Back in Japan: A Weekend in Tokyo

by Jose · Published May 27, 2026 · Updated May 27, 2026

There was a line before opening time but it was not that crowded

Why are these pictures first? Because travel is about new experiences and traveling for the first time with our friend Bridget from work made us try things we would not normally do. Like going to Nintendo and Pokemon stores in Shibuya and eating way too much karaage chicken in Kyoto.

Crossing the Shibuya scramble was really fun (we did it twice). Lots of people shooting video and young men racing to get a selfie with just them in the center of the crossing. Everyone was having fun and it was nice vibe.

Faithful dog Hachiko (cool story. Look it up)

We were pretty busy shuttling between more traditional sites and more obscure quirky Sites. Meiji shrine and Gyoen National Gardens were two of the more traditional sites we visited

Husband and Wife camphor trees planted in 1920s symbolizing lasting love

A small but beautiful 400 year old garden can be found at the Hotel New Otani along with a Trader Vics and their creation the Mai-Tai

After some ethics debate, we agreed to visit HARRY Asakusa Otter Cafe. Our impression was the animals seemed well treated and healthy but not where they should be for sure. For critter lovers like Miss Karen and Bridget, it was a must-do experience. We all petted the animals but Miss Karen is the biggest animal lover I know so the pictures and video are of her in her happy place.

The otters were the top of the petting heirarchy with an extra fee for “Otter Play” (sounds dirty but that’s just me)

You go in the play pen area with an otter tech and the otters. They were pretty sleepy but quite cuddly. They also liked being carried around by the employees inside their overalls and seemed to enjoy a little petting and scratching

You had to sign a waiver that you might get bit but this group was super chill and very relaxed around the Critter Queen

Bridget is really into the Ghibli Studios films and I was happy to find a cool clock designed by legendary animator and co-founder Hayao Miyazaki. We saw a night show which was very pretty. We ended our long night with a visit to Tokyo Tower afterwards

The entire show was maybe 3 minutes. At 40 feet tall, 60 feet wide, and weighing 28 tons, it is a really over the top way to keep time
Another cool activity was the Metropolitan Government Building light show. A couple of times a night, a random light show is displayed on this huge building. They even have some fake grass so you can lay down and enjoy the show. I love these quirky things!

Our final activity on our way to Tokyo Disney on Monday was teamLab Planets, a digital art experience with a couple of nice twists

Our group at the twinkly lights room (my name for it)

I did not move much if at all during this video, the movement came from the pattern of the lights

Planets was divided into different rooms each with a unique effect. One of the twists is that you’re barefoot and some of the rooms and corriders are covered in shallow water (luckily warm). There was a drying room at the end of each water area with fresh towels

The “fish” room was covered in knee deep water and digital fish were projected on the water. It was pretty neat “live”

Another room was full of giant color changing inflatable globes. It sounds simple but it was fun to roll them around or push them

One of the cooler rooms was really hard to capture on camera. I call it the “wind” room since objects seem to blow by you while you sat or lay on the floor. It was dark and the objects were moving so my phone did not do a great job