Tokyo
2026-06-30
I woke up at 8:30 today and we went to Kamata station to eat at VIE DE FRANCE Reve de Paris. I had a bacon cheese bread and a churro. The churro was mid. Then my mom went to Yamato Transport to send gifts to her friends. She bought and packed 6 boxes. It took two trips to get all the boxes there and it took forever for her to send them all. We then took the JK line to Yokohama Chinatown and we ate at Bishin Shuka at 14:00. Their mapo tofu was delicious; it was silky and smooth. They poured soy milk and let it sit for 15 minutes and it turned into tofu. Afterwards, we walked around Chinatown and got back on the JK line. We got off at Omori station and ate shaved ice at necogoori. It was expensive (3,000 yen) but it was very good and had a lot of ripe peaches. Then, we walked about 2 miles from Omori station to our hotel (near Kamata station). After resting for an hour, I went with my mom and brother to Daiso to get a pair of eye covers. We then went to Silk Hat where I was getting asked to prove my age because kids under 16 are not allowed after 17:45 unless supervised by an adult. They stopped bothering me after I grabbed my mom and I played maimai with my brother for about an hour. We then headed home and grabbed some food from FamilyMart on the way back.
Yokohama Chinatown entrance:
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Mapo tofu:
Peach shaved ice (there are more peaches inside the ice):
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View of Nomi River from Umahiki Bridge:
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2026-07-01
Today we woke up at 8:30 and ate breakfast at VIE DE FRANCE Reve de Paris again. Then we went to Harajuku to meet my mom’s friend Yuka at 11:00. We arrived at 10:30 so we walked around Takeshita Street for a bit. There were a lot of Nigerian touts there today. After meeting up with Yuka, we went to Yoyogi Park and rented three bikes from the cycling center. It was 300 yen for one bike for one hour. I cycled with my brother and sister for an hour while my mom and Yuka sat on a bench and talked together. It was cloudy today but it was still hot and humid. After biking, we met up with Yuka’s daughter and ate udon at Menchirashi. There was a line and we had to wait 35 minutes to be seated. I had the spicy carbonara. After eating, we walked around Takeshita Street again. We got some drinks and snacks at McDonalds. Then we went to Meiji Jingu (a shinto shrine). We then went back to Harajuku station and parted ways. My family and I went to the Daiso in Kamata station to get gloves for my brother to play maimai. I played miamai with my brother and sister from 6:00 to 7:30. Afterwards, we ate at Katsuya and then went home.
Breakfast at Vie De France:
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Takeshita Street:
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Biking in Yoyogi Park:
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Menchirashi:
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Meiji Jingu:
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2026-07-02
Today we slept in because it was raining. We ate lunch at Yoshinoya at 11:30 near Kamata Station. I had a gyudon with green onions and a raw egg. Then we went to Round1 Stadium in Kawasaki Daishi at 12:30. I played three rounds of bowling with my brother and sister. They had a Quintessential Quintuplets collab so all the bowling animations featured artwork of the quintuplets. After bowling, we played maimai (still at Round1) for 45 minutes or so. They only had two machines but there was no queue at that hour (14:15). On the way back to our hotel, we bought cream puffs from Beard Papa and pon de rings from Mr. Donut at Keikyu-Kawasaki Station. We stopped by the hotel for a bit and then went to Torikizoku near Kamata Station. I ate yakitori, kamameshi, and I had mochi ice cream for desert.
