Tons of Fun Takes Japan - Tokyo

At the end of May, my baby brother came to Japan for a visit. It was his first real time visiting another country (Mexico doesn't really count), and he had a great time. To make the most of his experience, I recommended we start the trip in Tokyo, then spend the second half in northern Japan where I live.

Writing on the wall of a random bar in Shinjuku.

We stayed in Shinjuku, which is probably my favorite area of Tokyo. It's easy to get to many different sites of interest, and it's not horribly expensive. The first night we just wandered around Shinjuku and found ourselves at a little laid back bar in some basement, so standard Japan.

The next morning, Grant woke me up at 6 in the morning to sightsee. Not being quite ready yet, I let him take a solo journey to McDonald's and slept for another hour. When we finally got going, our first stop was Senso-ji, a Buddhist temple in Asakusa. Senso-ji is the oldest temple in Tokyo, and is one of the biggest ones I've seen.

After Senso-ji, we went to the Tokyo Skytree, which Mark & I went to over Christmas. Unfortunately, the weather was fairly hazy, as it usually is in the summer, and we weren't able to see Mt. Fuji.

Nature meets man in Tokyo

We then went to Koto to see the Kameido Tenjin Shrine. The grounds are supposed to be covered in wisteria flowers in the beginning of May and I was hoping they would still be in bloom. Unfortunately, they were not, but it still made for some amazing views. We spent the evening wandering Shinjuku again, taking in all the sights and turned in for an earlier night.

The next morning, we started by going to Shibuya Crossing, the busiest intersection in the world. Some students told us that 3,000 people cross the street at every light change, which I totally believe. It is controlled chaos, with everyone going in all different directions.

Before the madness

So many people!

Shibuya is very close to Harajuku, which is where Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Shrine are located. Sundays are supposed to be the day to go to Yoyogi because that's when the Japanese lolita and gothic subculture hang out.

Lacross in Yoyogi Park

Yoyogi also has a big botanical garden

As we later found out, the police are cracking down on the subculture, so it's now just mainly families enjoying the afternoon.

We still found a bagpipe player, so win on that front.

Commercial being shot in the park. I've seen so many commercials being filmed since moving to Japan.

Just enjoying the park

On our way from the park to the Meiji Shrine, we picked up a bubble soda and chu-his. Bubble sodas have a little white ball at the top that you shove through a little hole into the soda. Whatever, it's fun, don't judge.

More fun people at Yoyogi

And chu his are the better tasting 4 Loco of Japan. They fuel many of our adventures since it's completely legal to drink on the street in Japan. The flavors vary by season and region, so it's fun to try a bunch of different kinds.

Traditional Japanese wedding at Meiji Shrine

As we were walking towards Meiji Shrine, we were stopped by a group of Japanese students. They asked us if they could take us on a tour of the shrine as part of their school project. We obviously accepted and ending up learning a lot about shrines.

They taught us how to buy omikuji, Japanese fortunes. This shrine had them in English and Japanese.

Then, they taught us the proper way to cleanse before entering the temple, and politely told us to chug our chu his before entering. Inside we saw a traditional Japanese wedding. They explained that since the woman was wearing a white hat it meant it was her first marriage.

They told us to take a picture here for good luck in our relationship

After we went through the temple, they sent us on our way to the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden. We learned that they typically give 4 - 5 tours to English speaking tourists on the weekends to improve their language skills. They were very easy to understand and a good group of students.

Our tour guides and us under the torii

Next, we went to Shinjuku to tour the Shinjuku Gyoen Garden before going to the Robot Cafe that night. 

The gardens are huge, and are specifically styled to different regions around the world. Our favorite was the traditional Japanese style and the greenhouse.

The gardens were so green

From there we walked to the Robot Cafe. We got there a little too early, so we grabbed a drink at a bar next to the cafe and met some girls from the states. I helped them navigate a little bit and taught them the Japanese that I knew.

Waiting for the show to begin

This was my second trip to the Robot Cafe. The last time we went was during our Christmas trip, and it was just as awesome the second time around. Grant had a great time, and said it was one of his favorite parts of the entire trip.

