Japan 2023

July 17, 2023（東京、新宿・明治神宮・原宿）

Digest

1. Breakfast at FamilyMart + Starbucks (Will N worked for most of the day)
2. Tokyo National Art Center (君の名は Cafe) + Cai Guo-Qiang Exhibit
3. Meiji Jingu 明治神宮 (Visited, wrote wishes, and walked around)
4. Some Street (Boba Milk + 三 回转寿司)
5. Starbucks (Plan for next steps)
6. Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (Me and Jerry Y; We walked around, took photos, rested at rest houses, and planned for the rest of the day – went through a natural preservation area 母子森林)
7. Cat Café (We sat there (total ¥6227 by the way) played with cats, read manga, watched anime, mostly me, Oshi no Ko, and had drinks)
8. Suga Shrine Otokodan (The 君の名は stairs! We took photos when only me and Jerry Y was there, actually did the pose of a fan art instead of the original. We then met with everyone else, did the right pose, stayed until sometime after sunset, and left. I got a lot of lovely street photography on the way out!)
9. Shinjuku Golden Gai (ate dinner, all sat in one 店 that was actually run by Chinese people, had 梅酒, and chatted quite a bit)
10. Kabukicho 歌舞伎町 area (Just looked and walked around)
11. Karaoke Maneki Neko in Kabukicho (Drank a lot of liquor – strawberry blast, 梅酒, etc. Sang a lot, and many people lost their voices. Justin left early feeling tired. Funny how when we don't know the exact Japanese lyrics we just hum passionately into the mic)

July 18, 2023（東京、秋葉原・渋谷）

Digest

1. Sleep in!
2. 牛丼 in Akihabara (It was not that good, really salty for me for some reason)
3. All Around Akihabara (A lot of photos! Anime stuff!)‌‌+ Yodobashi ヨドバシ (Looked around for electronics, doesn't seem to be much cheaper or anything)‌‌+ Radio Kaikan 秋葉原ラジオ会館 (Anime figurines, anime-related stuff! I got a book, a badge, and a clipper; A lot of looking and not a lot of buying for me.)‌‌+ A lot of shops on the streets and into the buildings (Also a lot of looking, there were ones for music – OST, DVDs, etc.)
4. Maidreamin めいどりーみん 秋葉原（電気街口駅前店）(Was a fun experience, an interesting business model. Photos weren't really allowed with the maids, you need to pay for those, which are included with other packages of services. Of course, you can get food and drinks. There are even LIVEs, not exactly what you would think, but it's there.)
5. Shibuya Crossing (Crazy, so many people crossing at the same time!)
6. Nabezo Shibuya Koen Dori 鍋ぞう（渋谷公園通り）(Really good food – basically a Japanese hotpot. Was kind of expensive though: with tax, the best all-you-can-eat meat was ￥5500, then the all-you-can-drink soft drinks, which was worth it at ￥330)

July 19, 2023（東京、築地・皇居・東京タワー・ガンダムベース）

Digest

1. Breakfast at FamilyMart
2. Tsukiji Outer Market (A lot of seafood-related products, but all the foods are really expensive, not worth it IMO. Didn't get any for myself.)
3. Imperial Palace 皇居 (We went to the entrance on the east, but apparently we need a reservation, so we didn't go in there. We did go to the gardens 皇居東御苑, which were not too different from the ones we visited on the first day. There was a large pond with a lot of good views though)
4. Tamachi 田町 (Lunch! Wontons! Chinese food! It was fine, we all got a spicy dish. It was fun.)
5. Tokyo Tower 東京タワー🗼 (The view of the tower from the outside was honestly better than what you see from the inside, but it was cool. I didn't get a picture of the tower with me in it. I did get a picture when I was on the tower. I swear the platform is not level. There were also glass floors to look down which makes for a nice visual feel)
6. teamLab Planets Tokyo (It was really cool! Indeed a stunning visual experience. A lot of photos: good ones!)
7. Gundam Base ガンダムベース 東京 (Never got into Gundam, but it was cool to see Jerry be so passionate. The models are also really cool. I wanted to get a Gundam ¥800 for an Aerial Gundam, but all the _ are all out of stock apparently. Actually, I lied, we went back again and I got my first Gundam.)
8. Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu - DiverCity Tokyo Plaza (First time trying this! Really cool that we had to "fry" the meat ourselves a little bit again; tons of sauces! The Miso was a little salty for my taste.)
9. Arcade, Rhyme Game (This was really fun, never played these but we did it: three people, one machine, ha!)

July 20, 2023

Digest

1. Breakfast at 7-Eleven (Per usual~)
2. Lunch with a friend (Met a friend, for the second time!)
3. Shibuya Sky (
4. GOOD SOUND COFFEE (With my friend, we met a high school instructor from Japan. Had lots of fun talks together, and spent almost 3 hours just talking! The planning and timing were all impeccable and unreal.)
5. Nakano Broadway (So much cheap second hand 中古
6. Tsutaya Shibuya
7. 回高屋 Shinjuku

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July 21, 2023（京都への旅行）

Shinkansen 新幹線

My group and I just used our JR Passes at the ticket counter and the officer redeem the Shinkansen tickets. Probably preferable to reserving seats and getting tickets at the kiosks since they can just get our seats together.

