Nov 21 (Tues)

Rough start this morning…this trip has been difficult trying to make sure everyone gets to do what they want in the short time we have. I’m being stretched in three different directions and I’m tired. Doesn’t help I’m still out of sorts from being ill on the plane for 15 straight hours… I want to try things we haven’t done/seen before, see things we loved again, experience cultural elements, and have fun. Yesterday I was useless after 3pm and lost half a day.

Ok pity party over! Walked to a new station nearby called Okachimachi. Very cute and calm atmosphere. Arrived at Tokyo Station Character street at 9:30 after a quick stop at Tokyo Banana. We were the first in line for Kirby Cafe Petit. Getting a reservation for the actual Kirby Cafe in Tokyo Skytree is next to impossible so this was the next best thing. Kyrie got her Kirby Car Mouthful cake finally. I got to go to the first Mofusand Kitty shop next door. After a quick stop at the Pokémon Center we headed to Kitasenju to a new Hobby Off store. We are finding some really calm, pretty neighborhoods.

We rested in the afternoon and I decided we were going to see the Tokyo Mega Illuminations at the Oi Horse Racetrack. I figured out how to register and purchase tickets online from the Japanese 7/Eleven online store, then hopped over to the physical store to pick up tickets. We took the train and then the monorail to the event space. It was blessedly uncrowded! We saw miniature horses and we pet one named Sakura (16 years old and super soft.) there were lots of interactive light shows and a collaboration with the anime “Uma Musume (Horse Girls)”

It was busy heading back into Tokyo but we lucked out and ended up riding in one of the antique train cars. We got back to the hotel around 9:30, more or less. As we were laying down the J-Alert went off…The National system warned that North Korea had launched a missile that went off course and might hit Okinawa. Not the best thing to happen at bedtime, but we ended up falling asleep anyway. (The rocket fell into the ocean and no one was injured.)Læs mere