Tons of Fun Takes 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 at a random Shinjuku bar.

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.

Lacrosse in Yoyogi Park.

There's a huge botanical garden in the park.

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. 

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.

All sorts of 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 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.

Us with our tour guides under the Meiji 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. 

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.

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.

Secret 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.

Grant was so excited to take the 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.