Last days in Japan: Tokyo

Today we explore the old town of Narai. It's not big, but the houses are very well preserved, the streets are wide, and there are many shops with souvenirs and food.

In the late morning, we take the train to Tokyo - the rural life is over. We realize this at the latest when we have to change trains in Shinjuku. Well, as Swiss people in Japanese cities, we are a bit out of our depth, but now we're really coming from the smallest villages. We are a bit overwhelmed, although we knew what to expect.

But this time we have a hotel in a rather quiet neighborhood in Tokyo, which suits us just fine.

The first evening is already planned with a pedicure (yes, you have to treat yourself sometimes) and eating gyoza at a restaurant we discovered during our last visit. Unfortunately, we have to wait in line for the latter and because we didn't understand the new system, we had to wait for quite a long time: we waited for 1 hour until we could order the beloved dumplings. It was worth it!

For the next day, we managed to get tickets for the teamLab Borderless Museum. The full name is: Mori Building Digital Art Museum Epson teamLab Borderless... At least it's clear that it's about digital art. Video artworks or digital art are projected in various rooms, which are often interactive. Visitors can influence the artworks. There is no set route and some of the rooms are quite hidden. The artworks are not fixed, but often move to other rooms, hence the name "borderless".

We are absolutely thrilled by the museum, we have never seen anything like it. Since it is very, very popular, it is advisable to take the recommended visiting time to heart (unlike us), otherwise you will have to wait in line, wait in line, wait in line. You probably have to do that anyway, but we waited for 45 minutes just to enter. For some rooms, you also have to wait for another 40-50 minutes... So either bring a lot of time and patience or be smarter than us. However, we would not want to miss the visit. Here are some impressions of the rooms.

In the evening, we booked a food tour through Ueno. Needless to say, besides the fantastic food, we also drank quite a bit...

But it's not just any day: since the emperor abdicated today, a new era begins at midnight! This is celebrated in a big way and we are right in the middle of it. However, we have to realize that most Japanese people prefer to go out and celebrate rather than open their bars - so we have no choice but to toast to the new emperor in an English pub. Let's not think about tomorrow!