We made it! It’s true that there was an earthquake, a tsunami, and a plane crash, but thankfully we are safe and sound. And because we just avoided three of my worst nightmares, I guess that means we’ll be fine, right?
The fourteen hour flight went surprisingly fine! The plane was half empty so we had a couple extra seats to spread out. The long hours passed pretty uneventfully with very little sleep for any of us. Note to self and others, you can pre-order a “kids meal” on Air Canada, so your kids eat more than bread rolls and candy, but you cannot get it in the moment.
We arrived in Haneda, then caught a bus into Ikebukero where we are staying at the Kimi Ryokan where Sandy (hi Sandy!) stayed in the 80’s! It’s a traditional Japanese style ryokan with tatami mat flooring, futons to sleep on, and shared washrooms. The kids were confused about this one at first - it’s not exactly the same caliber accommodation that they’ve grown used to on their beach vacations. Another word to the wise - two futons is better than one for an adult body. Japan hotels are not cheap and they are not designed for families of five!
The jetlag hasn’t been terrible. We’ve had a few exhausted evenings, and a few early wake-ups, but it really hasn’t been bad.
On our first day we pushed it, walking over 22,000 steps through Harajuku and Shibuya. We visited a shrine where we found ourselves among many locals who come in the new year to make wishes and prayers. We got to participate in this ritual, and it warmed my heart to watch the kids tossing coins, bowing and clapping twice along with the locals. We also visited a puppy cafe, and managed to NOT visit the otter cafe, kitty cafe, hedgehog cafe, and penguin cafe that we passed by and/or heard about.
The kids did not fully understand what we were doing walking around the city like that. “But where are we going? What’s the activity?” they whined. We had to explain that this IS the activity. This is what travelling in a big city is - the activity is walking around. They weren’t exactly convinced. And I’ve found that on days where we don’t have any specific activity planned the kids seem much less content and easy going.
So for the last few days we’ve been finding a groove in Tokyo. We had a rocky second day where a bunch of stuff we planned to visit was closed for new years or sold out because of new years, the kids were behaving badly, we were snappy, someone made use of my “diarrhea” medication baggie and went through all their jammies, and we felt a bit doomed by the months looming ahead. But since then things have turned a corner.
Some highlights have been a breakfast at a random little “kissaten” which is defined as “a tea-drinking shop” where we had giant slabs of toast with jam, and beautiful boiled eggs with deep yellow yolks. There was also the delicious street food by Senso-ji temple which we abandoned early due to intense crowds. The meat sticks and okonomiyaki cheered us up, but the Takoyaki was too goopy. Then there was a dinner at a Chinese Hunan restaurant where the menu was SO foreign and the food was SO spicy. We had fun trying to communicate and choosing things to eat. How did I ever live in South Korea without the Google translate app?? Lulu fell asleep at the table and the staff put her in a booth to sleep, watching over her while we ate.
Other highlights are the cook your own beef cutlets restaurant where each of us had a little stone slab for cooking over, kaiten (conveyor belt sushi), and shabu shabu.
Okay, it seems as though my highlights are pretty much all food related.
We also paid a visit to Teamlabs Tokyo Planets interactive art museum, where we all had a blast exploring the different display rooms. We followed that with a grocery store picnic and playground time, and then went to a hands-on science museum where Steve taught the kids about morse codes and I have no idea, other stuff.
Another day we spent at Disney Sea, which is a newish Disney park here. The lines were long and the rides were short, but despite that, the kids loved it and I will admit that Steve and I did too. We rode some rides, walked around the different areas, and sampled some of the interesting food things they sell like white chocolate matcha popcorn and the famous Gyoza dogs. We also did a lot of people watching - I’m kind of fascinated by Disney people (I’m looking at you, Jordy, Caitlyn, Heather, and Romes), but the Japanese fans take it to a whole new world. 🙃
I’m so sorry, this post is really getting way too long. I’m sure other weeks won’t be this exciting! Or maybe they will! I can’t believe how many more weeks we have to go, this is so nuts.
A few things before I go, from the first week in Tokyo.
Heated toilet seats are AMAZING. Why don’t we use those in Canada? It’s such a pleasure. But why not also have heated water for handwashing afterwards? I’ve been freezing cold this whole week and would love to not wash my hands in frigid ice water after every amazingly warm toilet visit.
Japanese culture is so quiet! The trains are basically silent. I’m sorry for my children! We were whooping on a roller coaster at Tokyo Sea and then I realized that nobody was making any noise except for us. People didn’t even cheer and clap after the huge fireworks and light display at the end of the night. What a difference from home!
There are no garbage cans anywhere. But when there are garbage cans, good luck figuring out what kind of garbage goes into which receptacle. Finding a garbage and unloading all our accumulated trash is a moment to be celebrated!
A bunch of restaurants have turned us away. I can’t tell if it’s because they are full, because we are a family with three kids, or because we are foreigners. It sometimes looks as though there is plenty of room to seat us, so I don’t know. Anybody have any insight on this one?
I’m so glad I have a personal geographer along with me. Steve does all the navigation and transit dealings, and I just follow along blissfully. I don’t think I could even use a map or buy a train ticket on my own at this point. Shoot. Thanks Steve! I’m usually the pack mule as a trade off, and the one who remembers to bring snacks and makes sure the kids pee before we leave a place, so I also have value in this arrangement.
I have never spent this kind of time with my kids and Steve before and I’m really *actually* loving it (note: it’s been six days). Our normal life at home is wake up, rush to school, come home from work, kids keep busy with their screens until a brief dinner time together, followed by a few hours of aggravating bed time shenanigans, and repeat. It has been such a joy to walk with them, holding their hands so they don’t walk into traffic or get lost in a crowd, chatting about the world around us. And they are all at ages where they really LOVE being with us too. This trip is a gift.
I think this is more than enough! Did you make it this far? I guess you did if you’re reading this. Tomorrow we are taking the early train to Hakone, our second stop in Japan.
Stay tuned for next week’s update! If you’re dying for more regular updates, feel free to follow along with pictures and videos on instagram. I don’t know how to link it right now, but just search for “farneubermansaway” and you’ll find us.
Have a great week!
We love the excruciating details!! Keep ‘em coming!
What a great update Jess! Sounds like you guys are finding your groove. I love that Lulu fell asleep at dinner - reminds me of a family trip to Australia we took I was a kid and I fell asleep in my pancakes and ice cream. Keep the posts coming! We’re thinking of you on your great adventure.