Tokyo 2024 Day 3: Tokyo Metro Gov't Bldg, Totoya, Gyopao Gyoza Shinjuku, Golden-Gai, Tokyo Kabukicho Tower

We visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building to view the city. It's free to visit, and it has a north and south tower. There's also a cafe at the top, so you can grab a bite to eat and shop for souvenirs. They also have a stamp there if you want to fill your book.

We randomly ended up at Totoya Izakaya restaurant for lunch. It was a quaint little restaurant that served only two meal sets eel or grilled fish. It was a great experience dining at a place locals dined at. They didn't speak English but were very welcoming and a guest in line helped us communicate. They pointed to their handwritten menu on the wall which only had two items. 

For dinner, we tried to get tempura but the restaurant couldn't accommodate us since it was near closing time. So we searched on Google and ended up at Gyopao Gyoza Shinjuku cause of all the great reviews. Some of the dishes were pretty good, but it wasn't as good as I was expecting based on the reviews. The place was full of tourists and the food was a bit pricey. IMO I don't think it's worth a visit. It seems that tourists use Google or Yelp but locals use Tabelog. So use what suits you best. Some of Google's suggestions fell short for us. 

Shinjuku is a great place to walk around and Golden-Gai is a great place to get a drink for adults.

Tokyo Kabukicho Tower is another great place to visit for food and drinks. 

TOKYO 2024 Day 2: TeamLab Borderless, Savoy, Gembei

 

When walking around in Tokyo try to keep to your left. Especially on the escalator so that people can walk past you.

On day 2 we went to TeamLab Borderless it was an amazing experience and my daughter loved it. I recommend getting there at opening hours to beat the crowd. It cost around 4,000 Yen/$27. We spent about 3 hours there and it's inside a mall so you can shop afterward.  

I recommended purchasing your tickets on Klook their prices are very reasonable and sometimes cheaper than the website.

For mobile service, I purchased an E-Sim from Klook you can get 10g of data for around $11. 20g of data lasted us 3 weeks in Japan.

Lunch we ate at Savoy Azabujuban one of the best if not the best pizza I ever ate. It's worth the visit and they have several locations. Their lunch special combo is tea, appetizer salad, and a pizza for 1100 yen/$7.38

For dinner, we decided to find a random Izakaya and ended up at Gembei. The food was pretty good and was a fun experience for us.

TOKYO 2024 DAY 1

Travel tips:

Have some yen before your visit. We exchanged about 200 USD with our bank before our arrival. You don't need that much because you can withdraw more money at 7-11, which has a better exchange rate. 

You'll need to get a Suica or Pasmo to ride the transit. We purchased ours at Narita Airport. The machines that recharge them usually only take cash. The only machine that let me charge my Suica/Pasmo card with a credit card was at Narita Station. If you're an Apple user there is a way to add money to your transit card with your mobile device. We started with 5,000 yen.

We flew with ZipAir with our 1 yo and you'll still have to pay for a ticket but it's at a discounted rate since the child will get their own seat. 

Google Translate is your best friend highly recommend you download it. Helps with reading menus

We used Google Maps to navigate the public transportation system and filtered our route with wheelchair accessibility to guide us closer to the elevator since we had a stroller.

When trying to find the elevator on Google Maps you'll need to zoom in close so that you can get the option to map the station by different ground levels.

Link to Google Map demo

There's a lot of walking in Japan so bring some comfortable shoes

The ticket barricade is about 22in wide, they usually have 1 barricade that is wider for wheelchairs, but I have run into some places that don't have the wider barricade. 

We used the Bugaboo Butterfly stroller and it was the perfect size. The other nice feature of this stroller is that it has a built-in leg rest which acts as a nice grab bar for another adult to help you carry the stroller up or down steps in a pinch.

Use Google Maps to create a list of all the places you want to visit that way you can just look it up based on your location for easy access. There are a lot of places to eat so it can be overwhelming at times. 

If you're looking for baby wipes and diapers in Japan you'll need to look for drug stores. Convenience stores like 7-11, Lawson, and Family Mart do not sell them.

Most restaurants/eateries are small and won't have a high chair. You'll need to bring your own. We used this booster seat/backpack and it was very convenient.

Food:

Tonkatsu Hinata

Palm Springs Golf Trip 2024 day 1: Bubba's Bones & Brews, PGA West Pete Dye Dunes

Been hearing a lot of great things about golfing in Palm Springs so we made a trip out of it with some friends.  

The weather was great for February. 

Usually our golf bags would arrive at the oversized baggage claim area, but in Palm Springs they arrive just like any other luggage. There were so many people with golf clubs. 

We had some time to burn before checking into our Airbnb so we headed to Bubba's Bones & Brews. I chose this place because it was on the way and we could see the parking lot from the restaurant to keep an eye on our luggage. 

Jalapeno Sausage Wontons

Blue Cheese Chips

Bubba's Feast 2lbs of meat and 3 large sides. 

I love a good Western burger, but I also like brisket. So I asked them to add brisket to the Western burger it was amazing. 

Korean Ribs

Brisket Sandwich

Food and drinks at Bubba's was great. We got a message that our Airbnb was ready for us to check in. So we headed on our way. The Airbnb had a heated pool free of charge which was nice. 

The guys made a run to Costco and we cooked dinner at the house. 

The next morning we headed to PGA West. The first course we played on the trip was Pete Dye Dunes. It was around $125 for the round.

It's a gorgeous course the greens were firm and we were informed so before we started our round. 

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PGA West Club house also has simulators you can rent by the hour. 

We had pizza for lunch and hung out at the house for the remaining day. 

Son and Tom arrived a little later in the day. Tomorrow they'll be playing with us at Eagle Falls. 

Hawaii Day 8: Aloha Kitchen

Our last meal in Hawaii before our flight home was Aloha Kitchen.

Tammy wanted to try their Souffle Pancakes. 

Greeny omellete. Nothing special about it, but the potatoes were really good. 

Apple Alamode Souffle Pancake

Very Berry Souffle Omlette. Both Souffle Pancakes were really good. If this is what you're looking for then a stop at Aloha Kitchen is worth it. The other breakfast items are pretty basic. 

Meat Omellete. 

After breakfast, we packed up our things and headed to the airport. We headed to one of the new lounges at the airport but there's no food here, only beverages. You also not allowed to bring your own food either. They ask you to keep the conversation to a minimum. So it's just a nice place to sit and have a drink. 

That's it for this trip. It was relaxing and Emmalyn enjoyed the beach and long flight. Where to next? We're heading to Palm Springs for our first golf trip.