tokyo.

Well. I had no intent to do any more blog-writing, probably ever, but Mike seemed weirdly sad that I was going to just let Japan fall by the wayside, so I'm going to give it a try. And do my darndest to keep it all to a manageable length, because it's the near-never-ending-nature of the way I write that makes me want to quit, quit, quit. Of course, this means there's so much to this story that I have to leave out, but that's probably best for everyone's sanity. (Yours included. You're welcome.)

It sounds goofy, but we actually went to Japan because of rugby. The Rugby World Cup, to be exact, since Mike's playing for Rugby Union Zürich has sucked me waaaaaay into that world in the last couple of years, and I've become a bit of a crazed fan. It's just a great sport, played by great people, and it has the most fun fans you can imagine. (Yeah, sure, they drink a lot, but they're jolly drinkers, and everyone's friends after the match, whether player or fan, and there aren't riots like at football matches, and they generally have hilarious post-game traditions, etc., etc.) Plus, Mike went to Japan four years ago and swore up and down that I'd love it, and I've been intrigued by both the place and its foooood for a good while now, so everything just sorta fell into place. Turns out, Mike--and other friends--were right: I did love it. I do. Japan, friends, may be the most interesting place I've ever been: so very foreign, but full of such beauty and food and art and culture and a way of living that emphasizes the community over the whole. I found it very appealing.

But first things first: after deplaning, I somehow always need to find a restroom, and outside this very first one in Tokyo was this live-updating map of which stalls were occupied. I loved Japan immediately.

Then, we checked into our hotel and headed straight for Harajuku...

...and a hedgehog/chinchilla/bunny cafe. I had to, people. Don't judge me.*

There's nothing for scale here, but this rabbit was bigger than my fattest cat and was named Jeff. Jeff was super mellow, liked to be petted, and mainly slept splayed out on the floor the whole time.

HEDGIE!!!

Then we went to the awesome-sounding Rugby Megastore, which was neither terribly mega, nor terribly awesome; they really only had tournament-branded gear, and no good team merch. Bleh. At least we got to see the Webb-Ellis cup up close.

Dinner afterward was in Roppongi Hills (what a cool neighborhood) at Warayaki-Ya, where the big draw is that they cook the food over a hay-fired grill. Those flames get big, and that guy turned out the best grilled asparagus I've ever had, along with some wicked smoky bonito.

The next day, we met up for a food with our friend Kris and our guide Keilene near Shibuya Crossing: first stop the tiny Uoriki Kaisen (in the foodie-wonderland-basement of the Tokyu department store) for breakfast sushi and miso soup. (All of that sushi was insanely good, but the saltwater eel was unbelievable.)

Keilene showed us the "gift foods" section of the depachika, where all of the fruits are hand-raised to be flawless and of the highest quality. (These grapes are worth about CHF 320, or $300.) 

Next up were giant shrimp gyoza with some yuzu/pepper relish at Mag7...

...followed by a schlep out to Kichijoji, yet another ridiculously cool neighborhood (somehow felt very livable, artsy, modern, and historic all at the same time), where we tried fugu sashimi and fried skin. Both were relatively flavorless and very, very rubbery (so...not my favorite, and I do not get all the fuss). 

Eeeeek, look how neat Kichijoji is, though.

They even have terribly adorable manhole covers there.

Our first covered shopping street; I had no idea how common these are in Japanese cities. (In here we ducked into a weird little [literally] underground coffee house while we waited for Keilene to procure our giant, deep-fried, Waygu meatballs from Satou, a butcher shop with a constant line out the door.)

Then came a miso extravaganza at Soybean Farm (ugh, just go there and eat everything)...

...followed by a visit to this little rice cracker factory that a family has been running out of its apartment for something like 60 years. We sat in the kitchen and met the founder's daughter, who poured us some green tea as she showed us photos of the neighborhood when her mother, the owner, first opened the shop. (Her mother came in a bit later and was thrilled that we were there for the Rugby World Cup--this teeny little white-haired lady turned out to be quite the rugby fan and insisted on a photo with Mike and Kris! Neither lady spoke a word of English, but they were the most gracious hosts imaginable, and their crackers delicious.)

