty uneventful morning, but riding the bullet train is always fun, and I never remember just how fast the train is every time I ride it.

Once in Kyoto, we walked to our hotel about 10 minutes away from Kyoto station which is pretty convenient. Following this, we rested up for a bit and unpacked before working up an appetite and deciding to head to find some food. We wound up at the local Aeon mall and my family had their eyes set on Tony Romas, I suppose they are missing home and want some bbq food. The ribs were actually pretty good and I was satisfied with my meal. The United States should follow Japans food steps and start giving rice with just about every meal, as it really ties everything together.

After this we walked around the area for a bit to explore and see what’s around our Airbnb. We stumbled upon the Hongan-ji temple complex, which had quite a few massive temples within the grounds. Though it was after hours and we were not able to actually go inside - maybe another day!

We then hopped on the bus to make our way over to the Shijo Kawaramachi area, which seems to be the main area to spend time in Kyoto when not at temples or shrines. I’ve already been here many times so I had a good feel for the area and was able to show them around a bit. We did some light shopping and exploring as we were on another mission to find a watch for my dad. I then got a message from one of my friends who lives in Kyoto saying that I should come to the Yakitori place he works at. We then headed over there and my buddy Ryota came out and greeted me though the place only had like 12 seats so it was going to be like a 30 minute wait and my brother and father did not really want to wait. While here two other people I knew showed up and we talked for a bit before I asked them for a recommendation for some place to eat that wouldn’t be such a long wait. They gave me the location for a Yakiniku restaurant nearby that was supposed to be pretty good. Though we had Yakiniku a few days prior and none of us were really feeling it. Thus I suggested we hit up the local CoCo Ichiban-ya and grab some delicious katsu curry. We did just that and I had another amazing meal, katsu curry never misses!

After that we walked around the area a little bit longer and stopped by Round 1 to do some bowling before heading back to the hotel and calling it a night. Overall pretty fun day aside from sitting around for a while on the Shinkansen.

[zacharyja]

Friday, June 14, 2024

Tokyo Skytree, Sumida Aquarium and Asakusa

Today began as per usual, we woke up around 10 and got ready for the day before heading over to the Tokyo Skytree. I am a big fan of the Skytree, and I would likely consider it my favorite landmark of the Tokyo Skyline overall. The tower itself is insanely impressive in person, and the photos really do not capture the sheer size. Being the tallest tower in the world, you feel very insignificant when compared to something so massive, it almost feels Lovecraftian in an incomprehensible cosmic sense. The tower is 634 meters tall, and is the tallest building in Japan. Though i’ve probably already mentioned a lot of this as it’s my second time coming here. Once here we walked around the shopping area adjacent to the tower for a bit before grabbing some lunch. The food was pretty good, I got a steak rice bowl which came with a ginger sauce that was extremely tasty.

Views from the observation deck were amazing as always, it’s really hard to comprehend the fact that the city just goes on for as far as the eye can see in every direction. After spending time here, we headed down to the Sumida aquarium, which was only about a 5 minute walk from the bottom of the Skytree. I enjoyed this aquarium last time I was here, as it’s not too small and has a decent amount of marine life, but is also not so overwhelmingly large and packed with people like the Osaka aquarium was. My favorite part here was probably the penguins as there are so many of them and I could probably watch them for hours if given the chance.

After we were finished looking at everything at the aquarium we headed on over to Asakusa, to show them around the area and visit the Senso-ji temple. This was now my third time coming here, and I am honestly not mad about it. The temple itself is amazing and its massive grandiosity impresses me every time I see it. I can’t really talk about the same temple for a third time but refer to my previous posts if need be! We ended up grabbing some dinner afterwards at Sushiro, as my brother and father had not had sushi since being in Japan and wanted to try some. Though they were a bit disappointed as most sushi in Japan consists of Nigiri, which is just fish on top of rice. They were hoping for more americanized type of sushi rolls, though you will basically never see sushi with rice on the outside here, as the only rolled sushi I have seen has had the seaweed on the outside. According to my brother this is because when sushi was brought to America they did not think we would find the seaweed appetizing and decided to hide it beneath the rice.

After this we headed back to the Airbnb and called it a night as we were all tired from a long day of sightseeing. Sorry for being behind on my posts, i’ve had very little free time!

[zacharyja]

Thursday, June 13th, 2024

Shibuya, Harajuku and Meiji-jingu

Today began at about 10am, where my sister and I met up with my Dad and Brother as they got up earlier than us. We then walked over to Ameyayoko to meet up with them and then headed over to the train station together to go to Shibuya. On the way, we looked up some watch stores as my Dad had his eyes on a Credor watch, and they are pretty hard to find overall, much more so in the US. Though there were a few authorized dealers in Tokyo so we found a shop in Shibuya and decided to head there. However once we arrived in Shibuya we did the usual, saw and walked across the famous Shibuya Crossing, checked out the Hachiko statue, and were amazed at the cyberpunk-esque buildings towering over our heads.

After spending some time walking around and taking it all in, we headed over to the watch store where my Dad picked out a pretty nice looking timepiece. Following this, we split up so my Dad could get his passport so he could have his purchase be tax free. My siblings and I decided to find someplace close to eat, and settled on a tasty looking South Indian restaurant. This was a nice change from the usual Japanese restaurants, as I have been here for about 6 weeks and I have resorted to craving other options. The Indian food was great, we got 4 different curry options paired with a delicious saffron rice and a large portion of Roti. This was great as it was fun to try many different tasting dishes all within the same meal, and the combo of meat, sauce, bread, and rice is literally unbeatable.

After eating, with fully bellies and lots to explore we headed over to the Nintendo store to shop around, followed by a quick stop at the Pokemon Center nearby. This made for a fun time as my sister and brother had never really seen anything like it before. Though I probably still enjoyed it more than they did even though it was my second time here. Once this arc concluded, we still had time to wait for my Father to be back in Shibuya so my sister suggested that we check out the Starbucks location which overlooks the Shibuya Scramble crossing to kill some time. We did just that however, when in line for Starbucks we noticed that there was basically no seats available and I saw a sign for an all you can drink all you can eat (snacks) for an hour with seating upstairs for only about $10. This seemed like the perfect spot to chill out and watch the crossing while refreshing with some nice bevingtons.

