Japan Day 20: One Last Day in Tokyo

This was our last full day in Japan.

We still had a few things we wanted to bring home, especially snacks and souvenirs, so Mega Don Quijote was on the plan. But before heading there, we had lunch and made an unplanned stop that turned out to be one of my favorite discoveries of the trip.

One Last Conveyor Belt Sushi Lunch

We went to Kura Sushi near Tokyo Opera City.

By this point, we already had another conveyor belt sushi experience to compare it to: Sushiro at the Yaesu Underground Shopping Mall. Kura Sushi was good, but we all agreed that the food at Sushiro had been better.

Still, conveyor belt sushi had turned out to be such an easy and fun meal to have in Japan.

After lunch, we headed toward Mega Don Quijote.

But first, Kid 2 had another idea.

An Unexpected Stop at Hands

Hands wasn’t originally on my itinerary at all.

We had already visited MUJI, Ginza Itoya, Daiso, Don Quijote and plenty of other stores during our three weeks in Japan, so I wasn’t particularly looking for another one.

But Kid 2 wanted to visit Hands, and since there was one near the Mega Don Quijote we were going to anyway, we decided to stop.

I’m so glad we did!

Hands really surprised me. I had assumed there would be quite a bit of overlap with some of the other stores we’d visited, but it felt completely different.

There were things for school and work, hobbies, crafts and everyday life. It was the kind of store where you could wander from one section to another and keep finding something interesting.

I found fabric with distinctive Japanese patterns that I thought would be perfect for making scrunchies once we got home. I also found a Sumikkogurashi pillow and some Sumikko pens.

Kid 1 found two bracelets, while Kid 2 found lots of stationery and pens for school.

After visiting so many well-known Japanese stores during the trip, it was funny that one we’d almost skipped turned out to be such a good discovery.

Mega Don Quijote: Get In, Get Out!

Then it was time for Mega Don Quijote.

What can I say?

So. Many. People.

It was crowded, noisy and completely overwhelming. This was definitely not the place where we wanted to spend our afternoon slowly browsing the aisles.

Luckily, we already knew what we were there for: a few souvenirs and snacks to bring home.

We picked up four or five varieties of KitKats, some face masks, a magnet and bookmarks.

And then…

We found an entire Sumikkogurashi section.

Well, obviously I had to stop.

There were reusable bottles and little food storage boxes that could go in the fridge or be packed inside a lunch box.

Of course I found a few things to bring home!

After all the Sumikkogurashi we’d encountered throughout the trip, finding a whole section on our final day felt strangely appropriate.

Then we got out of there.

The crowd was just too much.

The Final Challenge: Making Everything Fit

By the time we got back, we were tired from the day and from carrying everything around.

But we still had one challenge waiting for us:

Packing.

Somehow, everything had fit when we came to Japan. Now we had to make everything fit again — plus three weeks’ worth of souvenirs, books, stationery and an unreasonable number of gashapon.

We did it, but some creative packing was required.

All the gashapon came out of their original packaging. We tucked the little toys into the food storage boxes and other containers we’d bought, using the empty spaces inside them instead of wasting precious suitcase room.

Basically, if something was hollow, we put something else inside it.

Eventually, everything fit.

And just like that, our last full day in Japan was over.

It wasn’t a big sightseeing day or an amusement park day. It was simply a chance to enjoy one more day in Tokyo, make an unexpected discovery at Hands, pick up a few things to bring home and somehow get three weeks of Japan back into our suitcases.

The next morning, it would be time to leave.

Coming Next

Three weeks in Japan were coming to an end — but first, we still had to make it to Narita with all those bags.