**Our Trip & Itinerary**

This is it, the final piece of our world trip puzzle. To end this thirteen month adventure we spent a week exploring the Japanese island of Hokkaido, splitting our time between Hakodate in the southwest and Sapporo and its surrounding villages in the center. We then flew back down to Tokyo for six final days of museums, shopping, parks, and lots of food - some of our favorite activities. With our trip winding down, we decided to use up as many credit card points and perks as we could, hoping for one last luxurious experience to punctuate the final weeks of the journey.

Hakodate

We began the Hokkaido leg of our return to Japan with our final Shinkansen ride from Aomori to Hakodate, through the impressive Seikan Tunnel, similar to the chunnel in Europe. We arrived in blizzard-like conditions to the port city of Hakodate - think frigid wind, icy snow, and extremely low visibility. Sounds like perfect exploring weather to us! Just kidding, we refused to set foot outside, instead setting up shop at a local cafe called Starbucks (haha) for the next several hours to read, write, and cross off some of our “return to the real world” tasks. A gentle reminder that reality was beginning to creep closer and closer. That evening, as the blizzard started to weaken, we chose what we thought was the local brew-pub for our six year anniversary dinner, but like many things in Japan, it was a little different from what we expected. Instead of locals, chatting it up at the bar, we found families sitting around large tables in silence while a piano player - dressed in a pink ball gown, fur scarf, and heels - serenaded the crowd with some local and international favorites. Deciding this wasn’t quite the anniversary atmosphere we had been looking for, we took off for one of our favorite Japanese activities as soon as we’d cleared our plates: karaoke. We arrived at Big Echo, our go-to Japanese karaoke establishment, and booked a room for one hour. Time flew by as we (badly) serenaded each other, constrained by the (hopefully) sound-proof walls of our room. We ended up extending our session and staying so long, we missed the last tram to the hotel and wound up in a very expensive taxi. We could share more details of our musical performance but, to save our pride, we’ll let you imagine a show far grander for yourself.

The next morning, the weather conditions had improved significantly, but it was now bleakly cold, with the morning’s temperature sitting at a balmy -10º C (14º F). With a sudden desire for indoor activities, we made the short walk to the city’s historic red brick warehouses. These warehouses were built near the end of the Shogunate era when Hakodate was (mildly forcefully) opened to western trading in 1909, but are now filled with dozens of small shops and food stalls. These stalls were mainly filled with knick-knacks we knew we didn’t need or have space in our suitcase for, but there was one store that caught our eye. It seemed like exactly the store we could open after our year of travel, filled with small things like sugar skulls from Mexico, little llamas from Peru, wooden giraffes from southern Africa, aboriginal art from Australia, and even turquoise rings and necklaces from Arizona. It felt very odd to be standing in Japan, our final stop, and to be suddenly faced with relics from adventures-past. Leaving the warehouses behind, we walked towards Mount Hakodate’s Motomachi neighborhood, another leftover element of Japan’s opening to the world. The neighborhood is home to dozens of western styled buildings that served as residences, governmental offices, and trading outposts for several countries in the early 20th century. Today, three of the neighborhood's most important churches, the Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant, still host worshippers every week while the nearby British consulate has been turned into a museum. Feeling peckish, we stopped into Idohado Doughnuts, not for doughnuts ironically, but for coffee and pizza instead. The pizza served here was very different to anything we’d had as pizza before on an extremely thin, tortilla-like crust, but was a tasty unique meal, and the indoor heater was a very welcome relief from the bleak snow and ice outside.