We had a lot of fun here just hanging out, and by the time an hour passed my Dad was back in Shibuya, got his tax refund and was ready to explore some more. From here I suggested that we checkout the Meiji Shrine, which was nearby both Shibuya and Harajuku which we also wanted to check out. We then walked through the nice scenic forest up to the Shrine, and while this was my second time here it was nice to see it when it was not raining. The shrine was also a lot less busy today which helped make it feel less touristy and more tranquil as intended. We all enjoyed the Shrine and after we had our fun we headed over to Harajuku.

Once here we walked through the well known Takeshita street and browsed many shops, before making our way out of the less touristy part of Harajuku and into the more local and less kitschy area which I really enjoyed. After doing a lot of shopping and walking through iconic streets, we made our way back to Shibuya to grab some dinner, and we all settled on Hamburg steaks as the rest of my family had never tried them and thought they looked appealing. We had to wait about 15 minutes for an opening here, though it was well worth it as we all enjoyed our meal and it was definitely the best Hamburg steak i have had thus far.

After this we headed back to the hotel where my father and brother decided to stay in as they were quite tired. With it being my sisters last night, we decided to head out to do something fun and attempted to play Maimai at like 4 different places all to no avail as it was too busy. We wound up heading over to a bar nearby which was situated on the 10th floor so we had a nice view of Akihabara at night.It was fun to just hangout for a while and sit down and talk as being in Japan doesn’t leave much time for relaxing aside from sitting down during meals.

[zacharyja]

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Ueno Park, Senso-Ji and Asakusa

Today started early enough at about 10am, with a brisk shower and some quick breakfast before heading out to Ueno Park, which is about a 15 minute walk away from our Airbnb. We walked around the park for a bit and had some snacks on a bench in a nice cool shaded spot overlooking the scenic lotus ridden Shinobazuno-ike pond. We also checked out the temple near here, Shinibazuno-Ike Benten-Do which I have been to before but was nicer this time as it was a lot less busy.

The temple is from the 17th century and as the name suggests, is dedicated to the goddess of wealth, happiness and wisdom - Benzaiten. The temple itself is decent, but there is not a whole lot to do here. Nonetheless I really enjoyed relaxing at the pond eating my fruit and whipped cream sandwich, as the shade felt nice and the view was great. It’s always interesting as well to see the stark contrast between the hyper industrialized city of Tokyo, with the many serene natural area parks.

After the temple, we walked around the park some more and stumbled upon the Kyu-Kaneiji Five-Storied Pagoda. I am a big fan of these types of structures, as the multiple storied pagodas always look so amazing from an architectural standpoint. This building was first constructed in 1631, during the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate. While in Ueno park, we stumbled upon one of the many Pokemon themed manhole covers around Japan. This was pretty fun as I had heard about this but had yet to have found one myself.

After this we hopped in a train and went over to Asakusa where we then made our way to the Senso-Ji area. This is one of the busiest temples that I have been to in Japan, but it is also very iconic so it was a good place to take my sister. We also had fun walking through the Nakamise shopping street and doing some window shopping. We also ended up getting more Cremia ice cream, which is honestly the best ice cream I have ever had and I hope to have it plenty more times while i’m here in Japan.

The temple itself is very beautiful and I enjoy the scenery quite a lot. They also have a Five-Storied Pagoda here, though this one is dark red to match the coloring of the Senso-Ji which makes it even cooler.

After spending time at the temple, we went and grabbed some lunch at a restaurant nearby where I ordered a roast beef rice bowl and soup which was pretty fantastic. I absolutely housed the meal and felt very full afterwards which is always great. Something that was a bit humorous was that the bartender/cook/owner had some posters on the wall portraying himself holding a beer, odd choice but funny nonetheless.

While in Asakusa we wound up passing by a dog cafe, which had some adorable pictures on the outside and we were sold immediately. We went into the cafe and were greeted by some of the cutest dogs i’ve ever seen, all very small as well. Right when I sat down, a little brown chihuahua hopped up on my lap and sat down ready to be pet and given attention. This puppy, Raiko, did not leave my lap the entire time we were here! She was adorable and I have honestly turned a new light on dogs in general but more specifically chihuahuas who I have had a bad experience with in the past.

After our time was up here, we headed to Ueno station to meet up with my Dad and Brother when they arrived from the airport. Once here we dropped their stuff off at the Airbnb and then headed out to Akihabara to get some dinner and show them around Japan for a bit. We went to a Tabehodai (all you can eat) restaurant which was outfitted with a grill at the middle of the table and the ability to order as much of whatever type of meat you wanted to cook and eat, as well as many sides and beverages.

Following dinner we walked around Akihabara for a decent while before heading back to our Airbnb to clock out for the night.

[zacharyja]

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Back to Tokyo

Today began a bit lore relaxed, as we didn’t have much to do until checking out of the hotel at 11am. Once we were all packed up and checked out of our hotel we walked to the bus stop to get on a bus bound for Kyoto Station. Once here we bought a ticket for the Shinkansen to Tokyo. The process was fairly simple and after doing it a few times we have a pretty decent idea of how to do it without any issues at this point. After hopping on the Bullet Train we were on a 2.2 hour ride making our way to Tokyo. The train ride itself wasn’t too bad, and I enjoyed getting to just sit and chill and listen to music, as i’m always going for the entire day straight, rarely taking breaks aside from sleeping.