Yoshinoya:
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Round1 Stadium:
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Bowling at Round1:
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Torikizoku:
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2026-07-03
Today and yesterday’s weather were cooler than before. We had FamilyMart for breakfast before heading to Oji Station to meet my mom’s friend, Masa, at 12:30. We went with him and his wife to Nijiya in Adachi City and we ate tantanmen. After eating, we went to Tobu Store to buy some fruit and Mitsuya Cider. Then, Masa drove us to Nitori. They had a Seria there too and I bought a Campus B6 notebook, a Uni-ball One, and a Uni-ball Jetstream. I also bought a clock+calendar thing at Nitori. Masa then drove us back to his house. They made fruit punch for us from the fruit they got at Tobu Store. Me and my siblings played around at their house with their three kids. Around 18:00, we all got in his car (9 people in a 7-seater) and went to one of Masa’s restaurants. The restaurant was underneath the train tracks near Ayase Station. We had yakitori and kamameshi and I had melon sherbet for desert. After eating, we went to FamilyMart for some ice cream and then Masa drove his family home before giving us a ride back to Kamata Station.
Oji Station:
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Tantanmen at Nijiya:
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Stationery aisle at Seria:
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Fruit punch:
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Masa’s restaurant:
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2026-07-04
Today we went sightseeing in Kawagoe. We arrived at Kawagoe Station at 12:30 and took a bus to Ichibangai Shotengai, where we walked around and saw Edo-period buildings. We ate matcha warabi mochi and sweet potatoes and visited Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine. We walked back and saw Toki no Kane and Resona Koedo Terrace. We also visited Renkeiji Temple. Then we took the bus back to Kawagoe Station and went to Ikebukuro. We walked around Sunshine City and went to go eat at a pancake place we always went to but when we arrived we found out it had closed and was replaced by a Godiva. We then took the train back to Kamata Station to eat dinner at a gyoza place but the line was too long so we went to Kura sushi instead. Finally, we went home and ate the Bake cheese tarts we bought earlier.
Ichibangai Shotengai:
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Stone mill:
Windchimes at Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine:
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Toki no Kane:
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Resona Koedo Terrace:
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Renkeiji Temple:
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2026-07-05
Today we woke up at 8:00 and took the shinkansen to Nagoya to meet my mom’s friend, Mika, at 11:00. For breakfast, I ate an almond croissant I bought at Shinagawa Station on the shinkansen. It took 1.5 hours to go from Shinagawa to Nagoya, so the train was going at an average speed of about 130 mph. We met Mika and her daughter at Nagoya Station and Mika drove us to get lunch at Sagami Matsubakoen. I had shrimp tempura with eggs over rice and cold soba. Then we went to Round1 Spo-Cha and played around for 3 hours. We played badminton, tennis, ping pong, darts, shooting games, etc. After leaving Spo-Cha, we played medal games for another hour or so (still at Round1). Finally, we drove back to Nagoya Station and bought bentos and Nagoya souvenirs before saying our goodbyes. We went on the Nozomo shinkansen and unfortunately there were no seats on the unreserved cars so we had to stand up all the way to Shinagawa (1.5 hours). We ended up eating the bentos at the hotel instead.
Lunch at Sagami Matsubakoen:
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Shooting game at Round1:
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Darts at Round1:
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Virtual horse race betting at Round1:
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Slot machines at Round1:
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2026-07-06
Today we went to Yomiuri Land and arrived at 11:30. We took the Sky Shuttle gondola from Keiō-yomiuri-land Station to the amusement park. It was cloudy and the temperature was nice. There weren’t any lines for the rides because I guess no one is going to the amusement park on a Monday. The Bandit rollercoaster was really fun; I went on it 3 times. I also went on other rides that are on par to what a typical American amusement park offers. The park was also doing a collaboration with Touhou Project, so there were cardboard cutouts of Touhou characters everywhere and they were playing Touhou music around the park. They were also selling Touhou merchandise at Hana Biyori and I bought a Flandre acrylic keychain and Rumia sticker. After I was done with the rides, I snacked on a churro and Creamia ice cream. Then we went on the Ferris wheel, which had good views. Finally, we went to Hana Biyori to buy the aforementioned Touhou merch before heading home. My family headed back to the apartment while I headed to Haneda airport to pick up my friend. After picking him up and checking into the hotel, he and my family ate at Saizeriya.
