Chad & Ricky’s Tokyo Vacation – Day 8

Saturday – November 17

We chartered a driver to pick us up and bring us to the airport. We got there in plenty of time to check in and find something to eat. I got Soba Noodles with vegetable tempura, Rick go Goyza. Both were very good for airport food. We got some souvenirs at a shop and found a vending machine to use up the rest
of the funds in our Suica cards.

Our plane on Japan Airlines was on time and we made it safely home.

Chad & Ricky’s Tokyo Vacation – Day 7

Friday – November 17

We had breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant. It was a buffet, which had a lot of choices. It was a good value, and we were able to try different types of cuisines for brunch.

We took the train to Shinjuku to find the Godzilla’s head. We took some pictures and walked around for a bit. We found another 3D billboard that featured a cat, one of the ones I wanted to see.

We then took the train to Shibuya to find the Hachiko statue.

Hachiko is the famed dog that would wait for his owner at the train station. When his owner passed away, he would continue to visit the train station until his death. The statue was constructed to celebrate Hachiko’s loyalty to his owner. There was a line to take a picture with the statue, we were able to get a selfie with the statue because we had dinner reservations at a restaurant, I saw on Tik Tok.

We walked to Kamachan Onsen. When I looked up the restaurant it said that you needed reservations.

Luckily there was two reservations left, so I quickly made that reservation the day before. It was a little difficult because the online form was in Japanese, but I was able to secure the reservation.

The restaurant features a teddy bear hotpot. This shabu shabu hotpot give you a teddy bear-shapes collagen jelly, which turns into a broth when heated. I chose a chicken broth with chicken; Rick chose
miso broth with beef.

It came with an assortment of vegetables, and you can choose from various dipping sauces. It was a fun experience and definitely recommend it.

We took the train to Shinjuko Ni-chome to check out the gay neighborhood. It was still early so none of the bars were open, so we decided to go back to the hotel and have the dessert that we got at Mark City Food Show Sweets Zone in Shibuya crossing.

Chad & Ricky’s Tokyo Vacation – Day 6

Thursday – November 16

Woke up and thought we would grab something to eat at Ikspiari, but it was too early and nothing was open, so we opted to eat at McDonalds. Different type of menu and selections.

We went to Tokyo Imperial Palace to check it out. Found out that they were giving free tours, but it was limited. We stayed in line and secured a spot. When it was time to go in, we took the English tour around the grounds. It was a nice walk around the grounds, but nothing special. I was hoping that we would be able to tour the inside of the buildings but that was not the case.

We had to at least go and see a temple. Looked on Google maps and there was a temple just north of where we were that was 30 minutes by train. We visited Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa. It is a beautiful temple, and is one of the oldest temple in Tokyo. In front of the temple is a shopping area with multiple booths. Close to the entrance of the temple there were places where you can get your fortune and ritual
areas.

We walked around the area, looking at the shops, tried a local snack and took pictures. We couldn’t find a place to eat so we decided to go back to Ikspiari to find a place for dinner. We found a place that served Okonomiyaki, a cabbage fritter that I wanted to try. We thought we were in line for the restaurant, but ended up in line for a Ramen place. It was still good, so we didn’t mind.