Drinks at Alice in Wonderland in Shinjuku

Since we had to go to the early show for the Robot Cafe, we decided to find some fun bars in Shinjuku. We walked past a graphic that looked like Alice in Wonderland so we took the elevator to the basement to check it out. There was no one behind the counter when we got there, and just as we were about to turn and leave we heard a knock and the wall shifted to reveal a secret room and a hostess dressed as Alice. The drinks were expensive, but delicious.

Bathroom at a library themed bar.

We then hopped around to a couple different themed cafes, before stopping by a Lawson for chicken and chu his.

Bullet train!

The next morning we took the bullet train back up to Misawa. Grant was super excited about riding the train, and to see rural Japan. 

Christmas Day & The Robot Cafe

On Christmas Day Mark and I did some sightseeing at the Tokyo Tower. Much like the Tokyo Sky Tree, the Tokyo Tower is a broadcasting tower.

It is the second tallest building in Tokyo and was built in 1958. Standing at 1,092 feet tall, it was built to look like the Eiffel Tower and is painted orange for safety reasons.

View from the observation window.

Out of the two towers, I liked the Sky Tree better. Since it is newer, it didn't shake as much and the elevators moved faster, which is good for someone afraid of heights. After looking at the view from both observation decks, we found a photo booth.

The view from Tokyo Tower.

Photo booths are huge in Japan. Typically, men are not allowed in them, unless they are taking pictures with their girlfriends. The booths are so much fun because they are huge and have studio quality lighting. Some of them have costumes that you can put on, or special filters they apply to your photo. It's like Instagram on steroids.

Tokyo Tower Photo Booth!

We got to choose two backgrounds for this one and then we added the little hearts during the editing process. That's right, you edit your photo booth pictures. It's the best 500 yen you can spend!

Tokyo subway.

After the Tokyo Tower, we headed to the Tsukiji Fish Market. This is the biggest wholesale fish market in the world, and is where the infamous tuna auctions take place. Tourists once were able to see the auctions take place, but they have recently stopped allowing tourists in the inner market.

So many people! There were a ton of booths selling fish and other goods.

We worked up an appetite walking around so we popped into one of the restaurants located above the shops. The stairs were ridiculously steep and the sushi was simple and fresh. We had a few beers and then headed back to the hotel to prepare for the Robot Cafe.

Santa Baby at the Robot Cafe.

The Robot Cafe fits every stereotype foreigners have of Japan. Laser lights. Girls in skimpy outfits. Frantic music. Pandas riding cows. And it is the best thing we did in Tokyo.

During the battle scene. The panda riding a cow was on her side...against the robots.

The cafe is more of a show than a dinner. They provided bento boxes, but we stuck to chu-his (flavored malt beverages). It is located in the flashy Shinjuku area of town, mostly known for its shopping and nightlife.

We all got glow sticks for this portion.

The show itself is a series of scenes of pandas, anime girls, and robots battling each other. Don't try to make sense of it, because it just doesn't. Words really can't do it justice, though all I can say is if you find yourself in Tokyo for the night, this is a requirement. You won't regret it.

Don't ask why...just enjoy it.

If you want to see a bit of the show, click the picture below to watch the Robot Cafe rendition of Santa Baby (yes, we went on Christmas):

The following day we went to the Meiji Jingu shrine, which was very pretty because it was surrounded by Yoyogi Park.

Torii gate at the entrance of the park.

We wondered around, enjoying the more mild temperatures of Tokyo. We found a garden which would have been very pretty in the fall and summer, but pretty much everything was dead when we went.

Prayer cards from all over the world. It was so cool to see so many different languages.

In the garden, we saw this older man picking up pebbles and holding them flat in his hand. After a few minutes, a small sparrow-looking bird landed right on this hand and sat perched there for a few seconds before flying away.

So Mark copied him.

And then he kept trying to get me to do the same, despite my fear of birds, which we've already discussed here. After a little while, I finally worked up the courage.

In case you wondered what my fear face looks like...

But after the initial shock, we got a better picture of me once again conquering my fear.

WINNING!

And that was our Tokyo adventure. Such a great way to end two months apart.