Our first time in JAPAN! 🇯🇵 (4 FUN days in TOKYO)

Our first time in JAPAN! 🇯🇵 (4 FUN days in TOKYO)

We have made it to Japan, a country that has been towards the top of our travel bucket list for many, many years. And for the next few weeks, we’re going to finally experience it for ourselves. From the bustling cities, iconic sites, and world famous eats that you probably think of when you think of Japan to lesserk known spots, and a wide variety of scenery that may not be top of mind when you think of this country. And we’ll also be trying out a fun method of travel along the way as well. We can’t wait to bring you along as we eat, hike, soak, drive, and train our way through this country for the first time. And for us, there’s no better way to kick off our time here than the country’s famous city of Tokyo. [Music] [Music] Tokyo is a massive city with over 37 million people, making it the most populated city in the world, larger than the population of some countries. And with so many areas to explore, it can be a bit overwhelming, trying to decide where to even begin. So, to make our time here less daunting, we decided to create our ultimate Tokyo bucket list filled with experiences that we have dreamt about having here for as long as we can remember. And over the next four days, our goal is to check off every single one. And first, we’re on the hunt to find a quick bite to eat. [Music] One of the things we have been most excited for here in Japan are the cominis, which are convenience stores. The three most popular are 7-Eleven, Lawson’s, and Family Mart. And there are more than 7,400 just in Tokyo alone. And this morning we headed to 7-Eleven, which you might be thinking, there are tons of 7-Elevens in the US. Why are you so excited about this? And that is because the 7-Elevens here in Japan have so many food options that you cannot get back in the US. They have everything from fun Japanese drinks, tons of pre-made meals that you can heat up, a bunch of fresh options like sandwiches and veggies, so many sweet treats, and of course, a bunch of ramen bowls. It was so hard to decide what to get, but we plan to go to a bunch of these stores during our time here in Japan. But for our first haul, we just grabbed the first few things that stuck out to us. So, we grabbed the egg salad sandwich, which we hear is a classic, as well as the oni giddi. This one is a red salmon and salt. And then this is a cream puff with sweet potato cream. All right, so we’re going to go with the egg salad sandwich first. I hear that everyone kind of has their favorite between the Lawson’s and Family Martins 7-Eleven. So, maybe I’ll try them all before we get out of here. If I can ever get it open. First impressions, this bread super pillowy. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot, but that’s actually really good. I’m definitely going to be getting this again. The bread is super soft. And like I said earlier, it’s really pillowy. Really good egg flavor in there. Perfect seasoning. Nice and creamy. It’s cold. I think it’s exactly what you want out of a egg salad sandwich. I got so overwhelmed in there. Everything looked so good. But I don’t know, just something about the colors of this one and the packaging, it stood out to me. M the dough is very thin and it’s kind of chewy. And as you can see, just loaded with this cream, which is just so whipped and light and creamy and sweet. Having access to these on basically every single corner is going to be extremely dangerous on this trip. Oh my goodness. Last but not least, we’re going to do the Ono Giddi. And so if you don’t know what an ono giddy is, it’s a rice wrapped in seaweed. And sometimes they’ll have some different uh fillings on the inside. And this one has red salmon and sea salt. Um they have some that have egg in them and all kinds of different flavors. I can hear the crunch of the seaweed. Mhm. I think I just got a bunch of rice and seaweed, but it’s really good. [Music] Today, our plan is to explore the Shabuya area of Tokyo. And we’re starting in Herajuku, a neighborhood known for youth fashion and kawaii culture, which is a term that means cute, with one of the most famous examples being Hello Kitty. And we’re currently on Takashidita Street, one of the busiest shopping streets in Tokyo. [Music] We normally aren’t big shoppers, but shopping in Japan just feels like an exciting thing to do. They have tons of malls plus large stores like Donkeyote, which is pretty crazy. And there are a bunch of smaller stores like along this street. So, our plan is just to walk around and pop into any store that looks interesting, and just experience the overall vibe of this place. [Music] This is the cutest store I have ever been in. It’s part store, but also just kind of part photo opportunity. They have all these little rooms you can go in and take fun photos. [Music] So, we’ve seen these capsule toy machines out on the street, but we’ve come into a store that has two floors and rows and rows of them. There is so much stuff in here. It’s just so hard to choose which one you want to do, but I think we found the one. A little train keychain one. So, the fun part about it is you don’t get to pick the one you