Today was a bit of a rest day.. we’re really feeling the full days of walking and adventuring around. It was also a rainy day so we didn’t get up to too much, also we are trying to get to bed ‘early’ so this post will mostly be pictures and lists! I hope you don’t mind. Tomorrow we will be more rested and we are meeting up with an old friend of mine who now lives here so it will be more interesting! In a nutshell (list) here is what we did today

Ate lunch in Ikebukuro subway station at a mini food cafeteria that had places that specialized in both Takoyaki and Udon and for a place in a subway, it was AMAZING. We don’t remember the name of the udon place, but the takoyaki place was called Gindaco and it seems to be a well known chain.. so look for that place and then the udon is next to it! The udon came with shrimp tempura that was similar to but way better than any tempura I’ve ever had in Canada. It was just meatier and less oily. The takoyaki was also a new but super pleasant experience. We had hoped the one at Kinton back home might be pretty authentic but all it is now in my eyes is undercooked dough and a sad amount of octopus. This one was full of octopus bits, tempura bits, green onion and pickled ginger.

We realized we missed a lot of stuff in Ikebukuro so we decided to return today. We went back to Sunshine City since we missed out on a store that is 90% Studio Ghibli merchandise, a highly rated ramen shop, and we wanted to check out the aquarium.

Studio Ghibli store! – aka MOE Garden: I can’t say much about this place other than it had the most Studio Ghibli selection I’ve seen anywhere in Tokyo so far. They didn’t just have Kiki and Totoro but also lots of Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke.. so I went a little nuts. I bought a couple of gifts for friends and for myself 🙂

Mutekiya Ramen: Next we went for dinner at Mutekiya for ramen which we had heard lots of great things about. When we arrived, the line was split into two lines that were across the street from each other. This was a pretty grim sign for people who were starving and had swollen feet from walking for days but we were determined to get our ramen. It pleasantly delivered! I loved the toppings and noodles more than Fuunji but… ugh that super thick, rich Fuunji broth…… I fear I have ruined ramen for myself in Toronto. Anyway, I ordered my favourite – Tsukemen ramen, and Alex ordered their original Tonkotsu ramen. Aaaand picture time –

It started raining a lot more, so we headed back to home base – Shinjuku station and walked around in the rain for a bit before taking shelter in the most dangerous place to be in at the end of the day with a pocket full of change….. you guessed it. Please see below for the amazing super cute bunny I won at the UFO claw machines tonight at Taito Game Station. Let’s just say I’m pretty good at these things….