We’re now in Tokyo, our final stop in Asia before heading back to Canada. Saving the best for last? Hard to say, but Tokyo is incredible. Easily one of my favourite cities I’ve ever been to.
We arrived from the Izu Peninsula mid-afternoon, so we kept things low-key on day one and explored a neighbourhood near our apartment. Mylène picked up some Onitsuka Tiger shoes and I wandered through a few used camera shops. No luck finding the lens I wanted, but still fun to browse. We also stopped by another Hard Off. Not to buy anything, just to look… and once again, I’m blown away by the inventory. Endless Game Boys, Super Nintendos, N64s… it’s like a museum you can actually shop in.
Day two, we went to Gotokuji Temple, which is supposedly where the waving cat (maneki-neko) originated. Not entirely sure what it symbolizes, probably good luck, but seeing hundreds of those little cats all over the place was both funny and kinda creepy.
After that, we checked out Shimokitazawa, kind of a hipster area packed with thrift and vintage clothing shops. One thing that bugged me though: most of the “vintage” stuff is American brands. Not really what I’m looking for.
Next stop was Totti Candy Factory for their massive cotton candy. We’d been hyping it up to the kids for months, so they were pretty excited. I don’t even like cotton candy, but I had to get one for the photo. It’s absurdly big. After that, we went to Reissue Cafe for their 3D latte art, which was pretty cool. We got the Shiba dog, and maybe that was a bit too hard because it doesn’t look that much like a shiba.
We wrapped up the day in Shinjuku, the classic neon lights everywhere vibe. Reminds me of Times Square. While there, we checked out Hands, which is honestly one of the best stores I’ve ever been in. There’s something for everyone: tools, toys, kitchen gadgets, random stuff you didn’t know you needed.
The next morning, I took a sushi class. It started with a trip to the market to pick out fish and wasabi, then back to actually make everything. Total cost was maybe $20–30 to make way more sushi than we could eat. And it was ridiculously good. I learned how to prepare the rice properly, slice the fish, and shape different types like maki, nigiri, and gunkan. Now we’ll see if I can actually pull that off back home.
While I was doing that, Mylène and the kids went to Ueno Park and the zoo. It was cheap (free for the kids, about 600 yen for Mylène), and there were lots of animals, but most of them were in pretty small enclosures, which isn’t great to see.
The next day we headed to Ginza. First stop was Itoya, a six-floor stationery store. We picked up a few things like mechanical pencils and an origami book. The selection is insane, every price point, every style. If you like pens even a little bit, you could easily spend hours there.
We also checked out the Uniqlo flagship store, which I think is about 10 floors. Prices are much better than back home, but unfortunately the jeans I wanted were online-only. Turns out in-store they mostly carry standard Japanese sizes… so yeah, apparently I’m too fat. 😂
Then we went to Glitch, a well-known coffee shop. You pick your brewing method (we did espresso and pourover), then choose from a bunch of different beans. The cortado was probably one of the best I’ve ever had. The pourover though… a bit underwhelming. Kind of watery. Not cheap either, about $20 for two coffees, but still worth trying once.
After that, we headed to Shibuya to see the famous Shibuya Crossing. At the end of the day, it’s just an intersection… but when the lights change and three thousand people cross from every direction at once, it’s actually pretty wild to watch.
Around 5pm we went up to Shibuya Sky. It’s about 45 floors up (I think?), with panoramic views over the entire city. Tokyo just goes on forever. You can see buildings in every direction, and we even spotted a faint outline of Mount Fuji in the distance. There’s also a big open rooftop area where you can just hang out, which makes it even better.
The next day we took it easy in the morning, then headed to Kappabashi Street in the afternoon. It’s basically kitchen gear heaven. Everything from touristy gadgets to serious pro equipment. If it exists for a kitchen, it’s here. I picked up a vegetable peeler and a garlic peeler, but honestly I could’ve filled a suitcase.
Later we went to Asakusa, one of the more traditional-feeling areas of Tokyo. There’s a nice temple there that I wanted to photograph at night. My plan was to get a clean shot with no people… which was extremely optimistic. Way too many people, even late.