Once we made it to Tokyo Station, it was only a short 15 minutes ride on another train to get to the station near our Airbnb, where we needed to drop our luggage off and check in about 4 hours later. We are in a pretty good area here, about a 15 minute walk to Akihabara, Ueno, and Ameyayoko. Once our luggage was at the Airbnb and we were free to explore I took Michelle to Akihabara and showed her around a bit. We had a nice time doing some light shopping and seeing the new area, as this was really her first time in Tokyo aside from just being at Haneda airport. We also ended up playing some Maimai of course at the local Gigo to kill some time. We also grabbed some lunch at Matsuya as we are both big fans of gyudon. Once we could finally check in to the hotel we headed back and rested for a bit before hitting up the local coin laundry to replenish our fresh clothing supply.

While the laundry was going we walked around and ended up stumbling into Ameyoko, which I did not really know was so close to us. This place is a lot of fun to walk around and I love exploring these kinds of local markets. I ended up buying a new pair of converse shoes as they are like $30 cheaper here than in the states.

After this we went and got our laundry and took it back to the hotel (thrilling i know). We then chilled for a bit before heading back out to Akihabara to find some gloves so I could level up my Maimai experience.

We went to a few stores and didn’t find any but still had fun exploring in Akihabara. After a bit we were hungry for some dinner and walked around looking for some places before landing on Sushiro, which is another popular conveyor belt sushi place. We were there like 15 minutes before they closed the kitchen so had to order everything we wanted pretty fast. This was not an issue though as it came out fast and I generally knew what I wanted.

After dinner we hung out around Akihabara for a short while before being tired and wanting to go back go the hotel and call it a night. Before getting back though, we stopped by a Lawson and grabbed some ice cream for dessert which was a nice treat to cap off a long day.

[zacharyja]

Monday, June 10, 2024

Studio Ghibli Park

Hello everyone, today began with a bit of an earlier start as we needed to be in Nagoya by 11, which is about 40 minutes away by Bullet train, and then another 30 to get to Ghibli Park. Once we got off at our stop near Ghibli park, we were confused as to why it was a 25 minute walk to actually get to the main area where the Park is located, as surely there was a closer stop. After looking at the map we found that there was in fact a closer station we could have gotten off at which would have been more convenient so we planned to do that on the way back. I had been looking forward to going to Studio Ghibli park for a while, as we had to purchase the tickets like 2 months in advance as they sell out extremely fast due to the popularity. Going into it I was not sure what to expect, but I am a fan of many of the Studio Ghibli movies and felt that visiting the park would be a great time.

We were a bit taken aback by the distance at which we had to walk through the park but I don’t mind walking much and wasn’t too upset by it. There was also a massive lake in the middle that was covered with water lilies which was very pretty overall. After walking around for a bit we found the main Studio Ghibli Park Warehouse, which I honestly had no idea what it may entail as most of the stuff here is kept as a semi secret and you can’t even take pictures of many of the exhibits. We finally got inside and I was pretty happy with the results, there were definitely a ton of people waiting in lines that I didn’t have a clue as to where they lead.

There were many areas with recreated scenes and settings from a ton of the movies, which felt cool to get to step into some of my favorite movies. Though I will say I was a bit let down that most things here are just photo opportunities, as I assumed it would be more akin to a theme park. We went to the Porco Rosso themed restaurant here where we both ordered the Miso Katsu, which I was told the previous I should try when in Nagoya as it is the regions specialty dish. Miso katsu is a breaded and fried pork cutlet which then has a rich hatcho miso sauce poured over top. The food was actually pretty tasty and oddly enough came on a slide of ciabatta bread, which i wasn’t upset about by any means.

Following our meal we walked through the warehouse area and got lots of great pictures, seeing all of the recreated scenes was a lot of fun. I also got a new hat, which is themed after Howls Moving Castle, and has an embroidered image of Turnip Head from the movie and has the same two antenna things as Howls Castle. I had been looking for a hat since coming to Japan so I’m glad to finally have one.

After getting more pictures we walked to the outside areas which included the Valley of Witches from Kiki’s Delivery Service, Dondoko Forest from My Neighbor Totoro, and Mononoke Village from Princess Mononoke. Though at each of these places there was not a ton to do and they were very far apart so it was a lot of walking to basically look at something, take a photo and then move on.

Although it wasn’t exactly as I anticipated, I still had a pretty good time and enjoyed experiencing it with my sister, as I would feel a ton of FOMO had I not gone. After finishing up with the park, feeling sweaty with tired legs and feet we headed back to Kyoto, this time taking the closer station which didn’t pop up on google maps as an option for some reason. Once we were back in Kyoto we rested for a bit before going out to do some shopping. We then got dinner at Coco Ichibanya again (not even King Arthur could pull me away from the arms of Coco Ichibanya) and it was extra delicious today, they must have prepared a fresh batch of curry in anticipation of my arrival. After eating and talking for a while we went to Round One to play some Maimai, and we are both getting pretty good, as I am going hard on the expert levels and just hit a respectable rating of over 7000. I’m going to be so sad to go back to America and be thousands of miles away from the closest Maimai machine.

Following some intense Maimai we headed back to the hotel and I freshened up before going back out to meet my friend and hangout for the night. We ended up at a small bar and made friends with a group of 2 Japanese guys and a girl, a French guy and a Korean guy who all live in Kyoto, it was an interesting motley crew. They were all a lot of fun and it’s always great getting to hangout with local Japanese people, while they don’t speak too much English and I don’t speak much Japanese, we both end up learning things from each other and it’s always satisfying when we finally understand what the other person is saying. Since we were the only ones here and the other people were friends with the bartender, we were able to choose any songs we wanted and he turned the music up so we could dance and have ourselves a fun night. We also stumbled upon a dying Luna moth in the street which was a sad sight to see as they are such beautiful creatures. We decided to pick it up and let it lay to rest on some plants rather than being in the middle of the walkway getting stepped on.

[zacharyja]

Sunday, June 9, 2024

Osaka Day Trip - Dotonbori, America-mura, and Shinsekai

Today began at about the same as most days, 10am wake up time followed by a shower and getting dressed followed by conbini breakfast and then our day begins. We headed over to the train station to make our way to Osaka, and hopped on the Hankyu Kyoto line which goes straight to Osaka-Umeda station. The train itself was pretty nice, as it seemed decently new and had a cool little rock garden-esque nook midway through the train car.

