TeamLAB Planets was an interactive museum with jaw-dropping technology. We walked up a flowing waterfall, fell into a room lined with body-conforming cushions, got lost in a maze of LED curtains, waded in a colorful koi pond, laid beneath a universe of falling flower petals, gazed at giant color-changing orbs, stumbled into a garden that seemed to be filled with eggs from outer space, and sat amongst thousands of drifting orchid plants. Photos and words can’t fully describe the experience, so you’ll have to just go check it out yourself 😉
Tokyo
Ascended the Tokyo tower at night, ate matcha soft serve in a black sesame cone & strawberry soft serve in a salt cone, squinted at the infamous SkyTree in all of it’s 634 meters of glory, walked around (the outside of) the Imperial Palace at sunset, had a taste of Pachinko, bought anko taiyaki in Shibuya, shopped in a MUJI with SIX floors and an entire produce section, and carefully ate the best takoyaki I’ve had to date. #okachimachi
Tokyo —> Sendai
Split a banana cake on the Shinkansen ride to Sendai, sat down to brunch at my favorite Portland-inspired (I think) cafe, and slurped soup dumplings and ramen with my sweet friends at Din Tai Fung.
October 29th🎂
A birthday in Matsushima! Matching riolu rings, a stroll through island gardens in perfect weather, zunda and soda flavored ice cream as the sun went down, illuminated umbrellas for a reason in which I did not understand, the freshest of fresh sushi for dinner, and vending machine coffees to warm our hands as we walked back to the train station.
Yamadera
Met at a bakery for croissants and a sandwich to eat on the train to Yamadera. Photos: a jaw dropping view following a 1,015 step climb, an explosive, yet refreshing Ramune soda, a filling lunch of puzzling flavors and textures, grapes that were just okay, and local shop browsing to escape a temporary drizzle. I’m not a huge fan of chestnut rice. Once we returned to Sendai, we took a walk through my favorite park (ten points if you can remember the name without looking at any of my previous posts), enjoyed the wonders of a fruit sandwich as sun went down, did a little thrift shopping at 2nd Street, and went to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant for dinner (again lol). What a wonderful day 🙂
One Last Dinner
The shabu shabu restaurant was recommended by a friend and it was completely worth it. After the initial order, we had about an hour and a half to order whatever we wanted and toss it in the boiling broth in between us. Each ingredient was delivered via robot (of course) except for the meat. With about 16 minutes left on the clock, we ordered a chestnut dessert and a dish of ice cream. Make that two. I should have taken more photos.
Hugging someone you love after 7 months of loooong distance? One of the best feelings in the world.