On our final full day in Hakodate, we wanted to see two more of the city’s famous landmarks, though both were more up Jackson’s alley. We started our morning at the Hakodate morning market, the city’s primary fish market with dozens of stalls selling seafood rice bowls and fresh sashimi right off the boats. Sadly for Jackson, much of the day’s haul seemed to be roe, tightly packed fish eggs, which isn’t exactly an appealing morning meal, so he settled on a rice bowl with fresh salmon and scallops - still a tasty treat! To make sure Sarah also got fed, we took the tram back to the Motomachi neighborhood and hiked up to Angelique Voyage for an incredibly rich strawberries & cream crepe. Zig-zagging back across town, we took the tram all the way to Goroyokaku, the neighborhood surrounding its namesake, the old Goroyokaku fort. The fort was built in the mid 1800’s to protect the Shogun’s magistrate after the port was opened to western nations. The Japanese feared the magistrates' old offices were in danger from foreign naval cannons, so built this huge star-shaped fort to protect the city’s officials and project the Shogun’s power to foreign visitors. However after only opening in 1864, the magistrates duties were finished by 1868 in the Meiji restoration when the Shogun was overthrown. The offices only stood for another three years until Meiji forces destroyed them in 1871 in the last battle of the Japanese civil war, defeating the Shogunate escape forces once and for all. The fort’s grounds then stood empty as a city park until the early 2000’s, when the government decided to rebuild part of the magistrate’s offices as a historic recreation. Over the next decade craftsmen from all over Japan painstakingly rebuilt the primary part of this structure using only historic methods in perfect detail. Visiting now, it seems like the structure could have been here for centuries, everything feels so authentic! Leaving this recreation, we made our way through the snow around the perimeter of the park, imagining what it must look like in the spring when cherry blossoms cover almost every square meter of this huge, sprawling park.

Sapporo

Our trip to Sapporo began with a slow four hour train up the island of Hokkaido from Hakodate, treating us to a nice ride through snowy, rolling hills and providing us with stunning views along the coast. Our trip only took this long because the current end of the Shinkansen’s route is in Hokkaido, but on our journey we saw the works underway to extend it through tunnels all the way up to Sapporo. When the Shinkansen is finished in the mid-2030’s the journey will be possible in just forty-five minutes instead of four hours (!). That said, future passengers will miss out on the meandering beauty of a train ride like this that lets you get lost in the Japanese countryside.

Arriving into Sapporo, we realized it was the largest town we had been in since Tokyo, with dense crowds stretching out for blocks ahead of us. Having eaten nothing all day, apart from a few snacks we’d grabbed at the station in Hakodate, our first destination after dropping off our bags at our hotel was TO OV Café, a unique cafe and thrift-shop concept. The items on sale here were wildly priced, a designer handbag for $5.25, Victorian-era plates for $0.40, shoes for $7, and so much more. So, alongside your delightful slice of cheesecake and latte, you can find under-the-radar antique pottery! This place was perfectly Japanese; run by one person who had a new idea, found a small space, and built it out with the finest attention to detail. We couldn’t ask for anything more. For our first dinner in Sapporo, we went back to one of our favorite Japanese chains, CoCo Curry House, but found the location in central Sapporo to be incredibly unique. Instead of a diner style restaurant, the space only had one small counter with enough room for eight seats and one cook who was making everything from scratch in a small kitchen behind the bar. While we knew it was a chain, it didn’t feel like it at all, and we swear it made the food taste better too!

