Ginza, Glasses, and Gyoza

Time flys when you're having fun and man, how we've been having fun! I can't believe it's been nearly a week and we haven't updated you. It feels like we've been running around with our heads chopped off so sorry in advance for this post... it'll be a long one. We have so much to tell you!

Where do I start? After taking the weekend to rest, we got right back into Wilderness Explorer mode. As a wise, pudgy little boy once said, Adventure is out there! We started our endeavor back in Akihabara as I had to pick up my glasses from a few days earlier. We got there a bit early so we decided to wander around. Stopping to experience art exhibits, cat cafes, and vintage camera stores.

When we got to the glasses store, Calvin tried on a pair and fell in love with them immediately. I pushed him to get some since he works quite a bit on his computer and blue light can be an irritant after a while. I think he looks absolutely adorable. What do you think?

After all our walking, you can guess how tired we were. We luckily had another day at our AirBNB to clean up and pack but it went by quickly. Here's the little note we left our AirBNB host as we continued our travels onward to downtown Tokyo.

Once we left our quaint AirBNB, it was time to move onto the city life. We had been staying in a quieter part of town but now we were heading to the heart of Tokyo. But first... to the salon! We left our AirBNB at 8am to get to Assort by 10am. I know, I know. What else could they be doing? They were literally just there! Well, I had been craving some curls and decided to get a digital perm and I absolutely love it! It stripped a bit of my color out of the left side but I am loving the volume. Thank you again, Wataru!

By the time we were finished, Calvin and I were starving. Luckily for us, our new hotel was right down the street from one of our favorite restaurants: Din Tai Fung. At one point the chain did have a Michelin star so we highly recommend you make the trek out to one of the locations. You'll find them all on the west coast in America but apparently all over Asia as well.

Din Tai Fung, or as we call it admiringly DTF, is known for it's Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings). They freeze gelatin inside the bao so when it is cooked, the gelatin melts and become a warm and delicious soup. One of the first restaurants I took Calvin to when we went to Las Vegas for the first time was DTF. To say it changed his life would be an understatement. Now he likes to go to different locations without me and rub it in my face. Rude.

DTF was located at the bottom level of a pretty snazzy mall. Some of the stores included Hermes, Yves Saint Laurent, and Chanel. But the best part of the mall was actually the Pokemon Center on the 5th floor. At least in my humble opinion it was the best part. I've been super obsessed with Pokopia, a new cozy game on the Nintendo Switch 2, for the past couple of weeks. I was hoping to get something to commemorate that in a physical little trinket but I was unable to find anything to my liking. I would've gotten this Mosslax (moss covered Snorlax) but he was too big to fit into our luggage. Sad day.

My final errand of the day was to take a train to Shinjuku and get a fresh new manicure. I usually go with French tips but thought Oh why not do something fun! I'm in Tokyo so let me get what the local fashion girlies get. My manicurist did not disappoint! I got the must fun nails EVER! She even put a little Kirby to match my tattoo. How sweet!

The next day was Calvin's day. We ventured out to Ginza, another fashion district of Tokyo, to find Calvin a new outfit. We had mostly brought comfy clothes to travel in and lacking something with style. Ginza is only a short train ride away which was super nice. We were used to 30, 40 minute train rides and this one was just 10!

We woke up pretty early and didn't really have that big of a breakfast so we made it our mission to get lunch immediately. Calvin chose this Chinese place that had some pretty high reviews right by the station. We had gyoza, pan fried noodles, and spicy fried rice. I will only be sharing photos of the gyoza because Calvin said it gave DTF a run for it's money. Blasphemous! But he's also not incorrect.

After our scrumptious lunch, we explored Ginza. Half looking for a shirt for Calvin and half searching for fun gifts for Maddie, Calvin's sister. We stopped at Chrome Hearts first to look for something for Maddie. There was a huge line to get in but it was worth it. One of the seven floors was a museum / art exhibit which was different from any other Chrome Hearts store we had been to. Unfortunately, we didn't find anything for Maddie at this location but theres still many other Chrome Hearts stores in Japan to get to. This was only the beginning.

Every block in Ginza was filled with fashion. Whether it was the basics of Uniqlo or the luxury of Dover Street Market, style surrounded us. We were bound to find something for Calvin so, we stopped at Barney's. By the time we had gotten there my feet hurt and I was craving a sweet treat. Luckily, while Calvin shopped I was able to satiate myself with one of Barney's famous cheese cake slices. And let me tell you, that cheese cake deserves to be famous! I can't even put into words how delectable it was.

Calvin found a shirt he liked (he's saving it to show you later) but the pair of sneakers he wanted didn't come in his size. The downfalls of being an American in Japan is that his big feet can't seem to fit in anything. The sneaker company is called Maison Mihara Yasuhiro, a local Japanese designer that had their flagship store in Harajuku. A little bit of a hike but a store I wanted to visit was right there too so we decided to head over and check them both out.

When we got to Harajuku, the store was packed. Calvin found a bunch of options he loved but again, none of them came in his size. Barney's had up to a size 41 and MMY Harajuku had 43. Calvin would probably have been fine with a 44 or 45. It's a shame but am I allowed to call him big foot now? As a term of endearment, obviously.

Now it was my turn to shop! I adore A Bathing Ape (Bape) and hadn't been to one in years. The last time I was in Japan I bought a Baby Milo diaper bag. You're probably wondering why on earth did she get a diaper bag? And it's quite simple... it was pink and super kawaii (cute)! I didn't care that it was made for babies, it was the perfect size for a personal item amidst my carry-on. Anyways, I walked in and walked out of Bape Harajuku. I found what I needed in 2 minutes tops! I purchased this super cute cropped hoodie (cropped or children's size, who's to say) with their signature camo design. My first apparel item and I couldn't be happier.

Well now you're caught up with us! The next couple of days we'll be heading off to Jeju Island to meet up with my Mom and Marky. Talk soon.

Love you!

Hannah and Calvin