We were in Tokyo for the first two days before moving to another city and the last 3 days of the trip. It was truly a city that never sleeps at least in the most busiest touristy areas (Shinjuku). We had to wait 20 minutes for two seats ramen shop at midnight on a weekday! 

Chidorigafuchi

We arrived in Tokyo during the last days of cherry blossom full bloom. I had to visit one of the most popular spots, Chidorigafuchi, a pretty park with Sakura trees lined against a river. 

Shinjuku Area

On our first night, we had bar food near Pissing Alley and got our first glimpse of Shinjuku with bright lights, busy streets and everything we expected from Tokyo. Chi and I also checked out an arcade, Taito Game Station and took photobooth photos that auto-beautify your face. 

After travelling across Japan, we returned to Shinjuku again to watch the infamous Robot show. I wasn’t sure what to expect but heard that it will be sensory overload. The 3rd floor lounge was over the top in mirrors and gold decor. The stairs down to the basement echo the same style. 

The show is actually made up of about 5 mini-shows with intermissions in between. Each show features dancers with bright bold costumes and different types of robots. It was surprisingly very entertaining and exciting to watch. 

Our favorite mini-show was definitely when the futuristic dystopian robots attack the  nature utopia robots. One robot would die and another strong one would join the battle. 

The dancers were also very energetic and fun to watch. There were lasers and screens filled bright visuals. It was a great show.  

That night in Shinjuku, we also stayed at a Capsule hotel. The capsules/pods were gender separated and only $25 a night. I didn’t feel claustrophobic at all and it was actually comfortable and fun. The ladies area was pretty quiet but Chi said the men’s section was pretty load and rowdy. 

Harajuku Area

This famous shopping district was much more than girls dressed up in wacky bizarre fashion. There was so much to see, eat and shop here… I wish I had more time to explore. 

I wanted to get a 3D latte and I found a cafe called Reissue that specializes in the art. We were allowed to request any character and also look at an album of what they’ve done. Chi wanted Totoro and I just wanted a cute bunny or bear. It was so adorable and tasty too. 

My favorite shop was the Line Friends store, a shop inspired by the popular Line chat app. The characters and merchandise was so cute and the store was just fun with a gigantic bear in the front. 

In the theme of Harajuku girls, we went to Kawaii Monster Cafe, a colorful Willy Wonka or Alice in wonderland decorated cafe capturing the harajuku fashion culture. The interiors were bright and fun and I got to photograph harajuku girls wandering the cafe. 

Takeshita Dori is the famous street with any shops featuring wacky clothing and bizarre trends that you would expect from Harajuku. However, it is a bit commercial and touristy but still worth a visit.

We had both Angel and Marion Crepes but wasn’t impressed. We instead enjoyed the fresh potato snacks at Calbee… They were like fries but also crispy like chips with seaweed and garlic seasoning.

Another area in Harajuku,  I liked wandering around was Cat Street. No cats but just a less touristy pedestrian street lined with vintage and big named shops.  

Tsukiji Fish Market

On our first morning, Cassie, Chi and I explored the Tsukiji Fish Market. The inner market sold wholesale fresh fish while the outer market sold fish and kitchen products. We didn’t buy anything but it was an interesting sight to see buyers and sellers working away and driving turret trucks. 

However, the real star of this area is east of the market where streets were lined with shops and eateries. Lunch was a fresh bowl of sushi and unagi. It was affordable and delicious. The Japanese love to provide free samples to incentivize you to buy their goods. This was amazing because it meant we got to try a variety of Japanese snacks and ingredients. From pickled seaweed, bonito flakes to dried strawberries, we literally just munched all day from shop to shop.

MariCar

MariCar was one of the most memorable and unique experiences I’ve had. We all picked costumes and although I wanted to be Toad, I ended up dressing up as Doremon because his costume is warmer. Rosanna picked the perfect start time of 5pm to drive through the sunset. We had no seatbelts or helmets but we did have a quick briefing on how to use the carts.

The six of us drove to Tokyo Tower and the sun was just setting. It was beautiful to see. We then drove to Rappongi Hills and this road lined with Sakura trees in full bloom. We finished up at Shibuya Crossing and drove through it as pedestrians waited at this famous scramble. 

Oedo Onsen Park

We spent a fun night at this onsen spa where we got to wear Yakuta Japanese robes, sit in various temperature pools and tubs, eat and play some carnival games. It was relaxing in the gender-separated indoor and outdoor pools and the common areas were fun with tons of food options. 

Ghibli Museum

Chi likes Ghibli movies and art so we got tickets to this popular museum. I’m not a fan but the museum was very artistic, interactive and nice to see how they did the animation. 

Fujiko F. Fujio (Doraemon) Museum 

I love Doraemon, or known as “Ding Dong” in Cantonese. He is a silly robotic cat from the future that got his ears bit off by rats and turned blue. I knew I had to visit the artist’s museum. 

We took a Doraemon-plastered bus to the museum and got to see a lot of his artwork. I wish there were more vinyl toys and interactive exhibits but it was fun nonetheless. 

Of course, I had to eat at the cafe and order some cute character drinks and food! Super cute and tasted decent. 

Sensoji Temple and Nakamise street

One evening, we headed to Asakusa to visit the Sensoji Temple and shop along Nakamise street on our second last day on the trip. After seeing so many areas of Japan, I wasn’t that impressed with the temple or the shops. But still a spot to walk around, buy souvenirs and munch on various samples. 

Shibuya Crossing

While we drove through it in our MariCar, we also went back to walk through it and experience the busiest pedestrian scramble. It was busy, lively and everyone had selfie sticks in the air. 

Akihibara & Maid Cafe

We visited and stayed in Akihabara, nicknamed the electric town, a shopping district for electronics, anime, manga and video games. Anime posters and advertisements plastered all over nerdy shops and maid cafes.

We visited ‘M’ an adult shop to see all the bizarre toys, fetish and costumes. Cassie and I were laughing non-stop. I missed the used panties machines though.

In spirit of the Otaku culture, Chi and I also visited MaidDreamin, a maid cafe. I had read reviews that it’s overpriced and overrated but still was curious to experience this popular fad that expanded beyond Japan since 2001. We weren’t allowed to take photos of the maids or the cafe but snuck a few photos here and there. The maids were very cute, nice and excessively excited. It was a bizarre but unique experience that you can only try in Japan. 

Food is overpriced and not that great but presented in a cute way. The maids would also “bless” your food when they serve it and you’re expected to follow along.  

Most patrons were tourist but I did see two single males enter and dined here by themselves. Of all cafes and restaurants in the area, they choose to eat here. They can’t be here for the overpriced meh food. What’s creepy is they had a binder with baseball cards of all the maids… wonder what that is for.

We weren’t going to pay $30 to see the maids perform but lucky us, someone else did. One of the maids starts singing and dancing like a anime character while another did some funny rock-out at the same time.