With several days in Sapporo, our goal was to take things slowly, stretch out the highlights and take our time really appreciating each one. How did that turn out, you ask? Poorly, as we hit all three of Sapporo’s top attractions on our first day. We began after a late breakfast at fog (which has the best mushroom toast) by heading out for the Hokkaidō Shrine, the city’s main temple. It was originally built in 1869 on orders of the Meiji Emperor to enshrine three Kami, Shinto deities. In 1964 the soul of the Meiji Emperor was also enshrined there, but unfortunately the original shrine burned down in 1974 and was rebuilt four years later. When we arrived, snow was just starting to fall again, slowly at first, then in a sudden blizzard, blinding us and coating us in a thick white coat. We stood underneath the temple's main doorway, watching crowds of people making prayers and writing wishes for the year on ema. There was a special magic to the space in the snow, the flakes falling similarly to their cherry blossom counterparts in the Spring. When our snowglobe began to lighten up, we walked through Maruyama Park back towards central Sapporo, soaking up what we thought would be our last snowfall of the trip, enjoying our little winter wonderland. Our next stop was the Sapporo Beer Museum. We didn’t have any expectations going in, and that turned out to be a very good thing, as the free tour is really just a collection of information boards, only occasionally and poorly translated. The gift shop did pique our interest, however, where they sold several of the world’s smallest beers, Sapporo Beer company cheese, and other unexpected souvenirs. In total, it took us about twenty-four minutes to go through the whole place, only about half the time it took us to actually get there! Luckily, the walk back to the center of Sapporo was much more interesting, taking us through quiet neighborhoods and along the Sōsei river towards the Sapporo TV tower. As we reached the TV Tower we wandered onto Odori park and were suddenly surrounded by hoards of older teenagers in traditional winter dress. We found out these kids were all being celebrated on Japan’s “Coming of Age Day” an annual holiday on the second Monday of the year that celebrates everyone who has turned eighteen between April 2nd of the previous year or will turn eighteen by the current year’s April 1st. Even though it has a peculiar date range, the celebration is quite fun, all centered around a Seijinshiki ceremony, where the adolescents wear traditional dress and officially “enter adulthood” alongside their friends and family. The boys were all dressed in fairly monotone suits, but the girls were layered with delicate and vibrant fabrics, their hair pinned into curly updos with sparkly floral pins. Fighting our way through excited teenagers, we explored Sapporo’s downtown on the way back to our hotel, passing dozens of cafes with unusual waitstaff - girls in maid outfits or wearing bunny onesies and heels! We spotted a few newly celebrated teen guys eyeing these establishments with a cheeky glint in their eyes…

Having crossed off all of the major “to-do” items we spent our remaining time in Sapporo slowly, deciding to enjoy a relaxed pace here rather than trying to squeeze in multiple day-trips out to nearby towns. To that end, we decided to skip setting an alarm and instead slept in every morning, a surprisingly unusual activity for us in this long year. We had wanted to do some shopping in Japan this time, since we now had the ability to bring clothes, food, and souvenirs home! We started one of our final days in Sapporo at the mystical land of Don Quijote. Walking into this store truly feels like stepping into an alternate universe - the floors seem to go on forever and the shelves are lined with everything your heart desires. In the basement was a full grocery store, home to countless snacks we’d never heard of before, while upstairs was where things truly got weird. After ascending through two whole floors with a volume of cosmetics and skincare that really should have been spread out across four, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by Fendi, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton luxury goods, displayed in the most austere way. Heaps of bags and watches worth thousands of dollars were crammed into glass display counters like drug store knockoffs, with no attendant in sight to help you drop a month’s salary on a designer bag! On the opposite end of this luxury goods floor, we found a chaotic sea of luggage and backpacks, with no order to the rows and rows of mismatched bags. Making our way one floor up we found appliances, electronics, and a large “adults only” section right next to the toys and coloring books - a strange placement, we thought. Feeling overstimulated and dehydrated, we figured we should fight our way through the tax-free line and high-tail it outta there!

On our final full day in Sapporo, we wanted to do something unpredictable and decided to visit Sapporo’s Maruyama Zoo! While it wasn’t at the top of any of the lists of things to do that we’d read, we have to say we had a pretty good time! Founded in 1951, the zoo has steadily added different ecological habitats through the decades, bringing in new species each time. Most recently this has been the addition of the Polar Bear Pavilion in 2018, the largest Polar Bear enclosure in all of Japan. One thing the Sapporo Zoo excels at though, is enabling visitors to get extremely close to the animals through thick glass windows. We’ve never been as close to Lions, Tigers, Snow Leopards, or Red Pandas as we were here, all on equal footing and eye level, just through some incredibly thick glass. Seeing these animals at our level, taking in their true size, was unlike any zoo experience we’ve had before. Sadly however, not all of the enclosures here were as large as we thought the animals deserved, especially after seeing so many of these species free in their natural habitats through the course of this year. It feels like our perspective on zoos has forever changed after this year of traveling. Once you’ve seen lions in Tanzania, Orangutans in Borneo, and Llamas in the Andean highlands, it's difficult to see their cousins living in a cage, no matter how large, and not feel badly for them. Leaving the zoo we wandered back through Sapporo towards our hotel, stopping along the way for another edition of our favorite rotating sushi bar dinners. Not ready to say goodnight to Sapporo quite yet, we headed around the corner to Owl and Rooster, one of the world’s top 50 up and coming bars according to The World’s Fifty Best. The quiet bar takes up a tiny space on the fourth floor of a nondescript building just off of Tsukisamu-dori, the city’s busiest street. Inside the wood-paneled walls transport visitors to a bygone era, with vintage absinthe posters on every wall and a bar stocked with bottles we’d never seen before. The drinks lived up to our high expectations, their unique twists on classic cocktails keeping us bewitched for several rounds.