The following day we visited TeamLab Planets, an interactive art museum. The kids absolutely loved it. It’s divided into sections like Forest, Water, and Garden. Hard to describe properly, but it’s one of those places where photos do a better job than words.
For lunch, we went to a sushi restaurant nearby, but not your typical Japanese style. Sushi in Japan is usually simpler than what we get in Canada. A lot of nigiri, smaller maki, fewer crazy combinations. But this place was started by someone from Vancouver, and we’d actually been to their original location before. Their pressed sushi (oshi) was one of the best we’d ever had, so we had to try the Tokyo version. It didn’t disappoint, and it was way cheaper than in Vancouver.
That evening, we went up to Roppongi Hills Tokyo City View for another skyline perspective, mainly because it’s closer to Tokyo Tower, which looks a bit like the Eiffel Tower.
While we were there, the kids went to the bathroom and I was just waiting when an announcement came on: there had been an earthquake. Immediately staff had everyone crouch down and cover their heads. Definitely a “what the hell is happening” moment. But clearly not their first time dealing with this. Everything was calm, organized, and there were English instructions everywhere. It ended up being a 7.4 magnitude earthquake offshore. After about 15 minutes, they confirmed the building was safe and let us go up. The view was, once again, incredible.
We had kept the next two days open, just in case. Turns out the kids were done with sightseeing and wanted two full days of doing absolutely nothing. Fair enough. Mylène and I split it so we each got a solo day while the other stayed back at the apartment.
On my day, I hit a few spots I hadn’t properly explored yet. First was Akihabara Electric Town, basically an entire neighbourhood dedicated to electronics, gaming, anime, arcades, all of it. I didn’t buy anything, but it’s a fun place to wander.
Then I went to the Toto showroom. Yes, the toilet company. Their bidets are next level, and I wanted to see all the features in person before deciding what to get at home. My wishlist: auto-opening lid, instant hot water, heated seat, air dryer. Once you try these, it’s hard to go back.
After that, I went back to Hands and spent more time in the tool section, picked up a few knife sharpening accessories. Then finished off at Nakano Broadway, another electronics-heavy mall. Tried a couple claw machines… no wins. Shocking.
On Mylène’s day, she had her sights set on the amusement park next to Tokyo Dome. The day before, during maintenance, an employee got stuck somewhere and passed away, so the whole place was closed.
So she pivoted. Hit a shrine, wandered around at her own pace with zero small humans complaining, and did some second-hand shopping. There are so many of those stores here, she was basically in heaven. Didn’t buy much though, mostly because we’re already playing luggage Tetris at expert level. She also stopped by the Kodokan, the birthplace of Judo (and yes, she has a black belt, just in case that ever comes up). Amazing how much you can get done in a day when you’re not stopping at 7-Eleven every 20 minutes for snacks.
Next day, airport day. Checkout was at 10am, flight at 6:35pm, so we figured we’d just head there early and kill time. Turns out, that was a solid plan. The airport has a huge shopping and dining area, so the hours disappeared pretty fast. While wandering around, I spotted a store selling Zojirushi rice cookers. I was just browsing for fun, then noticed they had a North American 120V version. I’d been eyeing one for when we get back (because I’m a sushi chef now), and then I saw the price: $200 instead of $435 in Canada. That’s not a “think about it” situation. That’s a “guess we’re flying home with a rice cooker in the carry-on” situation. Mylène gave me the classic eye roll, but she’ll thank me once she’s eating the best godamn rice in Ottawa.
And that’s it for Japan. Next stop: back to Canada, with a quick stop in Calgary before Ottawa.
Japan has been amazing. The people, the food, the scenery, all of it. But what really stands out to me is how everything just works. It’s clean, organized, efficient. No garbage lying around. People are quiet, even on packed trains. Trains show up exactly when they’re supposed to. Public transit is easy. Signage is clear. Things just make sense.
And then there’s the quality of their stuff. Tools, gadgets, everything feels well made. I honestly wish I had more space (and money) to bring stuff back. Even their cars are more interesting. Way fewer giant pickup trucks (and yes I know I used to have a giant pickup truck). Mostly smaller, practical cars.
I feel like when the Japanese do something, they do it really really well. And I really like that mindset.
Be the first to comment.