Today’s itinerary is very full…let’s keep up gentle reader. The day started at the Tsukiji Fish Market, a very Seattle Pike’s Market kind of place without people throwing fish to each other. The market was filled with sushi stands, Wagyu beef yakitori stands, restaurants, shops and all manner of ways to spend your yen. Rusty and I tried some fresh sushi (and a few other delicacies) a bit challenging at 9AM but delicious regardless. The fatty tune (Toro) was exceptional. The indoor part of the market was more seafood retail oriented and hosted lots of odd sea creatures for sale. The trio through the market was as much a marine biology lesson as a retail expedition.
A quick trip back to the hotel to cool off before the next activity (the unrelenting heat and humidity is exhausting), a trip to the Harry Potter cafe at the Akasaka station. Fun themed drinks and food in a themed atmosphere. Seven out of ten on the themed rating scale. Also, Yosiell’s second birthday cake, a Hedwig the Owl cake! If you know you’ll be in the area, make a reservation and go but otherwise not my favorite activity. A portion of the train station is also decorated beyond belief because the exit leads to the theatre playing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
From Asaka off to Team Lab Borderless immersive experience. We arrived very early for this activity, and in one of those serendipitous Tokyo moments, stumbled upon the Tokahata Isao exhibit. For those unfamiliar (as I was) he was a pioneer in the Japanese animation game from the 1960’s on. His movies include Pom Poko, My Neighbors the Yamadas, Grave of the Fireflies, and the Tale of Princess Kaguya. Before this exhibit I never had an appreciation of Japanese animation. Now, I’d really like to see the movies of Takahata Isao . My favorite part of the museum was seeing how animation had developed from the early years until his death. The movie styles evolved from hyper-realism and detail oriented to a more impressionistic form with precise line drawings before his death in 2018. I’m sure I’m butchering most of the facts, but since when has this blog been overly concerned with facts, gentle reader. Accurate or not the exhibit was stellar and the artwork was amazing.
Now the main event, the Team Lab Borderless Exhibit - The word amazing does not do justice to our experience in this venue. Each room, of which there were many, was a surprise and delight to the senses in this visual feast. Some of the visuals reacted to the presence of the person (i.e streaming lines on the floor following people around, flying birds on the wall exploding into a flower upon hitting someone that is sitting). One room took children’s drawings from those in the room and animated them on the walls. An experience of media that I won’t soon forget.
So much fun. Just a full multi-room experience.
We then went to a pop mart and waited 45 minutes in line to purchase blind boxes of figures, a huge thing in Tokyo. I only mention this because this large display figure posted has a Keith Herring theme and I thought it too cool not to mention.
I liked this Molly display piece because the theme is Keith Herring...I bought a blind box hoping for the Keith Herring Molly but got an equally cute one.
After a really good Korean meal, I collapsed and fell asleep. Checking the apple watch, we walked over 7 miles on this day…and amazingly, most of the day was spent underground in train stations and multi storied stores attached to the malls. Tomorrow? The SHINKANSEN bullet train to Kyoto. (Shinkansen should be said with all the gravitas you can muster - about the level of Iron Chef announcer).
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