Travel Blog Series Part 2: Tokyo Days 1 & 2

Day 1

The sun rises in Tokyo at a frankly unreasonable hour—like 4:15 a.m. Somehow, despite jet lag and spending 36+ hours in transit, I managed to sleep decently and was up by 5:00, feeling surprisingly human. With a mix of excitement and stiffness (my legs still felt like bricks from the travel), I laced up and headed out for a run around the Imperial Palace. I did three loops—about nine miles total—which sounds ambitious, but the morning light made it feel like mid-day. There were already tons of runners out, most in long sleeves and pants. I, however, stuck out like a classic slutty American in my crop top and shorts. Modesty and sun protection be damned—it was humid.

By the time I got back, I expected Kayla to be awake and ready to seize the day. Nope—she was still completely out. Ironically, her Vegas night shift schedule had her fully aligned with Japan time, so I guess she was thriving in her own way. I tried not to be annoyed. After all, it was day one of our sister trip, and I was committed to going with the flow (keyword: tried). I took the downtime to get ready and chose a “cute but comfy” outfit—a sweater and a skort—because I didn’t want to look back on photos in head-to-toe athleisure, and Japanese street style is leagues ahead of American gym-wear anyway.

Once Kayla joined the land of the living, we navigated the subway toward Meiji Shrine. Our subway strategy? Walk fast enough to look like we knew what we were doing, but slow enough to read the signs before we missed a transfer. Tokyo signage is excellent… until it isn’t, and then suddenly you're underground with no idea what “Exit A5” means.

We quickly learned that most stores and cafes don’t open until 10:00 a.m.—a tough pill to swallow for someone like me who likes to front-load the day with activity. Kayla had to gently remind me we weren’t wasting time; Tokyo just runs on a different schedule. To kill time, we popped into the Snoopy Cafe for breakfast. I was skeptical at first (there’s probably one in Vegas), but it turns out the Japanese are very into Snoopy. Our toast plates were cute and surprisingly satisfying, and I have to admit—it wasn’t a bad start to the day.

After wandering through some early-opening shops (including an IKEA, because why not), we made it to Meiji Shrine. I already knew shrine fatigue was going to hit me on this trip, and sure enough, after our first one, I was kind of over it. Too many tourists, not enough peace. However, we paid a few hundred yen to enter the adjacent garden, and that was absolutely worth it—lush, quiet, and a bit more authentic feeling.

Back in the Harajuku shopping district, the stores were finally open. I scoped out Onitsuka Tiger because a friend told me I “had to,” but honestly, I didn’t get the hype. The shoes were trendy but not particularly my style. Instead, I spent my money at The Matcha Tokyo, where I got an unsweetened soy matcha latte and watched the baristas make magic. There's something deeply satisfying about good matcha being whisked by hand with care and intention. Kayla went with a matcha banana smoothie.

Next up: Takeshita Street and its Instagram-famous snacks. We tried candied strawberries and grapes on sticks, which looked cute but had an unexpectedly hard sugar shell that made me feel like I was biting into fruit lollipops. A good idea in theory… less so in practice. To balance it out, we split a giant spiralized fried potato, which was salty, satisfying, and deeply Midwestern (my mom would’ve loved it).

Then came Kayla’s accessory store moment. I let her try on 10 ponytail covers before I started losing my mind. After that impulse purchase detour, we hit a food court for lunch. I got a bento box so I could try a little of everything—fish, pickled veggies, rice, and miso soup—while Kayla ordered a yuzu burger, which I judged her for but later admitted it was good. One thing I appreciate about Japanese malls: lots of food options, outlets to charge your phone, and genuinely stunning city views.

Next up: Shibuya. The famous Shibuya Scramble was… underwhelming? Maybe it was the hype, or maybe it’s because every crosswalk in Tokyo feels crowded. We went to the second-floor Starbucks to get the classic aerial shot and then popped into Don Quijote—a discount store that felt like Temu in real life. It was chaotic, overwhelming, and still seemed over priced to me. But I scored some fun-flavored Kit-Kats and Hi-Chew to bring home.

Highlight of the afternoon? Smelling roasted sweet potatoes before I saw them. I'd read that they’re common across Japan, and I was thrilled when my nose led me to one at last. I immediately bought one, and naturally, Kayla followed suit. They were perfectly sweet and warm.