Tokyo

We returned to the same Tokyo we had left behind - buzzing with energy, filled with countless humans, and lit up like a Vegas slot machine. Our first few days were mostly spent relaxing, letting ourselves drift into cafes and shops as the day went on. We didn’t let ourselves feel pressured to get out and see everything, something we definitely felt last time. Instead, we felt the end of the trip beginning to settle on ourselves and took things slowly, hoping to absorb every possible second we had left of this unbelievable adventure.

On one of our first days, we decided to split up, something we’ve rarely done this year! Given Tokyo’s vastness and simply endless shopping options, we knew we needed to tackle our favorite areas on our own - mostly to avoid either of us hovering while the other browsed. Boundaries are important, people! And so, after rounding up some snacks at Don Quijote, we went on our own missions to Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Shibuya. This, of course, involved visits to Ippudo (Sarah for the best vegan ramen) and Ichiran (Jackson for his favorite ramen). Whether it’s through individual, wall-facing booths, or lunchtime meal deals, eating alone is truly welcomed in Japan, much unlike the stigma in Western cultures. While eating alone is sometimes a matter of time or convenience, the culture invites eating alone so that diners are able to focus on their food and savor it without distraction, a philosophy held by Ichiran itself. That evening, we retreated back to our very luxurious stay at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, booked by - you guessed it - points! The rooms here are beautifully spacious and bright, despite being slightly outdated, and featured calming views of the shopping street below. Our bathroom even had its own onsen-style bathtub room!

We awoke fairly late the next morning, seemingly in need of a long night’s sleep. We had planned on exploring that morning, yet found ourselves sinking into the comfy chairs by the window of our very relaxing room instead. Eventually, around 2PM, we figured it might be time to breathe some fresh air. And so, we walked to Roppongi Hills to snag our first coffee of the day at %Arabica. Surrounded by galleries, we headed over to the National Museum of Art, which had featured endless rooms of young artists in April. This time, we found ourselves stumped by the now endless rooms of calligraphy. Don’t get us wrong, there’s a significant elegance and beauty to calligraphy, yet there also exists a language barrier that prevents us from fully understanding and appreciating the artworks. In pursuit of more art, something we’ve gotten fairly good at now, we popped into the FujiFilm store next, which houses rotating galleries that spotlight local photographic talents. Not only this, but the shop celebrates the history of cameras and the impact of FufjiFilm’s brand on the world of images with a small museum of relics. Not quite done yet, we walked over to 21_21 Design Sight, a modern space designed by architect Tadao Ando and fashion designer Issey Miyake that celebrates and explores the innovation of design. While the structure is stunning with its sloped, clean lines, the current exhibit didn’t tickle our fancy: “pooploop”, focused on items related to “waste and excrement”. Nope, no thank you. Opting for a less shitty activity, we continued to walk through the streets lined with fairy lights, stopping to watch people scoot their way around an ice rink. As the evening cold crept in, we decided it would be best to find a warm place for dinner. Naturally, we found ourselves at Savoy Tomato & Cheese, a small space that serves freshly-made woodfired pizza. Like many Japanese restaurants, Savoy felt intimate, as we were sat at a bar with about eight other people and spent our time speaking to the pizzaiolo, a hilarious Japanese man who whirled pies at lightning speed and cranked them out like an assembly line. While the pizzas were cooked in just forty-five seconds, they were absolute perfection. The flavor of the dough was perfectly salty and funky, the cheese and sauce balanced, and the toppings added an elevated layer to the meal. Jackson’s pie was loaded with fresh tuna and wasabi - an unexpectedly tasty combination. Sarah’s was a simple margarita, but packed with juicy garlic. Do not miss this place if you’re in Tokyo!

