We couldn't think of a better way to kick off our FIRST time in Japan than in the country's lively city of Tokyo! 🇯🇵 Over 4 days we checked off every item from our Tokyo bucket list, from eating some classic Japanese foods, trying out sumo wrestling, walking the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing, seeing a Japanese baseball game, immersing ourselves in art, and SO much more!
👋🏼 About us Hi y’all! We’re Adam, Kathryn, and Kona, an adventurous married couple (+ pup!) living on the road in our self-converted sprinter van! You can often find us driving all around the US and Canada, scoping out the best coffee shops, eating tacos and ice cream (we're a 5+ taco and 2+ scoop household), and enjoying nature.
We help travelers spend less time (and stress!) planning their trip and more time enjoying it! Our detailed travel guides, YouTube videos, and travel resources share the must-visit local eats, popular and off the beaten path sights, and tons of tips to make planning your next adventure a whole lot easier.
Note: We’ve linked a handful of items so you can see exactly which products we take with us. Full disclosure--if you click on these links and make a purchase, we get a small commission at no extra cost to you. We will only ever recommend products we truly love, actually use during our adventures, and think you can benefit from too!
We have made it to Japan, a country that
has been towards the top of our travel
bucket list for many, many years. And
for the next few weeks, we're going to
finally experience it for ourselves.
From the bustling [music] cities, iconic
sites, and world famous eats that you
probably think of when you [music] think
of Japan to lesserk known spots, and a
wide variety of scenery that may not be
top of mind when you think of this
country. And we'll also be trying out a
fun method of travel along the way as
well. We can't wait to bring you along
as we eat, [music] hike, soak, drive,
and train our way through this country
for the first time. And for us, there's
no better way to kick off our time here
than the country's famous city of Tokyo.
[music]
[music]
Tokyo is a massive city with over 37
million people, making it the most
populated city in the world, larger than
the population of some countries. And
with so many areas to explore, it can be
a bit overwhelming, trying to decide
where to even begin. So, to make our
time here less daunting, we decided to
create our ultimate Tokyo bucket list
filled with experiences that we have
dreamt about having here for as long as
we can remember. And over the next four
days, our goal is to check off every
single one. And first, we're on the hunt
to find a quick bite to eat.
[music]
[music]
One of the things we have been most
excited for here in Japan are the
cominis, which are convenience stores.
The three most popular are 7-Eleven,
Lawson's, and Family Mart. And there are
more than 7,400 just in Tokyo alone. And
this morning we headed to 7-Eleven,
which you might be thinking, there are
tons of 7-Elevens in the US. Why are you
so excited about this? And that is
because the 7-Elevens here in Japan have
so many food options that you cannot get
back in the US. They have everything
from fun Japanese drinks, tons of
pre-made meals that you can heat up, a
bunch of fresh options like sandwiches
and veggies, so many sweet treats, and
of course, a bunch of ramen bowls.
>> It was so hard to decide what to get,
but we plan to go to a bunch of these
stores during our time here in Japan.
But for our first haul, we just grabbed
the first few things that stuck out to
us. So, we grabbed the egg salad
sandwich, which we hear is a classic, as
well as the oni giddi. This one is a red
salmon and salt. And then this is a
cream puff with sweet potato cream. All
right, so we're going to go with the egg
salad sandwich first. I hear that
everyone kind of has their favorite
between the Lawson's and Family Martins
7-Eleven.
So, maybe I'll try them all before we
get out of here. If I can ever get it
open. First impressions, this bread
super pillowy.
I wasn't expecting a whole lot, but
that's actually really good. I'm
definitely going to be getting this
again. The bread is super soft. And like
I said earlier, it's really pillowy.
Really good egg flavor in there. Perfect
seasoning. Nice and creamy. It's cold. I
think it's exactly what you want out of
a egg salad sandwich.
>> I got so overwhelmed in there.
Everything looked so good. But I don't
know, just something about the colors of
this one and the packaging, it stood out
to me. M the dough is very thin and it's
kind of chewy. [music] And as you can
see, just loaded with this cream, which
is just so whipped and light and creamy
and sweet. Having access to these on
basically every single corner is
[snorts] going to be extremely dangerous
on this trip. Oh my goodness.