get. Just spits one out at you. Surprise. Cool. Awesome. A little bullet train. I’m going to do one of these cute little sushi guys. Oh, this one’s so cute. Oh my goodness. [Music] We have a massive list of foods we want to try here in Japan. So, warning, do not watch any of our Japan series while hungry. And for our first proper meal, we’re having katsu. Katsu is a breaded and deep fried cutlet of meat, typically chicken or pork, but we’re trying guatsu, which is a beef cutlet. And the fun part is we get to grill it ourselves. So, as you can see, it’s breaded on the outside and it’s partially cooked. And so, then we’re supposed to cook it for 20 seconds on each side. Sizzle. So juicy, so tender. After cooking it on there, it gets a little crispy. Oh, man. That’s so good. Oh, yeah. So juicy. Buttery, too. Perfect first meal. Oh my gosh. In your mouth. [Music] We are about to do our first ever Cory Koro, which is a fun style of photo booth here in Japan. And the first step is to snap some photos. This music’s fun. Oh my gosh. This is not what I expected. I wasn’t expecting lipstick and to uh do this to your head. That’s kind of the whole point of the Puri Kura photo booth is that it kind of just morphs your face and makes your eyes bigger and puts lipstick on you and it is hilarious. Adam looks so funny. It was just like super goofy. It was a lot of fun. What a fun souvenir. It’s for sure going up in our van. Heck yeah. On the fridge, everywhere we can put it. [Music] This area has a lot of fun desserts from massive colorful cotton candy to stuffed crepes. But there’s one dessert that caught our eye, kaki gori, which is Japanese shave ice. And just look at this. Not only is it beautiful, but it is massive. And we didn’t realize how big it was when we ordered it. And we got two of them. This one is the pudding flavor. Then we also got their Halloween special, which has pumpkin. We’re going to need to recruit some help from people in here. So much. We should have known when we saw how big the bill was that it was going to be big. Oh, it’s really good, though. Oh my gosh. Super sweet. The shave ice is so soft and fluffy. It just melts in your mouth. It’s kind of like having just snowflakes compacted together. You can see them making it and they do it in layers. That means every single bite you get is going to have the sauce and all the goodies in it. We have had a lot of shave ice in our lifetime, especially in Hawaii, but this is definitely one of the most gourmet and just high quality ones we have ever had. We have made it to the main part of Shabuya and we’re currently standing next to the Shabuya crossing which is the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing with sometimes up to 2500 people crossing at once. There’s not 2500 people here right now but there’s still a lot of people people coming from every direction. It’s so funny. That one’s the most popular. That is one of those things that you just see photos and videos of anytime you see anything Tokyo related. So, getting to walk through it was just one of those, wow, we are actually in Japan moments. Not only did we want to see Shabuya from ground level, we also wanted to see it from higher up. So, we’re heading to Shabuya Sky. This is said to be one of the best observation decks in Tokyo, but getting a ticket for it can be pretty tough, especially if you want to come at sunset. They go on sale 2 weeks beforehand at midnight Japan time and the sunset times sell out within minutes. But we lucked out and got tickets for 4:20 p.m. just 1 hour before sunset. Although it doesn’t look like we’ll get much of a sunset tonight. [Music] One of my favorite things to do in every town or city that we visit is to go up to an observation deck or a tower to see the city from above. Especially in massive cities like Tokyo because when we were down there earlier and walking around, we knew we were in a big city. But from up here, you can actually grasp just how big of a city this actually is. There are buildings in every single direction as far as the eye can see. [Music] The crossing is even better at night. Not only is it busier, but just having all of the buildings lit up around you is so cool. Easily one of the most famous foods from Japan is sushi. And one thing we really wanted to try here in Tokyo was conveyor belt sushi, which is where plates of sushi circle around the dining area on a moving conveyor belt. So, how it works is you can either grab one off the belt that looks good to you with the price designated by the color of the plate, or you can order off the tablet. All right, first bite. King salmon. Probably the best piece of sushi I’ve ever had. Has to be. It is a huge piece and it tastes so fresh. Japan is going to spoil me with fish. I’ve had raw fish in other dishes before, but I’ve never actually had sushi. And when I realized this, I decided I was going to wait until we were in Japan to have my first ever bite of sushi. It’ll probably ruin me for sushi forever. It’s so tender. Next up, we have eel, avocado, and cream cheese. There’s also a little bit of egg and some cucumber in there. Exquisite. I had read that some people think conveyor belt sushi isn’t as high of quality as