After getting to Osaka, we hopped on another train to get to the Nanba Yasaka Shrine, which was only about a 10 minute train ride from here. I had not thought this shrine would be as impressive as it is, but seeing it in person was pretty incredible. The sheer size of the lion statue, called “Shishiden” was amazing to see in person. The lion with his mouth agape is said to swallow evil spirits, and many people come here hoping for academic improvement, job offers and success in examinations. Though the exact date of when this shrine was founded is not known, according to legend it dates back to Emperor Nintoku’s rule in the 4th century.

Once we had spent our fair share of time at the shrine, we walked back to the main Dotonbori area, which is hands down the busiest and most well known area in Osaka. There are so many shops and restaurants and things to do here that it gets a bit overwhelming at times. One thing that really sticks out here is the massive Don Quijote store, which includes a huge ferris wheel that has not been running the past 2 times i’ve been here so i don’t know what that’s about. We browsed around for a while and leisurely walked through the streets until we had worked up an appetite and wanted to get some lunch. We walked by a place that looked decently cheap and tasty and after looking at the menu for a bit outside one of the employees came out to greet us and lead us upstairs to the restaurant.

Once inside the vibes were not amazing and after taking a look at the menu in the restaurant we realized they trolled us and had higher prices inside than were advertised. This was not a massive issue but what was an issue was when we ordered our food and it looked nothing like the photo. They surprisingly trolled us again and brought out what would be probably the worst meal i’ve eaten in all of Japan. I also do not get the hype about Okonomiyaki, as cabbage, dough sauce and bonito flakes honestly leaves a lot to be desired. My food was not very good at all and somehow they managed to make even the rice taste weird. To top it all off this ended up being the most expensive single meal we have ordered thus far, which is insane considering I literally ate wagyu beef last night. Lesson learned - do not get trolled by sneaky restaurant employees.

After our subpar meal, we walked around the area for a bit longer before heading over to the America-mura neighborhood area. This neighborhood is famous for being a hub of youth and western oriented culture, including the likes of street art, small independent galleries and cafes, as well as thrift and vintage stores. I enjoyed this area a lot and thought it was pretty cool to walk around in. The stores were interesting but I always go back to the same issue of not understanding why Japanese people only want to buy American clothes, as all of the thrift stores solely carry items from America. I probably see more people wearing US college merchandise in Japan than I see on my own college campus back in Gainesville. We also stumbled upon a store called “Florida” which was a thrift store that had a curated selection of secondhand clothing. One item in particular that stuck out to me was a random T-shirt from the Don Garlits drag racing museum in Ocala, which I pass by every time I drive to and from my parents house to Gainesville.

After this we made our way back over to Dotonbori and found ourselves randomly at a Purikura place, which is a popular type of photo booth with the Japanese youth. Many of them have extreme filters on the photos and make you look as “beautiful” as possible, which is a pretty foreign thing to Americans as we do not really edit our photos this much and it just looks silly. Though that sentiment is not shared here and it is seemingly taken a bit more serious and seen as cute.

Following this, we decided to head over to Shinsekai, which is now a famous shopping and eating area. Though it once served as a gathering place for laborers who rebuilt Osaka after World War II. It is interesting to see how things like that can go from something so simple and unintentionally turn into something as massive and popular as this street.

I enjoyed walking through here and seeing everything in the area. There were a ton of cool buildings here and far too many restaurants to count, though I was intrigued as to why most of them were Yakitori places. Once we got a bit hungry we found a quaint little restaurant which looked promising. It was a Yakitori place and so we ordered a bunch of small dishes, including gyoza, croquettes, and kushikatsu. The food was pretty decent but the Japanese croquettes definitely took the cake for the best item.

Once we finished dinner, we walked back to the Dotonbori area to see about finding a specific ice cream place that I had found online called “Cremia” which is apparently made with milk from Hokkaido, which has a mild vanilla like flavor and makes for amazingly soft and delicious ice cream thanks to the high milk fat content. Not to mention the cone was unlike anything I have tried before, it is considered similar to langue de chat, which I have not heard of before but it tasted phenomenal. After eating the ice cream we walked around Dotonbori for a while and made our way to find some sort of sit down place to chill and hangout for a bit.

We first walked into a reptile cafe, which in theory looked pretty cool, as the entire store was filled with tons of different reptiles, ranging from green anacondas, to iguanas, to pythons and so much more. They also had a wild assortment of items on the menu with the likes of tarantulas, emu, raven, and gecko meat. I was not feeling very adventurous and it cost ¥1000 to get in, on top of having to pay another ¥1000 for a required drink it did not seem worth it to us so we turned around to find somewhere else. Once back on the street we saw an interesting looking cafe which had gothic looking girls as the bartenders/employees. This was interesting and we walked all the way here for the reptile place just to be let down that we decided to check out the goth cafe. This was a decently fun experience, and much better than the previous maid cafe that I went to, which got a bit weird when they referred to us guys as "Master". Though here they did not really do any of that and it was more just like extra friendly bartenders who chatted with you the whole time. The language barrier was a bit of a hurdle but they were more than happy to try and figure it out and I was actually surprised by how far I have come in my confidence level with speaking Japanese, as I was able to hold a decent conversation with them. It was also nothing that a little google translate couldn't help, and it is always fun interacting with Japanese locals.

After the cafe, we made our way back to the train station and headed back to Kyoto. Once back in Kyoto we grabbed some Gyudon for a late night snack and then ran over to Round one for some Maimai before they closed. That pretty much concludes my night, sorry for the long blog post today was very busy!