>> Last but not least, we're going to do
the Ono Giddi. And so if you don't know
what an ono giddy is, it's a rice
wrapped in seaweed. And sometimes
they'll have some different uh fillings
on the inside. And this one has red
salmon and sea salt. Um they have some
that have egg in them and all kinds of
different flavors.
>> I can hear the crunch of the seaweed.
>> Mhm. I think I just got a bunch of rice
and seaweed, but it's really good.
[music]
>> [music]
[music]
>> Today, our plan is to explore the
Shabuya area of Tokyo. And we're
starting in Herajuku, a neighborhood
known for youth fashion and kawaii
culture, which is a term that means
cute, with one of the most famous
examples being Hello Kitty. And we're
currently on Takashidita Street, one of
the busiest shopping streets in Tokyo.
We normally aren't big shoppers, but
shopping in Japan just feels like an
exciting thing to do. They have tons of
malls plus large stores like Donkeyote,
which is pretty crazy. And there are a
bunch of smaller stores like along this
street. So, our plan is just to walk
around and pop into any store that looks
interesting, and just experience the
overall vibe of this place.
This is the cutest store I have ever
been in. It's part store, but also just
kind of part photo opportunity. They
have all these little rooms you can go
in and take fun photos.
>> [music]
>> So, we've seen these capsule toy
machines out on the street, but we've
come into a store that has two floors
and rows and rows of them. There is so
much stuff in here. It's just so hard to
choose which one you want to do, but I
think we found the one. A little train
keychain one.
So, the fun part about it is you don't
get to pick the one you get. Just spits
one out at you.
>> Surprise. Cool.
>> Awesome. A little bullet train. I'm
going to do one of these cute little
sushi guys. Oh, this one's so cute. Oh
my goodness.
[music]
We have a massive list of foods we want
to try here in Japan. So, warning, do
not watch any of our Japan series while
hungry. And for our first proper meal,
we're having katsu. Katsu is a breaded
and deep fried cutlet of meat, typically
chicken or pork, but we're trying
guatsu, which is a beef cutlet. And the
fun part is we get to grill it
ourselves.
>> So, as you can see, it's breaded on the
outside and it's partially cooked. And
so, then we're supposed to cook it for
20 seconds on each side.
>> Sizzle.
>> So juicy, so tender. After cooking it on
there, it gets a little crispy.
Oh, man. That's so good.
>> Oh, yeah. So juicy.
Buttery, too.
Perfect first meal.
Oh my gosh.
In your mouth.
We are about to do our first ever Cory
Koro, which is a fun style of photo
booth here in Japan. And the first step
is to snap some photos.
This music's fun.
[music]
[laughter]
>> Oh my gosh.
This is not what I expected. I wasn't
expecting lipstick and to uh do this to
your head. That's kind of the whole
point of the Puri Kura photo booth is
that it kind of just morphs your face
and makes your eyes bigger and puts
lipstick on you and it is hilarious.
[laughter] Adam looks so funny.
It was just like super goofy.
>> It was a lot of fun.
>> What a fun souvenir. It's for sure going
up in our van.
>> Heck yeah. On the fridge, everywhere we
can put it.
[music]
This area has a lot of fun desserts from
massive colorful cotton candy to stuffed
crepes. But there's one dessert that
caught our eye, kaki gori, which is
Japanese shave ice. And [music] just
look at this. Not only is it beautiful,
but it is massive. And we didn't realize
how big it was when we ordered it. And
we got two of them. This one is the
pudding flavor. Then we also got their
Halloween special, which has pumpkin.
>> We're going to need to recruit some help
from people in here. So much.
>> We should have known when we saw how big
the bill was that it was going to be
big.
>> Oh, it's really good, though. Oh my
gosh. Super sweet.
>> The shave ice is so soft and fluffy. It
just melts in your mouth. It's kind of
like having just snowflakes compacted
together. You can see them making it and
they do it in layers. That means every
single bite you get is going to have the
sauce and all the goodies in it. We have
had a lot of shave ice in our lifetime,
especially in Hawaii, but this is
definitely one of the most gourmet and
just high quality ones we have ever had.