Our final stop before hurrying back into Roppongi was for chicken meatball skewers and highball cocktails at the Harmonica Kitchen and Bar, which is tucked into this cool little district of Kichijoji called Tetchan. (It used to be the black market area of town, and has been converted into this labyrinthine entertainment district full of tiny cafes and bars. Amazing.)

Generally, we have the good sense not to make a dinner reservation after a food tour, but we'd agreed to have dinner with a few of Mike's other rugby friends also visiting for the World Cup, so we ended up at Honmura An for a bunch of small plates (really good!) and soba, followed by a very late and very loud evening of karaoke in Roppongi. (A great, great day.)

Thanks to that, the next day started much later than we'd planned, so we headed straight to lunch at Narisawa, currently no. 22 on the 50-best list. Their "Satoyama cuisine" is quite different from the other highfalutin places we've been, and really interesting and lovely. ("Satoyama" is Japanese, roughly, for "places where the forest meets the sea," and the culture that exists there.)

They speed-rise and then bake your bread right at the table using a candle, a bowl of hot water, and then this super-hot lava rock contraption that's been in the oven for a couple of hours.

We had one bowl of soup with sea-snake broth (truly delicious), and afterwards they brought an actual smoked sea snake to the table for our perusal.

Narisawa's version of fried eggplant.

From the hallowed halls of haute cuisine we went straight to the biggest rugby match on our docket: New Zealand versus South Africa. In order to get tickets, we'd paid for some swanky seats that came with a small treasure chest, on top of which was a big bento box. (As though we were hungry after lunch at Narisawa.)

They brought out the big standing drums for the team entrances.

Got to see the world-famous haka live and in person...

...and TJ Perenara's face did not disappoint!

Manhole outside the Yokohama stadium.

The next day we met up with some local friends for an excellent soba lunch and coffee, and then they took us to my new favorite place on earth: Don Quijote (or "Donki," in the local parlance). It's kinda like the Japanese version of Super Walmart, except with far narrower aisles and with far more gadgetry going off at all times and really no decipherable organizational scheme. These places are generally 5 or 6 stories high, open basically 24-7, and conveniently located all over the place. And for some reason, they all have a big fish and/or eel tank out front...? Anyway, we'd duck into a Donki anytime we need something for our travels (or just to poke around--you never knew what you'd find in there!!), and spent way more time in those stores than any rational, self-respecting traveler should. Because massive consumerist overstimulating entertaining swoon.

The Donki in Nakameguro is the only one that sells fresh fruits and veg, and, in our experience, the only one with a working piano staircase.

Just imagine 6 floors of this.

I love the little penguin mascot, hee.

Eel tank!

After our first Donki experience, we headed back out to Yokohama for the second of our four games, Scotland (my team!!) vs. Ireland. The only good part of that game was the kick-off, which was when we still had hope. (Not a good game for my boys.)

Plus, a typhoon was rolling on in, so the weather was crap. (Thankfully our goodie boxes from the previous game also came with some decent ponchos, which we put to good use during the long slog back to the train station after this game.)

Afterwards, in search of dinner, we stumbled into this little slice of old Tokyo just outside the Tamachi train station. Dinner was underwhelming, but this neighborhood was magical.

We had planned to go to Nagano the next day, for a couple of nights, but we were having such a good time in Tokyo that we decided to stay. So instead we headed for Ginza to check out Hakuhinkan, this toy store that Mike had found the first time he was in Tokyo. And it. was. awesome.

Cat piano!

Kinda disturbing: a toy fish that ostensibly teaches sushi cuts. (There were also a pig and a cow, demonstrating butchers' cuts. What the...??)

Samurai helmets made from baseball hats. Heh.

Soooo many video games...but this one was hilariously small in Mike's giant frying-pan hands.

The Ginza district itself (high-end shopping) is some of the most expensive real estate in Japan, and the central street is pedestrianized on weekends. It's a pretty spectacular place to stroll down the absolute middle.