other sushi places, but since I had never had sushi before, my expectations were super low, and everything I’ve had here has been excellent. Also, it’s just such a fun experience. You get to watch them make the sushi, and you get to just kind of wait and see what pops around the corner. It’s like a fun little surprise to see which sushi is coming next. So, we ended up getting six plates and it was only $14 and they were pretty big pieces of sushi, so I think it was a pretty good deal. Japan has the highest density of vending machines per person in the world with about one machine for every 20 to 40 people. While most of these vending machines just sell drinks, you can sometimes find ones selling other items like katsu sandwiches, burgers, laundry detergent, train toys, frozen meat, and so much more. And we are currently on the hunt for a vending machine that sells a sweet treat. So, this is chestnut and green tea whipped cream in a can. Oh. M. has kind of an earthy flavor from the green tea. It has a much thicker consistency than any whipped cream I’ve ever had. It’s like a icing consistency. [Music] [Music] This morning we got up bright and early to head to Asaka to visit Seno Gi, which is one of the most popular temples to visit in Tokyo with 30 million visitors a year. Because of this, it can get insanely busy. So, we decided to come around 6:00 a.m. to hopefully have a slightly quieter experience. Seno G is Tokyo’s oldest and most famous Buddhist temple. Founded in 645 AD and it’s dedicated to Canon, the goddess of mercy. According to a legend, back in 628 AD, fishermen found a statue of canon in the Sama River. And despite returning it to the river, it kept reemerging and the temple was eventually built to honor it. Over the years, the main temple has been destroyed many times, and the current iteration you see is famous for its striking red architecture, a five-story pigota, and a very large red lantern, which weighs about 700 kg. As you explore the temple, you might hear this jingling and rattling sound in the background. And that is the omuji, which are fortune. So, we’re gonna see what life has in store for us. So, how it works is you put a 100 yen coin in here and then you get to shake this metal box and a stick will come out and then you go find the box on the wall that corresponds with this number. All right, let’s see what my fortune says. The good news is if you get a bad fortune, they have this rack that you can tie it on to and the sign says, “Please do not worry.” So whatever it says, no worries. Oh. Oh no. Oh no. The title of it is bad. The lowest fortune. That does not sound good. You may get the deficit at first, but can get the profit at last. Just like the moon decayed at first, but right by night it grows bigger and becomes a full moon at last. Waiting for the time passes by. Nights and days, days and nights. At last, moon shines into your house. Your family will be filled with delight and happiness. Oh, that’s actually good. It has such a bad name, but that sounds that sounds like it’s a good thing, right? Your request will be granted later. The patient will get well, but it takes a long time. The lost article will not be found. Can’t get everything, right? The person you will wait for will come, but late. Building a new house or removal should be postponed. Well, that’s good to know considering we would like to get a house at some point. Your trip get harm on the way. Oh god, this is getting worse and worse. We’re going to tie that one up. Oh no, I can’t read the last one. Oh no. Marriage and employment are both bad. Wow. Oh, this is going on the the hanger. Don’t worry though. No worries. Please don’t worry. Let’s hope that Adam has better luck than I did. [Music] 51. Regular fortune. That sounds better than mine. Sounds better, but it’s just regular. Okay. You may get tired in working so hard at your family business. Oh, that’s so true. Yeah. As your hope is real large, it is very hard to get success. Although you do your best, the chance do not come yet. As time passes by, you will get into the place open wide. Then later, both income and wealth will be in your hand so you can get relax yourself. This kind of feels very fitting. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Your request will be granted. The patient will get well, but late. The lost article will be found. The person you wait for will come but late. I’ve already got that one. Building a new house and removal are both well. You can start a trip in safe. That’s good. Marriage and new employment are both well. Woo. All right. This one’s a good one. We’re keeping this one. [Music] We heard you can’t come to Senzo G and not get melon pon which is a Japanese sweetbread. And despite its name, it doesn’t have any melon in it. It’s just given that name because it looks like a melon. And I am so excited for this. As we were walking around, we could smell them baking it. And it is just so crispy on the outside. It has some sugar on top, but it is so soft inside. You can really mush it down. And it was served piping hot. It was burning Adam’s hand. I can hear the crunch. M has a very crackery type top, but yeah, inside just so pillowy. Oh my gosh, that looks so