Final stop- Tokyo

Final stop Tokyo! The vibe for the second (or third if you count the transition day at Kuniko’s) was different with me and the girls. We focused on things that we knew Alex would not have enjoyed as much as we did. The extra day in Kyoto and day early back to Tokyo was a late call. We had thought about trying to squeeze in another city in the “extra” 2 days but decided that more time in the existing cities would be better. No way to know what could have been in say, Takayama, but being able to be more leisurely in Kyoto/Tokyo seemed the best call for us.

We were in 2 different hotels for the two nights, but the convenience of luggage storage made it easier. The first night was adjacent to the Ginza district, which of course meant that shopping was on the agenda :) Not that we could afford the posh stores, but Muji, Hands, and Uniqlo definitely got some of our last remaining yen :) The Lyf Ginza was a funky hotel with “ikea-like” sparse but ample conveniences including a kitchenette and 2 bedrooms - kind of the hotel version of a tiny home. It was also walking distance to the Tsukiji Outer Fish Market which was a great little outing for me while the girls slept in from their late night. Being at the end the trip, I was no longer waking up early, so I missed the wholesale part of the experience (which apparently now happens more at a newer facility called Toyosu) but the farmers market type stalls were amazing! The freshness and quality of Japanese food is off the charts.

A fun Ellie suggestion was getting seats to a jazz quintet at The Blue Note, one of only 10 in the world. What a great venue! The Gary Bartz Quintet was very classic jazz with an amazing guitarist. Afterwards I went home, but the girls went for drinks in Shibuya, meeting up with Sarah and Charlotte who were also here for the regatta from Annapolis.

One of the coolest things we did (although we hated to admit it) was teamLab Planets. While on the one side it was a touristy, Disney-like “manufactured” place, on the other it was truly an amazing “tech-meets-art” experience. The visceral sense of wonder and awe that you felt as you moved through the rooms and interacted with the exhibits was quite moving. I can’t believe they only charged $30/ticket- for the sheer size and quality of the experience (the 3 main exhibit areas took us about 3 hours) they could have charged way more. The ramen at the Vegan kiosk was also the best we had the whole trip!

I still had shopping for Japanese chef knives in the Kappabashi district on my to-do list, so I went straight there while the girls did a little more shopping in Ginza. If I had more room in my luggage, I could have done some damage there! So much fun kitchen stuff! Knife purchase was accomplished :)

We were a bit late getting out of Ginza to switch to our airport hotel (not really cool to have your luggage on the rush hour trains!), so the girls were late to their evening activity, a Muscle Girl bar that apparently is one of those quirky Tik-Tok famous bars. They (particularly Lexi) still had a good time there. I am just happy the girls had yet another memory that they could share.

The Villa Fontaine airport hotel made departure day super easy. It is literally connected to Haneda’s Terminal 3 and to a train line, so it couldn’t have been more convenient, particularly since Lexi’s flight was several hours earlier than ours.

A fun finale to the trip was accomplishing time travel- the flight left Tokyo at 4:24pm Tuesday and arrived before it departed at 4:14pm Tuesday! Not sure why I find that so amusing lol. Another fun part of that last flight was that not only were the other Annapolis team of Sarah Alexander/ Charlotte Carroll, but also our Tokyo host Kuniko and her friend were on the same flight headed to Atlanta for a flute convention! Karma even seated her friend next to me.

All-in-all, it was the “trip of a lifetime” that I hoped it would be. As the girls embark on their adult lives I do not take for granted that they will always be available to spend that much time with me, so I do cherish it. The memories that we made together are far more important to me than any tangible asset. We will miss Japan!Læs mere