The family had to head off to the airport at 2 pm so we didn’t have a lot of time left. Lars and I left the parents to pack and left for Ikebukuro at 9:30 am. Lars really wanted to visit the main, biggest Pokemon Center. I was surprised to see they were selling more Japan exclusive anniversary goods. I ended up getting earrings! We returned to the airbnb to check out by noon, and departed with all the luggage over to Ueno. We grabbed some food at a cafe and ate in Ueno park while listening to a fantastic street cellist. I brought them to the Keisei station and we said our goodbyes. I’m really happy I got to show them around a bit!

Yesterday, my friend, A, contacted me because she was going back to Tochigi to visit her family. That’s so much closer in Osaka, but I already had the Tokyo plans. We managed to figure out we could meet halfway in Omiya, Saitama for dinner today. I had the rest of the day to spend in Tokyo, but I didn’t want to travel around too much or spend a lot of money. I was exhausted from doing so many things ha. I decided to relax at Starbucks and read first, before to the huge toy store, Yamashiroya. There were so many floors! But the basement offered character goods which is what I was after. Need to stock up on cute writing supplies. I also got a present for A. Afterward, I went and hung out in Ueno park. I staked out a grassy spot and read some more. The weather was gorgeous. It took about a half hour to get from Ueno to Omiya where I hung out at the Starbucks at the station there to kill more time.


A managed to catch an earlier train and we met outside the west entrance to go get shabu shabu! My first time eating this kind of hot pot. We had to wait a little before getting a seat, but it gave us time to discuss the menu - which kinds of sauces, meat, vegetables. We got so many little dishes and the food was amazing! My favorite add in was the really sweet potatoes in the tomato sauce. Yum! Although it was pricey, it was so worth it. We parted after a great time chatting at dinner and I managed to get back home at 11:30 pm. Getting up tomorrow will be hard!