good. M. This is our plain one, but we also got a special one that is filled, but I wanted to try it in its purest form first. It’s just perfectly sweet. Not too sweet. Perfect. We got this one with matcha ice cream. M. That bread is so good. I did not expect it to be so crispy. Like a cookie on the outside and like cake on the inside. The matcha ice cream. Oh my gosh. The plain one was fantastic. But if you can only get one, you got to get this one. The mix of the cold and the hot and the crunchy and the creamy. M. [Music] Now that we’ve seen Senzo G from ground level, we’ve come up to the eighth floor of the Asaka Culture Tourist Information Center, which has a free observation area overlooking the temple. And it is so cool to see it from this perspective, especially seeing all of the people walking up towards the temple. When we got here at 6:00 a.m., there were a handful of people, but it was not busy at all. And it is crazy how much busier it is 3 hours later. [Music] [Music] We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring more of the neighborhoods around Tokyo, starting with Akih Habara, the hub for all things anime, manga, and gaming. Here you can find neon signs, themed cafes, countless stores selling both recent and retro games, and multi-story arcades. [Music] knocked him out. And then we headed over to Jimo Book Town, which is home to 200 bookstores. As book lovers, this area was fun to walk around, even if the books were all in Japanese. But beyond books, Jimo is also known for its curry shops. So, we made sure to pop into one of the most popular in the area, Bondi, for some delicious beef curry. And to end our day, we are doing something we are very excited about. We are going to a sumo experience where we are going to learn about and get to see sumo wrestling. [Music] Sumo wrestling began in Japan as a sacred Shinto ritual to pray for good harvests. with it becoming a professional sport during the 1600s as a way to raise money to build temples and shrines. And during the sumo experience, we got to learn firsthand from two professional sumo wrestlers. Starting with what they eat. Sumo wrestlers eat between 7,000 and 10,000 calories per day with one of the most common dishes being cha, a hot pot dish that is loaded with protein. But besides chokonab, another food with ties to sumo wrestling is mochi. We got to watch the sumo wrestlers pound the mochi and then take a stab at it for ourselves. Adam from the United States. Kind of nerve-wracking. Don’t mess up. After fueling up, it was time to get a firstirhand glimpse at the more physical aspect of training, including the different stretches that sumo wrestlers do and the different techniques before watching a couple test matches. [Music] [Applause] Yeah. Oh yeah. [Applause] And then it was time to see if one of us had what it takes to be a sumo wrestler. [Applause] Let’s go. [Applause] That was so hard. The sand is so slippery. I just felt like I was stuck and I couldn’t move at all. Wasn’t working. I got him. I think he let me, but I got him. [Music] There are so many different areas you can stay in Tokyo, but we decided to stay in Shinjuku, which is one of the most popular tourist areas at the Yuen Hotel, which is super nice. Although we will say the hotel rooms in Tokyo are pretty small, so keep that in mind. But today, our plan is to explore a little bit more of this area. And first, we’re wandering around the Shinjjuku Guioen National Garden. Despite being the most populated city in the world with buildings everywhere you look, Tokyo boasts more than 8,000 parks and gardens. And Shinjjuku Gioan is one of the largest parks in the city with three different types of gardens, plus a greenhouse with tropical plants and lots of ponds. [Music] Ever since we got in Japan, I’ve been admiring and just like drooling over all these little vans. And now we found this one that sells hot dogs and lemonade. So refreshing and light. Even though we are here in early October and at the park pretty early in the morning, it is so hot and muggy today. So, this is the perfect treat. [Music] [Music] We love exploring cities, but nature is definitely our happy place. So, this was a nice peaceful escape from all the hustle and bustle of the last couple days. We could totally spend all day here just having a picnic and reading and relaxing. But this afternoon, we are checking off Adam’s top bucket list item here in Tokyo. We are going to a baseball game. We really lucked out because today is the last day of the season for the Nippon Professional Baseball League. So, today we’re heading across the city to see the LE Marines play the Soft Bank Hawks. [Music] [Music] [Applause] This quickly became one of our favorite things we did during our entire trip to Japan. The vibes were a blast with a soldout crowd, chanting, loud music, and pyrochnics that reminded us of a mix of European football and American football. Plus, the food was solid. [Music] I glor [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Japanese baseball 100% lived up to the hype. And I gotta say, as a lifelong baseball fan, it was a lot more fun than a US baseball game. [Music] We have made it back to Shinjuku and have headed