[zacharyja]

Saturday, June 8, 2024

Fushimi Inari and Nishiki Market

Today began at about 10:30, and after eating some conbini breakfast we made our way to Gion-Shijo station bound for Fushimi Inari. We got into what we assumed was the right train, as google maps said the “Semi-Express” line train was arriving at 11:07, and when a train called “Limited-Express” showed up at 11:06 we assumed this was correct. After watching the train zip past our intended final stop we realized our mistake and got off at the next stop. This time we looked at the map of the train lines and saw that the Semi-Express did not even go all the way to our stop at Fushimi Inari, and we actually had to take the “Sub-Express” which made things very confusing as it turns out relying on google maps was not always the best option.

Once we finally made it to Fushimi Inari Shrine we made our way up the path and walked through all the many thousands of Torii gates up to a decently high vantage point of the mountain. It was nice to see for the second time as I got more out of it this time than I had previously. We even (accidentally) took a different route down and I got to see a whole new pathway that I missed last time.

After getting back down to the bottom we were feeling rather hungry and walked around the Fushimi area looking for a restaurant. We eventually found a Teishoku/Udon restaurant called “Kendonya” that looked pretty promising. I ordered a set meal (Teishoku) which came with a bowl of Udon, Tonkatsu and rice. My meal was honestly great and I would say it was the best Tonkatsu i’ve had since coming to Japan.

After our meal, we made our way to the train station and then back to the Kawaramachi area. Once there, we were stopped at a crosswalk and had to wait a decent while for a large caravan of protesters to pass by, they seemed pretty upset about the issue concerning nuclear waste being dumped into the ocean.

This is actually the second group of protesters like this that I’ve seen in Japan, which is interesting as I do not really see much of this in the United States. Once we were able to cross, we headed over to Nishiki Market, and though i’ve been before, there is so much there that I can always find something new that I did not see last time. The market was decently busy today but it was not too bad and we were able to walk through pretty easily.

We saw quite a lot of interesting things and I always enjoy browsing through shops and market stalls seeing what they have to offer, I also can’t decline free samples! After seeing our fair share of the massive bustling market we headed back to the hotel to rest our (michelle’s (sorry)) feet. Once we were recharged and ready to go back out we headed over to Round one to play some more Maimai, as I seem to have gotten Michelle addicted as well. After spending a while here we built up an appetite from the hardcore gaming session and made our way to a Yakiniku place to get some grubbington. I ordered a “Wagyu Sushi Set Meal”, which came with sliced slow roasted wagyu beef, rice, and warm broth to pour over top. This meal was pretty phenomenal and I will never pass up on high quality cheap steak and rice.

After this meal, we decided to make a run to Family Mart to grab some breakfast for tomorrow and then head back to the hotel. I then showered and got some new clothes on after being out and sweating on and off most of the day.

[zacharyja]

Friday, June 7, 2024

Kiyomizudera, Sannenzaka, and Ninenzaka

Today began at around 10am, where we showered and got ready for the day. Then we headed out to Kiyomizudera temple, which is my second time here but I wanted to show my sister around since she wanted to see the Temple and the surrounding Sannenzaka area. I appreciated the temple about the same as much as last time I went, and I enjoy this temple a lot because there are a decent amount of things to do at the temple, such as the Otowa waterfall and womb tunnel.

The pagodas are always really nice to see and we went down a different trail this time which led us to the smaller pagoda on the other side across from the main temple area. We were also able to walk up to a different temple, called “Seikan-ji” which was a lot less busy and nearly empty. We also got to see a great view from the top. On the way up to this temple we also coincidentally ran into two other UF students who are on the study abroad trip that started right after mine ended. They also happened to be friends/roommates with my buddy Rich who I met on my study abroad trip. Pretty wild coincidence running into them, and it really makes the world feel much smaller.

After the temple, we walked down through the Sannenzaka area which is always fun, albeit a bit crowded. We even got to see the Yasaka Pagoda, which I am surprised that I didn’t see last time I was here with my class.

Following this, we went on a hunt for some place to eat lunch, it took a bit to try and find a place as it seems that there’s only really dessert shops and kimono rentals in this area. We stopped along the way at a fresh fruit juice shop, where I ordered a grape/lemon juice and I was a bit taken aback to see that she blended up an entire lemon wedge - rind and all. I was not a big fan of that as it made the drink far too bitter for my liking. After some walking we stumbled upon a random restaurant called “Ivory” which had some lunch specials that caught our eye. The employees were very nice and saw us standing outside pondering if we would be allowed to eat there as the sign outside said they closed in 8 minutes, but an elderly employee came out and told us to come in to eat. I ordered a pork rice bowl, which was essentially deluxe gyudon with a pretty tasty soup on the side.

After lunch we walked back to the Kyoto Kawaramachi area near our hotel and got on the subway to make our way over to the Kyoto Pokémon Center. I think this is my 4th or 5th Pokémon center that i’ve been to so far in Japan and i’m honestly hoping to get those numbers up!! I was excited to see this Pokémon center as I am a big fan of Lugia and Ho-oh and this one in particular has statues of them in the store.

Following our shopping at the Pokémon center, we headed back over to the Kawaramachi area again and hit up a few stores near here before heading back to the hotel to rest for a bit. Once we were re-energized we headed out to walk around Teramachi street and view the local shops. We had a lot of fun window shopping and getting some new clothes from Uniqlo. Once we had built up an appetite we stopped by Coco Ichibanya to grab some katsu curry (i know i’ve had it 2 days in a row i can’t help myself), since Michelle wanted to try it as she is also a fan of Japanese curry.

After dinner, we lounged around the hotel a bit before deciding to go to Round One to play some Maimai. After the first few rounds Michelle was hooked and having a blast attempting the expert level songs which was a lot of fun. After this we hit up Rainbow karaoke, where we then spent the next 2 hours there singing songs and overall having a good time. That mostly concludes our night and I look forward to another fun day tomorrow.

[zacharyja]

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Purgatory Day

Today began at about 9:30am, where I then finished packing my suitcases and getting ready to check out of my hotel. Once 11 rolled around I dropped my keys off and got an uber to my next hotel, so that I could drop my bags off while I waited until 3pm to check in. After arriving and dropping off my luggage I didn’t really have anywhere to go or anything to do until 3 so I decided to walk around the Kawaramachi area for a while.

