Yesterday was our last full day in Japan, and I’m so sad to be leaving!

First up: breakfast at the hotel café. Jessie grabbed a bagel from the vending machine, while Craig and I went for miso soup, coffee, and what we thought were soft-boiled eggs. Turns out, they were soft-boiled… but not in the way we expected. These were the kind you’re supposed to crack over a dish, not eat on their own. Not quite sure why the lady was happy to sell them to us as-is—maybe she wasn’t confident enough to explain? In the end, Craig ordered some curry rice to crack the second egg over. It was fine, but not our best breakfast moment.

After breakfast, we strolled to nearby Ueno Zoo, passing a beautiful pond filled with lotus plants—it must be absolutely stunning in summer.

Our main goal was to see the giant pandas. We queued for about an hour (separate lines for each panda), but the system was really well organised. Once you reached the front, you were put into small groups and given a minute-long time frames to move slowly along each viewing point—giving everyone a fair chance to see the panda. It worked brilliantly, and Xiao Xiao was absolutely gorgeous!

We’re not the biggest fans of zoos—we completely understand their role in conservation, and that many of the animals can’t return to the wild—but it’s still hard to see the bigger animals pacing. That said, Ueno Zoo was a big hit for Jessie. She loved the flamingos, was fascinated by the shoebills (who reminded us of Buckbeak from Harry Potter), and raced around with her own little camera, taking hundreds of photos. Craig has now promised that her Grandma, who gave her the camera and also loves photography, will look through every single photo when we visit in a few days… good luck, Mum!

After a few hours at the zoo, we walked back to the hotel for a bit of a rest (and to wash our smalls). It started absolutely pouring with rain, and I thought our plans for the evening might be dashed—but thankfully, it cleared just in time. I had to smile when I noticed the laundry room had a little stepping stool to reach the dryers… Japan really is perfect for me: pants the right length, shoes the right size, and stepping stools!

For dinner, I was determined to find a great gyoza place—and we definitely struck gold. The gyoza were absolutely delicious. Sadly, Jessie wasn’t feeling it—she used to love dumplings, but not tonight—so she had fries and a melon ice cream instead (which genuinely tasted exactly like rockmelon).

Our dinner was cut a little short though. A family, clearly also tourists, arrived and squeezed into the tiny space right beside us. The dad looked extremely unwell—white as a sheet and coughing everywhere—and their baby was smashing a bowl against the table – they were clearly too knackered to bother with stopping it. As they wedged their pram through the tight space, they nearly pinned the baby’s leg against the wall. Craig quickly pointed it out and I helped move the little leg. It was just a lot all at once, so we made a quick exit after finishing our food.

We spent the rest of the evening wandering the lively, neon-lit streets of Ueno, doing a bit of last-minute shopping. Being a Saturday night, it was busy but had such a great vibe.

We ended our night the perfect way: picking up some 7/11 desserts—an excellent way to use up small change, which isn’t accepted everywhere—and then headed back to the hotel to pack our bags.

One more special moment to end the day: I got the notification that my blog has surpassed 10,000 views! I can’t believe so many people want to read what I have to say, but I’m truly grateful. I mostly write these posts to capture memories for myself, Craig, and Jessie, but it makes me so happy that others enjoy them too. Thank you so much for reading and for the kind messages—every single one means a lot.

Our flight isn’t until 8pm tonight, so we’ll squeeze in a few final adventures, which I’ll update in my “Tips and Tricks” blog (probably while killing time at the airport!). Craig and Jessie are out now, organising the Skyliner tickets to the airport—it’s super handy because the train station is just down the road from our hotel, meaning no lugging our bags across Tokyo!

See you soon!

❤ Laus