to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building, which not only has a free observation area, which is amazing and totally worth checking out, but every night they also have multiple light shows where they project different graphics onto the building. It runs a few times a night and is the largest architectural projection map display according to the Guinness World Records. And they have the cutest little coffee truck here. We are two for two on super cute food trucks today. [Music] [Music] [Applause] This was so cool. The lights lined up with some of the windows and bricks and it made the building look 3D and like things were flying off of it. We’ve been to a bunch of these light shows throughout our travels, but this is easily the best one we’ve ever seen. [Music] Tokyo is known for having an amazing transportation system. And during our time here, whenever something is too far to walk to, we’ll take a train. Knowing where to go has been a lot easier than we expected. Signs are usually both in Japanese and English. And Google Maps tells you what platform to go to, which train car is the best one for the fastest transfer or exit, and what exits to use. And to pay, we’re using a soa card, which you can just add to your Apple wallet and tap your phone to pay without even opening it. It is super easy and convenient. But we just took a train from our hotel in Shinjuku over to this morning, we’re going to explore the outer market. But first things first, these tired eyes need some coffee. [Music] Tokyo has an amazing coffee scene and one of our goals has been to try as many coffee shops as possible. We have tried quite a few and all of them have been incredible. And one very important thing to know is that many coffee shops here do not open until 9 or 10:00 a.m. But thankfully, Turret Coffee is one of the exceptions. And look at this latte. The menu said it had a bitter and strong taste. It is this deep chocolatey brown color and it is so strong and so good and exactly what the doctor ordered. Cuz if you can’t tell, I think our go the last few days is catching up to us. [Music] This is the Outer Market, the most popular market to visit in Tokyo. It was once home to the fish market, which was the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world, but has since moved to another market. However, the outer market remains, and you can still find around 400 stalls selling anything from fresh tuna and seafood delicacies, sweet treats, Japanese street food, and souvenirs. And our goal is to try a handful of items that came highly recommended to us, plus whatever catches our eye. [Music] All right, our first market food is a tamagoyaki, which is a sweet rolled omelette. It’s made with eggs, soy sauce, sugar, and mirin, which is a sweet rice wine. And it’s made in this really cool rectangular omelette pan. kind of nervous to try this just because it’s supposed to be pretty sweet even though it’s an egg thing. So, it’s kind of like a a mind trick. You don’t usually eat too many sweet eggs. It’s actually really good though. M. The eggs are nice and fluffy and bouncy and it’s pretty sweet, but you would think that that wouldn’t work very well, but it does. It works really well. It’s almost like French toast without the bread. [Music] We couldn’t come to a fish market and not get some fresh fish. So, we found this tuna stand that serves different cuts of tuna. We have very fatty, medium fatty, and then lean. All right, we’re going to go very fatty first. So tender. These are very meaty pieces. It’s very buttery and silky. Also, it is frowned upon to eat while walking in Japan. But thankfully, many of these stands have a designated standing or seating area, so you can enjoy the food, or you can just stand right next to the stand and eat. [Music] We needed a bit more caffeine, so we just got a matcha latte and a hoisha latte. And hojisha is roasted green tea. Oh, this one is so good. They’re both really good, but I think this one’s my favorite. This one has more of a grassy flavor, but this one has more of a kind of just toasted and nutty flavor. [Music] Japan is famous for its Wagyu, which is beef from the four breeds of cattle here in Japan. It’s known for having a large amount of marbling, which gives it this smooth, melt in-you mouth texture. And we came to the stand that sells A5 Wagyu, which is the highest possible grade. They’re letting us cut cook our meat. You’re the chef now. [Music] If you know anything about Wagyu, you know it’s very expensive. This was 3,300 yen, which is I think about 22 bucks. It’s my first bite of Wagu. So excited for this. Oh my. That’s incredible. No other words. It’s perfection. Beef perfection. I wish every steak was like this. It is if you have the right budget. Yeah. Oh wow, it is so juicy. I am ruined now for all other steaks. Oh my gosh. A ruiner for sure. We should have gotten the four piece one because now we have to split this. Oh man, that was the best bite in Japan so far. For our final food, we’re trying, which is kind of like a crispy pancake with filling inside. And we got the custard filling. And they’re normally fish shaped, but what makes this one unique is they actually made it shaped like a