Turned my extra day in Tokyo into a full day galavanting around Tokyo. Booked a impromptu photoshoot with a photographer on AirBnB who would show me around and I could get all the best views as well.
Photo Gallery: https://pics.mattichan.com/-uwc123
Tokyo Skytree
Checked out of the town, and was heading into town, and got distracted at the Skytree subway station. Checked my luggage in the storage lockers so I wouldn’t have to lug it around all day, then was about to head to the next station, when I got distracted and decided to wander around skytree a bit.
It was early enough that there weren’t a ton of people around which was nice, saw the Kirby Cafe and the Pokemon store, and walked a bit just observing and people watching.
Tower
The plaza outside the tower was a nice walk with a great breeze and some great views already around the city.
Asakusa
Headed afterwards to Asakusa to meet up with the photographer for the photo tour and photoshoot, and on the way got disrtracted by cute ice cream, so of course I stopped for a sec to grab some.
Market
Getting to the afternoon, there were definitely more people on the streets and it was getting to the peak crowded times that I try to avoid.
Photo Tour
Stopped at the kimono shop to get a kimono. Met up with Kyo (the photographer) and the shop helped me pick stuff out and get dressed.
Photoshoot
Flora
Tons of flora all around Asakusa as we wandered around taking photos (me of the plants while Kyo took photos of me).
Sensō-ji Temple
Kyo knew all the best places and angles to go to take photo, which was a lot of fun avoiding all the crazy crowds.
Walking Through the City
After we left the temple, we wandered down the streets as well taking in the vibes and the views as we went toward the river.
Saw some coke crates and some tiny food samples. I was originally going to book a experience to learn to make the tiny food samples, but got distracted by Skytree, but this was pretty fun to see anyway.
As we turned down one street, one of the rickshaw runners was running straight at us, which was kind of fun to watch, it’s really amazing what they can do.
River
We got to the river, and walked across the bridge. Awesome views, not a ton of people, and we could just see down the river for quite a ways, with the cherries lined on both sides for pretty much as far as we could see.
On the way back, we found that there were some green cherry blossoms. Even Kyo was surprised that there were other colors, and they felt like a treat.
Headed back after a bit of time around the river and returned the kimono, before continuing on the trip.
Travel to Shibuya
Saw some apparently famous candy apples as we started the travel over to Shibuya.
Got to experience a secret entrance to one of the subway stations that the locals know about to get to the underground section.
Love some hidden pathways and local treats.
Shibuya
Headed to Shibuya at sunset and got to take in all the views. Beautiful at the top of the mall with great views.
Saw a couple ads for musicals and was surprised to see a face I knew.
Tokyo Skytree at Night
We ended the tour and headed our separate ways. I had a ticket to go up Skytree to see the views at night, so I headed back that way since my luggage was there anyway as well. Even got my own cloud to lie on on top of the tower.
After coming back down, wandered the plaza for a bit as well, taking in the nice cool evening and the lit up tower.
On to Hotel
Retrieved my luggage afterwards and went to the AirBnB to drop stuff off before going to back to Tokyo Station to pick up Nate and mom. On the way to the AirBnB, our subway train did an emergency stop and came up half in the station stop (assuming someone jumped onto the tracks or something). We waited 20 minutes before the train moved again, but by the time I got to the AirBnB, it was getting late, and I asked Nate and mom if they could take a taxi to the AirBnB on their own or if they really needed me to come guide them.
They were all good with navigating through taxi, so I settled in and went exploring a couple streets for food. Found a 24 hour grocery store, and got a whole bunch of stuff for sustenance, since I hadn’t eaten anything but the ice cream all day.
Finally met up with Nate and mom and we settled in for the night, before the early morning wake up to get to Disney. A really full, but really entertaining day in Tokyo.
Vibe Check
5 parts joy
Feedback
Leave a comment or question if you have any thoughts! Anything you want to know about as we go around the world? Any things you want to share as feedback, or any images that particularly spoke to you. I’ll try to read all of them as time permits!
Matti 
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