On yet another slow day, we decided to avoid shopping at all costs and find something cultural to do instead. Having heard about it online, we made our way to the Fukagawa Fudõ-dõ Temple in the Koto-ku area of Tokyo to see the daily Goma burning. Goma are fire rituals that are held five times a day and intend to purify guests and their belongings by wafting over a fire of burning cedar sticks. We went in without expectations or an idea of what the ritual was like, but boy, were we blown away. The temple room expands like a theatre, with seating in chairs, on stairs, and the floor available for guests. There is a specific seating area for foreigners, yet we found ourselves cross-legged on the floor as it was pretty crowded. Beyond the fixated crowds, the ceremony was already in full swing; five monks were spread across the stage, all surrounding the cedar wood burning in the center of the platform. In this sacred ceremony, the fire represents the wisdom of Buddha, where the wood sticks embody all negative energies that need to be cleansed and released. Alongside the crackle of the fire, taiko drums (the ones we had the privilege of playing a few days before) keep rhythm to the Pali chants. The sound of the chants rose into the air, along with the embers of the fire. The monks were dressed in white, elegant robes, their feet bare or wrapped in split-toe tabi socks. It was a strangely emotional experience to watch the ceremony and to listen to a language we can’t speak - we didn’t need to understand to understand. The chanting slowly faded out and the head monk began to play the Tibetan singing bowl, its ringing soon to be the only thing heard. Then, as if we missed the cue, everyone began to shuffle in their seats to leave the temple hall. We didn’t head out just yet and decided to take a look at the temple itself. The temple was built in the 18th century when the city of Edo was expanding. The main hall was unfortunately destroyed by a fire bombing in World War II, but was later replaced by a very old temple from Chiba. Given that the main hall now famously holds the fire ceremony to cleanse negative energies, its transformation is pretty poetic, don’t you think? With new additions in recent years, the outer hall now features an impressive façade in Sanskrit and hundreds of colorful prayer flags. If you choose to experience this amazing ceremony for yourself, please note that photography during the ceremony and of the temple grounds is strictly prohibited.

Having moved to another hotel the next day, a very common APA branch, we decided to walk to a very long-awaited breakfast destination: Boulangerie Django. We discovered this gem last April and have been thinking about it since! Boulangerie Django is a very small bakery, nestled in the corner shop of a vine-covered building. If the charming exterior doesn’t lure you in, the smell of freshly baked croissants definitely will! While pan au chocolat is a weekend specialty, you can find incredible danishes, savory bakes, and delightful koug amman here too. Our favorite was the apple crumble danish and the blueberry-ricotta danish, both made of thin, delicately layered laminated dough, filled with fresh fruit, and coated in a fine caramel crunch. Simply incredible.

Feeling like we were ready to tackle the day, we set off for our next mission…In April of last year, we wandered Kappabashi Kitchen Street, a long stretch of shops selling all-things culinary, yearning to take some goodies home. Now, given our imminent return to the US, we knew we could bring some things back for our new home! We walked up and down Kappabashi for over two hours, in search of plates, chopsticks, chopstick rests, and anything else we thought we could take back safely! Shopping there takes a bit of hunting, as you’ll find some items made in China or others priced way too high. Sometimes, you’ll simply realize these chopsticks are better than those chopsticks, which requires a marathon power walk back to the other store. Loaded with heavy, delicate bags, we treated ourselves to a taxi back to the hotel. Before resting our feet before heading back out for a short hop don to Ginza, we examined our treasures - brown-speckled Japanese plates with raised edges, matching irregularly shaped bowls, delicately carved chopsticks made of cherry tree wood, endless culinary knicknacks, and dainty chopstick rests.

