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Theresa O’Connor / Treasa Ní Chonchúir

Five nights in 東京 (Tōkyō)

Part of our Spring 2025 trip to Japan

The last leg of our trip—five nights in Tokyo, staying in an apartment in 要町（Kanamechō）, near 池袋（Ikebukuro）—came next.

Several cherry trees overhang a fence along a street.
A woman and a girl look up at blossoming cherry trees, which overhang a fance and the sidewalk the two stand on.

The first night, a Saturday, we went out for dinner at 大戸屋（Ootoya）, a family-friendly restaurant chain, with the Smiths and with Robin, who just happened to be in town. It was great to catch up. Robin’s not around W3C these days, so we don’t get to see each other all that often.

Three middle-aged adults, all in black t-shirts, pose for a selfie together. All are going gray.

After dinner, the Smiths headed home while Robin, Eryn, EJ, and I headed out for a nightcap at どん浴（Donyoku）, a kid-friendly spot in 新宿二丁目（Shinjuku Ni-chōme）—Tokyo's gayborhood. It’s owned by Satoko, my friend Mamiko’s partner. Erin had a chocolate banana crepe that looked like a fish.

A crepe topped with banana slices and chocolate sauce has been folded and arranged to look like a fish.

We had breakfast the next morning at Global Ring Café near 池袋駅（Ikebukuro Station） before meeting up with the Smiths at 井之頭弁財天（Inokashira Benzaiten）—a small temple inside 井の頭恩賜公園（Inokashira Park）—for .

A large branch of a blooming cherry tree sticks out over a body of water.
A curved Japanese footbridge spans a tranquil body of water. On both banks, several cherry trees are in bloom.
Three cherry blossoms sprout from the trunk of a tree.
A child poses on a pedesrian bridge. Behind the bridge is a very large, blooming cherry tree.
Mike looks up at the blossoms of a cherry tree.
Four white cherry blossoms bloom on the branch of a cherry tree.

We ended up spending a bunch of time at the nearby 井の頭自然文化園（Inokashira Park Zoo）.

Two children sit, each in a half of a large, stone eggshell.
Four large, brown mammals stand around ina zoo enclosure. They appear to be some kind of rodent.
Patagonian mara
Two monkeys sit on a climbing structure in a zoo enclosure. Beyond them, several cherry trees are blooming.
A monkey sits on a climbing structure in a zoo enclosure. Beyond it, several cherry trees are blooming.
Three children pose for a photo at a sign for Inokashira Park Zoo. The sign has holes in it at various animal faces, and the children’s faces are visible in the holes, so the children appear to be various zoo animals.
Two children pose for a photo at a sign for Inokashira Park Zoo. The sign has holes in it at various animal faces, and the children’s faces are visible in the holes, so the children appear to be various zoo animals.
Two children pose for a photo at a sign for Inokashira Park Zoo. The sign has holes in it at various animal faces, and the children’s faces are visible in the holes, so the children appear to be various zoo animals.
A child poses for a photo at a sign for Inokashira Park Zoo. The sign has holes in it at various animal faces, and the child’s face is visible in one of the holes, so the child appears to be a zoo animal.

That night the three of us had a lot of trouble deciding what to do for dinner. Fortunately, we came across this adorable little Taiwanese dumpling spot, 線條手打餃子専門店（Senjo Handmade Gyoza Shop）, where we ate many colorful dumplings with all sorts of different fillings.

Many colorful dumplings are arrayed on a plate.

We had a lazy morning the third day, which all three of us desperately needed. We started the day at Coffee Valley in Ikebukuro, and eventually made our way down to 渋谷（Shibuya）, where we saw the statue of ハチ公（Hachikō）, crossed the scramble, and had souflée pancakes at FLIPPER’S for lunch.

Three kiseki (souflée) pancakes sit on a plate. a large dollop of cream sits on the one in the center. All three have powdered sugar on them, and the plate has a dozen strawberries artfully arrayed around and on the pancakes.

Afterwards we wandered through 代々木公園（Yoyogi Park） and got to see so many people enjoying 花見（hanami）.

In a park full of cherry trees, many people sit in various groups.

We shopped at KIDDY LAND in 原宿（Harajuku）—we each picked up souvenirs—and Eryn found an 帯（obi） for her 浴衣 (yukata) at Chicago (the thrift store where she got the yukata two years ago).

That night, Mike and Nao had Erin over for dinner while Eryn and I had a lovely date night at 和膳処やまいち（Wazendocoro Yamaichi）, a wonderful restaurant in their neighborhood. The proprietor took very good care of us over the six course meal.

