So it’s Day 4 here in Japan on our no-kids holiday and we have been really enjoying ourselves (though missing the kids every now and again). Just checking in with a few little thoughts:
1. It’s ok to not have a plan.
Between my husband and I, I’m the Type A person who wants to feel like everything is under control. I also always seem like I’m in a perpetual rush. This is our first only-two-of-us holiday where I have caved, followed my husband’s very easy-going, chillaxed style of traveling and only printed out 2 sheets of a very rough skeleton of a plan. How’s everything going so far? Awesome! We have been sleeping in some days and I don’t get annoyed because I don’t feel like I’m not ticking specific things off my list at specific times. I even spent 3 hours in a hair salon doing my hair and another 3 hours on another day doing my nails. The people at the salon were worried about how long it was taking because they thought we would want to spend time exploring as we were tourists but we reassured them that our main aim this time was really just to relax. (My husband sat next to me for all those 6 hours. In fact, he was the one who suggested the little treat!)
Sometimes, we wander around and just decide on a whim to visit an attraction we never knew about. Today, we were on our way to an event but made a detour when we saw the Sony Building which allows you to have a tour of all their latest releases. Pretty rad!!
This is the future of personal entertainment. We were stuck for ages watching The Amazing Spiderman. Such impressive technology!
2. We have been visiting lots of museums. I absolutely love museums, they are a complete feast for the senses. I can spend hours on end there. I never thought my husband would be interested but maybe it’s something new that I’m learning about him. He’s been taking so many photos of architecture, museums and all the arty stuff.
View of Tokyo Tower from Mori Art Museum
Thanks to our adventurous wanderings, we also bumped into a special Pokemon event (long lines of parents and children waiting for 2 hours or more) and these people were making special Pokemon food art
3. My husband has been snacking on lots of chicken nuggets in between meals on our trip so far. I said I never knew he liked nuggets so much. He said it’s because he never gets to have them as I ban him from stealing the kids’ nuggets back home and all he ends up getting is a pathetic half biteful that the baby doesn’t want. Talk about still learning new (ok, trivial) things about your partner!
4. Not sure why but every time we give up our train seats to people who appear to need it more, they always seem extremely reluctant to accept it (although they are extremely thankful and polite). I’m amused.
5. The toilets are so cool. I’m fascinated by the water/river sound that plays when you do your business. Apparently, it’s so that you don’t feel embarrassed by your wee-ing noises.
6. We got to watch a geisha dance. Very interesting experience.
Traditional Geisha dance hosted by a hostel we attended
7. Hanging around in hostels, surrounded by 20 year olds make you feel… very old. Although the atmosphere is pretty awesome.
8. Again, I’m totally enjoying not having a plan while travelling! There’s a first for everything ;)
View of Tokyo Central Station + sneak peek of my new hair (I was a bit unsure about how light they dyed my hair but it’s a popular Japanese style + we had trouble pointing, gesturing and describing. But overall, my husband thinks it’s cool and I was up for some spontaneity and change :)
If you have any recommendations, do let me know x
