Japan Trip – Tokyo
What a trip! We’ve never had much desire to travel to Asia, but Japan is a different thing! Also with the non-stop flights out of Calgary on the Westjet dreamliner, it made Japan so much more accessible. We went in April 2025 for 3 weeks. We spent the beginning of the trip on our own in Tokyo and Kyoto, then we picked up a Norwegian cruise to take us around the rest of the country. After a comfortable 9 hour flight we landed in Tokyo. Surprised and delighted that there were even bidets in the airport bathrooms! We checked into our hotel at the Grand Bach Ginza and hit the hay after a quick visit to the 7-11 around the corner. 7-11’s hit different in Japan. So much more there.
We did an average of 20,000 steps a day in Tokyo even with mastering their easy, clean, quiet and efficient subway system. There is a 15 hour time change so it took us a few days to acclimate. The first day we set out to see Tokyo Tower first which wasn’t too far from us. There is an “Instagram famous photo spot”, but there was a line that we weren’t willing to wait in. We navigated our way through the subway and made our way to Meiji Jingu Park and then walked over to the Harajuku district with the Fender Flagship store. It was huge with multi levels. It was really cool to walk around a corner and see a display with Lindsey Ell, who is a hometown success and a past guitar student of Corys. We also walked the crazy Takeshita Street and stopped in at a gacha store and many others. I tried the viral 7-11 ice cream treat on this street and had to have one every day after. Near the end of the day we got over to Shibuya. This is home to lots of shopping, nightlife and the famous Shibuya scramble crossing. All the traffic stops at once, allowing hundreds of pedestrians to cross from all directions simultaneously. It is the world’s busiest crossings with up to 3000 people at peak times. It was daunting at first, but we ended up crossing it several times. We wrapped up our first day with a visit to Shibuya Sky. It was hard to get tickets and it was a racket up there, but beautiful and worth it. I found the best way to get tickets was through KK Days.
The next morning we did a Go Kart tour! I was nervous about this, but it was a complete blast!! We each had our own vehicle that would go up to 80km/hour. We did the 3 hour tour around Tokyo Bay with Street Kart Tokyo. We followed our guide through the Tokyo traffic with 2 other people. It seemed crazy to us that it’s legal. The highlight was driving on the Rainbow bridge. We crossed it twice going full speed. With the lines on the bridge, it felt like we were in the Mario Kart game. After our tour we visited the beautiful Art Aquarium Ginza. We also took our time strolling through Shinjuku Gyoen National park, where may locals were picnicking under the cherry blossom trees. We spent our evening in Shinjuku. Lots of lights, lots of people, but still quiet. 37 million people in Tokyo and still it is quiet. It is amazing that no one speaks on the train, they even make an announcement about no talking and silence your phones. There are no benches anywhere and you can not find a garbage can to save your life. Everyone packs there garbage home. There is also no eating while walking. If you buy something from a vending machine, you stand beside it and eat. I have never felt more safe anywhere we’ve ever been. The Japanese are a beautiful people – kind, humble and polite. Everything is so efficient, clean and high functioning.
We spent a good chunk of our next morning in a Donki store. I don’t even know how to describe this store. It has everything and anything. Many are open 24/7 and they play this theme song in the store that gets stuck in your head. You will find all the viral cosmetics, beauty products and gadgets here. This day we also visited Guitar street. Both sides of the street were lined with guitar stores. I found some things for the boys and Cory found a cable that he’s been unable to find anywhere. Lastly, we ended the day in Akasuka, another busy spot! We took in a Sumo Show that night that was so good! They were funny, engaging and we learned a lot about sumo. After the show we walked through a much quieter Akasuka and down to the river to see Tokyo Skytree and the “Golden Turd”.
