(Adorable pixel art above by Allyrat!! Click thru to visit her own holiday page)

Well... it has officially been well over a year since I went to Japan for a two-week vacation, and then promptly never posted about it, despite REALLY THINKING that I was going to blog the whole time I was there!! You know, like a fool!! The hubris of man claims another victim. It has been SO LONG since this trip, in fact, that we have looped around and I am now planning my second excursion there!! This time, I will be flying to Tokyo by myself (eek!) and meeting up with famous Neocities microceleb and queen of all things cute, Allyrat!! We will be visiting in February of 2025!

Last time, I went with my mom (who was a very good sport), and we stayed in Akihabara. We had an amazing time, and did basically everything I had on my list while we were there, but it's crazy how the time can get away from you... we had planned to have a huge foodie adventure, but only ended up going to restaurants a few times while we were there. We also did a little bit too much, maybe, and didn't build in enough time to just relax and sit down in cool places. This time, Ally and I will be staying in Ikebukuro! I think with the knowledge that I have now from my first visit, we'll be able to have a really balanced, relaxed, yet still exciting trip...!!

Places to be!

Sanrio Puroland
I visited there on my last trip, but I think we went on the wrong sort of day - it was super cloudy and dreary, and super busy! We also got there later than I expected, so we didn't spend a long time there... I hope it'll be a bit more exciting this time!!

Meguro Parasitological Museum
It was such a dream visiting last time!! Ahhh, I really should have taken more pictures... I want to go back, so Ally is being a good sport and says she will come with me, too...!!

Osaka
We will be spending 2-3 days in Osaka in the middle of our trip, which should be very exciting!! We don't have a lot planned yet for this area, but we are looking at doing a day trip to Nara, and maybe (if I have my way lol) Suwa while we are there! I want to make sure to eat okanomiyaki and takoyaki while there. I don't like seafood very much but I will be very brave.

Kamakura
This is still a 'maybe', but I'd love to visit this area if possible...! There's a building called M's Ark that was built on top of the ruins of the Hojo family's home. You can see the archaeological dig site through a glass panel on the floor. I'd really like to go there...

Things to do!

Grocery shopping
This one is pretty silly tbh, lol... but I didn't do any cooking on my last visit...!! The place we're going to stay has a kitchen available, so I'd really like to make a meal or two, even if it's just something really simple. I want to try fresh local produce... and I like cooking with/for my friends!!

Swallowtail Cafe
We would really like to make it to Swallowtail Butler Cafe while we are in Japan!! It seems a bit difficult to snag a reservation, and we'll have to do it while we're there since they only have a 10 day window, but we are keeping our hopes up!

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