We’re celebrating Bachan’s birthday with an adventure in Japan with all her grandchildren. Three generations taking on chapters in Tokyo, Takayama, Fujikawa and Kichijoji. The title of these four posts, ‘Tolumne in Japan’, refers to the family camp where my mom would take us each summer to spend four days in Yosemite valley with family friends. As a camper, I remember running free through camp mainly reuniting with grownups during family meal and moments to brush teeth. Our parents would craft in the nature center, stack rocks in the creek and recharge together after saving up for these four special days. Our newest generation hasn’t had an experience at Camp Toulumne (yet) but I’d venture to say that the sentiments grounding this trip mirror what my mom wanted for us many years ago- and still works towards today: a space to bring family together in art, storytelling, nature, shared meals, curiosity in small moments, culture and love. Happy Birthday, Bachan xx
Travel day (27-28March)
I love a trip that starts with an uneventful travel day. Yes, the flights are long but the momentum of this trip kept spirits high. We stayed in Iidabashi, a quieter neighborhood, somewhat ‘bookish’ with uni students, yet near the Tokyo dome and easy transit options to more well-known Tokyo neighborhoods.
We arrived at the Edmont Metropolitan Hotel and left our luggage behind in search of lunch. The sun shone on us as we navigated to Momijiya for okonomiyaki and yakisoba. Everyone was happy with their order- especially Sachi who had mochi and shrimp in her ‘pancake’!
In fifteen minutes, we walked to Koishikawa Kuroen where people flocked to see the weeping sakura trees and picturesque ponds. The gardens were built in the early Edo Period and feature manicured pine groves, bridges and aims to replicate both Japanese and Chinese scenery.
We didn’t want to return to the hotel for fear of falling asleep too early so I charted the next stop. The Bunkyo Civic Center has a free observation deck on the 25th floor and is next door to the massive roller coaster that travels through a building! As we left the gardens for the observation deck, we happened upon a little league game and had to cheer on the 8 year old talent!
The civic center’s observation deck was under construction until December- which took me a moment to understand in Japanese from the doorman…but the ground floor proved a helpful pitstop for toilets and filling water bottles. Corey came out beaming after his first experience with a Toto Japanese /Western toilet experience. I’ll spare the details here but he won’t hesitate to share if you ask him!
We walked past Tokyo dome and the fans were out for the season opener! ‘Golden’ blasted from the speakers on the perimeter of the stadium giving Sachi and I a boost of energy to get to dinner. Pizza wasn’t what I predicted on our first dinner in Tokyo, but it was easy and lights were out by 7:30pm to get ready for the first full day!
Senso-ji Temple (29March)
A breakfast buffet with both Western and Asian options is my jam. I can’t get enough of combos like clear oyster soup, seaweed salad, and grilled mackerel alongside croissants, hash browns and fried eggs.
Our stop to today: Senso-ji temple, the 1300 year old temple in Asakusa. Tourists were teeming! I shared a couple elements that I remembered when visiting the temple. Wafting the smoke from the burning incense to parts of your body that you want to heal/give positive energy is a must do (students might waft the smoke towards their head to wish for positive exam results or someone might waft the smoke towards their knees if they have arthritis). We also spent some yen to draw fortunes as our first keepsakes.
We snacked at the Nakamise streets. You can’t miss them as the entire arcade and outdoor shopping streets basically guide you to Kaminarimon- the thunder gate where the gods of wind and thunder welcome visitors to Senso-ji.
Saya found a ‘saya’ keychain and Sachi picked a maneki-neko (good luck cat) as their first souvenirs. I bought our first round of taiyaki and Margaret collected some gifts for her colleagues. The crowds were dense and the lunch options sparse because we didn’t have any restaurant reservations. We walked towards Sakura Street to find the fried chicken food truck called “Mama’s Chicken Food” and takoyaki from Tako Taco – a truck run by local brothers. The Sakura Street performance was fun – three young women wielding samurai swords and urging the crowd to participate in a creative theater performance of dance and ‘samurai lessons’.