tuna since it’s the tuna market. Oh, the outside is so crispy, but the inside is nice and soft and just has this gooey custard inside. Really, really sweet. Oh, it’s delicious. I love the crispiness of it. Crispy, little bit chewy. It’s warm. The custard inside has a pudding flavor and consistency to it. Super thick. This was a great treat to end on. [Music] This afternoon, we’re visiting Team Lab, which is an immersive art experience that started here in Japan. They have two different ones to choose from, planets and borderless. And deciding which one to choose was so hard because there’s so many conflicting opinions on which one is the best. But ultimately, we decided on borderless, and I cannot wait. This is one of the things I’ve been most excited for here in Tokyo. Borderless is a museum without a map where you can freely wander around to different rooms with each immersing you in digital projections that flow across walls, floors, and ceilings, often adjusting to human movement. Together, these rooms in different displays form one continuous borderless world with surprises around every corner. What’s cool is that the rooms are constantly changing. So, you could go into the room multiple times and have a completely different experience every single time. [Music] Oh, wa. This is wild. So many of the rooms are tucked away and you could easily miss them. But our favorite ones so far are the ones you have to work a little harder to find. [Music] So for this room, we got to pick a sea animal and they give you this blank drawing of it and you get to color it in and then it’s going to project on the wall. So our art is going to be featured in a museum. [Music] Mine has made so many little sea friends. I think a shark got mine. Catherine’s is still swimming around here strong, but I haven’t seen mine in a while. He’s He’s probably sleeping. Yeah. [Music] This was without a doubt one of the most engaging art experiences we have ever had. The camera definitely doesn’t do it justice. It is one of those places that you need to experience yourself to truly grasp and feel the power of. [Music] That was an absolutely mesmerizing experience. And so whether you choose to visit Borderless or Planets, one very important thing to know is that you have to get a timed entry ticket, but once you’re in, you can stay for as long as you want. We were in there for about 2 and 1/2 hours, and I believe we saw everything, but there could have been a hidden room that we totally missed. But for our final stop in Tokyo, we’re going to finally try some ramen, which is the food we have been most excited to try here. And one helpful resource for finding restaurants in Japan is a website called Tabalog, which is Japan’s top restaurant review website with over 886,000 restaurants. While we typically try to shoot for as close to five stars as possible on Google Maps, we read that on Tabalog, anything three and a half or above is considered to be really good. And we’re heading to a ramen spot in Shinjuku that has a 3.53. So, it should be pretty delicious. Although, it’s our first ramen in Japan, so I think it’s going to be good regardless. [Music] There are many different styles and types of ramen, and tonight we’re trying two types. First, we have tonkatu ramen, which originated in southern Japan. This style of ramen is made by boiling pork bones for several hours with minimal other ingredients. The ramen is then topped with pork, mushrooms, green onions, and a seasoned ramen egg. Wow. We got their special which has garlic in it. And oh, it’s just so rich in flavor, but also light in consistency. The pork has a really good flavor to it. Kind of a little sweet, but also savory at the same time. Oh my god, that unreal. I’m so mad we waited this long. Should have been having this every day. We also got a bowl of skimen, which means dipping ramen. The noodles are served separately from a thick concentrated broth, and then you dip the noodles into it. That has a really good meaty flavor. M. Now, it’s really oily and fatty. A kind of a almost a grilled flavor to it. It’s also really fun to sit at the counter and get to watch them make the magic happen, watch them cook. [Music] And that is a wrap on four days in Tokyo. It was chaotic. It was lively. It was exhausting. We walked 42 miles, but it was also so much fun and hilarious. I still cannot stop laughing at our photo booth photos and me trying to take down, actually me successfully taking down a sumo wrestler. It was the perfect way to kick off our time here in Japan. But tomorrow, we’re picking up the cutest camper van. And for the next leg of our Japan trip, we’re going to be doing a big road trip where we’ll be visiting the mountains, the coast, small villages, and so much more. [Music]

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We couldn’t think of a better way to kick off our FIRST time in Japan than in the country’s lively city of Tokyo! 🇯🇵 Over 4 days we checked off every item from our Tokyo bucket list, from eating some classic Japanese foods, trying out sumo wrestling, walking the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing, seeing a Japanese baseball game, immersing ourselves in art, and SO much more!

