Here are just a few tips you might want to know when traveling in Tokyo (especially if you have a monkey, I mean kiddo):
1. Get a hotel room with a small refrigerator. You might have to pay a bit more, but it's worth it in the end. Buying beverages in advance at a grocery store will save you tons of money. Since we drove here, we brought juice boxes, 2 liters of milk, yogurt, and bottled water. If you buy these items at a grocery store, they are a lot cheaper. For example, a juice box at Seiyu (Japanese Wal-mart) cost about 68 Yen per box. But, at a convenience shop or from a vending machine, it costs about 108 Yen. So, instead of stopping at a convenience store, just bring these with you. Same goes for milk. We brought 2 liters of milk with us and a cute character cup with a straw and top. This way Jude can have milk in the morning and at night. And, Husband can have yogurt to keep his bowels moving regularly. By bringing these items, we probably saved ourselves about 3,000 yen or 30 bucks for the 5 day trip.
2. Bring plenty of Yen. Most places DO NOT take credit cards. You must have Yen and lots of it. We bought 100,000 Yen for 5 days (that's about 1,000 dollars worth of Yen.) It sounds like a lot, but remember Tokyo is one of the most expensive places on Earth!
3. Eat cheap! Before you walk into a place, check their menu board outside. Most places display their menus at the door or on a menu boards. If you see dressed up women holding froo-froo dogs and Lamborghinis parked outside the eating establishment, chances are it's super expensive...so skip it and keep searching. We love to eat at Kouraken (not sure of the spelling). It's a Ramen/Fried Rice chain restaurant. You can eat a heaping bowl of hot Ramen for about 290 Yen. It's a great value for yummy, filling food. We also love sushi. Sushi is delicious, but it can be expensive. And, if you have a garbage gut Husband, like I do, it can get really expensive. So, check menus and menu boards before ordering!
4. Get a re-loadable gift card/credit card for 7-Eleven convenience stores. I know I told you earlier not to shop here for drinks, but in Japan you can get delicious food from 7-Elevens. 7-Elevens are everywhere in Tokyo. We got a re-loadable gift card with 2,000 Yen on it. So, if we get desperate and want a snack while we are walking around sight seeing, we just pop into a 7-Eleven and get a rice ball filled with smoked salmon. Or, if we don't have time to sit down at a restaurant for lunch, we get a bento box from 7-Eleven and take it to the nearest park for lunch. (A bento box is lunch box filled with rice, meat or fish, pickled veggies and other goodies--the portions are small but filling.)
5. Carry the following items with you: small hand towel (to dry your hands), bottled water, snacks, maps, passport, visa, ID, and tons of Yen. You might also want to bring a Japanese/English dictionary or phrase book--I never leave home without it!
So, now with this info, you can stay in Tokyo and save a few Yen.
Ja, mata! (See you later!)
(Husband and Jude...walking through the gates.)
(At the end of the gates, there stood this little shrine.)
(I'm not sure why they had a giant plush panda here....considering the real panda died earlier in the year! Whatever!)
(Jude was our navigator at the zoo. He had his handy-dandy map and led the way.)
(There's nothing like an Outback menu in Japanese!)
Mmmmmm....beef...it's what's for dinner!
(This is the view from our hotel room.)
(You can see Dokomo Tower in the distance.)
(Look at all the signs! See, I told you driving in Tokyo was dangerous! There is nothing worse than a gaijin (foreigner) behind the wheel!)
(Here is Jude opening gifts....I hate to do this, but some of the kids wanted to see what Jude got. So, we humored them.)
(Jude was really tired after swimming in the pool. He was one tired Mexipino (as you know, Husband is half Hispanic and half Filipino...and I'm full pepper belly...so that makes our kiddo 3/4 beaner and 1/4 Filipino...so, when it comes time to check ethnicity, we'll choose "other", sorry...I digress!).)
(Here is Jude about to blow out his candle.)
(Here is Jude with Bean. Bean was Spiderman, duh!)
(Here is Jude dressed up as half ass Batman. We lost his mask and cape at Jude's Halloween school party. But, the kid didn't care. He just wanted free candy.)
