One Piece Tower | Tokyo, Japan

One of the places in Tokyo that Markus and I were most excited to visit was One Piece Tower. As most of you know, Markus and I love anime and watch a plethora of shows. Back in 2012, when we still lived in Korea, Markus introduced me to One Piece. I was instantly hooked and watched hundreds of episodes in a month or so. I got the best experience with One Piece because I didn’t have to wait for new episodes every week. It was great! If you can’t tell, my favorite characters are Tony Tony Chopper and Portgas D. Ace. It’s pretty obvious why those two are my favorite characters. Chopper is probably the cutest character on the show and Ace is the hottest.

One Piece Tower is found on the first, third, fourth and fifth floors of the iconic Tokyo Tower, which was frequently featured on Sailor Moon. So visiting was like experiencing two of my favorite animes at the same tie. Even though it’s not exactly an amusement park, there is tons to do, even if you aren’t a kid. There are attractions on every floor that focus on specific characters from the anime. We really enjoyed Brooke’s Haunted Mansion and the live action show that I will be posting about later. Markus and I spent way too much time at One Piece Tower, but it was so much fun and I honestly would go back if we were in Tokyo. It’s not very often that you get to be immersed in your favorite anime!

Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu | Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan

If you’ve seen the movie Kill Bill, then you’ll see similarities in this restaurant. Apparently, it was the inspiration and model for the “House of Blue Leaves” restaurant in the film. I have my friend Kimberlina to thank for this last minute recommendation. It somehow came up in conversation shortly before our trip to Japan and I quickly made a reservation on their website. Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu is very popular with tourists and it was quite obvious when we showed up for our reservation. We were in Tokyo during the Rugby Worldcup so the place was full of Australians in town to support their team. Usually, Markus and I try to avoid the more touristy restaurants and sites, but there was something about Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu that we couldn’t resist.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from the food and that the real draw would be the ambiance. I’m happy to say that I was very pleased with the meal. Markus and I both ordered two different courses one at 3,500 yen and 5,500 yen (about $35 and $55). We enjoyed an assortment of dishes ranging from yakitori, sashimi, tempura and soba noodles. It was a nice mix of food and I felt like a good value for the price. The more expensive set came with miso glazed cod and tempura shrimp and those were two of my favorite things we ate. I’m glad we decided to go, because I really enjoyed our meal and time at the restaurant.

Shimokitazawa | Tokyo, Japan

The first time Markus and I visited Tokyo in 2013, Shimokitazawa was a vintage heaven. I bought way too many clothes, accessories and jewelry. I was very excited to go back again and spurge on anything I saw. Unfortunately this time, I wasn’t so lucky. The area has always been popular with the youth and tourists, but it’s amazing in six years how much changed. It was a bit too touristy and the stores were similar to ones that you would find in Wicker Park in Chicago. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I wanted the hard to find vintage items that you don’t see in America. Markus did finding rare Ultraman cards and a pin in a vintage shop so that was really cool. Even though, I didn’t find anything, I still enjoyed our afternoon in Shimokitazawa!

Shining Moon Tokyo - Sailor Moon Restaurant | Tokyo, Japan

As a child of the 90s, I loved Sailor Moon. I remember rushing home to watch episodes after school. It was my favorite show in middle school. I always loved Lita or Sailor Jupiter. I didn’t really connect with any of the other girls. Ironically, I grew up to be like Rei or Sailor Mars. Everyone knew I loved this show and was completely obsessed. I wore my hair like Lita almost every day and had posters of the Sailor Scouts all over my walls. I even used up all the ink in our printer to print all the cool illustrations from Japan. Back in the day ink was hella expensive, so I definitely got in trouble for printing that stuff out. My eldest brother Chris bought me so many bootleg VHS tapes of the non-dubbed episodes and movies.

When I found out that a Sailor Moon dinner and a show was opening only a couple months before our trip to Japan. I knew we had to visit Shining Moon Tokyo. I read online that the food was something left to be desired, so we didn’t have high expectations for that. To be honest, this was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The show and production was incredibly and really well done. The language barrier is not a problem at all. It’s mostly dance and action so you can easily follow what’s going on. It’s an all female cast, which I loved very much. The actresses were all so kawaii (cute) and really get into character. I loved seeing Usagi (Sailor Moon) and Mamochan (Tuxedo Mask) in real life being so cutesy. I can’t even describe to you the pure elation I felt during the two and a half hours that we were there. If we are ever back in Tokyo, I would definitely go again, I loved it that much!

Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku | Tokyo, Japan

One of the best things Markus and I did in Japan was visit Tokyo's Robot Cabaret Restaurant. This show is one of the many reasons why I love Japan. Where else can you see scantily clad Japanese girls dancing with robots and dinosaurs? I feel like this experience was the epitome of our entire trip and that's why I decided to end my Japan posts with this show.

Everything was so zany and unlike anything I've ever seen. Before you go to the show, you wait in a room filled with lights and electronic dinosaurs. I have to admit that I saw way more men than women and I was slightly worried that this could be a different kind of show than I expected. Once we were ushered into the stage area, we were treated to many different performances. They varied in theme and seemed completely unconnected. At one point, a tattooed woman came out and played a saxophone. It was completely ridiculous, but kinda awesome. It was an experience that I will never forget. If you ever find yourself in Tokyo, make sure you check out this show. You won't regret it, I promise!