In mid-2019, I made plans to go to Tokyo for two weeks over my spring break in university. For many reasons - including the obvious - that trip was postponed time and time again. And now, almost four years (!) later, it's finally happening. My mom and I are going to be in Tokyo from the 9th to the 20th of March, and I could not be more excited. Our flight and hotel are booked and everything. We're staying in Akihabara within walking distance of the station, with plans to make a few out-of-town trips to places outside the main Tokyo area.

We're planning on keeping the trip very loose, and casual. We want to explore different neighborhoods without a constricting itinerary, and go wherever the mood takes us. However, there are some spots and events we definitely want to experience.

Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka: I managed to snag us tickets!! I was waiting the moment the month's sales opened, and after about 20 minutes of the site crashing I was able to get us in. Very excited to see the short film that will be playing and also to explore whatever exhibitions are currently up. We also found a bakery nearby that sounds amazing.

Sanrio Puroland: This was a very last minute addition! I thought about going a long time ago, but I brushed it off since I figured my mom wouldn't want to go. She found out how cheap the tickets were, though (I found a discount through Rakuten for international guests that ends up being $20 USD per person, taxes and fees included) so she said we should absolutely go! I watched a video of someone visiting and it looks so insanely fun, I cannot wait. I'm waiting on ticket confirmation right now but that should be taken care of in a day or two, I think.

Meguro Parasitological Museum: WORM TIME!!!!! I am so excited I can't even believe it. I've wanted this for years, what the fuck. I want to take pictures of me standing in the same place as Jun Togawa in her Konchuugun live/music video (pictured below). I also already know that I really want to buy one of the keychains they sell, a real roundworm encased in resin ^_^

Nakano Broadway: Second-hand anime goods heaven!! Since we're staying in Akihabara there will obviously be no shortage of anime merch stores to visit, but I definitely want to make a point of visiting Nakano, especially the giant Mandarake store. Plus, we also want to go to JoJo Bar DIO, which is located nearby! I still need to make reservations, but it seems to be a very casual place, so I will probably take care of that once we're actually in Tokyo.

Art Museums: Sooooo many. Unfortunately the Yayoi Kusama museum will not be open during our visit, but we have a lot more to check out. The Mori Art Museum, Suntory Art Museum, assorted little galleries I've found, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum...my mom really, really wants to see the Christian Dior Designer of Dreams exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, but advance tickets are sold out, so we're going to stalk the same-day sales every day and try to snag a spot!

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