We have made it to the main part of
Shabuya and we're currently standing
next to the Shabuya crossing which is
the world's busiest pedestrian crossing
with sometimes up to 2500 people
crossing at once. There's not 2500
people here right now but there's still
a lot of people
>> people coming from every direction.
It's so funny. That one's the most
popular.
>> That is one of those things that you
just see photos and videos of anytime
you see anything Tokyo related. So,
getting to walk through it was just one
of those, wow, we are actually in Japan
moments.
>> Not only did we want to see Shabuya from
ground level, we also wanted to see it
from higher up. So, we're heading to
Shabuya Sky. This is said to be one of
the best observation decks in Tokyo, but
getting a ticket for it can be pretty
tough, especially if you want to come at
sunset. [music] They go on sale 2 weeks
beforehand at midnight Japan time and
the sunset times sell out within
minutes. [music]
But we lucked out and got tickets for
4:20 p.m. just 1 hour before sunset.
[music]
Although it doesn't look like we'll get
much of a sunset tonight.
One of my favorite things to do in every
town or city that we visit is to go up
to an observation deck or a tower to see
the city from above. Especially in
massive cities like Tokyo because when
we were down there earlier and walking
around, we knew we were in a big city.
But from up here, you can actually grasp
just how big of a city this actually is.
There are buildings in every single
direction as far as the eye can see.
>> [music]
>> The crossing is even better at night.
Not only is it busier, but just having
all of the buildings lit up around you
is so cool. [music]
Easily one of the most famous foods from
Japan is sushi. And one thing we really
wanted to try here in Tokyo was conveyor
belt sushi, which is where plates of
sushi circle around the dining area on a
moving conveyor belt. So, how it works
is you can either grab one off the belt
that looks good to you with the price
designated by the color of the plate, or
you can order off the tablet. All right,
first bite. King salmon.
Probably the best piece of sushi I've
ever had. Has to be. It is a huge piece
and it tastes so fresh. Japan is going
to spoil me with fish.
>> I've had raw fish in other dishes
before, but I've never actually had
sushi. And when I realized this, I
decided I was going to wait until we
were in Japan to have my first ever bite
of sushi. It'll probably ruin me for
sushi forever. It's so tender. Next up,
we have eel, avocado, and cream cheese.
There's also a little bit of egg and
some cucumber in there.
Exquisite.
>> I had read that some people think
conveyor belt sushi isn't as high of
quality as other sushi places, but since
I had never had sushi before, my
expectations were super low, and
everything I've had here has been
excellent. Also, it's just such a fun
experience. You get to watch them make
the sushi, and you get to just kind of
wait and see what [music] pops around
the corner. It's like a fun little
surprise to see which sushi is coming
next.
>> So, we ended up getting six plates and
it was only $14 and they were pretty big
pieces of sushi, so I think it was a
pretty good deal. [music]
[music]
Japan has the highest density of vending
machines per person in the world with
about one machine for every 20 to 40
people. While most of these vending
machines just sell drinks, you can
[music] sometimes find ones selling
other items like katsu sandwiches,
burgers, laundry detergent, train toys,
frozen meat, and so much more. And we
are currently on the hunt for a vending
machine that sells a sweet treat.
[music]
So, this is chestnut and green tea
whipped cream in a can. Oh.
M. has kind of an earthy flavor from the
green tea. It has a much thicker
consistency than any whipped cream I've
ever had.
It's like a icing consistency.
>> [music]
>> This morning we got up bright and early
to head to Asaka to visit Seno Gi, which
[music] is one of the most popular
temples to visit in Tokyo with 30
million visitors a year. Because of
this, it can get insanely busy. So, we
decided to come around 6:00 a.m. to
hopefully have a slightly quieter
experience.
Seno G [music] is Tokyo's oldest and
most famous Buddhist temple. Founded in
645 AD and it's dedicated [music] to
Canon, the goddess of mercy. According
to a legend, back in 628 [music] AD,
fishermen found a statue of canon in the
Sama River. And despite [music]
returning it to the river, it kept
reemerging and the temple was eventually
built to honor it. Over the years, the
main temple has been destroyed many
times, and the current iteration you see
is famous for its striking red
architecture, a five-story pigota, and a
very large red lantern, which weighs
about 700 kg.
