Day 7 - Alone in Tokyo

Unfortunately, the kiddos became sick over-night, and Jen had to stay home with the kiddos. Poor Things! That left me, all by myself, to explore Tokyo.

Jen had scheduled a Japanese Tea Ceremony, and so I had to hop on the Metro and figure out how to make it there in time! Luckily, I did! And it was wonderful! Then I spent the rest of the day enjoying some awesome food, and shopping (of course) in the famous Harajuku District of Tokyo!

So I headed out to catch the Metro!

It was a beautiful morning! The weather was awesome that day!

I (of course) had to snag some caffeine before the Tea Ceremony. This was literally a little can of wonderful!

And I found it! It wasn't too difficult to navigate, but I think I had gotten use to having Jen to lead me around, but I was very excited (if you can't tell) about making it right on time.

Once we arrived to the Tea Ceremony we met the Tea Master, and he prepared us a wonderful cup of matcha tea. They were wonderful teachers, and it was a really calm and relaxing experience. I highly recommend everyone trying this when they visit Japan.

This was a little pastry - not sure how to describe it, but it had red bean paste in the center. The Japanese desserts tend to have red bean paste in their desserts. It is interesting, and typically hails from China.

They explained the wonderful process of the Tea Ceremony, and how it changes during the seasons of the year, for events, etc... Each ceremony can be VERY specific. Also, the history behind the tea ceremony, and how it was typically meant for the upper-classes.

I was then able to try my hand at making the tea in the similar fashion as the tea master. It was super fun! However, at this point I had consumed a coffee, and 2 cups of tea... I think my caffeine consumption had reached it limited!

After that, I headed to the Metro to make my way to the famous Harajuku shopping district of Tokyo. Asia itself seemed to have massive shopping complexes. Every metro station seemed to have a mall inside it - This is where I was able to grab some treats for my friends back home in the U.S.

Best first... Lunch! - I discovered this article about this amazing restaurant in Japan and decided to check it out. I was not disappointed!

Now... Time to shop!

So I did some damage to my pocketbook, but had a great experience wandering around Tokyo! Now it was time to head back to Jen's.

When I got back, Jen wanted to show me downtown Yokosuka and to try some local food. This was a food cart, where people stand around and grab sticks of whatever meat they want. Once they are done eating, they go to pay by giving the cashier their empty sticks to count. I have to say, I had so of the BEST FOOD EVER in Japan.

Then we headed to a typical restaurant where you are able to grab your food, and even cook it on a grill in front of you. This is where I discovered the horror of what took place during the Walking Dead season 7 premiere... Loved the food, but am still upset about TWD!

Finally on our walk back, I saw this sign on a local nightclub door. It appears that some places can deny service to foreigners.

It was an exciting a busy day! However, I knew the next day I would be traveling back to the states, and couldn't believe how fast my adventure went by, and that I was already having to leave my best friend :( But we discussed our next adventure - #Paris2017?