It’s been 4 months since our trip to Tokyo and I’m still not over it. Literally, since I still haven’t posted the second part of my travel diary here and figuratively, since my mind is still on spring mode when it’s almost autumn time. I’ve been so busy that it’s only now I get to finish the second part of my Tokyo travel diary.

Watching our video has brought back so many fun memories. I can’t believe it’s just been 4 months since our trip last April. Elian has grown so much from this time! He was only 15 months old here in Tokyo and just learning how to walk confidently on his own and now he’s 20 months and is running and hiding and talking so much and totally a toddler. When we watch our travel videos, we can’t help but feel sentimental as we see how little he used to be. Capturing our travels is a great way to document his growth as well as our moments with Elian.

This was not only our first food trip in Japan but Elian’s first time to try Japanese food and Tokyo treats at 15 months! His experience and first taste of Japan couldn’t be more authentic than this. His first yakitori, first ramen, first Luke’s Lobster, etc. etc! So on this post, I’ll share the last part of our Tokyo trip, what we did on our last days and list down food discoveries in Ueno, Asakusa and Omotesando 🙂

For one whole day, we decided to rent a van to tour Northern Tokyo starting from Ueno in the morning then Asakusa in the afternoon then ending our day in Meiji Shrine. Since we were staying in Shinjuku area which is in Central Tokyo, the Northern area of Tokyo would be those that will be farthest and hardest to get to so we decided to rent a van to be able to maximise our whole day. It was a good call since we were with a baby and a senior citizen and there really was a lot of walking on these sights. We were able to save our energy for exploring the sights.

Ueno is a big place and there’s so much to do that you can easily spend a whole day there and it’s still not enough. Our van driver recommended staying a couple of nights to be able to see all that Ueno has to offer. There’s the big Ueno Park where the gardens are and where Ueno Zoo is. And there are also shopping places around which we didn’t anymore go to. We decided to just explore Ueno Park. We were supposed to go to the Zoo but since the line was so long and we didn’t have enough time we decided to skip it. We ended up instead at this long strip of food stalls of various Japanese delicacies and it was such a nice experience. Imagine dining in a nice sunny (but cold) day underneath a long strip of sakura trees. It’s absolutely perfect and we love this discovery! I would love to go back here again!

* Tip, it’s best to see Ueno Park in the morning when it opens as it gets really crowded during the day. The food stall part is nearby the entrance where peony garden is. We ended up here because I wanted to see the peony gardens but it was closed and we discovered this instead.

Afterwards, we went to Asakusa which is also an interesting experience. On the way to the Sensoji temple, you’ll pass by a long strip of stalls selling all sorts of things. This is Nakamise Dori. It’s crowded but fun to look around and check out the different treats and knick knacks they sell.

We prayed in the temple, threw coins and made a wish and Elian enjoyed playing and chasing the pigeons. I particularly enjoyed admiring the different structures and the flowers. This is where we had a late lunch in just one of the food stalls around.

*Tip, try everything you see that you want to try or buy already what you want to try. As you might not have time to go back and might regret it lol. There are lots of treats around and there’s a bakery at the back that sells really great smelling breads and pastries. There’s always a long line and I was too tired to line up but looking back, I regret not trying it!

After an afternoon in Asakusa, we decided to end our day in Meiji Shrine before it closes. It’s a good long walk to get inside. It’s cold when we went there so it’s not tiring but it rained so our visit at the Shrine was cut short. But it’s a nice place and we’ll definitely come back here again to experience it more. I’d love to see an authentic Japanese wedding here. They say if you visit during Sunday morning, you can get to watch.

The rest of our days in Tokyo was for trying out more food unique to the city. We tried Ichiran and Luke’s Lobsters, both were okay but I’m not sure the super long queue was worth it. But it’s good to experience atleast once.

To summarize, our 5 days in Tokyo was absolutely not enough lol! We super enjoyed every minute in this city and we can’t wait to be back!

Tokyo, or Japan to be exact, you’re surely in my top list of favorite countries. Sayonara for now but we’ll definitely meet again! 🙂