My two friends, N and A, that I met during my TEFL course in Prague, were in Japan for their honeymoon so we met up in Tokyo! They’re originally from the UK and teach in Vietnam now. I took the bus to Tokyo which sadly required an early morning. It was amazing to see them again. It’d been about two years since I last saw them. We went to hang out in a cafe and catch up a bit. They were very impressed by Japan and I can’t blame them! I didn’t have any plans so we decided to check out the city together. It was a bit easier for me to direct them around since I had internet access. We first went to the Imperial Palace Gardens. My first Japanese sakura were already blooming! (only a little bit) Walking through the plum tree alley was gorgeous. It’s plum blossom time and both pink and white trees had bloomed.

Both N and A seemed interested in checking out an owl cafe so I tried to track one down that was open and relatively close. We changed our minds though because it was $20 for an hour! Just too expensive. I will try again another time. Tsukiji fish market area was nearby so we headed there for a fresh sushi lunch. It was fantastic. The area was pretty cool to see, a bunch of huge chopped fish heads. Post lunch we stopped at the Meiji Shrine that was located on beautiful wooded grounds. I finally remembered my seal book so I got another stamp there. There was even a traditional Shinto wedding going on while we were there. It was interesting to see her headdress and their outfits.

We headed back to Shinjuku to try and stop by a cat cafe. This also failed as they were fully booked and didn’t have an open slot till three hours later when I’d already be gone. Instead we got drinks and donuts by Mister Donut, finally my first time going there. It was also crowded and we had to wait to get a spot. Tokyo is a pretty quiet and calm city in many areas. It’s always surprising to me because it’s so populated. I led N and A to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building so they could enjoy a free night view of the city, before saying goodbye to catch my bus.

Then the mess began. I easily got to Ikebukuro station with 20 minutes to spare, but I only knew where the bus had dropped me off. I read through the signs, checked maps, used google translate, but couldn’t figure out where the pick up stop was. I even crossed the street and checked around the corner where a bus stop was marked on the map, but there were just local buses. A sweet Japanese couple came up to me and offered help. I guess they had noticed me walking in circles. At this point, it was already 7 minutes past the departure time so I knew my bus was gone. They helped me out though and brought me to the stop - which was around the corner and some meters past the local bus stop, grr. They even came with me to the train station so that I could get on the right line to Takasaki, although that much I knew how to do, ha. The problem with the train was the Takasaki line was having delays due to some weird track noise. It ended up being a 20 minute delay by the time I got to the station, so I missed the next train back to Tomioka and had to wait again. Finally made it to my bed at 11 pm, wah.