I went to a bunch of stores and did some window shopping, not really looking to buy anything as I didn’t feel like having to carry it around with me for multiple hours while waiting for the hotel check in time. I then decided to grab some lunch, and felt like having some Katsu Curry so I popped into the nearest Coco Ichibanya and got a table for one. I ordered my usual meal of Chicken Katsu curry with naan, and demolished it as per usual.

After eating I hung out at the restaurant for a bit before deciding to head over to Round One, which was only about a 5 minute walk from the restaurant. While here I decided to play some Maimai and spent the next 45 minutes doing just that. I kind of want to buy a cheap pair of gloves for Maimai but I also don’t really want to look like a tryhard sweaty Maimai player. I also went from 3708 to 5000 today, big money moves!

Once I felt I had my fair share of rhythm games, I decided to walk around the area a bit more and kill some time. I wound up at a cat cafe/puppy store. All of the dogs were insanely adorable and I wish I could take them all home with me. I have no idea how they always have such cute puppies but I guess there is a big market for that here.

After more dilly dallying I was finally able to check into my hotel, which is located in a really good spot nearby to Kawaramachi and is sort of a downtown type of area. The hotel itself is also really nice, and I am impressed with the view of the city that we have.

After a while my sister finally arrived at the hotel and it was great to see her after many months. She was hungry after traveling and we decided to hit up a Matsuya nearby while my laundry finished drying (it took 3 hours thank you Japan for the worst dryers in existence). The food was pretty good as always, no complaints from me.

After this we walked around the area a bit before heading over to Family Mart to make a snack run, the haul was pretty phenomenal as you can see from my snack spread.

After this we attempted to go to Round One, which I was under the impression was 24 hours or at least open past 1am but I was apparently wrong, even though it says open until 6am on google. So since we couldn’t do this we decided to find some low key place to hangout for a bit, and settled on Bar Back Alley, which was pretty empty and nice to just talk for a while. They were out of ¥500 beef jerky so the guy offered me “Junkie Potatoes” for a ¥450 discount which was nice of him.

The food was decent but I was mostly in the mood for beef jerky, oh well another time i’m sure - c’est la vie!

[zacharyja]

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Nijo Castle (Again)

Today began at around 10:30, where I woke up and got ready for my day. After getting up and about I headed over to find something to eat for breakfast, I ended up settling on a smoothie place called “Banana Juice for Human By Gorilla” which is arguably the funniest name of a restaurant i’ve ever heard. Is the gorilla making my smoothie? why is it specifically for humans? I have so many questions and I need to find the answers. Upon arriving I was not disappointed with the intriguing decor of the restaurant, including many framed photos of what I assume are famous gorillas? maybe? This was also one of the places where you essentially order from a vending machine that spits out a ticket which you then give to the employee who then makes your food. I really enjoy this business strategy as I would prefer less human contact when ordering food, maybe we will see this come to the states sometime. Turns out it was just regular old humans making the smoothies, (unfortunate i know) though i’m still not fully convinced he wasn’t a gorilla in a human suit, I think i saw a zipper somewhere…

After destroying my probably overpriced and small but tasty smoothie, I decided to walk over to the Nijo Castle as to make it in time for admission today. Along my way I stumbled upon a bakery with some really cute frog shaped bread out front that immediately caught my attention. The store itself was pretty cute inside and I enjoy the method that bakeries have adopted here. They give you a tray and some tongs and you pick out whatever baked goods you want and then bring the tray full of bread up to the register, where they then bag it up for you and send you on your way. Today I got a donut that was mid, and a cheese bread where I was once again made a fool with an unwarranted gallon of cream cheese in my mouth upon my first bite. I still ate it and it was pretty solid but I don’t see the need for so much cream cheese.

After this I ate on my walk to the Castle and once getting there I paid my admission and headed inside. The second entrance gate was really well decorated and very impressively ornate. Once walking through that I found myself at the main palace, where you of course have to remove your shoes to walk through. The palace itself was really nice and I would loved to have been a shogun living here hundreds of here ago (or today).

I wasn’t supposed to take pictures inside so most of the photos I have are of the outside, though every room had a different themed wall mural, and all of them were astounding to see. My favorite was the room with the tigers, and I found it interesting to hear that although there were no tigers in Japan when these were painted, they resorted to using imported pelts and sketches as a means of a reference image. Apparently they also believed that Tigers and Leopards were the same species, and that every third tiger cub would come out as a leopard, hence they had a leopard amongst the tigers in the paintings.

Walking through the palace was a nice experience, and I would say I prefer this to many of the other castles that look better on the outside, but do not allow you to go inside. Getting to step foot inside the palace really puts the grandiose scale of it all into perspective. I was also surprised to hear that Nijo Castle was the place where the shogun of the time decided to pass back the main governmental power to the Emperor.

Getting to see the castle in all of its entirety was pretty amazing and I would rank this as number 2 on my list of best castles in Japan. The gardens within the castle were also very beautiful and well kept, I was surprised to see many Japanese workers high up in the pine trees trimming the branches and making sure everything is perfectly manicured. I also am always amazed at how massive the moats around the castles here are, as they had no power tools or anything and it must have taken forever to get the dug out so deep and wide.

After thoroughly enjoying Nijo Castle, I decided to start walking back to my hotel as I was a bit sweaty and wanted a nice shower and a cold water. Halfway along the walk I got a bit peckish and wanted to grab some grubbington, so I stopped by a place called “Yappari Steak” which looked really tasty, idk why i’ve been on a red meat kick lately, but in Japan it’s just such high quality meat and tends to be pretty cheap. I ended up getting a set meal, which came with self serve drink, rice, salad, and soup along with my steak, all for under $9. The steak was pretty solid and came out on a fajita like plate which was extremely hot and made the food look even more delicious.

