First, let me explain the recent delay in posting. If you’re on my Facebook, you’ve already heard the news, but I’ve been accepted into a phd program here on our campus. I start on Monday in the biomedical sciences program at Zhejiang University University of Edinburgh. This has caused a ton of chaos trying to get everything ready to begin this new adventure, and will probably mean slightly fewer posts on here, but hopefully some really interesting topics.
And now, back to Tokyo!
The 2nd day, we walked around our neighborhood in Tokyo- walked in and out of several anime/gamer stores and eventually found this shrine to stop in. Unlike our trip to Thailand, I really didn’t put too many temples/ shrines on our list for Japan because Alex just isn’t that into them and who can blame him, he’s only 8. This one was so beautiful and in the middle of this busy area, you walk in through the gate and it’s quiet and peaceful.
The statues in this shrine are so detailed and intricate, the one below is one of my favorites and pictures don’t do it justice. The eyes glowed yellow and they just looked awesome!
At the time of this picture, we were completely clueless as to what the water trough was for. There are little metal cups sitting on it, and we thought maybe it was to get a drink. In reality, it is meant for you to wash your hands (and face?) before entering the shrine. 
This Statue is at one end of the shrine, and I loved the way the light and shade from the trees played on the face. It was a really wonderful break to spend some time in this area before heading back into the city. 
After leaving the shrine, Mark looked around and found a really famous place nearby for lunch. As much as I complained at the time- everywhere Mark wanted us to go for lunch or dinner had about an hour wait, but every time it was worth it. This was no different. While we waited in a line outside the restaurant, Alex chased pigeons like a loon in the alley. It was a smallish place, maybe 5 tables upstairs and a bar area for eating downstairs.
I didn’t take any pictures of the lunch apparently, but it was absolutely amazing. We had tempura chicken and pork, cabbage salad and rice. The meat was tender, and the sauce was too good to describe!
After lunch, it was back to walking around. We found and took Alex into a Game Station, which is basically 5-7 (depending on which one you go to) floors of arcade games. Anything from a variety of claw games to old school Mortal Combat, from professional level Dance Dance Revolution set ups to first person shooters. Alex was in heaven and would have stayed there for the rest of the trip if we let him.
MArk and i had been discussing for a while whether or not to buy a Nintendo Switch. It has some cool features, but it’s another game system, and we try to limit Alex’s time on video games. The big seller for us, is the new Zelda game that came out, we all like Zelda a lot and we can get Mario Kart, which is also a big one for me at least.
We decided while we were in Japan, home of Nintendo, that we would buy it there. We got a better deal on it than we would in China, and I think a better deal than in the States as well. Alex was over the moon! He was not expecting to get one, and was really surprised.
But wait there’s more! This was only the halfway point on our 2nd full day in Tokyo. We had talked as a family about going to another cat cafe while in Tokyo, but my allergies act up so bad it’s not much fun for me. Luckily in Tokyo, there are dozens of different available animal cafes to choose from. We ended up settling on an Owl cafe, and couldn’t wait to get to meet our new owl friends.
Once we got to the owl cafe, we were shown a table while the other groups came in and got settled. The rules were simple, no loud noises, no flash photography. We got to wander around and see what owls we would like to get to hold.
My owl White bait and I had a really eventful hour together. He sat on my shoulder almost the whole time, until he decided that my head was a better spot to be. While he was sitting on my shoulder, he was so comfortable with me, that he threw up an owl pellet on me… so that happened. And then after climbing onto my head, the handler removed him from my head to keep him from pooping on me (which I appreciate) and said that the owl would have to be super comfortable to do that, but I think they were just trying to make me feel better about almost getting pooped on.
We had such a wonderful time at the owl cafe, I would do it again in a heartbeat. We also got a family photo of the three of us with our owls.
So I will admit, I have a tendency to be a little gullible at times. I read things on the internet and I think they’re true, because why would someone lie about that? The picture above is one of those things. I read an article about Pocari sweat drink in Japan being made from the sweat of a jungley cat and that it was supposed to be an aphrodisiac. So I mentioned it to Mark, and he decided to try it.
It’s not a cat sweat drink, or an aphrodisiac. It’s a sports drink like Gatorade. So much hype for nothing. Mark did really enjoy it, and ended up getting more of them during the trip.
For dinner, we decided after all this adventure, we needed conveyor belt sushi. This was our first time doing conveyor belt sushi at a good place. It wasn’t fancy, but it was good. Again, there was a pretty long wait for this, but it was worth it in the end.
This was a great 2nd day of a trip, we had good (but hot )weather, good food, and good times. Next blog is on the 3rd and final full day in Tokyo.
Traveling Expat Family 