Day 12 (Tokyo)

On the penultimate day in Tokyo, our goal was the largest anime store in the world.

We took the not-so-crowded train to Ikebukuro, and upon arrival, we found ourselves in a huge crowd. The store, Animate, had recently opened and was therefore packed. We couldn't really explore the store because there was a huge line spanning across multiple floors. However, there was a temporary exhibition on the top floor featuring a current anime. It had an entrance fee, but it showcased not only costumes and recreated rooms from the anime, but also storyboards and sketches from the anime's production. It was incredibly interesting and showed us how much work goes into creating an anime. Each individual frame has to be drawn, sometimes thousands of times.

Afterwards, we explored the area and saw a restaurant that not only offered pufferfish but also showcased them alive in an aquarium at the entrance. However, the risk was too high for us, so we ate delicious meat on rice at a nearby restaurant instead.

Then, we took the train to Shinjuku, where the largest arcade hall in the world is located. The store itself wasn't really impressive, but in a nearby store, there was a machine where you had to cut the rope that holds the prize with a blade. You had to release the button at the right moment to hit the rope. Either luck was on my side, or I seemed to be talented at this game, because I managed to do it differently from Nico right on the first try and won another stuffed animal. Since it hadn't rained until then, we wanted to go to a nearby park and take advantage of the opportunity. But when we arrived, we faced something incredible. To enter the public park, you needed to make a reservation in advance! That truly left me speechless. A reservation for a public park? As funny as it was, I was also annoyed. Stubborn as I am, I didn't want to give up and we went to the next park. However, it was closed due to a police operation and would soon close completely, so I gave up and sat down with Nico to enjoy the muffins we bought from a small bakery on the way.

Shortly after we set off again, it started raining. Fortunately, we had learned that it can rain quickly in Tokyo and had our umbrella with us, so we made it to the train station dry.

In the evening, we didn't feel like walking far in the rain, so we ate at the restaurant across the street again. Nico discovered that he could have free rice refills, and from that moment on, that restaurant became his favorite.