After demolishing my meal I headed back to my hotel to shower and recharge for the rest of my day. I then met up with my friend to get some Indian food for dinner, at a place called “Kerala” I ordered Murgh Makhani which was irresistibly delicious, and paired with the naan made the meal even better. After eating dinner, we went out to get some dessert and settled on a crepe place nearby, where I ordered a chocolate almond crunch gelato crepe which was amazing!

After dinner I went out with my friend to a karaoke bar where we sung lots of songs and met lots of great people. Afterwards I randomly bumped into a group of Japanese guys who were very friendly and enjoyed the company of an American, we talked for a while before I had to part ways as I have to be up early tomorrow to check out of my hotel and then meet up with my sister when she arrives in Kyoto.

[zacharyja]

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Exploring Kyoto and Teramachi Street

Today began as per usual, around 11 where I then showered and got ready for the day. After getting up and about I wanted to go to a doughnut shop to get some breakfast but all the ones near me were closed for whatever reason, I guess business is slow on tuesday’s. Alternatively, I opted for a local bakery called “Flip Up” which seemed to have lots of good options for baked goods. It was sort of funny to see lots of signs everywhere displaying the initials of “FU”, felt a bit intimidating to say the least.

I ended up getting a few things including a bagel, a sort of breadstick with bacon inside, and some other bread which tasted sort of like rye bread and had some type of cream cheese-esque filling. All of the different types of bread were really good and I’m considering getting another bagel tomorrow if the doughnut shops are still closed. While at the bakery, a father came in with his child in a stroller, and I was pretty shocked to see that he just left his child outside the store while he bought his baked goods. I guess it’s just a different culture here and this definitely would not happen in the United States, as people would never leave their child unattended outside.

Once I had purchased all of my breakfast foods, I found a nearby park where I could sit down and enjoy my breads outdoors. I rode my bike about 7 minutes to the park, which was also conveniently nearby to Teramachi street, which is a popular shopping area and is usually bustling with people. The park itself was decent enough for what I wanted to use it for, and it was nice to just chill out and sit down doing some people watching as I enjoyed my breakfast.

Once I was full and feeling energized I rode my bike over a bit and parked it at a Family Mart along Teramachi street. I then decided to stroll around and do some shopping through the street as I have yet to get to shop around alone since being here and wanted to be able to take my time looking at whatever I wanted to see. I found myself in a lot of cool stores and was tempted by many things but I remained vigilant and didn’t really buy much as I tend to be very picky with buying things. I ended up going to a few vintage clothing stores, including another second street, and found a few pairs of pants that I liked but none of them fit how I had hoped so I left empty handed. One thing about Japan vintage/thrift stores that bother me is that most of the selection is filled with American/European clothing, and I don’t exactly want to buy random University of Michigan sweaters when I can get that at goodwill for half the price in the states. I want to buy Japanese clothing that I won’t be able to find anywhere else but it is seemingly very hard to come by. I did however keep walking and passed by a store with a shirt hanging up which said “Cats and Beer” and had a pretty fun design on it, and I decided to buy this as I really liked the shirt in general. Nearby I ended up passing shrine, which was odd to see in such a busy shopping area. The shrine is called “Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine” and is dedicated to the Shinto Deity Tenjin, who is the the patron kami of academics and learning. The shrine also includes stone cows which are said to represent the divine messengers of the deity.

After this I walked around some more and grabbed a few snacks from the 7/11 nearby. I then headed back to my hotel to shower and have a snack before heading to dinner. Yesterday I got some fruit from the local grocery store, kiwi, pineapple, and grapes, and I demolished all of it in about 5 minutes flat. I feel that the Japanese diet does not include many vegetables or fruits, which is a shame as all the fruit and vegetables that I’ve had here have been super fresh and tasty. Maybe i’m just ordering wrong but the only time i’ve seen vegetables they have been an odd variety and are always pickled for some reason. I also am a big fan of these types of small alleyways that feel like just a hallway with shops and stores in either side, very fun to meander along!

After a bit I met up with my friend at a nice steakhouse called “Pound” which I was pretty excited for as some nice Japanese beef sounded amazing for today. The restaurant was pretty nice inside and the menu was unique in that it showed a picture of a cow including all the cuts of meat and you got to choose which cut of beef you wanted as well as the weight. This was fun getting to see the descriptions of the cuts of meat and choosing what I wanted. I ended up choosing the Top Round cut, as it seemed like a lean and tender piece of beef. I also ended up ordering rice and the meal came with bread so I was looking at a pretty solid meal in front of me. My friend ordered the short rib which looked pretty good but was a bit more fatty.

I ended up destroying this meal in its entirety and was extremely full after, definitely either my first or second favorite meal i’ve had since coming to Japan and it cost half of what it would in the United States, so I am sitting pretty happy at this point. That pretty much concludes my day as I am not really doing anything else noteworthy, Hope you all have a nice day!

[zacharyja]

Monday, June 3, 2024

Exploring Kyoto, Nijo Castle, Shinsen-En Garden

Today began a bit more hectic than I had hoped, as I was woken up at 6:30am with a blaring alarm sound which I found out to be an earthquake alert. Luckily for me I didn’t actually feel any shaking or anything but the alarm was enough to scare me straight out of bed. A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck the north-central region of Japan, in the Ishikawa prefecture. This was far enough away that I was safe, though apparently 5 houses that had been affected by the prior January 1st 7.6 magnitude earthquake collapsed with this second blow. The January 1st earthquake actually killed 260 people, so it is definitely not something to take lightly and I am glad it was not nearby - and also glad that there was no tsunami threat either.

After getting back to sleep and resting for a bit longer, I woke up finally at about 11am just in time to go grab some lunch after a nice warm shower. I rode my bike to a nearby Sukiya, as I was craving some delicious Gyudon. I got a cheese gyudon with miso soup which as per usual I devoured and left happy as a clam with a full belly.

