New Years is a major holiday in Japan, which we did not realize.  Many families shut down their businesses for several days and hunker down at home.  Its also a time for prayer.  We heard a million people visit the Meiji Shintu shrine on New Years day, but it was the only day that worked with our schedule to visit.  The area is filled with vendors selling food, souvenirs etc.  While it was incredibly busy (and we didn't dare get into the line to get into the actual temple), it was a really fun day to  explore the area.

 

SUMO!

I absolutely LOVE sumo and so this was a bucket list afternoon event for me (though I think everyone loved it!)  We learned about the history of Sumo, but the best part was 10 of us were able to go on stage and actually wrestle.  Nicholas, Ads, B and I all went up and one by one learned how to do the moves and actually fight these guys.  I don't have pictures of that since I was on stage, but we do have them.

 

Pokemon Center

B goes through phases with Pokemon (definitely a HUGE hit between swim and dive practice in the summers!).  I researched Pokemon in Toyko and it seemed the Pokemon Center was the place to go.  It was located in an enormous mall and when we arrived, the line wrapped around the store and down and back.  Not moving.  We were unsure this was the best way to spend our time, but we were there and soon they let in half the people.  It seemed they opened it to 100 or so people every 20 or so minutes.  Eventually we go in to what was just a place to purchase pokemon paraphenilia.  We spent awhile wandering around, purchased a few things and were on our way.  

Across from the Pokemon Center was the Pokemon cafe where we indulged in various Pokemon treats.

 

Cooking Class!

When we were in Italy last year, we did a pasta making class and really enjoyed it so I booked a ramen/gyoza class in Tokyo.  It was a highlight for sure, mostly because of the intimacy of the class.  It was hosted by a couple in their home, with only 10 of us.  And the food was incredible!

 

Capybara Cafe

Various people told us that animal cafes are a thing to do in Japan, specifically capybaras.  We did see a whole variety of animal visitation locations, but capybaras are harder to come by than rabbits.  I had to book this weeks in advance, but it was pretty fun.  We spent 30 minutes petting, feeding and learning about these animals (not indigenous to Japan).

 

Team Lab-Planet

We flew from Bangkok to Toyko and didn't arrive to our air bnb until pretty late.  We just grabbed dinner at a nearby restaurant (which was a feat in inself figuring out how to order in a country where very few people speak English and the characters are nothing we can read).  We quickly learned how to change the language on the ordering tablets, which was a good skill to have and was used daily the rest of our trip.  

The next day we had tickets to Team Lab Planet that was highly recommended we go to by nearly everyone I know who has gone to Tokyo.  Its an immersive art experience, where all senses are used.  Definitely worth going to.

 

Last night in Bangko

Brian made reservations for the rooftop restaurant of our hotel for our last night in Bangkok.  While the views were pretty remarkable, the food was not to be remembered.  

They did have some fun drink options that we all ordered.