Apparently, there were also limitations on the JR Pass – we can't go on the Nozomi のぞみ lines. Thus, we had to get tickets for Hikari ひかり, essentially just Nozomi but stops at a few more stops, making it slightly slower.

The Shinkansen is just like any other express train, you put your luggage on the overhead racks, sit in, and enjoy the views as you zoom by everything.

^on_shinkansen

Shinkansen also runs at around 280km/h based on my measurements. Actually did a little guessing with my friend and guessed super close at 300km/h, while they listened to another friend and guessed 500.

^shinkansen_gps

McDonald's

We got to the area close to where our Airbnb is and went to McDonald's to stay for a bit. For takeout, they put your drinks (i.e. Sprite) in plastic bags as well!

Nap

Took a nap after I got to the Airbnb –  this one is much better than the one that we had in Tokyo. Always recommended after traveling.

Tenzan no Yu 天山の湯

A few things worth noting: 1. You go in naked 2. There are the iconic bathing stations that you go to before you get in the onsen 3. There was a cold onsen. Wash with cold water before getting in. 4. There was an electric onsen. 5. There were really nice restaurant table designs there. A normal table + 坐席 combination. 6. Drink milk or yogurt after onsen? 7. There was a towel service at 250 which includes a small and a big towel. The small one is for covering up the private parts supposedly. 8. Shoes are stored separately, and we paid after going I  the onsen. The food actually worked the same way. 9. No phones or anything.

電車

It's crazy, seeing the tiny train embedded in the city.

July 22, 2023（綾部）

Digest

1. Nishiki Market
2. UNIQLO
3. Chiso Gallery
4. Ayabe 花火大会

July 23, 2023

Digest

1. Taiho 中國菜 大鵬
2. Kyoto station/Kyoto Tower
3. 伏見稲荷大社
4. 清水寺
5. Rokujuan
6. Night Festival

July 24, 2023

Digest

1. Festival
2. Ichiran Ramen
3. Kinkakuji
4. Koei Kyoto Studio Park (Evangelion Kyoto Base)
5. Arashiyama
6. Starbucks (Strawberry Frap)
7. Yasaka Jinja
8. Traumatic Traveling Experience
9. Onsen (same one as before + dinner)
10. Randen + Walking

July 25（Last Moment in 京都、traveling to 大坂）

1. To Osaka Station
2. Coin Locker (Incident) (Will R paid for and locked SB else's locker)
3. Good Provision Osaka Station
4. One piece + Capcom + Nintendo + Pokémon stores (Daimaru Osaka Station 13F)
5. Starbucks Gaburi Peach (It's ok... Feeling a little bit disappointed)
6. Osaka apartment, sooooo nice!
7. Awesome 乌冬 and the invisible Hanabi!

Places I Wish I Went in Kyoto

• Kyoto Imperial Palace
• International Manga Museum
• Kahitsukan, Kyoto Modern Art Museum (along with the museums near it, including the kanji museum)
• Samurai museum

July 26

Digest

1. Hiroshima
2. Shinkansen Incident
3. Miyajima
4. Train Accident
5. Early day back
6. 烧烤

July 27

1. Osaka Aquarium (13:21 - 16:24) The whole thing was like a spiral, and it went down around a huge tank (most notable mention: Whale Sharks!)
2. Nippombashi (insane/unreal amount of shopping. It has everything – basically – in Akihabara but WAYYYY cheaper!)

July 28

1. Breakfast at Daily (Bread/Bakery)
2. Got a box at the post office with a friend (size 100), they mailed a few postcards to the U.S. (super cheap like around 500 yen or something!)
3. Lunch at Osaka Castle
4. Osaka Castle
5. Anime Figure Museum (海洋堂フィギュアミュージアム ミライザ大阪城)
6. Don Quijote Hoenzaka (Could only find a tape that is also absolutely – because it was not plastic tape and can be cut by hand)
7. Shin-Osaka Shinkansen Ticket (couldn't get the N'EX ticket, but it is all fine).
8. Nippombashi x2 (Went to Taito and played a few games! The music dancing rhythm game, something I would've never ever done, ended horribly, we didn't even finish it! Also played Taito no Tatsujin, and, oh my, was that physically demanding) [P.S. The strawberry flavored milk was SOOOOO good]
9. Nippombashi Shopping (Walked around the rest of the shops that we didn't go yesterday. Actually bought another lycoris recoil set of figures – small cutes ones, love it!)
10. Danmi Red (Dinner! Korean restaurant – had fried chicken, a chicken pot, and drinks!)
11. マツモトキヨシ Matsumoto Kiyoshi (Tried to buy some calcium tablets for my grandparents, got it! All the people at the counter spoke Chinese, but I just kept spamming 大丈夫 because they ran out of stock and some other reasons; it was hilarious.)
12. Tried to watch a movie, but NOPE. Didn't happen. Apparently all the movie theaters were closed, close really early...
13. Went back and packed!

July 29

Digest

1. Kani Doraku (It was walk in! We orded the MOST expensive set meal of crabs ever. The crab sashimi goes hard...)
2. Traveling to Narita
3. Hotel Check-in
4. Dinner at 7-11
5. Bed sweet bed!

Addendum

1. The green lights only stay for so long! Never start walking when the green light is already blinking.
2. The buses in Kyoto tilt to the left when their doors are open, allowing for easier access! Crazy!
3. There was this escalator with the flat middle section -- not mechanically marvellous by any means but kinda cool and something I have never seen before.