21 January 2026
Some big highlights from Tokyo.
Day 1 (Magic and Big Walk) 15th Jan
We arrived just before midnight, so I had 5 minutes of my 30th birthday (14/01/2026) in Japan! We got through customs and home to our AirBNB in Ota City before 1am by taking the airport monorail. Once we woke, we went crazy that day trying to see as much as possible. Bread and coffee at Kanada’s Coffee was a surprising delight. We went into the city to see what we could see. Tokyo station is a nightmare on your first time. We wanted to have lunch by going to a ramen arcade, but using only google or apple maps to navigate is nearly impossible. Much easier to ask someone.
After lunch we circumnavigated the Imperial castle by foot. The architecture of Japan’s supreme court was a highlight of the walk. We ended in up at the Modern Art Museum which had a nice view over the castle, which had a great moat. Exhauster, we took the train back to our home, where we had some food, rallied, and got ready to go out for a drink. We headed into town to see magic.
Aseem’s Bar was an unassuming magic experience. By far the most personal, and likely the best magic I’ve ever experienced. In front of your eyes, on your hand, while he makes you a drink, the magic is undeniable and inexplicable. Thank you to Miriam and Pete who took us to the bar and bought us a drink, there couldn’t have been a better first night of a holiday.
We arrived home again around midnight, where we clocked our steps for the day at roughly 25,000. A bit over 15km, which explained why our feet hurt.
Day 2 (Kaiseki) 16th Jan
Mostly a quiet day, we set out for dinner to Ise Sueyoshi. It was a Kaiseki style dinner, meaning there’s many courses of high end, seasonal delicacies. The chefs both cooked and served, and they outnumbered the guests eating. The owner and head chef, the child of Sueyoshi (his father after whom he’d named the restaurant) guided us through the menu and experience. There was a Ise Sueyoshi book that explained where all the produce was from (most of it was from his home town Ise), which he referred to during his explanation.
Day 3 (BAKEMAN and WWJ) 17th Jan
WWJ is WorkWare Japan, it was cheap and hardy clothing. It is possible to purchase five toed socks which keep each toe warm and snug, a great advantage when walking far in cold weather.
Bakeman was a small bakery, it was good! There is a lot of French style bakeries, so a lot of butter pastries. There’s really nice combinations of strawberry and raspberries with these pastries though, which takes them to a new level.
The strawberries in Japan are a cross between strawberries that have flavour, and the giant strawberries at Coles/Woolies. They’re giant and have flavour.
Day 4 (Sumo) 18th Jan
We tried pachinko for the first time. A bit like poker machines, it’s hard to know if you’re winning or losing (likely not helped by Japanese illiteracy). This made losing 500 yen easy to bear and all round a joyful experience.
During the evening we had a Sumo show where we were shown some basics of sumo, and their troupe did a training session. Clare got to wrestle one of the fighters in a sumo suit, which she won.
Day 5 (Kaarage of the local neighbourhood) 19th Jan
Much kaarage during the morning, all from stores around of apartment. None were from chains. While on the topic, our apartment was very much not in a tourist area. We didn’t see another foreign person once we got off at our station. It was a joy to try and learn the stations, language, and customs with the people in the Ota City area. They really are terribly kind and patient. A small exception is the people working at the stations, don’t waste their time.
For dinner we had a great experience at an unassuming store on the corner of our block. We were recommended fresh fish sashimi and when it arrived, he let us know he’d caught it that morning from Tokyo Bay. So cool! It was golden horse mackerel nagami and the best white fish sashimi I’ve ever had. Very nice texture, like well cooked pasta, and the flavour was slightly meaty.