Following lunch, I decided to ride my bike around and explore the area, and eventually stumbled upon a building that I had actually heard of before coming to Japan, it is known as the Face House (for good reason). This building was thought up by architect Yamashita Kazumasa in the 1970’s, and was designed to mimic functions of the actual human body. Eyes function as windows, nostrils function as vents for the house, and balconies function as ears on either side to allow for ventilation throughout the house interior. This house really helps to brighten up the rather dull street that it sits on, and now is occupied by a creative studio/shop, though i’d imagine people still live in the upper housing area.

I quite enjoyed riding around aimlessly for a while and just taking the city in, having no direction can be fun, especially after just finishing up a very strictly regimented booked schedule study abroad trip. The roads themselves are very scenic and fun to just stroll along and take a look at everything around you. I also stumbled upon a random Colorado themed coffee shop, which is pretty random, and I’d imagine my family will get a kick out of this.

After this I tried to make it to Nijo Castle in time to be admitted inside, though they closed at 4 and I was under the impression that I had until 5 to get there. I may try again another day but it was still cool to see it from the outside, though after seeing like 4 different castles it kind of becomes the same routine every time and I’d be okay missing out on this one as i’ve already seen the best one in Japan. The Nijo castle was built in 1603 as the home for the first Tokugawa Shogun, and was intentionally built close to the Kyoto Imperial Palace as a way to show the power that the shogun had over the ever weakening power of the Emperor.

After this, I rode my bicycle around some more and found a peaceful looking garden/temple close by to the Nijo Castle. This garden is called the Shinsen-En and was founded in 824, by Kukai - founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism. This garden is said to be the oldest existing garden in Kyoto, and definitely feels like it has a lot of history. The garden itself consists of a massive pond, with a temple situated on top along with a bridge crossing the pond leading to another section of the temple. I really enjoyed this temple and there were even resident Peking ducks (who were massive) that walked around and were cared for by the monks there. The koi/carps in the pond were pretty cool as always. The pigeons here have also learned that people will buy food to feed the koi and have decided to harass anyone with a bag of fish pellets. I saw a guy get swarmed by about 8 pigeons all flying up to him and standing on his arms, pretty funny sight in general.

I then rode back to my hotel to hangout for a bit and do some homework before leaving again to grab some dinner with my friend. We hit up Coco Ichibanya again for some mouth watering katsu curry.

[zacharyja]

Sunday, June 2, 2024

Daishogun Hachi Shrine, Taishogun Shopping Street, and Onsen

Today began late again at around 11am followed by getting ready for the day and then going to my friends house to meetup for lunch. We decided on a Shabu Shabu place called “Washoku Sato”, Shabu Shabu is a popular Japanese form of dining, which is similar to hotpot. You choose your raw meat from options such as japanese beef, ribs, chicken, beef tongue, and much more. You then can pick from different types of broth and you then dip your food into the broth for about a minute until it is fully cooked and ready to eat. This usually makes it very juicy and adds the flavor of the broth to the meat. This particular place had an option for all you can eat which I was pretty excited about. They had an ipad at the table where you could order whatever you wanted, ranging from all sorts of types of thinly sliced meat, to yakitori, to dumplings, to vegetables, and even a few types of desserts. We had 80 minutes to eat as much as we wanted with no limits. I feel like I gained about 10 pounds from this meal alone as we continually ordered meat and other various ingredients until i could not longer physically stuff food down my gullet. The dessert was good as well, as we ordered mango gelato, churros, and sesame dumpling with red bean paste inside to conclude the delicious meal.

After this delectable meal, we rode our bikes over to Taishogun shopping street, which is a famous street known for having statues and other depictions of Japanese folklore monsters, unfortunately the weather was subpar and rainy so we didn’t see much. However, we stumbled upon a random aquarium store which I was pretty stoked to see.

I had been hoping to find myself at a fish store in Japan, and today was my lucky day. They had a massive assortment of goldfish and koi, in all different shapes sizes and colors. Ranging from telescope, oranda, pearlscale, ranchu, shubunkin, and everything in between. They also had a massive amount of Japanese Medaka Rice fish, which I am a massive fan of. Naturally, they are also very popular here in Japan and you can often find them in large bowls outside of houses along with aquatic plants and moss. They also had quite the selection of tropical fish including angelfish, danios, convict-parrot hybrids, corydoras, and many others that i’m too lazy to list.

After having my fair share of aquarium store time, we happened upon a random shrine nearby, called the Daishogun Hachi Shrine. Which was originally built in 794, and commissioned by Emperor Kanmu at the north-west corner of the Imperial Palace, to break evil of what was considered an unlucky direction. This shrine was pretty cool and I enjoyed ringing the many bells they had which are meant to get the attention of the gods similar to clapping before prayer, as well as to bring the gods down for protection.

After this, we decided to hit up an Sento to relax our muscles and recharge. If you don’t know, Sento/Onsen is the traditional Japanese public bathing facility, which has multiple different heated baths, showers, outdoor baths, and even low current electric baths which contain live metal electrodes that induce a slight shock through your body giving a minor tingling sensation. The onsen was an interesting experience, but it is so uniquely Japanese that I felt like I would miss out by not doing it. I did not expect to see tons of old naked Japanese men when I woke up today, but nonetheless here I am. The bath was actually pretty relaxing after I got over the whole being nude around other people part of it. I chilled out in multiple of the baths for a while, though my favorite was the outdoor one as the dichotomy between the cool rainy air and the warm sento water was pretty nice.

After the onsen, I went back to my hotel to do laundry as I was fresh out of clean clothes. Once my laundry was all done, I went to get Boba tea with my friend, as I love boba and have not had any since i’ve been in Japan. We went to a Boba place nearby called “Ben Gongs Tea”, I ordered a brown sugar milk tea with tapioca, and finished as fast as it came out.

Once the boba was all gone we headed back to hangout for a bit and have some honeycomb toast. This reminded me of the scene from a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, where Snoopy and the gang are going crazy making tons of toast beast mode style. https://youtu.be/Jgcib3g5Zgg?feature=shared

That pretty much concluded my night and we will see what hijinks i get up to tomorrow 😎