After dropping our goodies off at our hotel, we found ourselves in Ginza, where they had blocked off the main street to make it solely for pedestrians. As we were watching the icey sunset reflect on the highrise buildings around us, a man approached us out of the crowd. With a cheery smile, he asked us where we were from, where we had traveled, and what we thought of Japan. In only slightly bumpy English, he told us about himself, about how he was actually rather shy, but was trying to challenge himself by speaking to at least one stranger a day. Quite the brave task, if you ask us! Once more marveling at our height and biding us a “motherfucking awesome day”, he melted back into the Ginza crowd. What a great encounter! Despite commonly hearing that Japanese people seemingly dislike foreigners, we’ve almost always felt welcome through simple gestures or fun interactions like Ginza Guy, so we’re officially disproving this stereotype! In dire need of a hearty dinner, we went to Shinjuku to return to yet another favorite: ITOI Tempura Dining. We only visited once in April 2024, but the tempura was so light and the variety on the menu left quite the lasting impact. The staff, however, left the biggest impression with their bright smiles and positive energy. The same chef greeted us when we arrived, wearing the exact outfit he had been in last year, and allowed us to patiently watch as he prepared our dinner. We had everything from a miso-avocado salad, to cheese tempura with honey, to salmon tempura. There’s really nothing complicated about a place like this - just good people and good food.

The next day, we just couldn’t get Django out of our heads - we just had to return for one last pastry fix (for real this time). Once again, we scooped up a selection of delightful pastries and sat on the bench outside in utter bliss as we devoured them. From there, we ventured over to the Oedo Antique Market in Chiyoda. We didn’t have any expectations, but were pleasantly surprised to see loaded tables and blankets as far as the eye could see, stretching through a maze of high-rise buildings in the sun. Coffee in hand, we wove our way through the endless selection of Japanese treasures, from handmade kimonos, to pre-loved beaded handbags, to stunning paintings from Samurai times. Each seller was part of the presentation, each dressed to match their goods or a bright centerpiece to their open-air shop. We could have spent ages there, closely examining the things we had no room to take home or money to spend on. The market occurs every first and third Sunday of the month and is open to anyone!

To continue our vintage theme of the day, we took a series of train lines out to Shimokitazawa. This part of Tokyo invites a slower pace, yet also acts as a hub for young, trendy people looking for a place to hang. Here, the tight streets are lined with quirky cafes and the thrift shops of your dreams! We visited here in April of 2024, but wanted to take more time to get to know the area. So, naturally we wandered into a cafe first: Cafe Anthrop. This spot is truly, and almost literally, a hole in the wall. Or rather, a long stretched room featuring a narrow shelf full of vegan cooking staples on one side and bar seating along the wall on the other. There, we shared a tandoori chicken sandwich that blew our minds - the sauces were perfectly seasoned, the fake chicken amazingly textured. Fed and happy, we spent some time popping into shops and exploring the weirdly familiar thrifted items in each. American paraphernalia is big in Japan - think college t-shirts, letterman jackets, and baseball caps featuring old school sports logos. Oddly enough, we also found ourselves in a suit shop, this time not filled with pre-owned clothing. Knowing that a return to work was on the horizon, Jackson ended up purchasing a great cashmere coat to take on his first work trip. After some down time at the hotel that afternoon, we found ourselves craving ramen again, knowing all too well that we would soon be very far from the source of rich broth, perfectly cooked noodles, and mouth-watering toppings. And so, we split up once again to enjoy our ramen of choice at Ippudo and Ichiran. Feeling rather circular later, we met up again at Golden Gai, the iconic maze of miniature bars. From above, one might compare the area to a crossword puzzle - blocks of closely-built buildings, each featuring small boxes (rooms) filled with booze. We made a beeline for Albatross, the moody bar we had come to know on our last visit. We enjoyed two amazing drinks there: an Old Fashioned and a Godfather, of course. Afterwards, we decided to branch out and try our luck at a new bar. We didn’t have to wander long until we were lured into a bar by the convincing shouts of the owners. The two young guys spoke fairly good English - one in particular who later told us he had studied abroad in Australia for a year. While there, we met a group of college-age Aussies, who were just on their way out of the bar to make room for us. Thankfully, they didn’t take the good vibes with them! We joined the limited seats along the bartop and found ourselves in conversation with a very diverse group of Americans based out of Okinawa. They were, of course, fairly vague about their activities there, but were proud to share they were celebrating their participation in a Judo tournament. Already buzzed on our Albatross drinks, we tried our luck at the bar’s game, rolling a pair of dice to win different drinks. Sarah managed to snag a full carafe of sake, yet the guys from Okinawa were only lucky enough for brutal, bottom-shelf tequila shots. Not long after, we left the glowing lights of Golden Gai behind to rest for another day of adventure.

