Shibuya - Momiji

Being One with the Art

September 28, 2025 / Thomas De Lora / Honshu, Japan, Shibuya, teamLab Planets, Tokyo

How to describe teamLab Planets… An immersive experience involving light, water and sound is a start. It has various themed areas, including a water garden and immersive installations where the art continuously changes and interacts with the visitors. There were large groups when we arrived however the team there has a great system and we never felt crowded. Some may find it overwhelming, many interactions and changes, we found ourselves lingering longer than expected. Distracted, I did not take as many pictures as I normally would. No matter, my efforts would not do not do it justice, look at the web site link to get a better idea.

The entrance where you walk up a waterfall. This serves a purpose beyond art, you go barefoot in this section and the water here contains cleansers thus giving everyone a quick footbath.

Trying to catch fish... — Trying to catch fish…

This is where Rover from the TV show "The Prisoner" was bred. — This is where Rover from the TV show “The Prisoner” was bred.

In the Catching and Collecting Forest you search out extinct species and using an app you capture them, learn about them then release them.

After the labs we headed back to the neighborhood near the hotel for a bite, we slept in a little and had not had anything to eat. Looking to try a new place we found Shibuya Gourmet Ai (渋谷グルメ阿井) which specializes in Japanese horse meat (basashi) steak and other meat dishes. Horse is on the lean side and tasty. This is actually the third time I have had it since we arrived, Kim is sticking to more traditional meats. A counter-seating-only, let ladies who took care of us were very nice and we recommend it.

This was our last night in Tokyo for this part of the trip, we will be back later. After packing we headed out to join the crowds in Shibuya on a Friday night ending the evening with Yas at Freaky. Like Shibuya Gourmet Ai, Freaky is an intimate place in the Okushibu area of Shibuya and we had a great time there. Recommended.

Anniversary Day

September 26, 2025 / Thomas De Lora / Honshu, Japan, Shibuya, Tokyo

We scheduled this trip to overlap with our 37th wedding anniversary giving us a chance to do something different to celebrate. We also planned it to be a slower day, well that happened. A little. After a while I got restless and decided to journey over to Shimokitazawa, a few stops away on the metro known for cafes, vintage shops and music at night. Arriving in the early afternoon to a place that is known for nightlife, it was still waking up.

I did peruse several vintage shops in the area, there was many interesting items, but nothing I felt I could not get at home so I ultimately passed.

For our anniversary we asked for a local guide to take us around and Inside Japan sent Jeff Garrish a web designer who does guided tours on the side. He took us to Takinoya, an Izakaya near the hotel. Going to an Izakaya is like going to a Tapas bar, drinks are served and the food portions are small. Takinoya had some tasty food and Jeff was good at getting us to try different things.

Izakaya Takinoya. And yes, I did ask permission to take the picture.

After the meal we walked off the food a bit and ended up at Freaky another local establishment run by cool Yas. More drinks, back to the Salaryman life for a short time. On the bar was a bottle of Habushu (ハブ酒), a liqueur from Okinawa. Also known as Okinawan snake wine, it is a rice wine with herbs and honey added. And a viper snake.After aging the venom is dissolved and is safe to drink. Of course I had to try some. Kim was not happy but had a sip, said it was sweet like honey. I did not find it sweet but found the favor rather pleasant. Jeff did not join in, said he had body memories of this drink from when he was young. I know that feeling. Thanks Jeff for the great guidance and company.

Happy Anniversary, honey! Thank you for your love, and patience!

Sunday Walkabout

September 22, 2025 / Thomas De Lora / Honshu, Japan, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Tokyo

Today was the first part of our tour created by Inside Japan. We gave ourselves plenty of time on this trip so we did not feel rushed. This also gives us some flexibility to move self guided excursions to other days, so we reduced todays 3 stops to the two that had limited availability time or a guide attached.

The Farmers Market at UN University only occurs on weekends and was our first stop of the day. There are 40 or so stalls with fresh farm goods, hand made products and snacks/drinks. Nice to have access to some local flair.

A Horse Meat food truck. Horse meat is graded Win, Place and Show vs Prime, Choice and Select.

They even had rescue animals, some very cute. As tempting as several were we did not get one.

After the market we walked back to the hotel via a very busy Shibuya.

Shibuya Station — Heading to Shibuya via the Shibuya Train Station

We made a stop at one of the few remaining Tower Records in the world, I was more awake (less jet lag) than at my first visit. Seven stories of music, what a place, full of music and life. I really miss stores like these.

Vinyl Record section — We headed for the vinyl record section

New vinyl from old musicians. — New vinyl from old musicians

After resting a bit I was off for a night photography shoot with Charles Elliott from eyexplore. Originally from Melbourne, Charles (and family) have lived in Japan for many years now giving him plenty of time to know the lay of the land and what adjustments to make in a dynamic situation. He moved me around quite well, I thought we had gone much farther but we only moved in a small area. Seemed larger at the time… Charles was quite fun to work with, we had several laughs together. Thanks, Charles for the advice, patience and great time!