The last time we were in Tokyo was in October 2023. Because although we were in Japan twice last year, we decided to skip Tokyo altogether. But this time, we were on a mission so we had to include Tokyo for three nights. There were five reasons:

• For me, it was to find the new Love and Trip Traveler’s Notebook that was sold out in Europe
• To make a photo of my Tokyo Station Traveler’s Notebook infront of Tokyo Station
• And to see the Tokyo Tower again after 40 years
• For my husband, it was to find a guitar
• And to get the replacement part of his tripod that we bought in Osaka in December last year.

To be honest, Tokyo is not my favourite place in Japan but here we were with these quests. Tokyo was a mixture of clouds, rain, showers and sun during this time. But one fun part was staying at a ryokan in Yanaka. I love the old retro vibe of this area. And if I ever return to Tokyo again one day, I will definitely stay in this part of Tokyo.

For the Tokyo part of this trip, I’ll be posting random iPhone photos.

So first thing first! We landed at Narita Airport from Sapporo and the first thing we did was to go to Traveler’s Factory to get the new Love and Trip Traveler’s Notebook. The price of the Regular size and the Passport size together was lower compared to the price of the Regular size one in Europe. That was great price-wise! So the first quest was immediately accomplished!

Then after checking in at our ryokan in Taito, we headed to Ikebukuro for the guitar quest. The first guitar my husband tried in the shop, I knew it was the one. So after getting to the next shop appointment, the guitar was bought during our first night in Tokyo!

For the next day, we went to Fukoku Friendly Forest to get layered stamps! You can find the stamp rally here. So cute! Then off to Tokyo Station!

At the Tokyo Station, the third quest was done! Two more to go! So the next day, we went to see Tokyo Tower. But at this point, there was a change of plan. We were supposed to go to Kamakura for the Mt Fuji view by the beach but Mt Fuji’s visibility was so low that we decided to go to TeamLabs Borderless instead since it was very close to Tokyo Tower. We bought tickets the night before with no problem. So I don’t think it is worth for people to get stressed about buying tickets for it.

Saw Tokyo Tower again after 40 years! The first time I was in Japan was 40 long years ago! Well, four quests down!

TeamLabs Borderless was great but there were exhibits that I’ve already seen in Helsinki at a smaller scale. And the drawing that will appear on the wall was something that we already did in Helsinki some years ago so it was nothing so special to me anymore. I also thought the tickets were on the expensive side.

The next day, we had to get the replacement part of the tripod. My husband was in touch with the company so we had an appointment. It was near the Hokusai Museum where we visited in 2018. It was fun to walk around to see if the old familiar places still exist. Here we had a photo in 2018 but the old restaurant where we had fun talking to the owner was not there anymore.

Then we went to a cafe for a strong coffee and a Melon Cream Soda that I ordered out of curiosity. Cream Sodas are quite a thing in Japan so I wanted to try it!

Then it was time for our last quest – to get the replacement part of the tripod. We were met by an office staff at the entrance of the building who happened to be the translator and ushered us into the meeting room. I didn’t realise that the two people at the meeting room were meeting with us too. It seems like the smartly dressed woman was the administrator and the other person in suit and white gloves was the technician. He checked the tripod over nice, friendly conversations with the help of the translator then gave us the replacement part for free. They also gave us company gifts. It was so surreal! I just can’t believe what had just happened!

So this ended our time in Tokyo which made me more confident in navigating the stations and Tokyo subways. The Tokyo Metro Pass was also great because we didn’t need to worry about paying extra when we entered or exited the wrong station. I would recommend it! I didn’t write everything we did in Tokyo over the last four days, like going to Tokyo Station Traveler’s Company and Character Street, playing Gashapon at the largest Gashapon store in the world in Sunshine City, checking out Ueno, going to Guitar Street, Itoya, GU, Uniqlo, Muji, Sanrio Gift Gate, all the places where we ate and the Convenience store run we did every evening. It was also fun to collect stamps over the last four days. Although I didn’t get to finish the Studio Ghibli Stamp Rally, I was happy to get two stamps out of four! One regret was going to CIBI, an Australian breakfast place. It was not worth for the high price and the slightly burned bread that was really hard to eat. I guess it was overhyped with many locals on a Sunday morning.

We took the luggage from the ryokan including the guitar then we were off to Tokyo Station for the Shinkansen to Nagoya. It was my first time to have a Melon Schweppes!

Tomorrow, we will be walking a part of the Nakasendo Trail in Kiso Valley!

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