Episode #126: Tokyo on Points: How We Fit So Much Into Two Nights (And What I'd Change)

We packed a samurai sword, wrestled a sumo wrestler, had conveyor belt sushi and found lots of treats at 7 eleven.  This is Tokyo, two half days, one full day, and so much fun!

Sharing what we did and where we stayed

We checked into the Hyatt Regency Tokyo using points plus a suite upgrade award and honestly, the Shinjuku location is somewhat underrated in the points world. We added club lounge access to our second room. Which means all-day tea, coffee, snacks, and the perfect soft landing after a long travel morning.

Arrival Day Bullet Train In from Kyoto, Yoyogi Park, Harajuku, Shibuya & Dinner

We timed our bullet train from Kyoto perfectly, a 9:15am departure got us to Tokyo around 12:30, and sitting on the left side on the way back meant we caught an amazing view of Mount Fuji. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to Yoyogi Park and Meiji Shrine for a beautiful walk through before coming out the other side into Takeshita Street. This street is everything you've seen on social media toy capsule machines everywhere, candied fruit on a stick, boba from Mochi Mochi Japan, and so many fun little shops to browse. We got hair clips, earrings, and spent way too long at the capsule machines in the best way.

From there we walked into Shibuya to find the Pokémon Center and Nintendo Store  both hiding up high inside a shopping center near the crossing. Google Maps will make you feel lost when you're actually right there, so just keep going up. We did Momo Paradise for dinner, a hot pot restaurant where you cook at your table fun if you've never done it, but probably not our repeat pick, especially with picky eaters. After dinner, we crossed Shibuya Crossing from a few different angles, then went up to the capsule store above the crossing for a completely free view looking down.

We also needed a suitcase, because a samurai sword does not fit diagonally in a carry-on, and found exactly what we needed at Shibuya Baggage Outlet for around $60. We also looked at Donki but found it twice the price for luggage, though the kids did walk out with several flavors of Kit Kats so it wasn't a total skip.

Full Day in Tokyo — TeamLab, Sushi Ro & Shinjuku at Night

We chose TeamLab Borderless over Planets mostly because of proximity, a 30-minute subway ride versus over an hour each way, and we loved it. Borderless means you wander freely rather than follow a set path, and the art rotates throughout the exhibit so each room feels a little different every time. One of the cool moment was a room where you draw an undersea creature, they scan it in, and it comes to life swimming around the walls. We booked the 9:30am slot and it worked out perfectly.

Lunch turned into the highlight of the whole trip. Sushi Ro is a conveyor belt sushi restaurant not far from our hotel in shinjuku and it was so fun and so easy you tap what you want on a screen, it slides right to your table, and after a certain number of orders you get to play a little game for a prize. Everyone loved the food, the vibe, the whole thing. This one is a must.

After lunch my daughter and I did a quick Uniqlo run, great basics, good prices, and I found a UPF zip-up I've been living in since we got home. I wish I had realized that Loft was nearby because it closes at early and we almost missed it entirely. We made it with about 20 minutes to spare and it was one of our favorite stores of the whole trip housewares, nail polish, stationery, art supplies. We could have spent more time in there.

For the evening we headed into Shinjuku to see the 3D Cat, walked over to see the King Kong, browsed the underground capsule store and then met up at Taito Station Game World, an eight-level arcade where every floor has a completely different vibe. Racing games, battle games, music and Dance Dance Revolution, and an entire top floor of photo booths where you take pictures, edit them in the booth next door, and print them out. My daughter and son loved it. On the way out we finally tracked down Creamia soft serve, which I'd been looking for the whole trip the cone was honestly the best part, but we were glad we found it.

Last Morning — Senso-ji, Sumo & Ueno Park Before the Airport

We started our last morning at Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, which lives up to every bit of the hype. We did the fortune ritual, you shake a can, a stick falls out with a symbol, you match it to a drawer, and you get either a good fortune to take home or a bad fortune to tie to the rack and leave behind. I got the bad fortune, and I am completely at peace with leaving it there and letting the universe handle it.

Just outside the temple area we found a Tea Utensil Shop which had the most beautiful selection of tea ceremony bowls and whisks we'd seen the whole trip. The owners made us green tea once we selected our pick and it was just one of those really warm, lovely moments.

Then came the sumo show. We had a 12 o'clock reservation for a Sumo entertainment lunch with retired sumo wrestlers, and when they asked for volunteers my daughter fully raised her hand, walked all the way down... and then told me I had to do it instead. So I ended up in an inflatable sumo suit in front of a room full of strangers as the only woman volunteer. I did win my match. Was it by design? One thousand percent. Am I counting it anyway? Absolutely.

We finished with a walk through Ueno Park, which was so beautiful, we caught the tail end of cherry blossom season and I would have loved to stay for the paddle boats on the pond. If you have more time than we did, I'd build a whole afternoon around this area.

Getting to the airport was easy from our hotel we erquested an Uber Premier minivan which fit all four of us plus a full-size suitcase and a samurai sword with no stress at all, and was there in about 5-7 minutes. We stopped at the Seven Eleven under our hotel to finish off our Suica cards before we left, creme brulee ice cream, chocolate covered gummy grapes, gummies and then found another 7 eleven plus Tokyo Banana Kit Kats at the airport on the way out.

This Episode Is Especially Helpful If…

• You're planning a Tokyo trip and trying to figure out how much you can actually fit into two nights
• You're traveling with kids and want an honest breakdown of what's worth it and what's skippable (for us we skipped the tokyo tower and sky tree as my kids don't love heights)
• You want to use Hyatt points and a suite upgrade award but aren't sure how the club access add-on works
• You're deciding between TeamLab Borderless and TeamLab Planets
• You bought too many souvenirs and need a real luggage solution
• You love shopping, Uniqlo, Loft, drugstores, capsule machines, and want to know exactly where to go, and where to skip

Have questions about any of our Japan trip or booking on points? Reach out on Instagram or Facebook

Reach out on Instagram @dorothymcgatlin or find me on Facebook Dorothy McGatlin  I'm happy to help point you in the right direction!

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