My original plan was to visit Kappabashi Kitchen Street but I made the right call to detour to Kuramae. The Kuramae neighborhood is described by a blogger as ‘Tokyo’s Brooklyn’. I didn’t explore long enough to assess whether or not that was true but I will say the combo of dark chocolate from Dandelion Chocolate with a playground across the street was perfect for our crew at this point in the day.
With our renewed energy, we strolled the Sumida river walk in the late afternoon. It felt so nice to have some distance from the crowds and reflect on our first 24 hours in Tokyo.
Dinner plans took us to Kura sushi in Shinjuku – affordable, family friendly, and something for everyone. Conveyor belt sushi paired with an ipad to order to our hearts’ desire was just the thing to start the night! I say start the night because during our meal, we received a text that cousins had arrived at the hotel!
We took our first pictures of the Shinjuku lights where Corey and Margaret agreed that the skyscrapers and illuminated advertisements fulfilled their expectations for what Tokyo is ‘really like’.
Though tired after a long day, we came upon a beautifully lit temple and couldn’t help but stop. I taught everyone how to wash your hands and mouth before entering and the girls wanted to get fortunes again. I was surprised that the shrine – though late in the evening- had a few young couples there. When I researched the temple that evening, (Tokyo Daijingu) I learnt it’s a temple for romance, love and marriage so it makes sense who was as the temple at that time!
We collected some snacks at the local Lawson store (convenience store) and then it was ‘cousins connection’ like no time had been spent apart!
Toyosu and Plant Team Labs (30March)
An early morning crew went walking for fresh orange juice in a vending machine. You’ll have to ask the kiddoes how it tasted as I was still in bed!
We jumped into the first full family day at Planet Team Labs. It’s an immersive, hyper stimulating art installation with three major sections. We started in the water section, took off our shoes, and waded through each section of the exhibition! The pictures do more justice than trying to explain the light shows, waterfalls, bubbles and maze-like transitions between each room.
We chose the athletics forest section next. You could climb and jump but also sit and draw. Once you finished your drawing, we scanned our drawings and they were projected as live art work and animations on the walls and floor.
The final showcase was the garden room. This was a gorgeous room with thousands of orchids being automatically dropped down to the audience to surround you and then being pulled back up again at random times. It’s great that this was the smallest room as hunger levels were high- and brains were likely over-stimulated! We were committed to seeing the final room and then gathered everyone for some well-earned lunch.
The newly developed Toyosu Senkyaku-banrai complex features food, shops and an free foot bath on the 8th floor, with a look out over the waterfront. It’s good for groups who want varied lunch options, though the 2nd floor mainly features fish as it’s walking distance from the Toyosu fish market (the new site for the old Tsukiji fish market). Also, I’d highly recommend a beer or ice cream or both with your foot bath!
We also had to try the fresh strawberries because fruit in Japan is pretty spectacular.
First Toulumne family meal was walking distance from our Iidabashi hotel. Unky D Corey and Auntie May did a great job finding places large enough for our group of 15 strong. We had our first izakaya experience at Matsuri Sakaba Iidabashi. Itadakimasu and kampai!
Shibuya and Yakult Swallows Game (31March)
Today was a rainy one. We donned our ponchos and ventured out to Shibuya to see the famous street crossing, the skyscraper malls and the Hachiko dog statue.
The girls got some Sanrio gear in the 109 Shibuya building, I got a Japanese world cup jersey (at which the girls exclaimed, ‘but you support Arsenal!?’) and Corey found a bright orange sweatshirt at Nike.
It was still wet when we were gearing up for the Yakult Swallows game vs the Hiroshima Carp. The game was only delayed but not cancelled so in our ‘gambatte’ spirit, our troop headed to the oldest stadium in the country!
Sayuri and Luka met us as they just arrived in Tokyo as well. Surreal to be in Japan at the same time!
We got everyone mini Swallows umbrellas! Not just because of the weather, but because the Swallows’ fan tradition is to stand up and do a little umbrella dance every time a player scores a run! Even amidst the wet and chill, Jose shared this was one of his favorite memories of the trip because of the chants, dances and the commitment to playing in the rain, as American ball players would never be allowed to do!
Stay tuned for Chapter 2- Takayama!
l o n d o n f o r r e s t 