Tokyo 3 Days 2 Nights Fun and Food Anniversary Flash Trip

In mid-October 2024, we took a quick 3-day, 2-night flash trip to Tokyo to celebrate our wedding anniversary ❤️ Day 1 After landing at Tokyo Narita Airport, we always choose to take the low-cost bus, a direct ride to Tokyo Station, affordable and convenient. Due to limited time, we bought some souvenirs and cheese tarts at Tokyo Station to eat back at the Akabane hotel. This 3-day, 2-night flash trip didn’t allow time for leisurely shopping, so we pre-ordered items on Rakuten to be delivered to the hotel (am I here to ship goods or travel? 😆). After checking in, we headed to Ikebukuro to start playing and eating. First, we went batting at Ikebukuro Batting Center. 📍Address: 14th Floor, Grandscape Ikebukuro, 1 Chome-30-3 Higashiikebukuro, Toshima City, Tokyo 170-0013, Japan 🕰️Opening Hours: 10:00-23:00 Located on the top floor of a commercial building, the view is beautiful on a clear day. It was my first time batting, and it was really hard to hit the ball 😆 but trying something new was fun 👍. It’s not expensive at 400 yen for 20 balls, not crowded. The center offers balls at different speeds; beginners should try the slowest at 80-90 km/hr. Many Japanese players go for 110-130 km/hr, showing they’ve been playing since childhood. There’s also a Taiko no Tatsujin machine inside, which we used to play a lot when dating. We played twice to satisfy our craving. Afterwards, we went nearby for dinner. The weather was a bit chilly, so we wanted shabu shabu and chose a place with good Google ratings. Mo-Mo-Paradise Ikebukuro Sunshine 60th Street 📍Address: 5F, Humax Pavilion Ikebukuro Sunshine 60 Street, 1 Chome-22-10 Higashiikebukuro, Toshima City, Tokyo 170-0013, Japan 🕰️Opening Hours: 11:30-15:00; 17:00-22:30 A chain shabu shabu all-you-can-eat restaurant, affordable with decent meat quality. The Japanese vegetables are high quality. Being older, I couldn’t eat much meat, so I ate lots of vegetables 🤣. It wasn’t amazing, similar quality to Hong Kong. Many tourists go there, so no need to go out of your way to eat here 😅. Day 2 The main event today: Street Karting. Since both my husband and I have driver’s licenses and international driving permits, we could both play Street Kart. Unfortunately, the weather was not great with some rain. Upon arrival, the staff let us choose to reschedule for the next day or continue. We chose to reschedule. With some time before our reservation for the Ebisu omakase buffet, we did some light shopping in Shinjuku. My husband likes soccer jerseys, so we checked out sportswear. Alpen Tokyo 📍Address: Unica Building, 3 Chome-23-7 Shinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0022, Japan 🕰️Opening Hours: 11:00-22:00 B2-8/F has a full range of sports and camping gear. Prices aren’t very cheap but the variety is great, covering camping, tennis, table tennis, badminton, swimming, golf, and more. My husband bought his favorite jersey. We also looked for secondhand handbags near Shinjuku but didn’t find anything we liked. Lunch was an omakase buffet reservation. Sushido Tomiza 📍Address: 3F, Yamanen 2 Building, 2 Chome-2-4 Ebisuminami, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0022, Japan 🕰️Opening Hours: 12:00-15:30; 16:00-23:00 The restaurant has only 8-10 bar seats. It costs 11,000 yen per person, and each person must order a drink 🥃. Each round you can order three pieces of sushi. I ordered three of the same sushi but you can skip or order one or two types. The sushi chef asks each guest what sushi they want and prepares it all at once before starting the next round. You can eat about 40 to 50 pieces of sushi daily, very filling. The sea urchin wasn’t very sweet that day, and the scallops sold out fastest, so start with scallops. The quality is good, and big eaters should definitely try it. At the end, the sushi chef tells you how many pieces you ate 🤣. We were so full we couldn’t digest, so we wandered aimlessly around Ebisu and Shinjuku 🤣. Dinner was at a yakiniku restaurant near the hotel - Akabane Yakiniku Ushishi. 📍Address: 2F, Osawa Building, 1 Chome-3-7 Akabane, Kita City, Tokyo 115-0045, Japan 🕰️Opening Hours: 18:00-06:00 Highly rated on Google, you grill your own meat. The Wagyu beef quality is very high, fatty and juicy. Prices aren’t cheap but worth trying. Making the most of our time eating, we had a late-night snack at a nearby izakaya - Torimichi Sakaba. 📍Address: 1F, Marutama Building, 1 Chome-13-6 Akabane, Kita City, Tokyo 115-0045, Japan 🕰️Opening Hours: 24 hours The place is full of Japanese office workers drinking. There is a staff member who speaks Mandarin. Japanese skewers are unbeatable, affordable and delicious. Pork belly and chicken neck were especially good. Next time, we’ll go crazy eating skewers again. Day 3 Finally, the sun came out, and we played Street Kart 🛞 STREET KART Tokyo 📍Address: 2 Chome-10-2-10 Shin-Kiba, Koto City, Tokyo 136-0082, Japan We chose the K-M course (1.5h ~ 2h): Rainbow Bridge, Odaiba, Tokyo Tower because we wanted to drive to Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Bay. 💰Cost per person: 15,000 Yen (Review Price) + 500 Yen (Insurance Plan A) Different routes have different prices and meeting points, including Asakusa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and more. Many foreign tourists play. Remember to be on time and bring your international driving permit and passport. First, we watched a safety demonstration video. Due to copyright, Mario character costumes are not provided or allowed. Groups of six are led by a staff member. Even if you don’t usually drive, it’s fairly easy to operate. The staff takes photos of the group with their phones during the ride. You can rent 360 cameras and head mounts. Although I’ve driven in Tokyo more than once or twice, this was my first time playing Street Kart, and it was really fun. The Tokyo Bay route is definitely worth it, passing landmarks like Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower. ENJOY!! My husband loves ramen, so for lunch we went to a retro underground street at Yurakucho Station to a yuzu ramen shop. The fragrant yuzu combined with bonito broth and perfectly balanced pork fat and lean meat gave a full Japanese flavor, perfect for those who prefer lighter ramen. Seating is limited, so there’s a wait of about 30-45 minutes. Menya Hyottoko Yurakucho 📍Address: B1 Floor, Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan, 2 Chome-10-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-0006, Japan 🕰️Opening Hours: 10:30-19:45 (Closed Sunday) 💰Cost per person: 1050 yen On our last day in Tokyo, we went shopping in Ginza. At the Brand Off flagship store in Ginza, we bought two secondhand CHANEL bags. Secondhand bags are all about the vibe; it was rare that my husband said he liked them, so we bought them 🤣. The Brand Off flagship store has many tourists and a large selection of secondhand bags, worth a look. Our 3-day, 2-night flash trip to Tokyo is over. Tokyo really is a great place to play, eat, and shop. ❤️ We really enjoyed this flash trip ❤️