We snapped a photo with the Hachiko dog statue (RIP 😢) and headed to Shinjuku for karaoke. We rented a room for 30 minutes, which included amazing fruit sodas and a karaoke machine we spent way too long figuring out how to switch to English. We sang: The Climb (Miley), Fearless (Taylor Swift), Wake Up (Hilary Duff), and Gotta Go My Own Way (High School Musical)—a surprisingly cathartic selection.

By then we were starving again and ended up at an Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant in yet another mall food court. We helped ourselves to drinks, appetizers, and dessert like we knew what we were doing. It was a satisfying end to a long day.

The next morning, I opted for a change of scenery on my run and followed a local runner through the city, eventually ending up at a beautiful Starbucks near the Imperial Gardens. I was sweaty and probably gross, but the barista asked if I was a local and gave me a receipt for my soy milk latte (Japan doesn’t mess around with milk accuracy). The soy milk here is more neutral than sweet, and honestly, I prefer it.

The museum was truly something else—equal parts digital dreamscape and influencer paradise. Every room at teamLab Borderless felt like it had been designed for a different kind of photo. I was into it… but Kayla was really into it. I’m pretty sure she was mentally sorting through potential Hinge profile photos the entire time. Every new room was met with, “Wait, get one of me here… now this angle... actually one more.”

To be fair, I liked my outfit that day (rare for a vacation day when comfort usually wins), so I wasn’t mad about the photo spree. It ended up being a solid sister bonding session. We were laughing, getting creative, and trying to get the most “candid” photo. After two hours of photo-taking and sensory overload, I was reaching my threshold. Kayla, however, wasn’t done. She discovered a coloring station where you could design your own drawing, scan it, and have it printed onto a tote bag. It was very her. So I left her blissfully immersed in her art and wandered off to refuel with sushi and a fruit cup.

That little solo hour was much needed. We’re both very independent people, so carving out time to do our own thing—even while traveling together—was a smart move. I ate, people-watched in the mall across the street, and enjoyed not having to decide anything for a little while.

We met back up just as school was getting out at the British International School nearby, and I loved watching all the parents and little kids interact. It was a beautiful little slice of everyday life in the middle of a travel-heavy day.

Next, we made our way toward Tokyo Tower for a photo op. We didn’t go up, saving the skyline view for Skytree later in the week, but seeing the bright red tower against the skyline at golden hour was definitely worth the stop.

From there, we headed to Ginza in search of our next foodie mission: fluffy Japanese pancakes. We found a small, stylish café and ordered a plate of the famous jiggly stacks. At first, we were mesmerized watching them being made—each pancake carefully flipped, the batter rising slowly like clouds. But after 20 minutes… we were over it. We went in the late afternoon, so I can only imagine the wait times during peak brunch hours. When they finally arrived, they were soft, eggy, and slightly sweet—good, but not life-changing. Honestly, the ones I made from scratch during lockdown may have been better (don’t tell Tokyo).

Pancakes = appetizer. So obviously, we were now on the hunt for dinner. But decision fatigue was real, and we wandered around aimlessly until we stumbled upon a Japanese-Korean BBQ fusion place tucked away on the top floor of a random building. (Side note: it’s wild how many restaurants in Tokyo are not at street level. It’s not super intuitive and definitely makes spontaneous food-finding a bit harder.) Still, we were glad we gave it a shot—it turned out to be delicious and low-key, exactly what we needed.

Then… Uniqlo happened.

I was already fading fast, but I had a surprisingly productive 30 minutes—tried things on, and browsed all the levels. But by the time I was checking out, Kayla was still debating between two nearly identical tank tops. And not just deciding—like, deeply contemplating the pros and cons of each color while her phone hovered at 1% battery.

Meanwhile, I was moments away from a full-blown crash. I was tired in all the ways a person can be tired: physically, mentally, socially. I was sweaty, mildly dehydrated, still kind of hungry, and we had a 45-minute subway ride back to the hotel. I considered crying in the middle of Uniqlo.

But to Kayla’s credit, she picked up on my unraveling vibe, made a choice, and we got out of there. Slowly, we navigated our way back, and while the timing wasn’t my ideal, I was honestly proud of us. We covered so much in two days. I was trying to be more flexible, and this trip was testing that in real time. And you know what? I think I was doing a pretty damn good job.