As you explore the temple, you might
hear this jingling and rattling sound in
the background. And that is the omuji,
which are fortune. So, we're gonna see
what life has in store for us. So, how
it works is you put a 100 yen coin in
here and then you get to shake this
metal box
and a stick will come out and then you
go find the box on the wall that
corresponds with this number. All right,
let's see what my fortune says. The good
news is if you get a bad fortune, they
have this rack that you can tie it on to
and the sign says, "Please do not
worry." So whatever it says, no worries.
Oh. Oh no.
>> Oh no.
>> The title of it is bad. The lowest
fortune. That does not sound good. You
may get the deficit at first, but can
get the profit at last. Just like the
moon decayed at [snorts] first, but
right by night it grows bigger and
becomes a full moon at last. Waiting for
the time passes by. Nights and days,
days and nights. At last, moon shines
into your house. Your family will be
filled with delight and happiness. Oh,
that's actually good. It has such a bad
name, but that sounds that sounds like
it's a good thing, right? Your request
will be granted later. The patient will
get well, but it takes a long time. The
lost article will not be found. Can't
get everything, right? The person you
will wait for will come, but late.
Building a new house or removal should
be postponed. Well, that's good to know
considering we would like to get a house
at some point. Your trip get harm on the
way. Oh god, this is getting worse and
worse.
>> We're going to tie that one up.
>> Oh no, I can't read the last one. Oh no.
>> Marriage and employment are both bad.
>> Wow.
>> Oh, this is going on the the hanger.
[laughter]
>> Don't worry though.
>> No worries. Please don't worry.
>> Let's hope that Adam has better luck
than I did.
>> 51. Regular fortune.
>> That sounds better than mine.
>> Sounds better, but it's just regular.
Okay. You may get tired in working so
hard at your family business.
>> Oh, that's so true.
>> Yeah. As your hope is real large, it is
very hard to get success. Although you
do your best, the chance do not come
yet. As time passes by, you will get
into the place open wide. Then later,
both income and wealth will be in your
hand so you can get relax yourself.
>> This kind of feels very fitting.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Your request will be
granted. The patient will get well, but
late. The lost article will be found.
The person you wait for will come but
late. I've already got that one.
Building a new house and removal are
both well. You can start a trip in safe.
That's good. Marriage and new employment
are both well. Woo.
>> All right. This one's a good one. We're
keeping this one.
[music]
We heard you can't come to Senzo G and
not get melon pon which is a Japanese
sweetbread. And despite its name, it
doesn't have any melon in it. It's just
given that name because it looks like a
melon. And I am so excited for this. As
we were walking around, we could smell
them baking it. And it is just so crispy
on the outside. It has some sugar on
top, but it is so soft inside. You can
really mush it down. And it was served
piping hot. It was burning Adam's hand.
I can hear the crunch.
>> M has a very crackery type top, but
yeah, inside just so pillowy.
>> Oh my gosh, that looks so good.
>> M. This is our plain one, but we also
got a special one that is filled, but I
wanted to try it in its purest [music]
form first. It's just perfectly sweet.
Not too sweet. Perfect.
>> We got this one with matcha ice cream.
M.
That bread is so good.
>> I did not expect it to be so crispy.
Like a cookie on the outside and like
cake on the inside. The matcha ice
cream. Oh my gosh.
>> The plain one was fantastic. But if you
can only get one, you got to get this
one. The mix of the cold and the hot and
the crunchy and the creamy. M.
>> [music]
>> Now that we've seen Senzo G from ground
level, we've come up to the eighth floor
of the Asaka Culture Tourist Information
Center, which has a free observation
area overlooking the temple. And it is
so cool to see it from this perspective,
especially seeing all of the people
walking up towards the temple. When we
got here at 6:00 a.m., there were a
handful of people, but it was not busy
at all. And it is crazy how much busier
it is 3 hours later.
We spent the rest of the afternoon
exploring more of the neighborhoods
around Tokyo, starting with Akih Habara,
the hub for all things anime, manga, and
gaming. Here you can find neon signs,
themed cafes, countless stores selling
both recent and retro games, and
multi-story arcades.
knocked him out.
