Today we are spending our last day in Asia after a mammoth trip through so many amazing countries. Our family fave is still Taiwan but Japan has also ranked highly and Tokyo has been a fitting final week to the Asian chapter. In my opinion Tokyo is like what we saw as the future in the 80s – big skyscrapers, 3D billboards and trains at bullet speed, which is how we arrived from Osaka.

Our home was the suburbs which meant that on our budget we could stay in a little house rather than be crammed into a room together, we also had a local park and supermarket with an immense sushi section so the longer metro ride to go anywhere was worth it. 

We explored Shibuya and the scramble crossing which is the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing, where thousands of people cross in all directions simultaneously. Akihabara Electric Town was full of arcades and gadgets. Shinjuku had a super realistic giant 3D cat. Harajuka was fashion heaven for Phoebe, inbetween the shopping we visited the Pompompurin Cafe for some overpriced yellow dog shaped treats. Craig swerved this part to go on a hanging monorail, he has become quite the train geek.

We spent a rainy day at DisneySea with millions of others, squashed into the metro. The Tokyo metro is like unravelling a ball of spaghetti with multiple lines, stations and operators but with English signs included it is not impossible to work out! Foodwise ramen has featured heavily, with gyoza and sushi becoming other Japanese family staples. 

Our final outing included karaoke, ramen and seeing Godzilla projected onto a skyscraper, this for me sums up Tokyo! It is a city of wonder and to me feels like a mishmash of Asia and America. It is so different to other Asian cities we have visited.

Our time in Tokyo has been overshadowed by the ongoing saga regarding Craig’s entry to the US (our next stop). For reasons unknown his ESTA was denied, he then had an emergency appointment at the US embassy in Tokyo to apply for a visa. A week later and we are still awaiting the outcome so as it stands I will be flying to the US with the girls tomorrow without him. We have a mammoth couple of travel days to New York via San Jose and Denver on a flight we cannot postpone. 

Our planning for this trip has been on a ‘wing it’ basis and book as we go and we usually book the cheapest non-refundable option. Until now this has worked fine and at times enabled us make plans on a whim and saved us a load of money! Anyway, to cut a long story short, this may be the end of the trip for Craig or (everything is crossed right now) he will be able to join us in the US for the last few weeks. If not then this will be my last online mutterings until we are home. 

From New York we will be sailing across the Atlantic back home on the modern day equivalent to the Titanic.