Sky Shuttle gondola:
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Touhou Project x Yomiuri Land:
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Hakurei Reimu:
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Touhou merch:
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Dinner at Saizeriya:
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2026-07-07
Today I went to Kamata Station with my friend to eat breakfast at Vie De France at 8:30. Then, we went to the Currency Museum, which had free entry, but we weren’t allowed to take pictures. They also X-rayed our bags and made us go through a metal detector. They had a lot of cool exhibits showcasing the history of currency in Japan. After that, we went to the Extinct Media Museum, which cost 1,000 yen for students. You are allowed to touch all the exhibits and take pictures. My favorite things in the museum were the typewriters and the mechanical calculator. We met a French university student whose parents were Japanese and came here for tourism. After leaving the museum, we went to the Ippudo near Yurakocho Station. I had a tonkotsu ramen and my friend had a tsukemen. We then went to the Seiko museum in Ginza. They had no entrance fee and pictures were allowed. There were 7 floors of exhibits. Then we headed back to Yurakocho Station and saw the Seiko Marion Clock. We waited five minutes for it to turn 3 o’clock and we watched the musical performance that emerged from under the clock face. Then, we went to the Kyu-Furukawa Gardens, which was the setting for the visual novel, Umineko When They Cry. It cost 150 yen to enter, but the western-style residence was closed today because a couple had booked it out for wedding photos. The garden was nice and well-maintained. It was getting late, so we went to Harajuku to eat hand rolls. It was kind of pricy; I spent 2200 yen on 5 hand rolls and they tasted mid considering the price. We walked down Takeshita street and browsed the Sanrio shop. Then, we went to Shibuya and walked around. We went into Shibuya 109 and I had Marion Crepes. The crepe was mid and tasted like cardboard. Then we walked around some more before heading back to Kamata Station, where I got a cream puff from Beard Papa. I got the vanilla yogurt filling, which was delicious. Then we went to Don Quijote and I got a Casio F-91W for my brother. We walked around Kamata some more before heading back to the hotel.
Mechanical typewriters:
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Pilot P-3 mechanical calculator:
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Braille typewriter:
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Shorthand typewriter:
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Seiko watch movement:
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Seiko Marion Clock:
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Western-style residence at Kyu-Furukawa Gardens:
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Kyu-Furukawa Gardens:
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2026-07-08
Today I went with my friend to Kamata Station to eat breakfast at Vie De France again. Then we went to Shimo-kitazawa and browsed the vintage shops there. We went into Village Vanguard and I bought a Nijika keychain. We ate lunch at Matsuya and I got a gyudon with negi and egg. After eating, we went to see the entrance to Shelter, which was a live house featured in Bocchi the Rock. Then, we took the train to the Nikon Museum where we saw the technology Nikon has developed over their history. We then took the shinkansen to Shizuoka to meet up with my mom’s friends Hide and Shige. We ate dinner with them and their families. After eating, we went to karaoke where I fumbled a bunch of Japanese songs because I couldn’t read the hiragana fast enough. Then, we caught the last shinkansen back to Shinagawa at 10:30. It was a very fun night.
Bocchi the Rock merch at Village Vanguard:
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Entrance to Shelter:
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Projection lens of the Nikon NSR-S308F:
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Shinkansen:
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2026-07-09
Today we went to Haneda Airport (HND) to take JAL 323 to Fukuoka Airport (FUK). We checked out of our hotel at 10:00 and took a bus to Haneda Airport. After checking in our bags, I ate Yoshinoya at the airport with my friend. We walked around the airport waiting for our flight at 15:30. There was an observation deck and a museum. There was also a shopping mall. We boarded the plane and arrived at FUK at 17:00. We checked into our hotel and dropped our baggage off before eating Kura sushi near Nakasukawabata Station. We then walked back to the hotel and went to sleep.
Take-off at HND:
Exhibit at Haneda Airport:
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View of Naka River from Nishi Oohashi Bridge:
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