Tokyo, Japan; Day 4

We had a slowish start this morning after our intense Karaoke session last night. Our weather remains sunny and temperate so we stopped by a park to enjoy the beautiful fall day. We went to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.

Established as a park in 1906, it was originally built as a garden for the Imperial family and is considered one of the few masterpieces of landscape gardens in Japan.

After walking the park for a while, everyone was ready for lunch. We didn’t have a plan but our feet and google found a hole-in-the-wall but fantastic soba noodle shop near the park. As usual, we remembered to grab a photo after the food was consumed so you’ll have to just trust us.

Then it was a subway to our first city bus to our afternoon adventure – TeamLabs Planets. We weren’t terribly surprised when this art museum asked us to take off our shoes, it is Japan after all. But when they also told us to take off our socks and roll up our pants, we knew this was going to be a different kind of experience.

Each installation was not just things to look at, but something to experience. We took our time and enjoyed the wonder. As with lots of these kind of places, the pictures cannot do justice to the reality.

We took our time getting back to the house, a little playground time (kids still aren’t too old but the time they spend gets shorter)

We got the kids some ice cream and took the train back to our Shinjuku neighborhood. The were tired and wanted a stay in dinner, adults wanted to go out so we got everyone what they wanted. Some 7-11 dinner provisions and devices for the kids made them happy. Five minutes walk brought Brian, Tiffany and Jessica to a tiny place on the river called Harumi.

The food, sake and conversation were fantastic, we would go back anytime. The avocado appetizer was especially a delight. Photo credit to the owner, we of course didn’t take our own photos.

After dinner we were in search of some whiskey and on our third attempt found a charming place upstairs. It was small and dark, filled with the sounds of great jazz and offering a selection of great whiskey.

The barkeep was attentive, helpful and a little eccentric. He didn’t speak much English and was no doubt wondering where we’d come from. But the drinks were a pleasure and the conversation remained outstanding. Both adults and kids thought things ended too soon but were thankful for the time together.

Speaking of being thankful – Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We are so grateful we can travel and have these experiences. We’re thankful for our families and the support and love we receive. And we’re thankful to all our readers who share these Adventures with us.