Ninjacat123 and family travel to Tokyo and Kyoto - LIVE land trip June 28 to July 7, 2024!!​🗾​

[ninjacat123]

We sat and chatted while we nibbled and drank. Cat and I had fresh grapefruit (squeezed by us!) with Japanese shochu (like sake) and soda water. Very refreshing! For our second drink Sky and I had plum wine over ice. Sweet and tasty!

[ninjacat123]

Our guides really made us feel happy and secure. They both chatted with Cat and Sky the whole tour which I know the girls truly enjoyed! We walked past an area that had incredible 3-D digital displays. And of course Godzilla!!

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We stopped at another bar/restaurant and had more food and drink. Great dumplings!!

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After that place we walked by a shrine. Very pretty!

[ninjacat123]

And our last stop with our guides was the most unusual. A bar up a staircase that was so narrow that led to a bar with five seats on one side and three on the other. No space to walk by, you had to get up and push your stool in to let people by!

[ninjacat123]

My back is against the wall!

[ninjacat123]

They had a drink called Snake Viper Vodka shot. We didn’t partake but we wanted to see the snake in the bottle!

[ninjacat123]

After saying goodbye to our lovely guides, Sky found a karaoke bar, also the size of a postage stamp!

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Sky and Cat both did karaoke!

 

 

[ninjacat123]

 

Cat!

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We finally stumbled home to our ryokan and called it a night! So much fun!!

[ninjacat123]

Just in case you didn’t know…we are HOT!!😁👍🥳

[Donald]

56 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

We sat and chatted while we nibbled and drank. Cat and I had fresh grapefruit (squeezed by us!) with Japanese shochu (like sake) and soda water. Very refreshing! For our second drink Sky and I had plum wine over ice. Sweet and tasty!

Glad you are enjoying Japan.

Note that Shochu is not “like sake”.

It helps to know that the word “Sake” in Japanese means alcohol - any kind of alcohol. Adding the honorific “O” and calling it O-Sake usually signifies that you are talking about the beverage made from rice.

“Nihon-shu” is an even better signal that the beverage is from rice.

 

Shochu is originally a Korean distilled beverage made from grains and root vegetables, that is similar to Grappa or Vodka.

O-Sake (or Nihon-shu) is a Japanese brewed fermented beverage made entirely from sake rice and Koji mold.

 

[TNVolnteerCruiser]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

We finally stumbled home to our ryokan and called it a night! So much fun!!

What a great trip you are having! Thanks for sharing it with us.

[ninjacat123]

3 hours ago, Donald said:

Glad you are enjoying Japan.

Note that Shochu is not “like sake”.

It helps to know that the word “Sake” in Japanese means alcohol - any kind of alcohol. Adding the honorific “O” and calling it O-Sake usually signifies that you are talking about the beverage made from rice.

“Nihon-shu” is an even better signal that the beverage is from rice.

 

Shochu is originally a Korean distilled beverage made from grains and root vegetables, that is similar to Grappa or Vodka.

O-Sake (or Nihon-shu) is a Japanese brewed fermented beverage made entirely from sake rice and Koji mold.

 

Thanks for the explanation! It was so light tasting and made for a refreshing drink👍😁

[ninjacat123]

2 hours ago, TNVolnteerCruiser said:

What a great trip you are having! Thanks for sharing it with us.

It’s been awesome and thank you for following along TNVolnteerCruiser😁👍

[ninjacat123]

We were very happy to have a relaxing morning! Around 10:00 we grabbed a cab to Shibuya for our Go-Kart Tour!!

Our guide Dallas checked our passports and international drivers license, we watched a short video, donned a costume hat (too hot for the onesie) and got in our go-karts!

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Dallas led us around Shibuya, taking pictures of us at stops. People were waving at us and taking pictures. It was so much fun!!

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We drove across Shibuya Crossing!

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After our tour Dallas suggested Ichiran for a ramen lunch. It was a short walk away.

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We went downstairs and placed our order at a machine. A receipt and chip spat out then we were seated at individual seats next to each other. A wooden divider separated each of us.

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See the window in front of Craig? A server opens the window, takes your chit and hands you a mug for water. Each diner has their spigot.

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You circle your preferences and they pass you a soft boiled egg to peel. It was perfectly cooked!

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Then my ramen arrived!! Oishi desu!!

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