Hey Tokyo

We took a trip up to Tokyo with Anna and Matthew. We started our trip to Tokyo by making a stop at Sensoji Temple. It is the oldest temple in Tokyo and you can find it in the Asakusa area. It was built in the year 628, and it is one of the most visited temples in Tokyo. We went with our parents on New Years, but only stayed briefly as you could barely walk. It was so packed! Luckily, this

time it was much less crowded and more enjoyable to visit. In one of our photos, you can also see the Tokyo Sky Tree in the background.

Also, check out some quick pics from a 3D coffee art store that we went to. As you must already know, Japan is home to all things “kawaii” or “cute”. While you can find tons of places with amazing 2D coffee art, it is a bit harder to find places with 3D art. Naturally, Tori got a coffee with a cat in it, very fitting.

So, our main reason for heading up to Tokyo— to see a Sumo match! It was quite challenging to get tickets. We had tried previously to get tickets to a match in Nagoya, but they sold out so quickly. Tip, you need to create an account in advance, because by the time you finish creating an account, the tickets will be sold. Luckily, when it came time to find tickets in Tokyo, we were much more prepared, and we snagged some TICKETS!

Ok, here's the thing, we were not really sure what to expect from watching sumo. In the past, we had tried some traditional Japanese things, such as watching a traditional Japanese theater show, Noh, and honestly, it was really boring. However, as cliché as it sounds—WATCHING JAPANESE SUMO IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST!!! Let me repeat—it is a MUST!!!! We saw the match with Anna and Matthew and the 4 of us were completely engrossed!

We had talked in advance and decided that if for some reason we got bored, we would leave early. However, we were glued to our seats, and only left once to use the bathrooms. Tip, before seeing a match read about the traditions and the workings of sumo. This was extremely helpful for us, as it helped us understand what was happening in the match. By reading in advance, small things, like the color the referees wore, and the color of their flags (which symbolized their rank) were clear to us. These are things we would have definitely missed had we not been read beforehand. I wish we could put into words how amazing this experience was, but I suppose we will have to leave it open to your imagination, or you can go see a match yourself and really understand how magnificent this experience is!

What else did we do in Tokyo? Well, we ventured over to a Vampire themed restaurant for an early birthday celebration for Tori. As you can imagine there are a lot of uniquely themed restaurants and cafes in Japan, so we figured we would check this one out. While it was unique, we would advise skipping it. It felt like more of a tourist trap, and it seemed quite overpriced. Still, though, we were happy we got to see it at least once!

After that, Anna and Matthew had to make their way back down to Nagoya, but we stayed a bit longer in Tokyo. We had our first visit to teamLab Borderless. We were advised by Anna and Matthew to make sure we saw Borderless, as there are 2 teamLabs in Tokyo. The other one is Planets, and apparently it is quite underwhelming in comparison to Borderless. Check out some of these stunning photos we took, all taken with our phone. Ok, so here’s the thing. We know more and more of these digital art museums and exhibits are popping

up globally. Please trust us when we tell you, NOTHING will compare to teamLab Borderless, unless, however, teamLab expands itself to other cities and countries around the world. We think we did catch wind of them planning an expansion. So, to sum up Borderless… There really is not a way to put it into words. The museum was enormous, with various different themed rooms. Since it is such an extraordinary place to visit, it normally is quite packed, and you do need to buy timed tickets. Since we went when tourists were forbidden to enter Japan, we got quite lucky, as it was not very crowded. Again, you cannot really put this place into words. Take a look at the photos for yourself to get an idea what lies within, and if you plan a trip to Tokyo, do not skip this place!

Another stop we made was Tokyo’s famous Shibuya Crossing. We had read and also heard that one of the best places to get a view of Tokyo’s most crowded intersection is the Starbucks located right at the intersection. At Starbucks you are able to get an elevated view of the intersection. If you are super lucky, which we were (yay), you can score a seat right by the window and get an awesome view! For the record, during busy times of the day it is estimated that between 1,000-2,500 pedestrians cross this intersection ever 2 minutes! That is enough people to fill a football stadium in an hour!

Another place we absolutely had to go to included Ninja Tokyo. It is true this was our second time there, but honestly this may be one of our absolute favorite restaurants in the world. As you can probably guess from the name it is a ninja themed restaurant. If you do go, you must book in advance, and vegetarian and vegan options are available. You do also need to select the course you would like to eat in advance. Keep in mind, this is fine dining, so get ready for lots of courses, many of which are small. However, fear not, in the end you are in fact very full and satisfied. Lots of meals also are accompanied with special magic tricks and cool

effects. You are also seated in your own secluded area. Each table is tucked into their own room with sliding doors, which created a nice ambiance. At the end of the evening, you get to see a special ninja magic show, and it is really fun and cool! Oh, and the dessert—order it! It is an edible bonsai tree. Of course, it is not really a tree, but you would never be able to tell by how much detail is put into this dessert! Tori was spoiled and received her second birthday dinner here!

We had also read about and were curious to check out the Art Aquarium Museum. We were not really sure what to expect as we had never been there before and none of friends had ever been there either. Again, you can probably guess from the name what the museum was about. It was a modern art museum that basically had a lot of aquariums filled with various fish.

It was not the biggest space, but it was still a pretty cool, unique concept! Overall, we would recommend it for a visit.

We also stopped to check out Nissan Crossing Café in the Ginza area of Tokyo. The building is mainly a showcase of Nissan’s cars. However, on the second floor of the building you can find the café. You are able to have the staff take a picture of you on their tablet. Once they take a picture of you, they are able to print it out on milk foam on a hot drink. It was a quick stop for us, but fun and worth checking out.

We then made our way over to the Kit Kat Chocolatory, also located in Ginza. Everyone knows that Japan (also South Korea) are huge

fans of Kit Kats, and they often release very unique flavors. This includes seasonal flavors that come out periodically as well. We used to enjoy searching for fun seasonal flavors in our local supermarket. Throughout Japan there are several (I believe up to 8) Kit Kat Chocolatories. However, most of them are located in department stores and do not have an actual cafe. Often times in the basement of department stores, you find supermarkets and different booths offering to-go food, or pre-packaged goods (like Kit Kats) and sometimes you can also find cafes and small restaurants in these department stores.

What is unique about this Kit Kat Chocolatory, located in Ginza, is that it is its own space entirely, 2 floors in fact, and it has a café (something most of the others do not have).

The bottom floor has a Kit Kat store where people can buy premium flavored Kit Kats made from high quality chocolate. Additionally, you can also find a rotating stock of limited-edition Kit Kats here. The café is located on the second floor. In the café you can order various cakes and drinks. However, the parfaits are the most popular menu item. Parfaits are a very common dessert all throughout Japan (yes, imported from the states). We ordered the most popular parfait called “I ? Fruits”. It includes 3 different ice cream flavors, fresh fruit, and it’s topped with Kit Kats.

And that pretty much summed up our trip! A nice little escape for us that was full of adventure and exploration.