Tokyo, Japan (October 20, 2025)
You’d think after putting on several pounds on a week-long cruise through Greece, food would be the last thing on our minds. But, after nearly a full day’s travel from Athens, through Beijing and now in Tokyo, we wanted to begin our next eating adventure with our first ramen experience in Tokyo, Japan.
Elena putting up with my pictures in our first restaurant (of many)
Our hotel was a short Uber from the airport (only about 30 minutes) and we decided to skip the acquisition of Ninja Wifi at the airport. While we may regret that decision, we are totally in love with Airalo and it has worked everywhere we don’t have strong WiFi. This has all we need to use our Google Translate app to overcome language barriers and Apple Maps to get around via public transit. That’s saved us tons of money in the long run.
My new favorite app, however, is one Elena showed me that’s built in to every iPhone. The simple calculator app. Why? Because “hidden” at the bottom left-hand corner is a simple toggle switch that says “convert.” When you turn that on, you can see real-time monetary conversions so that you know your 2,950 yen worth of ramen and dumplings for your family is just $19.50. And everyone got precisely what they wanted not knowing what anything actually cost. Love it.
Elena prefers the Google Translate app to read labels of sauces
And ironically, the person who has been on their device the least since we’ve been in Japan is none other than Violet who simply is living in the moment like the zen master she is. Totally focused on each bite (slurp?) of noodles and each bowl of ramen she orders and enjoys.
Violet enjoying each bite of ramen — except when I’m taking photos
For our first full day in Tokyo, we let Violet lead the charge. She knew exactly the area she wanted to spend quality time in, plugged it into her phone for direction and we walked the 30 minutes from our hotel. It was a straight shot and the walk was like strolling through Disneyland with so many “themed” streets and groupings of restaurants that all seemed to be working together with each other.
But what stood out the most for me, were all the 100 to 300 yen (about 66 cent to $2) vending machine options that are everywhere you look. The most common that we saw everywhere comes from Bandai and it’s a random toy dispenser that looks like this:
Row upon row of 100 yen toy dispensers from Bandai
It’s like the old fashioned Cracker-Jacks toys but just the toys without the popcorn or peanuts. Sometimes it’s a plastic figure, other times it’s a blow up ball and other times it’s a sticker or bookmark. Everything is collectible and invariably there’s a few that are “rare” and hard to come by so you have to keep trying your luck to get them. It’s like early gambling for kids. That way, when they are older ..
What’s Pachinko you ask? It’s like a “live” slot machine with balls
When Violet and I saw some Re:Zero characters promoting Pachinko, we stepped inside to see what it was all about. To our surprise, it was essentially, a 5 story casino with anime-themed Pachinko machines.
One row of about 20 per floor times 5 floors … Las Vegas meet Tokyo!
But we still didn’t get it. Was it content? An anime short? A game? Or just straight up gambling? Was there skill involved? And, of course, there’s about as much skill as pulling the lever of the traditional slot machines in Las Vegas. No, it’s completely random. The noise and all the buttons give you some illusion of control, but it’s completely random as weighted balls drop from the top to the bottom.
But, we found the Re:Zero characters and took some pictures before moving on. Nice to know there’s a licensing deal where the creator is getting a cut of the Pachinko business in Tokyo. May not be huge, but this author deserves everything given how prolific his writing is and how much both my kids have fallen in love with his imaginary world.
Speaking of which, this is precisely what Violet came to see more of in figurine form, so we continued our exploration into the area of Tokyo with so many options to choose from.
Sooo many options to choose from; almost overwhelming. Almost.
This part of the journey reminded me of the New York City Toy Expo that’s held at the Javits Center each year. I’ve only been to this toy fair a couple of times, but walking with Violet I felt transported back with rows upon rows of toys all assembled and priced for collectors.
What really impressed me were all the artists who mashed up characters with their own imaginations. I don’t know how these fan creations work, but apparently they are legal and don’t violate any copyright laws in Japan as they were everywhere.
After much browsing and window shopping, Violet decided on a few Re:Zero characters to bring home with her:
Two main characters of Re: Zero (Subaru Natsuki & Emilia)
Our next stop in Japan will be an AirBnB in Atami, and Elena and I had discussed getting a large puzzle the three of us could work on together. Violet found the perfect one (so we bought this one too):
Re: Zero 1,000 Piece Puzzle to give the Carmody’s bonding focus
None of this may mean anything to you if you’ve never heard of Re: Zero (you can learn more about Re: Zero on Wikipedia and streaming on CrunchyRoll). What’s most important for me to share is that it’s what gave both my kids hope when they were feeling low and down. It’s also something they both wanted to share with me (starting with my oldest, Will, when he shared how much he could empathize with the main character, Subaru Natsuki).
This series gave my family a platform to talk about the more difficult conversations such as death, bullying, depression, and even the dangers of hero worshiping. We bonded together over how unlikable the main character was at the beginning and how he grew on you over time. He was humbled and his ego was shattered. No one likes being taken down a notch or two, but it was easy to relate and understand how being humbled can help us grow stronger.
Overall, a really great start to our Japan adventure. It’s been a good thirty years since I’ve been here. The last time I was here, my cousin Brent McLean, who I just recently stayed with in Geneva, Switzerland, when he was in High School and spoke fluent Japanese. As he was my tour guide, I didn’t much pay attention to where we were or how we got there. I just remember having a blast with him and his friends and enjoying staying with his host family (trying not to get him into too much trouble while I was staying with him).
Now I get to be goofy with my own family (and they don’t mind all that much … or at least, they are good sports about it).
