Thanks for joining me and Kim for the weekly run down. This week, we are finishing up our Japan trip with a few more days in Tokyo before heading home. Read along to check out some of our fun adventures exploring more of Tokyo.
Until Next Time Tokyo
Sunday-Tokyo Kimonos and so much more
We arrived back in Tokyo and disembarked from our cruise ship. We opted to stay in Tokyo a few more days to fully immerse ourselves in the culture. And that we did! We did not waste anytime meeting our tour guide and heading out. We do love a theme in our family! We had a blast being fitted for Kimonos for the day and walking around the Senso-Ji Temple and Izakaya street to check out the local vibe.
Monday-Sumo visit + traditional tea ceremony + more
We were up super early to visit a Sumo House where we were able to watch the wrestlers warm up and practice. It was really interesting to witness on so many levels. They are very serious and regimented! After that, we headed to a private tea ceremony with an elder stateswoman who oversees a private tea garden. What a cool experience! We learned so much and got to witness and participate in a really cool ritual. After that we visited a science museum and then hopped into a few stores for fun. I will share a few pics here and you can see much more on my IG.
Tea ceremony:
The view from our hotel bar is stunning at sunset.
Tuesday-Imperial palace gardens + Team Lab Borderless museum + pillow making
We had another super packed day here in Tokyo. First, we visited the Imperial Palace Gardens. Once one of the world’s largest palaces, all that remains now are the walls and the beautiful gardens. If you watched the Shogun series last year, this was even more interesting.
Afterwards, we spent a few hours wandering around the famed TeamLab Borderless Digital Art Museum. It’s like nothing you have ever seen with lights, mirrors and other digital effects to create art and entertainment. The “tea” experience combined actual cups of tea with light design -It was super cool.
And finally, I had been waiting for this one…I had my own princess and the pea moment designing my on pillow. What a cool experience and probably deserved more time and description to come. I can’t wait to test it out when I get home!
Wednesday-tuna auction + touring shrine of Meiji Jingu + Shibuya Crossing + Ramen Tour
Somehow my husband talked me into getting up at 4 am to attend an exclusive viewing of the famed tuna auctions here in Tokyo. Tunas are flown in from around the world to be auctioned off to wholesalers who then sell it to restaurants. It was quite the spectacle.
Later we toured the most sacred shrine in Tokyo and toured the surrounding gardens. We took a quick stop at shibuya crossing-the busiest intersection in Tokyo. It really reminded me of Times Square.
That afternoon, we took a fun ramen tour stopping at 3 different places offering varying types of ramen. We also logged about 15000 steps traipsing around the city. We finally arrived back at our hotel full and exhausted Our last full day here was jam packed.
Thursday-flying home!
I was excited to finally get in a proper strength workout in the gorgeous hotel gym before saying Sayonara to Tokyo. Funny thing about flying home. Japan is 13 hours ahead of EST time. The direct flight home to DC is around 13 hours. Therefore, we left Tokyo around 3 pm and arrived in DC right around 3 pm on the same day. A long day indeed! I was searching the airport for some sort of American chocolate to no avail! While I did try and enjoy the better tasting matcha while traveling, matcha Kit Kats are a hard no.
Friday-core + lower body and shoulder strength
Well, hello jet lag! I was up at 4 am despite by best efforts to fall back to sleep. I had all the laundry done by 7! It felt really good to get back to my regular Peloton workouts after being off my schedule for 3 weeks. My Oura ring is not so happy with me right now. It will take a few days for us to make up.
Saturday-power walk + core
After a better night’s sleep, I am starting to feel closer to myself today. I still have some work to do with my Oura this week but I will get there. Lots of organizing and getting things back to normal over here. Always great to be home after a fabulous trip!
Happy Mother’s Day!
What an incredible final stretch to your Japan trip! The kimonos, tea ceremony, the sumo ringers, the ramen tour….everything sounds so memorable. And that tuna auction!!
You’ll get back on track with your Oura ring soon. How does your new pillow feel?
It was a fab trip! I am loving my new pillow 🙂
Does this mean you’re up when I’m up? lol What a wonderful trip, Deborah! I’m amazed at all you saw and did. Thanks for sharing all of this amazing trip with us!
Unfortunately I have been up when you’ve been up! I sure hope I can rectify that soon lol
Wow! Looks like such a fun and busy way to spend the week – the tuna, kimono, etc. the tea ceremony sounds amazing to me! Good luck getting back into routine — sounds like you are in the right direction.
I crave routine and it will feel good to get back at it
Welcome home! It sounds like you had the most amazing trip! Can’t wait to read more about your pillow making experience.
I’m sure you’ll be back into your regular routine in no time and your Oura ring will be happy with you once again. 😉
It was a great few weeks! I crave routine and will enjoy getting back to mine this week
Thanks for sharing your trip! You’ve shared so many aspects of Japan that I didn’t know about. And – that custom pillow fitting!! Oh my, that’s exactly what I’d need! I’ve understood sumo wrestlers are super strong, it must have been interesting to see them in action.
You must have been so tired after that long travel day and poor sleep the night after. I can imagine you’re happy to get back to your normal routine.
It was a fabulous trip all around! Always feels good to be back in your bed and in your routine
Glad you had such an amazing time! You got to see and do so much!
Interesting that you were up early here. Coming back from Australia I could not drag myself out of bed. My husband doesn’t think it should matter which “way” the time difference is, but I guess it does.
I’m defintiely no happy to be up so early and then totally crashing in the afternoon. I hope to rectify that soon! I did get a lot done though 🙂
You really took in the Japan culture! What a fabulous experience. That tuna! I had no idea they were so HUGE!
We urge did do and see so much! The tuna are huge!!!
Wow- that does sound like a fabulous trip! You really did a lot of interesting things. That jet lag must be no joke though- that’s a huge time difference. I think you’ll be feeling it for a bit longer!
Must feel good to get home and back into a routine. Your oura ring will come around ; )
Yes it was a fabulous trip! It will surely take me a few more days to adapt back to my regular schedule
You have certainly seen and done some incredible things in this trip. How fun! I had no idea many of these things existed!
Yes we did have the best time!!
what an amazing trip. you really took advantage of everything and experienced the culture.
We sure did! Great trip all around
A good reminder (again) to not read your blog when hungry. Now I want ramen. Can’t wait to hear more about this amazing trip. And yes, the jet lag is fierce,
Ramen was delish but I’m set for a while lol