August 30, 2025
Our first full day in Japan started aggressively early: 4:30 a.m. Wide awake thanks to jet lag, we decided to lean into it and head straight to Don Quijote—an experience I can only describe as eight floors of overstimulation. Music, ads, and flashing lights all playing at once combined with packed aisles stacked floor-to-ceiling with everything you could possibly need (and many things you absolutely do not). And then, just when you think you’ve seen it all, the top floor turns out to be a sex toy shop.
Evan was on a mission. After reading on Reddit that Japanese nail clippers are superior to all others, he purchased a pair. The verdict is still out, but the confidence with which he bought them was next level.
From there, we stopped at Excelsior Café, a cozy little coffee and tea shop, before heading back to the hotel to drop off our nail clippers. At the train station, I got my Suica card, tapped through the gates, and successfully rode the train with zero issues—a personal victory worth celebrating.
We arrived in the neighborhood for our food tour an hour and a half early, so we decided to do some exploring. We wandered into a nearby temple, where we sat quietly and watched a ceremony of some sort. It was peaceful and grounding, especially compared to the sensory chaos of earlier. One of the rooms housed a small art exhibit, and the artist himself was there. He didn’t speak English and we don’t speak Japanese, but thanks to Google Translate he was able to explain the story behind his work.
We grabbed coffee at a tiny café afterward—only to discover they wouldn’t take our empty cups because they didn’t have a garbage. This began our very sweaty walk through the neighborhood, carrying our cups and desperately searching for a trash can. (Spoiler: public garbage bins in Japan are extremely rare.)
Eventually, it was time for our food tour, which turned out to be just us and one other couple from the U.S. They had gotten married the same weekend we got engaged—us celebrating our engagement, them celebrating their honeymoon. The heat, however, was no joke. The real feel that day was 108 degrees.
Our guide, Sachi, began the tour at the same temple Evan and I had explored earlier. Outside, she pointed out the stone guardian dogs flanking the entrance. One has its mouth open, the other closed—known as Agyō and Ungyō. The open mouth represents the sound “A,” the beginning of all things, while the closed mouth represents “Un,” the end. Together, they symbolize the cycle of life and the protection of sacred spaces.
Inside the temple, Sachi explained that the ceremony we had been watching earlier was a ritual honoring the dead. She insisted on taking our photo during the ceremony which felt deeply awkward.
Outside, she showed us the purification ritual before entering sacred spaces: pour water over your left hand, then your right, then rinse your mouth—cleansing yourself before going inside.
From there, we headed to the fish market, where things escalated quickly—in the best way. We ate everything:
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a corn ball on a stick
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an assortment of flavored nuts
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dried squid (which Evan was convinced I wouldn’t try—joke’s on him, Thailand prepared me well)
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mullet ovary
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green tea
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enormous grapes
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wagyu skewers
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sushi
After the tour, we wandered the market a bit longer because Evan, unsurprisingly, wasn’t done eating. Frozen strawberry mochi made the cut. We then sat down for a beer and watched workers prepare massive crabs-- the biggest we had ever seen.
Later, we walked toward the Imperial Palace, stopping through Ginza along the way—the Tokyo equivalent of Chicago’s Mag Mile. The air conditioning alone was reason enough to linger. We spotted a Delirium Tremens, so naturally we stopped for another beer. While there, we saw a bride taking photos in a vintage car. The bartender explained that Japanese brides traditionally wear three outfits on their wedding day: a white ceremonial dress, one in their favorite color, and a kimono. Damn, that's a lot of outfit changes.
We continued on, cutting through a beautiful park, only to arrive at the Imperial Palace gates to learn it was closed. The approach was long, sun-exposed, and completely unforgiving—no shade, no trees. By that point, I was fully overheated and needed to sit down.
We walked back through another park, this one hosting a concert, and made our way to the train station. Dinner was at Sushi Dai, a highly recommended seafood spot where we snagged seats right at the sushi counter. It absolutely lived up to the hype. Evan was especially thrilled to try sea urchin, which he described as unbelievably creamy.
Having been awake since 4:30 a.m., we called it a night after dinner and headed back to the hotel. It was a long, hot, food-filled, first full day in Japan and we were officially all in.
