Day 19 - Benkei Fishing Club

Day 19 - Sept. 23rd

LT and I found a place in the heart of Tokyo where they had small boats you could rent and go out fishing. We hailed a cab to take us to the Benkei Fishing Club. When we got there, all the boats had been rented out. Grabbed a few beers and decided to wait for a boat to become available. While we were sitting, we met a gentleman named Nari, who was the distributor for Hobie. He had brought down a 4 people pedal platform to show the club today and while we were talking, he was surprised that we had 2 Hobie kayaks. Kayaks are not popular in Japan, and they are hoping to change that.

Afterwards we visited a fishing store and grabbed a bag for of loot, before heading back home to Anna. We had made reservations for a place called TeamLabs Planet for 6pm, so we wanted to get near that area before 5:30pm. Traffic can be a bit of a bear like in any metropolitan city, but for the amount of people here, you would expect it to be worse.

TeamLab Planet was awesome. It was what they called a visual and physical museum. They let in about 50 people every 30 minutes. When you first got it, we had to take off our shoes and put them in a locker. We then proceeded to walk up a ramp where rushing water was pouring down about 6 inches above your feet and ended up in a big with smoke colored water with crazy lighting everywhere. Each room we went to was more spectacular than the next. All very interactive and would say has been the neatest museum I've ever been to. The last room was my favorite. It was literally filled with 1000's of orchids. Add the mirrors and it seems like you are in an endless field of beauty.

We wrapped up the night by eating at a restaurant called the Bull. You guessed it - beef all around. It was one of the hot plate type restaurants with the grill in the center of table. LT ordered several different meats and some veggies. Super delicious and great atmosphere.

Day 18 - Horse Track

Day 18 - Sept. 22nd

All of us slept in today. We didn't really get moving for some time. Anna and I decided to head out and see the city, while LT stayed in. We walked past a place that had horse betting. When I say a place, I mean a seven-story building with every floor slammed packed with tellers and betting machines. Although we didn't really understand everything, we managed to place a wager on one of the races and then hung to see if we would win. We bet horse number five. Unfortunately, we didn't win but had a great time people watching.

When we got back from walking around, we hooked up with LT and went out to grab some food. It was a place where you shared the meal and boy did, we share. LT chose all the ingredients and when the waitress came, she quickly told us that the broth type we had requested was very spicy. We were glad for her advice because the broth was just right. It had Peking duck, cow tongue, wagyu beef, mushrooms, and countless other items in it. It was delicious!

Day 17 - Riding the Bullet

Day 17 - Sept. 21st

We had reserved both an Airbnb and bullet train tickets days ago before Olivia made arrangements to fly back to Charlotte. So, she was going to stay in Osaka two more while, while the rest of us took a bullet train to Tokyo. Our train was due to leave at 11:15 today, so we decided to leave the house around 9:30 to make sure we would get there in time and make sure we could find the platform. Luckily, we left when we did. The Shin-Osaka train station was huge. It felt like going to an airport. They have over 100 bullet trains going to Tokyo every day.

We got to the platform with about 15 minutes to spare. It was organized chaos. They have two type of rail cars you can rent. One is the regular cart with more seating and then they have a green car option. The seats are much more comfortable and wider, plus it was only a $30 upgrade per person. Well worth the extra bucks. The ride was quick even though it 2.5 hours, it didn't seem like it. We arrived in Tokyo at 1:45 and grabbed a cab to our new pad for the week. Definitely not as nice as the last few spots we stayed at, but space is limited here in Tokyo.

We unpacked and stretched out for a bit, before heading out to grab something to eat. We went to the Kabukicho area, a place full of restaurants and bars. We walked around quite a bit and checked everything out that looked interesting. We ended up eating at a sushi restaurant and devoured some of the local catches. Japan = Sushi! I could eat this every day. Found a place in heart of the area that had a pool table and darts, so we hung out there for a couple of hours. Walked around for a little longer and then grabbed a cab home. 