And then we headed over to Jimo Book
Town, which [music] is home to 200
bookstores. As book lovers, this area
was fun to walk around, even [music] if
the books were all in Japanese. But
beyond books, Jimo is also known for its
curry [music] shops. So, we made sure to
pop into one of the most popular in the
area, Bondi, for some delicious beef
curry. And to end our day, we are doing
something we are very excited about. We
are going to a sumo experience where we
are going to learn about and get to see
sumo wrestling.
Sumo wrestling began in Japan as a
sacred Shinto ritual to pray for good
harvests. with it becoming a
professional sport during the 1600s as a
way to raise money to build temples and
shrines. And during the sumo experience,
we got to learn firsthand from two
professional sumo wrestlers. Starting
with what they eat. Sumo wrestlers eat
between 7,000 and 10,000 calories per
day with one of the most common dishes
being cha, a hot pot dish that is loaded
with protein. But besides chokonab,
another food with ties to sumo wrestling
[music] is mochi. We got to watch the
sumo wrestlers pound the mochi and then
take a stab at it for ourselves.
>> Adam from the United States.
>> Kind of nerve-wracking. Don't mess up.
>> After fueling up, it was time to get a
firstirhand glimpse at the more physical
aspect of training, including the
different stretches that sumo wrestlers
do and the different techniques before
watching a couple test matches.
Yeah.
[snorts]
Oh yeah.
And then it was time to see if one of us
had what it takes to be a sumo wrestler.
Let's go.
[laughter]
>> That was so hard. The sand is so
slippery. I just felt like I was stuck
and I couldn't move at all.
>> Wasn't working.
>> I got him.
>> I think he let me, but I got him.
>> [music]
[singing]
>> There are so many different areas you
can stay in Tokyo, but we decided to
stay in Shinjuku, which is one of the
most popular [music] tourist areas at
the Yuen Hotel, which is super nice.
Although we will say the hotel rooms in
Tokyo are pretty small, so keep that in
mind. But today, our plan is to explore
a little bit more of this area. And
first, we're wandering around the
Shinjjuku Guioen National Garden.
[singing]
[singing]
>> Despite [music] being the most populated
city in the world with buildings
everywhere you look, Tokyo boasts more
than 8,000 parks and gardens. And
Shinjjuku Gioan is one of the largest
parks in the city with three different
types of gardens, plus a greenhouse with
tropical plants and lots of ponds.
[music]
[music]
Ever since we got in Japan, I've been
admiring and just like drooling over all
these little vans. And now we found this
one that sells hot dogs and lemonade.
So refreshing and light.
>> Even though we are here in early October
and at the park pretty early in the
morning, it is so hot and muggy today.
So, this is the perfect treat.
>> [music]
[music]
[music]
>> We love exploring cities, but nature is
definitely our happy place. So, this was
a nice peaceful escape from all the
hustle and bustle of the last couple
days. We could totally spend all day
here just having a picnic and reading
and relaxing. But this afternoon, we are
checking off Adam's top bucket list item
here in Tokyo. We are going to a
baseball game.
>> We really lucked out because today is
the last day of the season for the
Nippon Professional Baseball League. So,
today we're heading across the city to
see the LE Marines play the Soft Bank
Hawks.
[music]
>> [cheering]
>> This quickly became one of our favorite
things we did during our entire trip to
Japan. The vibes were a blast with a
soldout crowd, chanting, loud music, and
pyrochnics that reminded us of a mix of
European football and American football.
Plus, the food was solid.
[music]
[music]
I glor
[cheering]
[cheering]
Japanese baseball 100% lived up to the
hype. And I gotta say, as a lifelong
baseball fan, it was a lot more fun than
a US baseball game.
We have made it back to Shinjuku and
have headed to the Tokyo Metropolitan
Building, which not only has a free
observation area, which is amazing and
totally worth checking out, but every
night they also have multiple light
shows where they project different
graphics onto the building. It runs a
few times a night and is the largest
architectural projection map display
according to the Guinness World Records.
And they have the cutest little coffee
truck here. We are two for two on super
cute food trucks today.
>> [music]
>> This was so cool. The lights lined up
with some of the windows and bricks and
it made the building look 3D and like
things were flying off of it.
>> We've been to a bunch of these light
shows throughout our travels, but this
is easily the best one we've ever seen.
