As the country continues opening up and numbers of new virus cases remain relatively low (knocking on all the wood!) our traveling itch grows stronger and stronger. An empty weekend with weather too questionable for camping we decide to hop a train. Our very first train ride in such a long long time. Prepped with masks and sanitizer we head to the station.
Right before the country shut down they finally finally created a way to order tickets online with a credit card. Prior to this we either had to wait in a sometimes very long line to buy tickets at a counter and struggle with our tiny Japanese skills. Or pay by cash, which at a $100 roundtrip ride to Tokyo, the cash goes very quickly.
After 10 weeks, it took a lot of trial and error to remember which formulation of Upper Case, lower case, numbers and special characters represented our password. Eventually our login attempts were successful and we book our tickets while walking to the station #yayformultitasking!
Right before the country shut down they finally finally created a way to order tickets online with a credit card. Prior to this we either had to wait in a sometimes very long line to buy tickets at a counter and struggle with our tiny Japanese skills. Or pay by cash, which at a $100 roundtrip ride to Tokyo, the cash goes very quickly.
After 10 weeks, it took a lot of trial and error to remember which formulation of Upper Case, lower case, numbers and special characters represented our password. Eventually our login attempts were successful and we book our tickets while walking to the station #yayformultitasking!
Uber excited for an adventure! Silly faces while trying to capture the emptiness of the train.
We headed to a familiar district: Kappabashi to browse and buy so many kitchen things! Hundreds of stores full of everything you could want for your kitchen. After walking through dozens of shops and filling our backpack with so many treasures we head to nearby Senso-ji shrine.
Last time we were here it was full of locals paying respect to their deities and international tourists admiring the history.
So interesting to see these famous sits in a much quieter way.
So interesting to see these famous sits in a much quieter way.
Last September, still just as hot and humid as today.
Love finding new to us special gems each time we visit familiar places.
Found this ginormous eel (and a friend!) just hanging outside one of the shops.
We joke that our adventures in Tokyo are plotted out by food experiences, but really food is a big priority as we explore: so many new tastes! We ended up in a rather fancy traditional restaurant. ie: seats on the floor. And had a most wonderful Shabu Shabu lunch.
Basically they bring you a pot of boiling broth along with all sorts of meats and veggies. You dip/cook the goodies in the broth eating as you go, fondue style! And each time you dip more yummy things, more flavor gets added to the pot. Then at the very end you add some noodles and it's the most amazing tasting brothy noodle soup I've ever eaten! Getting one of these pots so we can continue this experience in Ohio is at the top of our to buy list! #futuredinnerparties!!!
Basically they bring you a pot of boiling broth along with all sorts of meats and veggies. You dip/cook the goodies in the broth eating as you go, fondue style! And each time you dip more yummy things, more flavor gets added to the pot. Then at the very end you add some noodles and it's the most amazing tasting brothy noodle soup I've ever eaten! Getting one of these pots so we can continue this experience in Ohio is at the top of our to buy list! #futuredinnerparties!!!
At this super classy restaurant they brought our a tray of unique cups so we could choose our own sake tasting device. So many beautiful ones to choose from. And as is traditional when serving sake it's filled up to the very tippy tip top of the cup. Makes for a slightly awkward first taste but so super fun!
While wandering around Tokyo we passed by this tiny sales garage- classy fancy cars! And a great big sign in English "Do Not Touch!" We always joke that you know foreigners have been extra stupid at a location if they take the time to write the warnings in English.
Seems like the weekend everyone ventured out. We met up with friends in Kappabashi, but an extra friendly surprise- we bumped into more friends catching the same train as us! Friends who had the scoop about the 'best pizza they've ever eaten' After that recommendation of course we had to go buy. 6 of us taking over most of the tiny shop. Ordered 6 pies cut into 6 slices, 6 little slices of heaven.
Which led to a discussion- what's the best pizza we've ever eaten?!?! I mean the stuff in Tokyo was fantastic! But there are so many other amazing pizzas! The garlic one in Cali on the beach? The pepperoni pizza while sitting on the edge of the grand canyon admiring sunset? All the Cbus pizzas we ate during house project weekends? Best part of ordering pizza on Saturday night is leftovers for Sunday brunch!
Then, just as we were leaving dinner the skies broke open and all the rain started pouring down! We were debating crashing in Tokyo for the night and continuing our adventure vs heading back home. Rain made for an easy choice- a quick walk to the nearest station then we were underground until we got back to Utsunomiya.
Which led to a discussion- what's the best pizza we've ever eaten?!?! I mean the stuff in Tokyo was fantastic! But there are so many other amazing pizzas! The garlic one in Cali on the beach? The pepperoni pizza while sitting on the edge of the grand canyon admiring sunset? All the Cbus pizzas we ate during house project weekends? Best part of ordering pizza on Saturday night is leftovers for Sunday brunch!
Then, just as we were leaving dinner the skies broke open and all the rain started pouring down! We were debating crashing in Tokyo for the night and continuing our adventure vs heading back home. Rain made for an easy choice- a quick walk to the nearest station then we were underground until we got back to Utsunomiya.
Then a quick shopping trip to Mashiko where we admired beautiful, expensive, giant pottery and a super cool kiln! The picture does not show the ancient earthen kiln that stretches from one end of the building to the other. A super old kiln that they only fire up once a year, which just so happened to be our shopping day!