From: Kit-Victoria Wells [email protected]

Subject: Tokyo

Date: August 20, 2026 at 7:55:45 PM MDT

To: [email protected], [email protected]

Cc: "John V. Wells" [email protected]

Hello Mike & Greta:

Here are some ideas for what to see when you’re in Tokyo.

We spent an evening walking around Shinjuku. It’s a big shopping, bar and restaurant experience. Don’t miss the big Godzilla lording over from one of the lower rooftops. It’s described as a chaotic nightlife experience, but I’d qualify that with “as chaotic as the Japanese get”.

We went to the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, where there’s a free observation deck with the best view of Mt. Fuji in Tokyo. Unfortunately it was foggy the day we went, but even that was pretty cool.

We took long walks and often stumbled upon beautiful things like this new Buddhist Temple in Yoyogi.

We strolled Tsukiji Fish Market for about an hour and sampled a lot of the food it had to offer. $30 for three small cubes of seared wagyu, anyone? For this meat-eater, totally worth it.

These coffee vending machines are all over Japan, and they are awesome. We had so much fun trying all the different kinds. Technically, the Japanese consider it rude to eat, drink and walk at the same time. We broke with cultural sensitivity when it came to these vending machine coffees and walked while drinking all the time.

We were about two months too early to experience the cherry blossoms, but nevertheless we thoroughly enjoyed a long stroll through Shinjuku Gyoen Garden. The trees that shed their leaves looked like incredible sculptures. We even went to the Starbucks in this park (not something we normally do when we travel). Japan has put their own, delightful stamp on Starbucks. (Hint, it involves Matcha.)

Ginza is quite cool; referred to as the Beverly Hills of Tokyo. I loved the architecture. Every building is fabulously unique. This place is UPscale and very much NOT chaotic. On Sundays, they close the main street so that pedestrians can have full run of the place.

Check out this stylish Ginza Church!

We’d heard about Tokyo’s conveyer belt sushi restaurants and had to try it out. You sit at a counter, order via a tablet mounted to the table, and the conveyer belt brings the sushi right to your seat. It’s wild! I did conveyer belt sushi in the States. Once. The Japanese experience is, as you’d predict, a much fresher experience. We went to the Uobei Shibuya Dogenza Restaurant.

We had a ball crossing the world’s busiest pedestrian intersection called Shibuya Crossing. We crossed four or five times. And you best shake your ass because the waiting cars do not tolerate dillydallyers.

Historical and Cultural Tidbits that we found interesting:

Shintoism and Buddhism

Most people in Japan view Shinto and Buddhism as a combined cultural lifestyle rather than separate. Shinto is Japan’s native spirituality focusing on this life and nature spirits, while Buddhism originated in India and arrived via China, and focuses on the soul, overcoming suffering, and the afterlife.