When I planned this 12 day trip to Japan, I didn’t set aside much time for Tokyo because I’m not a city person and Tokyo is the biggest city in the world. With a population of nearly 40 million, it’s about 5 times the size of New York City. I’m a country person, and when I go on vacation I like to camp out in some peaceful, rural place and draw and eat out and take walks until it’s time to go home.
But Milo wanted to see Tokyo, which is reasonable. He wanted to see the biggest city in the world. He wanted to traverse Shibuya Crossing, the busiest intersection in the world, along with the roughly 3,000 other pedestrians who cross the street there every time the light changes. He wanted to ride the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto and back. And we were in Japan to celebrate his birthday, so of course I obliged.
As predicted, I was overwhelmed by Tokyo, but I get why people love that city. It was not the gleaming ultra-modern metropolis I had expected. I mean, it totally was, but it also had beautiful trees, old houses, wildly disparate architecture, and things I never dreamt of all over the place.
I guess if it would take a lifetime to truly explore New York City, it would take five lifetimes to truly explore Tokyo. The idea that a place could be that unknowable is frankly unsettling to me. But also kind of cool and supernatural.
We only had two full days in Tokyo. Each day we did something great that we heartily recommend to you, especially if you are traveling with kids.
Soft Black Hole
On Wednesday we went to teamLab Planets, a collection of super immersive, interactive art installations housed in a single giant building. I was told to go to this by a lot of people but, being a snob and cynic, I thought it might be kind of dumb. It was not! It was fun and moving. I was often on the verge of tears.
Milo’s favorite installation was Soft Black Hole, a very dark room with a memory foam floor so deep and lumpy that you are forced to wade arduously through it. Everyone laughs when they take their first step into the room. You sink down until the floor is up to your waist. It’s so dark in there and so unexpected. And then you start your weird journey to the other side of the room, along with a bunch of laughing strangers from all over the world. We waded with grannies, kids, moms carrying babies. I was laughing so hard and also trying not to cry.
TeamLab was very crowded and everyone had their phone out - taking selfies, posting them on Instagram - including me. Somehow I didn’t mind that. It didn’t feel too cheap. I liked that everyone around me was having an experience so transcendent that they couldn’t not document it. There’s obviously lots to unpack when it comes to that, and I do think we’d mostly be better off if we all chucked our phones into the ocean, but in the meantime we’re only human.
By the way, you move through all the exhibits barefoot. It felt good, and now I think we should always be leaving our shoes and socks at the doors of museums and galleries.
Hail Hayao Miyazaki!
On Thursday we went to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. It was worth the harrowing trip there via transit. I allowed myself an extra hour to navigate Tokyo’s byzantine subway system and I needed it.
Milo will tell you that this museum was his favorite part of the trip. I saw one of the best animated shorts I’ve ever seen in the museum theater. It was called House Hunting. There was also a “Reading Room” full of Japanese kid’s books where I could’ve spent an entire day.
You need to buy tickets well in advance to visit the Ghibli museum and it can be hard for international visitors to get them. We had luck going through Viator.
Home
After a few days in Tokyo I was tired and homesick, ready to be reunited with the other half of my nuclear family. Now we’re home, back on the farm. Colin got a haircut and has a cute mustache. I thought I’d miss the magnolia blooming but it’s just getting started.
A few final notes on Japan:
Everything was beautiful and thoughtful. I can’t stop thinking about the single flower floating in the container of water at Saiun-do.
I could’ve spent a week in Nara. I want to go back to Japan and walk the Nakasendo Trail.
Stylish Japanese people are the most stylish people.
I have never felt so safe traveling in another country. People were generally very nice. Old people were especially kind to Milo. Today he told me that an old lady who was about his height helped him get his bag up the steps of a train station while I was busy wrestling with my own luggage.
If you want to take an epic trip with your kid, go on their tenth birthday. This seems to be a golden age for kids and parents traveling together.
Last But Not Least
Here are a few good things I bought in Japan:
ありがとうございます
That says arigatogozaimasu. The u is silent and it means thank you. I said it more than anything else in Japan. I said it a thousand times a day.
Arigatogozaimasu to all the people who helped me plan this trip: Cheyenne, Jacob, Storm, Yoko.
Arigatogozaimasu to my kid for being a great traveling companion, even if he did only eat yogurt, donuts, salmon nigiri, and McDonalds.
Arigatogozaimasu to the many people in Japan who were kind to us.
Arigatogozaimasu, wherever you are, to the tiny old lady who helped Milo lug his suitcase up the train station steps.
Arigatogozaimasu to you for following along.
Carson
Thank you for the comment about 10 year olds and travel. My sister just turned 10, and I am part of her village of adults helping to raise her. I'll have to think on what sort of trips she might enjoy.
oh, this is so lovely, I cried. <3