Tokyo is a place that totally amazed me.  My son is stationed in South Korea and he wanted to go to Japan for a vacation.   Bob couldn’t go so my sister and I met him there.   I wasn’t sure at first how I felt about visiting Japan and now I can’t wait to go back!   It surpassed my expectations.   We were only here for 5 days but packed many adventures into those days.

We flew direct from Houston to Tokyo.  It was a long 14 hour hour flight but we were very lucky to use points and get upgraded to Polaris business.  It really made a difference.

Here we are on arrival at the Tokyo airport.

Here I am seeing Nick for the first time in a year!

Our Stay

We decided to get our hotel in Shinjuku, which is sort of an area of Tokyo.   It is a hopping place for young and old alike.  There are lots to see and do, neon lights galore!    The Shinjuku train station is one of the busiest in the world, if not the busiest.   Lots of people and platforms to navigate around.    It can be a little intimidating but people are very helpful and kind.

Our hotel was the Hilton Tokyo and we loved it here.    We splurged and got a room with executive lounge access, and it was great with all the perks.   Breakfast was available every morning and there were pre-dinner drinks and appetizers in the afternoon.   We took advantage of these offers.

Some pictures of the buffet at the Hilton.

One neat feature of our hotel room was the bathroom.  I’ve never seen a tub in the shower before!

 

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/tyohitw-hilton-tokyo/?SEO_id=GMB-APAC-TW-TYOHITW

Sumo Wrestling

Sumo wrestling is a national sport in Japan, and it is the only country where it is recognized as a professional sport.  Six Sumo tournaments are held each year and one just happened to be in September when we were there.   The tournament runs for 15 days, usually in the middle of the month.

We went to a sumo wrestling match, which is the most popular sport in Japan.  It was action packed and the fans loved to support their favorite wrestler. 

Life size cut outs of the wrestlers line the halls so you can get take a picture with your favorite wrestler. A variety of traditional Japanese foods were served by vendors along with suvioners.  This is an all day event and very entertaining.  Fans can come and go as they please.

Nick had asked me before hand if I wanted to sit on the floor (on pillows) near the sumo ring or in the stands.   I choose the stands because it had seat backs and I knew we were going to be there for several hours.    Nick wanted to watch as many matches as he could so we got there around 10 am.   And we didn’t leave until 6 pm!

There were not as many people there as I expected at 10 am and the arena was pretty sparse with people so I was wondering where everyone was.    The early matches were lower-ranked wrestlers and most people wanted to see the higher ranked wrestlers, whose matches were later in the day.

Now for some action!

In the hallways, there’s cardboard cutouts of the sumo wrestlers.   You can even join them!

.Day 4: Hired a driver and he took us to: Japanese cemetary, sky tower (we went up), fish market (had lunch there), _______shibuya crossing, small temple, financial district

3D Cat Billboard

We did a walking tour of the area around the Hilton where we stayed at in Shinjuku.  This area is popular for tourists because of the location.  There is a 3D billboard that showed a cat playing located next to the Shinuku staton  The cat entered one side of the billboard and looked like it was coming out of the billboard on the opposite side and very lifelike. It runs continuously for 7 am to 1 am.

The cat activity coincides with the time of day starting at 7 waking up becoming more animated throughout the day to going to sleep. The cat’s performs at 15 minute intervals.   The sidewalks were packed with people waiting for the cat to come out and play so they can snap pictures.

Hotel Gracery , also known as Godzilla Hotel, for the godzilla head overlooking the streets of the Shinjuku district. Every hour from noon until 8 p.m, godzilla roars, his eyes turn red, and breathes smoke. The building Hotel Gracery turns black and then a show starts with lightning and it looks like the building is crumbling and flames look like it’s coming out of the building.   It’s pretty cool!

The billboard and hotel are close in proximity to each other so you can walk to both in less than 5 minutes.

Around the corner from the Godzilla hotel, there is King Kong!

Dog cafe

Who can resist petting a cute puppy?   If you want to, head on over to the dog cafe.    There are plenty of dogs to pet and love on.

It’s on a first come, first serve basis and you get a set time.   When it’s your time, you show up to the front counter with your receipt and they let you in.   You have to take off your shoes and then it’s playing with the puppies time!   You get to enjoy some coffee and play with the Shiba Inu’s. 

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Shinjuku

We spent some time walking around Shinjuku and taking in all the sights and sounds.    It’s a very lively place with a lot going on!

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Full day of touring 

We booked a tour through Viator and our stops were: Mt. Fuji, Japanese garden tour and lunch, cable car ride, visiting an active volcano, cruise on Lake Ashi, bullet train back to Tokyo.

Since we were in Shinjuku, we met at the “Love” statue to begin our journey.  It was a 5 minute walk from our hotel.  

Mount Fuji

Our visit to Japan could not be complete without a visit to Mt. Fuji.  I booked our tour on Viator, and we were transported there via bus.  The bus can go to the 5th station on Mt. Fuji, which is the highest point a vehicle can go.   If you want to go to the top you have to hike it from there.

At the 5th station there is a shrine where you can do a ritual (wash you hands, bow twice, clap your hands twice, bow twice then say your prayer and drop your donation in the bin) for your wish or prayer to be granted.

We did see Mt. Fuji on the way up but unfortunately it was too cloudy at the fifth station so all we took were pictures of the clouds.   The shrine was beautiful and the hills (what we saw of them) were amazing.    There were cafes open and the gift shops had great gifts from Mt. Fuji.  I purchased a tea cup and a fan.

I bought this piece of fabric that has Mt. Fuji on it.   I’m not sure if I want to frame it or maybe make a blanket with it.    It’s beautiful!

.Traditional Japanese lunch and Tea Garden

Shinobi No Sato Ninja Village – This is where we had our Japanese buffet lunch and we were able to walk through the grounds of the village.   The grounds were beautiful and the ninja areas were fun!

Our buffet lunch at the tea garden:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hakone Ropeway

After our visit to Mt Fuji, we went on our cable car ride.

 

The cable car ride provided us with a wonderful view of Lake Ashi.    It was a beautiful and relaxing ride up the mountain.  

 

At the end of the cable car ride is an active volcano, which had a lot of smoke coming from it.