Today we enjoyed a sleep in until 9am and then headed off to explore Harajuka which is renowned for its colourful street scape. My goal was to go to Totti Candy Factory and get rainbow fairy floss the size of my head. Goal achieved!
We then walked further down Takeshita Street and spotted a miniature pig cafe with no wait times. Well. I’m not going to say no to tiny pig cuddles.
We walked a little further down in search of Kawaii (cute) Monster Cafe which is one of the many themed cafes they have in Japan. This is not a particularly cheap endeavour with a ¥500 cover charge and the requirement that each person orders one item of food and one drink….but it was awesome as an intro to these whacky cafes!
After lunch we caught a different metro line out to Ikebukuro and went in search of the Ikefukurou Owl Cafe which had positive reviews online in relation to animal treatment and care. I am not really a bird person the the owls made me nervous but B enjoyed giving them pats and one of them decided it really liked him.
My back has been sore on and off for a few day’s (the joys of a crap bed in Osaka combined with a debilitating medical issue) so we went in search of an onsen. I did my research online and discovered Manneyu Onsen in Shinjuku which was very well priced at ¥480 each and was tattoo friendly! This is pretty much unheard of in Japan where I have to cover my tattoos at all times in the baths I get away with bandages about 50% of the time and the other 50% I get asked to leave. They also included a towel in their pricing. I enjoyed a glorious 40 min soak in there with all the locals….naked of course. I have posted before about onsen etiquette but will do another one in a few days once we start using them daily in the snow.
I really, REALLY wanted to go to a local recommendation Champagne & Gyoza for dinner because it combines two of my favourite things and it was a 2 min walk from our hotel. Unfortunately it was closed due to being a Sunday. Instead, we walked a little bit further up to Akasaka Mendokoro Tomo which had the most amazing ramen. The pork was melt in your mouth delicious. They are very small so you use the vending machine to order, sit at the bench while they make it, eat quickly and then vacate. So good.
Steps today: 11500
Japanese food eaten: vending machine coffee and red bull, fairy floss, kawaii cafe themed crazy food, weird Japanese candy and pork ramen!
Mel's Travel Blog 
Loving the blogs Mel 😊
Thanks! Ian mentioned your guys are planning to come over next year. It’s pretty awesome 🙂