The day started early. So much for being over jet lag. It seems like Joe and the girls are doing better, but I’m a mess. The good thing is, this allowed me to connect with my long time friend Kaoru, who lives on Vancouver Island, and just happens to be visiting her brother in Tokyo this week. We agreed to meet for breakfast at 7.30am, which allowed Maylin and I to go for an early morning walk while Joe and Téa stayed asleep. Maylin and I walked all the way to the base of the Tokyo SkyTree, enjoying a 7Eleven snack and a vending machine drink along the way.
We got back to the apartment just in time to pick Joe and Téa up, before setting out to meet Kaoru for breakfast. Kaoru and her parents met us by the entrance to the Asakusa Shrine, where they would go off to do their thing, and Kaoru would hang out with us. We lined up at an Asakusa traditional Japanese/Western cafe, waited about 30 minutes in the high heat (yes, even before 8am!). We all ordered our own breakfast dishes this time, so for once I had a full breakfast! Kaoru was able to translate and explain all the things during our visit, and we got talking to the guests at the next table. The two young girls had to speak English with a stranger as part of their homework, so they stuttered some polite phrases, including “what is your favourite colour”, and we took a picture to prove they had spoken with us.
After breakfast, we walked through the streets surrounding the shrine, with Kaoru pointing out and explaining dishes and favourite toys along the way. The Gacha Store would open later, and we planned to return. Then we rounded a corner, and THERE was the Don Quijote on steroids! Four crammed but large floors of things, things, medicine, skincare, treats, souvenirs, luggage, clothing, electronic doodads, and some more things. Kaoru had never spent more than the absolutely necessary time inside a Donki store, but our girls went gaga over the THINGS they saw. Joe picked up some necessities (hello personal fans for Disney coming up) and a couple of trinkets for the girls, and after about an hour or so we said goodbye for now to this overwhelming store. It’s open 24 hours though, so who knows if Maylin and I will make it our destination one of these mornings?
Kaoru left us outside the store, and we promised to meet again in BC next time. Joe, the girls and I visited the shrine, and lasted only a few minutes in the heat and throng of tourists. Each minute spent in the high traffic tourist areas of Tokyo make me appreciate the calm residental neighbourhood where we are staying. We were HOT and needing to cool down by this point. The arcade with claw machines of every price, size and prize available was a great air conditioned pause. Then came the gacha store, which had finally opened. It’s really hard to be 5 years old and think that a claw machine is a guaranteed prize if you wish it hard enough, and I totally blame the arcade games at Cineplex in Windsor, where you get to keep going until you get a toy…
A few stores down the street, Joe stops outside what looks like a shop selling candy boxes and ice cream. There’s a cafe upstairs, and we walk right in to empty tables. I ordered a matcha shaved ice with vanilla ice cream, Joe and Maylin shared a shaved ice with red bean paste and mochi balls, and Téa had a sweet potato (!) ice cream with breakfast cereal and sweet potato chunks. The desserts were incredible, the air conditioning refreshing, and the timing divine. Soon after we got our desserts, we watched the line outside grow and grow.
We finished our break and decided to head to the subway and to the Ginza district. This is where the rich people shop, and us, of course (not). But it IS where Itoya, the 12 floor stationary store, is located, and that’s where we aimed for next! Joe and Maylin were instantly bored, and asked us how much time we would need. I guesstimated about half an hour, and he said they’d be back in an hour. We needed that extra time!
Every floor in this store had a different theme. The top few floors were cafes, meeting space and workshop lounges, so Téa and I started on the 8th floor and worked our way down through the building. We skipped the $3000 fancy pen floor, and the one with home decor like vases, statues, clocks and the like. We enjoyed the bits out of the paper sections, wanted to try out every different pen, marker, pencil etc. The cards! The little pieces of art! The papers that took so much crafting before it even became paper for sale so we could craft with it! And of course, the little car that cleans up after you use an eraser… At the end, we both agreed we could have spent probably 3x the time and 100x the money in this beautiful store, while Joe and Maylin enjoyed an airconditioned treat in a fancy clothing store’s cafe, only a block away.
We headed back to the subway to aim for home, the subway entrance being in the basement of a very high end department store. Fun fact: My mom and I bought me a ring at this department store’s jewelry section for my birthday 18 years ago! But here’s what I love. The basement of this store sells food. It is NOT a grocery store, they sell food like jewelers sell jewels. They sell food like Hudson’s Bay used to sell perfume and makeup, ensuring each offering looks as delicate as it (probably) tastes (because honestly, I was afraid to even ask what anything costs in this place). Each vendor specializes in their craft, so this stall ONLY sells honey, that stall ONLY sells macarons, the next stall ONLY sells this type of cookie… So incredibly detailed, so intricately beautiful.
The subway ride home and the walk from the subway was hot hot hot as usual, but luckily there are ice cold drink vending machines every few blocks. The blocks here are tiny, so cold drinks are available for about $1 or $1.50 every few steps. We used our UV blocking umbrella, our hand held fans, bought some Pocari Sweat (no, you’re not drinking someone’s sweat, but you drink this while sweating), and made it home in time to stretch our backs, rest our legs and decide what to do for dinner. Joe found a hole in the wall ramen place a few easy blocks away, and we set off.
As soon as we opened the door, we realized there were only 8 seats along the kitchen counter, and a hightop table in the entire place. We were warmly greeted as the first customers of the night, and were directed towards a touch screen menu at the entrance. Once ordered and paid, we were guided to the four seats along the one side of the counter. As soon as we sit down, more customers start coming in, and the place is soon full. The girls shared a bowl of ramen, Joe and I had one each. Good food, but nothing spectacular. I think Joe was a little disappointed, but he had high hopes from his first authentic Japanese ramen experience. This is not a place to linger, and so as soon as we slurped the last drops of broth, we headed back out into the night.
It gets dark around 5.45pm at the moment, so it feels exotic to walk around in this giant metropolis in the dark. Thank goodness for the light at the end of our street, 7Eleven! We know both where to turn off the main street, and we stock up on some easy sandwiches for early morning rumbly tummies.
We were home early, the girls put on a movie, and Joe fell asleep first. Maylin followed soon thereafter, and Téa held out until about 8pm. I went to bed at 8.30pm, thinking – are we over the jet lag?
We are having so much fun and also learning everyday!