Tokyo Memories, Day 12: Christmas Cruise To Odaiba

A month ago Dustin and I began our trip in Tokyo! So, as with our last trip, I’ve decided to copy out each day of my travel journal into my blog. Each day for the next 18 days I will share a post of what we did in Tokyo a month prior.

So, let’s get into it! (Or, start with day 1 here!)

From Shauna’s Journal

Day 12, December 25th, 2019

Merry Christmas! Though, for our family and friends in Canada, it’s still Christmas Eve. We got up early this morning and took the trains to Asakusa. There, we arrived at the pier and got some frozen yogurt and drinks while we waited for our boat to arrive.

Our ride to Odaiba, the Hotaluna, was designed by Leiji Matsumoto, who we know most affectionately from Interstella 5555! Hotaluna has a very spaceship-like feel, and was a nice change of pace from the many trains.

We could see the ferris wheel, Fuji TV, Rainbow Bridge, and other landmarks from the boat. When we landed in Odaiba, we headed out right away for Teamlabs Borderless Digital Arts Museum. It’s a good thing we did, because later in the day we saw a MASSIVE lineup stretching down the street– we barely had to wait. 🙂

The lights museum was very cool, with various surfaces, rooms, and structures to explore. Some spots had interactive aspects, like creatures you could “squish” under your feet (illusions of light), and one room had people colouring in pages of Santa, reindeer, and cars, then scanning them and seeing their artworks come to life on the wall. LED lightstrips, lasers, beams, spotlights, mirrors, shadows- these and more were used for various effects. Lots of people trying to get the perfect selfie!

Hungry, we then wandered Venus Fort, a huge mall with an artificial sky, for lunch–we decided on yakiniku at a place called Toraji, which had wagyu beef on the menu. MAN, we had a great lunch. Bit on the expensive side o.o

Dustin then went to the Aquacity Cinema to see the new Star Wars movie, but I had heard of some old-fashioned candy stores and a retro arcade in DECKS, so I went off on my own in search of those. I saw some cool things in Aquacity and Decks: an entire store dedicated to the Nissin Chick, a large Godzilla statue, lots of couples fawning over eachother, and some unusual gatcha machines. One of them stole my 500 yen T-T I just wanted a giant pill bug! I found 3 different retro candy stores, and definitely got a bunch of new candies and snacks to try.

We used the free bus service to get around Odaiba, and when we were done we went back to the trains and stopped at 7&I on the way back to the hotel. I picked out some more snacks, sweets, and hot foods to try. The corn dogs, buns, and croquettes are so good!

Turn on the sound to hear Dustin waxing poetic about Star Wars, and me shocking myself when the condiment packet suddenly flings out of my hand XD

Check out day 13, Traditional and Whimsical Shopping in Tokyo, here!

Advertisement

Tokyo Memories Day 6: Asakusa Hagoita Festival and… Visiting A Host Club!?

A month ago Dustin and I began our trip in Tokyo! So, as with our last trip, I’ve decided to copy out each day of my travel journal into my blog. Each day for the next 18 days I will share a post of what we did in Tokyo a month prior.

So, let’s get into it! (Or, start with day 1 here)

From Shauna’s Journal

Day 6, December 19th, 2019

This morning Dusty and I visited Asakusa for the first time. Senso-ji temple is way bigger than I had imagined!

It was the last day of the Hagoita festival, so there were stalls selling tasty street food alongside the temple: we enjoyed tasty choco-bananas and a sort of meat-stick with rice wrapped in bacon and covered in bits of cheese. SO GOOD, also messy!

I got a small Hagoita (a decorative wooden bat which is a good luck charm) and a mask of a red demon for Dad.

Check out that Frozen Hagoita! I love the Kabuki ones best.

We also saw this puppy in a pet-store (?) window T-T ❤

After Asakusa, we visited Akiba briefly- particularly Yodobashi camera, where we also went up to a top floor and had some conveyor-belt sushi.

This evening I had a tour booked with a woman named Sachiko: a “Girl’s Night-Life In Shinjuku”, mainly visiting a Host Club! Normally tourists aren’t allowed in, but with Sachiko as my guide I got a glimpse at this strange world of manufactured flirtation and overpriced drinks.

We met at Shinjuku station and headed out into Kabukicho. We stopped briefly at a konbini where Sachiko told me the rules of the clubs and expectations for first-time visitors. Most importantly, we couldn’t let slip that we were there on a one-time tour experience, because the staff depend on commissions from repeat customers, so it would not be a good vibe.

The club was in an outwardly drab and non-descript building, but as soon as we stepped off the elevator we were surrounded by luxe, cavernous spaces and perfumed air. We were seated and drank shochu mixed with orange juice as we chatted with the first hosts to our table.

The men were as stylishly groomed as the interior of the club. Sachiko did most of the talking at first while I sipped at my drink. Once we got into the swing of conversation I of course showed off pics of Tegan and Butters, and we also discussed various anime and manga series, as well as J-horror (I guess the Japanese horror movies I love so much are not as well known as I would have thought!)

It was interesting, if at times a bit awkward. We spoke almost entirely in Japanese the whole time, making me acutely aware of my limitations… at one point a guy asked “so, how do you find boys in Japan compared to Canada?” and I replied “hmm, I think that generally most Japanese men have better style”, but I didn’t realize at first that I used the word “kare” to mean boy, which, while technically correct, is colliqually used almost always to mean “boyfriend”. So, they laughed and said “are they going to fight eachother!?!?” at which point I realized I had basically said “I think (my) boyfriend in Japan has much better style than (my) boyfriend in Canada” LOL OOPS. IT ISN”T LIKE THAT, I SWEAR ^-^’

The hosts would visit our table two at a time, and each would give their business card. Ryu’s business card was by-far the most impressive (hard luxe-golden shining plastic with a stylish headshot of himself) but Kido’s is also cool, a sparkling city skyline with a big heart constellation. Kido was the one who talked to me the most, asked to see more pictures on my phone, and complimented me on my cosplay and stuff, so he was the Host that I chose to have revisit our table at the end of our stay. Sachiko chose Ryu. They walked us out to the elevator together when it was time to leave.

All in all, it was a bit less intense than I was expecting- it sort of felt similar to just chatting with strangers in a bar. Still, an interesting memory and an experience!

I stopped at some gachapon and crane games at Adores on the way back to the hotel- man, I wasted like 2000 yen on nothing! How did we win so many little toys and plushies last time we visited!? Dustin even got a decent sized Kirby plush when we came here on our last trip… maybe Taito station is easier to win at than Adores? Or maybe I just suck T-T

Check out day 7, The Wackiest Izakaya in Tokyo, here!