A seaweed salad sits in a small bowl that has been made to look like an oyster shell. A tray has a half a dozen plates and bowls on it, each holding a different bit of food. There are some pieces of fish, some vegetables, and a number of harder-to-identify bits of food. A piece of salmon sits in a bowl of miso soup. There is a tidy pile of green onion slices atop it. Several pieces of sashimi sit on a plate. There is also a pair of chopsticks and a small bowl for dipping. On a plate shaped like a leaf sit a bunch of veggie and fish tempura. A bowl of egg-and-noodle soup appears to have some kind of meat in it. Two women sit close together and are smiling at the camera.

Fiona, Erin’s best friend at school, also visited Tokyo with her family for spring break. We met up with them one day at Ueno Station and went on a rain-soaked adventure.

Reunited
Two children stand on a sidewalk. Each is holding an umbrella.
Three children are in a curved hallway. Two of them are running away from the camera; the third has stopped and turned to face it.
Running through a train station

We quickly determined that it was raining too hard to get up to much in the park, and that we were all hungry. After lunch at a nearby Ootoya, we visited 浅草（Asakusa） to see 浅草寺（Sensō-ji）. We posed for photos at the 雷門（Kaminarimon） gate, bought the kids treats along 仲見世通り（Nakamise-dōri） and entered the temple grounds through the 宝蔵門（Hōzōmon）. By this point we were all soaking, despite the heroic efforts of our umbrellas. We went to Tokyo Skytree to try to see the city from above, but were waved off of buying tickets because the view was almost totally obscured by clouds.

A multi-tiered Asian pagoda is visible behind the branches of a cherry tree.
A selfie of a woman standing in front of a large, modern tower. The tower is lit up with pink, blue, and white lights. The woman has a neutral expression and shoulder-length gray hair.

Instead we visited すみだ水族館（Sumida Aquarium）, conveniently located in the same building.

A jellyfish floats in blue water. The jellyfish has been lit up with pink light, so it appears to glow pink. It has many tendrils drifting in the water below and around it. A sea turtle swims in an enclosue within an aquarium. A close-up of the sea turtle visible in the previous photo. Several penguins stand on some rocks next to a pool of water. A penguin swims in a large aquarium tank.

We had ramen for dinner and then went our separate ways.

Two children are being very goofy at a table in a restaurant. Behind them, the white wall has a bunch of red text on it.

We set off late the next morning to meet the Smiths at the Tokyo Toy Museum, housed in an old elementary school. On the way there we stopped for coffee at All Seasons Coffee in 新宿二丁目（Shinjuku Ni-chōme）, and Erin had her first bento box in Japan, from 花園弁当（Hanazono Bento）.

A child in a lavender coat plays with a kendama, a traditional Japanese toy.
Playing with a kendama at the toy museum

Afterwards we wandered through 新宿御苑（Shinjuku Gyoen）, visiting the greenhouse and taking many more cherry blossom photos.

A cluster of cherry blossoms is in the foreground. A skyscraper is visible in the background.
Docomo Tower from Shinjuku Gyouen

I made a brief stop at Selection to buy a Hanshin Tigers hat, and then we had one last meal with the Smiths–pizza, per Erin’s request.

A group of adults and children pose for a photo outside of a restaurant. The restaurant has a bright sign which reads 「パスタとピザの店」 and “Miami Garden”. Several people are posing for a photo in front of a restaurant, but just as the photo was taken, a man in a suit rode by on a bicycle, obscuring the group of people.
  1. L–R: Eryn, Mike, Mila, Nao (top row); Tess, Erin, Zen, Mui (bottom row)
  2. What great timing! This guy rode by on his bike at precisely the right moment to ruin the shot.
Cherry blossoms in Ikebukuro
Wandering around in Shinjuku

Our penultimate day was chill. We had a somewhat lazy morning, and we had to do some laundry, so we didn’t get coffee until lunch time. It turns out there’s a second All Seasons Coffee right in 要町（Kanamechō）, just a few minutes walk where we were staying. After coffee and finishing our laundry, we had お好み焼き（okonomiyaki） for lunch at ぼてぢゅう（botejyuu）, a restaurant in the upper levels of the Tobu department store. Eryn had been looking forward to okonomiyaki all trip, and it didn’t disappoint.

A cast-iron pan has okonomiyaki in it. The pancake is covered in sliced green onion. A metal spatula is tucked underneath it.

Then Eryn took EJ to the Pokémon Center while I ran an errand in Shinjuku. We met back up and visited Coffee Valley again before going out for スープカレー（soup curry） at SHANTi for dinner. I try to have a bowl at least once a visit, ever since first trying it in 2015—I don’t know of any restaurant in the Bay Area that serves it. I should probably have ordered it a bit less spicy this time.

Our last day was very simple. We packed up, checked out, and had lunch with Karl somewhere along 地蔵通り（Jizō-dōri） in 巣鴨（Sugamo）. Then we caught our train back to the airport.

Goodbye, Japan!
Two women and a child pose in front of a cherry tree. They’re all smiling.

Thanks for all the memories, everybody. じゃあ、ね。●