Tokyo: Minato
Five days into a Tokyo trip with my mom and her partner, I was starting to get burnt out.
That’s the thing about travelling – whether you’re doing it alone or with friends or family – you need to protect your energy.
If you’re going to be planning a busy itinerary and packing as much as you can into your limited time in a new country, that is expected. But you also have to plan for some downtime.
teamLab Borderless (March 2025)
The morning of day five, the three of us had booked tickets to see teamLab Borderless. After seeing teamLab Planets on our first day in Tokyo, my expectations were set pretty high. And though the exhibits are pretty different from one another, teamLab Borderless totally lived up to the hype.
The immersive art exhibit museum includes light, sound, and interactive installations, coming together to create a constantly changing “world without boundaries.” Art flows on the walls between the rooms, reacts to visitors movements, and evolves over time.
It was such a cool experience, and we all had a great time exploring!
Ramen lunch (March 2025)
Once we were done with Borderless, it was time for lunch. I was pretty hangry by this point and honestly, pretty overstimulated. So we found a spot nearby and our ramen was enjoyed in mutual silence.
Then I decided to buy an umbrella from 7-11 and go for a solo walk in the rain.
Solo Tokyo wandering (March 2025)
It sounds maybe a little depressing, but I genuinely look back on this solo afternoon in the rain and it was one of my favourite parts of my trip to Tokyo.
There was something so peaceful about walking through the city with my large black umbrella and navigating the streets of a foreign city. I wandered up by Tokyo Tower for a few photos, and then took my time meandering back towards the hotel.
I’m not usually one to pull out my phone and take a video, but I did take a short video of what it was like to walk through Japan in the rain to show my partner when I came back home. It was something so simple, but so lovely about the energy that day.
Walks in the rain and junk food hauls (March 2025)
That evening, dinner was going to be a lazy one. And I’m indeed a McDonald’s lover who has to try the international items everywhere I go. There were a few items on the McDonald’s Japan menu I wanted to try, so I had a teriyaki burger, churros and a melon soda (on different occasions).
Then I picked up a few treats from Family Mart while watching Japanese TV in the hotel.