[music]
>> Tokyo is known for having an amazing
transportation system. And during our
time here, whenever something is too far
to walk to, we'll take a train. Knowing
where to go has been a lot easier than
we expected. Signs are usually both in
Japanese and English. And Google Maps
tells you what platform to go to, which
train car is the best one for the
fastest transfer or exit, and what exits
to use. And to pay, we're using a soa
card, which you can just add to your
Apple wallet and tap your phone to pay
without even opening it. It is super
easy and convenient. But we just took a
train from our hotel in Shinjuku over to
this morning, we're going to explore the
outer market. But first things first,
these tired eyes need some coffee.
Tokyo has an amazing coffee scene and
one of our goals has been to try as many
coffee shops as possible. We have tried
quite a few and all of them have been
incredible. And one very important
[music] thing to know is that many
coffee shops here do not open until 9 or
10:00 a.m. But thankfully, Turret Coffee
is one of the exceptions. And look at
this latte. The menu said it had a
bitter and strong taste. It is this deep
chocolatey brown color and it is so
strong and so good and exactly what the
doctor ordered. Cuz if you can't tell, I
think our go the last few days is
catching up to us.
This is the Outer Market, the most
popular market to visit in Tokyo. It was
once home to the fish market, which was
the largest wholesale fish and seafood
market in the world, but has since moved
to another market. However, the outer
market remains, and you can still find
around 400 stalls selling anything from
fresh tuna and seafood delicacies, sweet
treats, Japanese street food, and
souvenirs. And our goal is to try a
handful of items that came highly
recommended to [music] us, plus whatever
catches our eye.
[music]
All right, our first market food is a
tamagoyaki, which is a sweet rolled
omelette. It's made with eggs, soy
sauce, sugar, and mirin, which is a
sweet rice wine. And it's made in this
really cool rectangular omelette pan.
kind of nervous to try this just because
it's supposed to be pretty sweet even
though it's an egg thing. So, it's kind
of like a a mind trick. You don't
usually eat too many sweet eggs.
It's actually really good though. M. The
eggs are nice and fluffy and bouncy and
it's pretty sweet, but you would think
that that wouldn't work very well, but
it does. It works really well. It's
almost like French toast without the
bread.
>> [music]
>> We couldn't come to a fish market and
not get some fresh fish. So, we found
this tuna stand that serves different
cuts of tuna. We have very fatty, medium
fatty, and then lean. All right, we're
going to go very fatty first.
So tender.
>> These are very meaty pieces. It's very
buttery and silky. Also, it is frowned
upon to eat while walking in Japan. But
thankfully, many of these stands have a
designated standing or seating area, so
you can enjoy the food, or you can just
stand right next to the stand and eat.
We needed a bit more caffeine, so we
just got a matcha latte and a hoisha
latte. And hojisha is roasted green tea.
>> Oh, this one is so good. They're both
really good, but I think this one's my
favorite. This one has more of a grassy
flavor, but this one has more of a kind
of just toasted and nutty flavor.
Japan is famous for its Wagyu, which is
beef from the four breeds of cattle here
in Japan. It's known for having a large
amount of marbling, which gives it this
smooth, melt in-you mouth texture. And
we came to the stand that sells A5
Wagyu, which is the highest possible
grade.
>> They're letting us cut cook our meat.
>> You're the chef now.
>> [music]
>> If you know anything about Wagyu, you
know it's very expensive. This was 3,300
yen, which is I think about 22 bucks.
It's my first bite of Wagu. So excited
for this.
>> Oh my. That's incredible. No other
words. It's perfection. Beef perfection.
I wish every steak was like this.
>> It is if you have the right budget.
>> Yeah.
Oh wow, it is so juicy. I am ruined now
for all other steaks.
>> Oh my gosh.
>> A ruiner for sure.
>> We should have gotten the four piece one
because now we have to split this. Oh
man,
>> that was the best bite in Japan so far.
>> For our final food, we're trying, which
is kind of like a crispy pancake with
filling inside. And we got the custard
filling. And they're normally fish
shaped, but what makes this one unique
is they actually made it shaped like a
tuna since it's the tuna market.
>> Oh, the outside is so crispy, but the
inside is nice and soft and just has
this gooey custard inside. Really,
really sweet. Oh, it's delicious.