📅 This video was filmed in early October 2025
🛌 Where we stayed in Tokyo: https://booking.tpx.gr/Tik3lx9R
🎟️Get tickets for Shibuya Sky: https://klook.tpx.gr/B8o75zNO
💪🏻Book the sumo experience: https://bit.ly/4qBhTFX (Use our code APLUSK10 for 10% off!)
🎨Get tickets for TeamLab Borderless: https://klook.tpx.gr/WIgcsG4h

📍Locations in this video
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?mid=1_RES0jj8UfAyWq4n5iwiujLF2HfbCcw&usp=sharing

⌚Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
01:02 Our Tokyo bucket list
01:30 Our first 7-Eleven in Japan
04:15 Shopping in Harajuku
06:07 Cooking our own gyukatsu
7:00 Our first purikura (Japanese photobooth) 😂
08:20 Trying kakigori
09:25 Shibuya Scramble Crossing
10:13 Shibuya Sky
11:37 Conveyor belt sushi
13:14 Whipped cream vending machine
14:13 Visiting Sensō-ji temple
18:21 You MUST get this melon pan
19:45 The BEST view of Sensō-ji temple
20:19 Exploring Akihabara and Jimbocho Book Town
21:24 Sumo wrestling experience!
24:13 Shinjuku Gyoen Garden
26:16 Our first Japanese baseball game!
27:55 Tokyo Night & Light Show
29:20 How to get around Tokyo
30:09 Tokyo’s coffee scene ROCKS!
30:50 Tsukiji Outer Market mini food tour
35:16 TeamLab Borderless
39:04 Our FIRST ramen in Japan!
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☕️ Check out our A+K Merch! https://adventuresofaplusk.com/shop/
📷 See ALL of our gear: https://adventuresofaplusk.com/gear/
🚐 Our Van Life products: https://adventuresofaplusk.com/blog/van-conversion-cost-tour-mistakes
🎶 We get music for our videos from Musicbed: https://fm.pxf.io/adventuresofaplusk. Use code APLUSK for 1 month off of any annual subscription.

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🌎 See everywhere we have been + view our blogs and travel guides:

Home – Adventures of A+K

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👋🏼 About us
Hi y’all! We’re Adam, Kathryn, and Kona, an adventurous married couple (+ pup!) living on the road in our self-converted sprinter van! You can often find us driving all around the US and Canada, scoping out the best coffee shops, eating tacos and ice cream (we’re a 5+ taco and 2+ scoop household), and enjoying nature.

We help travelers spend less time (and stress!) planning their trip and more time enjoying it! Our detailed travel guides, YouTube videos, and travel resources share the must-visit local eats, popular and off the beaten path sights, and tons of tips to make planning your next adventure a whole lot easier.

Note: We’ve linked a handful of items so you can see exactly which products we take with us. Full disclosure–if you click on these links and make a purchase, we get a small commission at no extra cost to you. We will only ever recommend products we truly love, actually use during our adventures, and think you can benefit from too!