Japan Day 2: Tokyo Drifting Through The Day

I’d like to start this blog by saying I am feeling better from yesterday, which I used today to run all over Tokyo! I started my day with a 45 minute walk to Akihabara where I was to begin my MariCar tour (No affiliation with Ninetendo 😏). I can honestly say it is a highlight of my life to ride go carts through the streets of Tokyo while seeing some of the city’s most iconic sights. In my tour group there were four of us and each of us was from a different country (The others were from  France, Mexico, and Australia). We had a lot of fun together and our tour guide Shogo just topped it off by being a funny relatable guide the whole time. One of the funniest parts of the tour though were just outrageous number and diversity of people who stopped and stared or took pictures of us as we went through the streets. It was a lot of fun to rev the engine at the red lights to give them a little show. After the tour I sought to master the Japanese public transit system. It was very scary at first but with a Suica card and google maps at my side I managed to get around with ease. I even wandered into one of Japan’s famous sights Senso-ji Temple. The area wa crowded with graduating seniors and tourists but it was still very interesting to see all the shops and impressive buildings. I even saw the a Sakura Tree in bloom through a crowd of people of course. I hope to go back to that area sometime to learn and enjoy it more. Hopefully when it’s not that crowded. (Also note if you ever use Google Maps in Japan it will take you on a ton of side streets which is fun and interesting but also exhausting) We went to the famous Takeshita Street which was packed beyond belief. I couldn’t even enjoy it because of the crowds. After wandering around the area a little we finally got to the main event of the evening. The Owl Cafe in Harajuku. Now before I came to Japan I really debated on whether I should do this, it seemed wrong in same way to pay to see captive animals. Afterwards I still have some of those feelings especially after seeing how some of the other customers treated, but also saw how much the staff loved and cared for them and tired to give them as much freedom as possible. I also saw that their living conditions ended up being very nice (the reason I choose this place). They were never scolded for being wild animals and were give as much stimulation and freedom as possible. There was even a time where one of the owls flew out of a customers hand and sat itself in a corner and the staff just let it be. Now I’m no way trying to excuse how this is not an entirely right business, but I can also see and feel the good of it. Either way I enjoyed my time interacting the owls and I’m glad I did it this one time. It was surreal getting to feel how powerful and curious the owls could be. Today was a tiring day, but I enjoyed almost every minute of it and I feel I am learning so much about Japan and it’s culture every minute. Tonight’s my last night in my AirBnB I truly miss it it’s very homey and comfortable, and the hosts were really mice. Tomorrow the adventure continues, see you next time!