>> I love the crispiness of it. Crispy,
little bit chewy.
It's warm. The custard inside has a
pudding flavor and consistency to it.
>> Super thick. This was a great treat to
end on.
This afternoon, [music] we're visiting
Team Lab, which is an immersive art
experience that started here in Japan.
They have two different ones to choose
from, planets and borderless. And
deciding which one to choose was so hard
because there's so many conflicting
opinions on which one is the best. But
ultimately, we decided on borderless,
and I cannot wait. This is one of the
things I've been most excited for here
in Tokyo.
Borderless is a museum without a map
where you can freely wander around to
different [music] rooms with each
immersing you in digital projections
that flow across walls, floors, [music]
and ceilings, often adjusting to human
movement. Together, these rooms in
different [music] displays form one
continuous borderless world with
surprises around every [music] corner.
What's cool is that the rooms are
constantly changing. So, you could go
into the room multiple times and have a
completely different experience every
single [music] time.
[music]
>> [music]
>> Oh, wa.
>> This is wild.
>> So many of the rooms [music] are tucked
away and you could easily miss them. But
our favorite ones so far are the ones
you have to work a little harder to
find.
>> [music]
>> So for this room, we got to pick a sea
animal and they give you this blank
drawing of it and you get to color it in
and then it's going to project on the
wall. So our art is going to be featured
in a museum. [music]
>> [music]
>> Mine has made so many little sea
friends.
>> I think a shark got mine. Catherine's is
still swimming around here strong, but I
haven't seen mine in a while. He's He's
probably sleeping. Yeah.
This was without a doubt one of the most
engaging [music] art experiences we have
ever had. The camera definitely doesn't
do it justice. It is one of those places
that you need to experience yourself
[music] to truly grasp and feel the
power of.
That was an absolutely mesmerizing
experience. And so whether you choose to
visit Borderless or Planets, one very
important thing to know is that you have
to get a timed entry ticket, but once
you're in, you can stay for as long as
you want. We were in there for about 2
and 1/2 hours, and I believe we saw
everything, but there could have been a
hidden room that we totally missed. But
for our final stop in Tokyo, we're going
to finally try some ramen, which is the
food we have been most excited to try
here. And one helpful resource for
finding restaurants in Japan is a
website called Tabalog, which is Japan's
top restaurant review website with over
886,000
restaurants. While we typically try to
shoot for as close to five stars as
possible on Google Maps, we read that on
Tabalog, anything three and a half or
above is considered to be really good.
And we're heading to a ramen spot in
Shinjuku that has a 3.53. So, it should
be pretty delicious. Although, it's our
first ramen in Japan, so I think it's
going to be good regardless.
>> [music]
>> There are many different styles and
types of ramen, and tonight we're trying
two types. First, we have tonkatu ramen,
which originated in southern Japan. This
style of ramen is made by boiling pork
bones for several [music] hours with
minimal other ingredients. The ramen is
then topped with pork, mushrooms, green
onions, and a seasoned [music] ramen
egg.
Wow. We got their special which has
garlic in it. And oh,
it's just so rich in flavor, but also
light in consistency. The pork has a
really good flavor to it. Kind of a
little sweet, but also savory at the
same time.
>> Oh my god, that unreal. I'm so mad we
waited this long. Should have been
having this every day. We also got a
bowl of skimen, which means dipping
ramen. The noodles [music] are served
separately from a thick concentrated
broth, and then you dip the noodles into
it.
That has a really good meaty flavor.
M. Now, it's really oily and fatty.
A kind of a almost a grilled flavor to
it. It's
>> also really fun to sit at the counter
and get to watch them make the magic
happen, watch them cook. [music]
And that is a wrap on four days in
Tokyo. It was chaotic. It was lively. It
was exhausting. We walked 42 miles, but
it was also so much fun and hilarious. I
still cannot stop laughing at our photo
booth photos and me trying to take down,
actually [music] me successfully taking
down a sumo wrestler. It was the perfect
way to kick off our time here in Japan.
>> But tomorrow, we're picking up the
cutest camper van. And for the next leg
of our Japan trip, we're going to be
doing a big road trip where we'll be
visiting the mountains, the coast, small
villages, and so much more.
[music]