A massive interactive day in Tokyo!

After yesterday’s realisation that getting up at the crack of dawn is not the vibe we treated ourselves to a well earned wee sleep in. Around 9am we finally rolled out of bed, got ourselves sorted, and prepared for what was going to be a huge day packed from start to finish with all things Tokyo.

Our first and most important mission of the day… secure matcha powder to bring home. Japan is famous for its matcha, of course, but apparently there’s a shortage at the moment, which makes finding good quality stuff a bit of a treasure hunt. Luckily I had found a promising spot on TikTok hidden somewhere inside Shinjuku Station… which, let me tell you, is absolute chaos.

If you’ve never been, imagine an underground city, then imagine giving that city caffeine and confusing signage. That’s Shinjuku Station. It’s massive, noisy, busy, and wildly overwhelming but also kind of amazing. After a good amount of wandering (and re tracing our steps), we eventually found the little shop from TikTok… and praise be, they actually had a solid range of matcha in stock. I browsed for a bit, tried to ask the owner for advice but alas… no Englasē… and finally chose the one that would be making the trip home with me.

With matcha in hand, we hopped on a train across Tokyo to Ginza one of the city’s most upscale districts. Ginza feels like Tokyo’s luxury area with wide immaculate streets, gleaming designer stores, sparkling window displays, and people dressed like they stepped straight out of a fashion magazine. Everything is elegant, polished, and very unlike the hectic maze we had just come from.

Our first real stop for the day was the iconic Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa. It’s Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple and easily one of the most beautiful. Bright red gates, lanterns, incense drifting in the air, it was everything you’d hope for from a traditional Japanese temple. And yes… it was packed. Shoulder to shoulder, shuffle like penguins packed. But even with the crowds we absolutely loved it, it instantly became our favourite temple so far. We wandered the grounds soaking in the atmosphere before drifting into the surrounding shopping streets, which were filled with stalls selling snacks, souvenirs, crafts, clothes, you name it. It was hectic and a bit overwhelming, so after a short exploration we decided to move on.

Next was something I’d been waiting for since landing in Japan, a proper iced matcha. We headed to a place called Cloud Club Matcha, and oh. my. god. It lived up to the hype and then some. There was a line down the street, which is always a good sign, and when we finally got our premium iced matcha… wow. Absolutely the best matcha I have ever had. It even looked like a little green work of art.

Matcha bliss achieved, we made our way to Tsukiji Fish Market famous for its seafood stalls, street food, and energetic atmosphere. Once again…. packed. Hmmm, looks like that’s a common theme here. We wandered the maze of vendors, checking out everything from giant scallops to the freshest sushi you have ever seen. Then we saw it…. smacked right in the face with wagyu skewers for $60+ NZD each……for one tiny skewer…. a piece of stick with legit 4 pieces of meat on…. $60+ dollars. What the helly???? And people were just buying it like they were buying loo rolls… no qualms in the world. I almost chocked on my $1.50 chips I had brought from the 7-eleven for my breakfast this morning.. Sorry Jayde but that is absolutely not in the budget. Instead we settled for a $5 small bowl of wagyu soup (that I think were just the offcuts) just to say we’d had wagyu in Japan and honestly…. $60 skewers who???? It was delicious! After a few more laps of stalls (and realising we were not financially prepared for Tsukiji), we found lunch elsewhere.

After lunch we continued on to Don Quijote the legendary Japanese discount megastore. Calling it chaotic is an understatement. It’s like someone put a supermarket, a gift shop, a party store, a pharmacy and a random bargain bin into a blender and hit max speed. Every aisle is packed with stuff snacks, skincare, electronics, souvenirs, costumes, alcohol everything except……….nail polish pens, sorry Nan I did look!

Prices were unbelievably cheap. Case in point, a 4L bottle of Jim Beam for $50 NZD. Absolutely wild! We spent about an hour exploring and picking up items before realising… we didn’t have our passports with us, which you need for tax free purchases. So everything went back on the shelves. Painful to say the least.

As the sun set, we made our way to Tokyo Tower. At night it glows a warm orange, towering above the city like a beacon. It was beautiful to see in person so iconic even if the Eiffel Tower still holds our number one spot. You just can’t beat the beer beer wine champagne guys. The surrounding streets in Ginza were stunning too, all glossy and illuminated.

Our final stop and definitely the one we were most excited for was TeamLab Planets with our booking at 7:30pm we had absolutely no idea what we were walking into. And honestly? It blew our minds.

It turned out to be a digital art museum where everything is interactive and surreal. Some of the displays were the water rooms where you wade through shallow warm water while digital koi fish swim around your legs and bursts of colour ripple with your movement. The infinity light room which was filled with hanging LED strands that create the illusion of floating through space. The mirrored flower field, which was an endless glowing forest of real flowers that shift up and down as you wander through and the soft cloud-like floor where you sink slightly as you take each step, as if walking on a giant cushion.

It was whimsical, magical, futuristic and calming all at once. We spent almost two hours exploring every display and honestly could’ve stayed longer. It was easily one of the coolest experiences of the entire trip. So unique!

By 9:30pm we were completely knackered. We made the hour long journey back to our accommodation and collapsed into bed after smashing out a massive 26,000 steps. What a day. Exhausting, chaotic, unforgettable and absolutely perfect. One last full day of exploring Tokyo tomorrow!Read more