It appears that I’ve lost some momentum when it comes to these posts. Or maybe I’m in over my head when it comes to the other content on my blog. There’s also the fact that I get a little (to very) sad whenever I write these posts, because I miss Japan and my friends so much. But whichever the case, it’s looking like I’ll be posting these every 1-2 weeks, and I’m sorry about that! I’ll be uploading this post on a Thursday rather than a Friday to make up for it (not that that’s really much of a treat)! I hope that the wait will have been worth it because let me tell you…Day 5 was insanely busy, as it was a day we wanted to dedicate to Japan’s capital, and my planning skills are apparently amazing enough for us to cover four famous districts of Tokyo! Due to how much we did in one day though, I’ll be sectioning this day off into two parts! Continue reading for part 1!

During this trip, we were always caught in this limbo between wanting to take it easy, take in the sights, and enjoy ourselves…and wanting to see as much as possible! Therefore, even when we’d start out a day with the first goal in mind (such as Day 5 for example), the day would turn out crazy with multiple train rides and many many places! Our time in Japan was limited, especially for my parents for whom this was a 10 days trip (unlike my 21 day one), and for whom this was also the first time in Japan.

We stated off our morning by eating some of the yummies we didn’t get through from our crazy grocery shopping spree the night before (see the bottom of the previous post). We then left our AirBnB and went for the nearest drink vending machine so that I could get my daily dose of Japanese coffee! I absolutely love those vending machines, and miss them every day. I really wish that we had them in Canada, because they’re so convenient! But at the same time, I barely walk while I’m in Canada, and that’s sad…and another story entirely.

Our next stop was then the train station closest to us, and we headed toward Akihabara! For those of you new to this word and/or new to Tokyo in general, Akihabara (or Akiba for short) is the place for technology, anime, and maid cafes (cafes where the workers are all female, and dressed up like french maids…yeah) in this city! My friends who live in Tokyo also told me that this is more the place to go if you’re sexually attracted to females, which makes total sense to me now since I was never drawn to any of the maid cafes, or the half naked anime girls everywhere. If you’re attracted to males, there is another place you need to go (and I’ll be discussing this place in my Day 20 post!)

We wandered around some, bought some souvenirs, found a video games store which sold vintage games (and I bought my cousin 2 of those at random, because I didn’t know what any of them were). Looked through some anime stores, and then we got hungry! I really wanted to visit Shin Okubo (the Korea Town in Tokyo) again while I was there, since my friend wouldn’t have time to go with me after my parents were to leave, and my parents love Korean food, so we made our way over there!

And I really wish that we weren’t as hungry as we were when we arrived, because there was kpop, Korean cosmetics, and Korean actors everywhere! I’d forgotten how heavenly that place is (and it made me all the more excited for the trip to Korea I would be taking in just a few days)! We found the Coffee Prince Cafe which I visited last time as well, but didn’t go up since my parents weren’t interested, and I was planning on visiting the actual cafe in Seoul anyway!

We were hungry and on the lookout for some good Korean food…and we ended up finding the perfect place! And I’m sorry that we never figured out what it was actually called. I could read the Korean at the top of the menu, but wasn’t sure if that was the name of the place or something else. Plus, we were hungry, so we were more focused on ordering and eating than anything else. I was also quite happy to finally have peach Makgeolli (something like a Korean rice wine) again, as I hadn’t had it since my last trip to Tokyo in 2014! In case you couldn’t tell from my happy…shiny face (Tokyo is hot in May, okay?!)

My dad ordered some Bulgogi (sliced beef), his favourite dish…even though I told him to try something new because he’s on vacation. Sigh. My mom ordered a spicy seafood dish, and I ordered spicy chicken! We all received our own portions of soybean sprout soup (which was surprisingly tasty to me, despite my dislike for soybean sprouts), and we each got our own side dishes as well (which were amazing, and you can get free refills on for like ever!)

Once we were full to bursting, because those portions are no joke, we wandered a little through Shin Okubo again, and then made our way back to the train station; our next stop…Ikegami! Even those who have been to Tokyo, or have researched it, might not know about this place. That’s understandable too, because it’s not one of the more famous parts of Tokyo. It’s special to me, though, because that’s where I stayed with my friends back in 2014! That area, and the particular neighbourhood we stayed in, is therefore very important to me! Every time I dreamed of Tokyo after my first trip, I was usually wandering with my friends through Ikegami, therefore it was a must on my visit list.

But to find out about what we did in Ikegami, and for the rest of that busy day, please keep an eye out for Day 5: Part 2!

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS POST ABOUT MY JAPAN AND KOREA 2017 ADVENTURES! ALSO, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND/OR SOME OF YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!