Wrecked suitcases plus a loaded add-on tote and cardboard box in tow, we hitched a ride to our final accommodation of the trip: mesm Tokyo. Our duct taped bags didn’t quite match the vibes of the embellished, high ceilings and plush sofas of the hotel. Our imposter syndrome grew even more when we entered what would be our last hotel room of the entire trip. The bed was wider than most Japanese hotel rooms, the bathroom adorned with its own onsen, and the floor-to-ceiling windows provided sprawling views of the Hamarikyu Gardens below. Despite the overwhelming desire to lounge about in the plush hotel robe, Sarah took off quickly in pursuit of her suddenly-realized vegan sushi reservation. Vegan Sushi Tokyo only opened in the Summer of 2024, but has gained traction amongst expats, tourists, and locals alike, as vegan sushi is hard to find in the land of fresh fish. The sushi is only available in a set with the option to order additional nigiri or rolls alongside. The set was delicious and better than Sarah could have imagined - finally, a way to participate in the sushi hype! Meanwhile, Jackson was pursuing sushi the traditional way with a visit to the Tsukiji Fish Market. While the vendors were beginning to wrap up for the day, Jackson snagged a selection of freshly caught seafood, including some of the best tuna he’s ever had! In effort to walk off our lunch bounty, we met up in Hamarikyu Gardens near the hotel. While stunning from a bird's eye view, the gardens truly came to life on the ground. Despite the great weather, there were barely any people there! We strolled to the sound of chirping birds and the quiet hum of the city, stopping to peek into little shrines, or take photos of the peach tree blossoms that were making an early arrival for the Spring. The gardens feature large seawater ponds that change level with the tides and depict a powerful contrast to the city reflections in their waters. It was originally built as a feudal lord's Tokyo residence and duck hunting grounds during the Edo Period, then later used as strolling gardens and imperial palace grounds, before becoming public land. Given the history of the grounds, there is a small memorial to all duck spirits that lost their lives to hunting.

That evening, we enjoyed the sunset from our bougie hotel room and put our feet up before dinner. Dressed to the nines for our last night of the trip, we headed to the lobby for live music, performed beautifully by a quartet. They played with intense focus and precision, only pausing to turn the pages of their notes. After the calming performance, we headed out to none other than…CoCo Curry. Were we overdressed? Absolutely. Did we care? Definitely not! We settled into our booth and enjoyed one last deliciously hot bowl of fresh curry, loaded with cheese, veggies, meat, Japanese pickles and rice. Sporting a Humpty Dumpty-style walk, we walked back to mesm, where the second live performance of the night was just beginning. As the quartet played, we ordered a series of drinks from Whisk (the bar), which turned out to be incredibly unique and creative. Each drink was presented like a work of art - for example, the Philosopher was delivered as a smoking whisky glass, perched atop a philosophical book. Knowing we wanted to celebrate, we caved and ordered dessert too: a chocolate brownie loaded with caramel and swirls of whipped cream. Whilst indulging in these goodies, we took a moment to reflect on our trip and to celebrate the incredible memories we were taking home tomorrow.

We woke up with pits in our stomach and a feeling of disbelief that it was all coming to an end. Given our late check-out time (thanks AMEX), we took our time to enjoy breakfast and pack up. When the time came, we heaved our collection of personal items and souvenirs to the train station - not exactly an easy feat when you have broken bags to deal with. Not to mention, we also found ourselves packed into a busy airport train with hordes of high school students, all as sweaty as we were. Contrasting our challenging journey to the airport, we were welcomed into one of Jackson’s favorite places: the JAL First Class Lounge. There, we sipped on free Hibiki and mountains of freshly made sushi and other Japanese dishes before our flight. Taking one last look at the Tokyo skyline, we set off to the gate, which had now also become a metaphorical gate back into reality: life after a year around the world.

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