Next, we caught a late lunch at this tiny sushi counter in the Tsukiji Market...

...where we also sampled these octopus skewers...

...and ate some fantastic grilled eel that this lady kindly blowtorched for us.

Then it was over to Asakusa, where we found some excellent new kitchen knives; took a meander through this very cool artisan marketplace they have there (fresh and prepared foods on the ground floor, all manner of crafts and things up above); and couldn't help but notice the subtle Skytree tower.

Next we headed back to Shibuya, where we braved the famous crossing (one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in the world, reputedly) for a second time. Waiting for the light to change...

...and crossing. It's madness.

But I guess you could just say that about Shibuya in general.

We went to meet up with another rugby buddy to watch the Wales-Georgia game, and Mike ended up making all sorts of new friends. (Everyone wanted to compare muscle sizes.)

Tiny sake barrels on a 1:00 AM Donki run.

The next morning, we tried to go to the Tokyo National Museum, but it was inexplicably closed (thanks for nothing, Internets!), so instead we poked around at some nearby shrines.

And saw this amazing manhole cover.

Five-story pagoda at Ueno Toshogu shrine, I think originally built in 1631.

A chōzuya or temizuya--the ceremonial purification fountain found at all Shinto shrines. (For some unknown reason, Mike knew the washing ritual, so we went ahead and did it to be respectful. I really liked the ceremony and the idea of it.)

Exterior of the Karamon, or Chinese-style gate, at the Ueno Toshogu shrine, built 1627 and restored 1651. This complex is, so I read, an excellent example of Edo-period architecture.

The shrine itself, with its walls entirely covered in gold foil and with extraordinary details under the eaves...

...thusly. 

The Sukibei Wall, which runs all the way around the shrine, was also built in 1651. The upper band is carved with depictions of land animals, and the lower with water creatures, all unique. It's astounding in its detail. 

Copper lanterns used in religious ceremonies, donated by feudal lords from all over the country.

Glimpse of a single peony (with its own umbrella, hah!) over the wall of their garden, which is apparently only open in January and February. (Rats. That's one of my favorite flowers.)

Accidentally stumbled upon the nearby Shinobazunoike Bentendo Temple**, where their own fountain is a dragon.

Also of note: the immense Shinobazuno lotus pond surrounding that temple. 

Next, we checked out the huge Sensoji temple complex in Asakusa, where they've got their own 5-story pagoda... 

...and these massive lamps that are gorgeously carved underneath.

Wandering back through Asakusa, which also has something of an "old Tokyo" feel...

...and plenty of one of the other things I loooooved in Japan: fake food displays in restaurant windows. I could not get enough of these! (Also...they seem to really like Italian-style pasta.)

Dinner on our final night in Tokyo was at the marvelous Fukuzushi, where we opted for the omakase sushi menu--that is, chef's choice. That was 13 pieces of the best sushi of my life, the standouts being the chu toro tuna; Spanish mackerel with ginger and scallions (my favorite, I think); a piece involving salmon roe dished into a roll of nori; and, at the end, a massive hand roll filled with minced tuna. I panicked when we were offered, as our final piece, a repeat of our favorite from the whole menu: really, I shoulda gotten the mackerel again, but went with that first tuna instead. Delicious, obviously, but not what my mouth really wanted. (I'm not generally a fan of mackerel, but dang. They knew what to do with it at Fukuzushi.)

And with that, our first wave of Tokyo was finished. The next morning, we hopped on the Shinkansen and headed west, to Kyoto.

*Back in Denver, we had a chinchilla named Ralph, and I loved him very much and I miss him and his fuzziness. I'd have one again, if I had the room in our apartment for the massive cage those things require. And/or cats that could get along with a free-range chinchilla, if that's even a thing.

**A thing we learned later on in this trip, which probably a lot of people know, but we didn't: in Japan, at least, shrines are strictly Shinto and temples are Buddhist...although both religions can share certain symbology, festivals, even physical plots of land, because, interestingly enough, Buddhism and Shinto were not technically recognized (at least in Japan) as separate religions until the 19th century! There's a good article about all of it here.