Day 16 - Another Chill-Out Day

 Day 16 - Sept. 20th

Another Chill-Out Day

Anna and I walked around town for a bit while the kids were sleeping. We headed home around 1pm and grabbed the kids to go eat some lunch at a Ramon noodle shop just a little bit down the road. 

Olivia ended up booking a ticket back to Charlotte yesterday and is flying out on Monday. Although LT, Anna, and I are taking the bullet train to Toyko tomorrow, it was cheaper and shorter for her to fly out of Osaka. We had already made reservations and bought tickets, so changing them would have been a little problematic. Plus, Olivia thought she had booked the flight for Saturday as well, but we found out late last night that the airfare was booked for Monday. Needless to say, we are going to miss her and hate that she is not going to be with us.

The rest of the day was pretty much bumming around the house and getting things cleaned up and ready for tomorrow.

Day 15 - Walking the Town

 Day 15 - Sept. 19th

Took it easy a bit today and finally made it out of the house around 2pm. We headed to one of our new favs that we were at in Thailand - Sushiro. It was the only one in Bangkok and was primarily based out of Japan. Who doesn't love sushi coming to you on a carousel?

After lunch we decided to walk back to our place, stopping in a store here and there. Took about 1-1.5 hours and we hung out at our place for about 20 minutes and then headed back out to Main Street area. Anna and I went and the kids walked on their own. Mom wanted to see a bridge that we had all talked about several times, so I opted to meander down that path with her. We both ended up at Heavens Kitchen close to the same time. 

Grabbed some grub and drinks and played darts for about an hour, before Anna and I headed out and bounced around some bars. Anna and I stayed out until around 2am before grabbing a cab home. Let's just say we slept like babies.

Day 14 - Bape Ape and All the Other Stores

Day 14 - Sept. 18th

As per the last several days, we all ended up sleeping this morning. We have been pretty much going out every night and haven't meant to stay out to long, but that hasn't really worked. We hailed a Go cab to take us about 3km into town to the Bape store. LT use to sell quite a bit of Bape back in Charlotte and purchase quite a bit of it from dealers and resellers here in Japan. The section where the store was had quite a few of secondary clothing stores. Anna and the kids ended up venturing into a few of them and found some nice items.

We grabbed some lunch at 8 Pizzaria. Any yes - LT and I had a pizza. He had a margarita and I had a meat lovers. Olivia had a creamy pasta and Anna had a risotta. All was actually really good. The pizza crust was super thin, but quite tasty. Bellies full, we broke off from the kids and let them shop, while Anna and I head down the road a bit, before stopping at a hair salon and getting mom a cut. The appointment was a 5pm, so we sat at a cafe for about an hour and had some coffee.

The kids met up us right as mom was finishing up with her hair style. We crossed the boulevard and hit a few more shops before finally going to Zen, a Teppan style (completely flat griddle style stove ) restaurant. Food was good, but not sure I knew everything I ate. Everyone was a bit tired after the meal and we grabbed a cab home. The girls went down and closed their eyes, while LT and I headed over to Main Street to see our new friends we made at Heavens Kitchen. We played multiple games of darts and chatted with the bartenders for quite a bit. Thank goodness for translation apps! Not sure how anyone did it 200 years ago. LT and I managed to make our way home around 2am.

Day 13 - Osaka Aquarium and Dontonburi

Day 13 - Sept. 17th

Everyone has been sleeping in a little longer than usual over the past few days and has been well needed. Anna looked up things to do and we all decided the aquarium would be fun. We got in the 3pm showing. Due to the large crowds, you buy tickets based on a time slot. This aquarium is the only other one of its kind that houses whale sharks, besides the one in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a pretty large aquarium and we had a great time. It was crazy to see the amount of predator species all in the same tank. Sharks, rays, and dozens of others I have no name of or have seen before. It took us about 2-2.5 hours to get through the aquarium and then we hailed a cab to head over to Dontonburi, the old part of Osaka.\