The night before I embarked on my trip to Japan I had an extremely vivid dream about baseball. I was the replacement pitcher on the field, opposing team up to bat. The catcher shouted 'cut the corner' as soon as the batter came up to the plate.

I walked the first person and the second also landed on base. When the third person came up to bat I finally threw perfect pitch and got my first strike. Second pitch was outside and the Catcher one again, now frustratingly yells "cut the corner." I woke up to my alarm it was time to go to the airport. I haven't played baseball in twenty years.

April 11th through 12th I spent traveling, many hours on a plane + transit and going forward into a new timezone and 'losing a day.' Upon arrival in Tokyo I immediately was impressed with the regular use of technology. Suica in my iOS wallet app used to get through the terminals and ride trains, people of all ages on their phones and/or laptops and smart devices riding the train.

My airbnb was located on Nihonbashikodemmacho within Chuo City [Tokyo], closest to Akihabara. The hosts did an amazing job including pictures for accessing the Cherry Blooming Hotel entrance, which required keypad for sliding doors and then walk upstairs to a small elevator up to the 7th floor to access my room with a keypad.

Being new to Tokyo and Japan in general, I went for a walk around my area, stocked up on water for my airbnb and turned in early the first night. I was concerned with being out late due to hearing trains stop early and my bias of big cities being concerned with troublemakers and issues in the evening. (I would quickly learn this was not the case, and Tokyo has to be one of the safest big cities I've ever been in).

It was also the most efficient city I've ever experienced. Public transportation was always on time, sometimes early, never late (in my experience). Civilian right-aways made crossing the street extremely safe. Arrows within stations and directions made sure people walking in one direction stayed on their side and those in the other direction on the other side, same with stairs and escalators as well as straight aways and turns.

DAY 1

April 13th (Morning) was my first full day of exploration within Tokyo. I was up at 5am and would find this to be a regular occurrence throughout my stay. Normally I'm a night owl, but with the time change and being in a new/unfamiliar place I found myself a morning person and gladly took advantage of each full day. The first meal, breakfast, was at a nearby 24/7 chain where I could order from a tablet. I chose an Eel + Beef Rice bowl.

A few hours later I would embark to Shinjuku to meet up with Pretzel, Gene, and Waifu. From my location it was 30 minutes by train and walking. I would later find out that traveling anywhere else within Tokyo would be roughly 30-40 or less (which was super convenient for exploring the entirety of the city and meeting up with different people at different locations).

After walking around Shinjuku for a few minutes we made our way to a Ramen shop. Which was my first real authentic Japanese meal. The location we went to included a vending machine like device where we could pay and choose our meal. Vending machines are BIG in Japan and you'll learn to love them while there.

Even the most expensive bowl of Ramen was 1300 YEN, which is $8.41 USD at the time. I was very surprised at the cost of meals. I was expecting to spend $50-$100 per day, but with each meal under $10 (great nutritious food) I would find myself well over budgeted. In Miami where I live, even fast food cost $20-$30 and then also in the States you're tipping at a lot of places or the tax and extra fees come later and surprise you..versus being all included in the price upfront.

After eating one the best bowls of Ramen I've experienced in my life, we would go sightseeing and window shopping. Still thinking about the Ramen..the broth was INSANE, not to mention the fresh ingredients. The MEAT in Japan is incredible. I find the meat outside of the US and especially overseas to always taste better -- although where we lack great fresh meat without chemicals in the US we makeup for through aging, seasoning, bbqing/cooking techniques.

An insight from traveling in Tokyo and again speaking to the safety of the city, Alleyways are the alpha. In America and especially in big cities, one usually sticks to the main roads and avoids the alleys. If not for safety concern, usually because they are full of trash, smell like piss, and generally unpleasant. In Tokyo and I imagine most of Japan, at least in Kyoto too, the Alleys were pleasant on all the senses and inviting. I went out of my way to go down Alleys whenever possible.

After browsing a few select stores, we decided to go and visit Godzilla's head. I was so captivated by the giant Kaiju 8 banners, which were the focus of my photos, that I didn't even realize I had captured picture's of Godzilla's head too and had walked past it. That was until I turned to the group and said "where is Godzilla's head" and Pretzel informed me that I probably already captured it in my photos, which was true.

For the next part of our walking adventure, we would be heading to a temple. Before diving into that experience, going to dump a few more photos from the walk. Also our intention initially was to go SHOPPING shopping, not just window shopping. But I never found any clothes I truly wanted/needed, a lot weren't my size and also the pricing on clothing was not cheap in Tokyo. The dollar is strong when it comes to Food and Hotels/Airbnbs, but clothing prices were still clothing prices.

Senso-Ji Temple was the destination and what a vibe. This of course was a more touristy area, but still pleasant. I learned the proper cleansing techniques as well as bowing while visiting the temple. I also picked up a good luck charm and we were fortunate enough to be there during a time when there was chanting and prayer going on within the temple itself, in the back of the location.

Upon leaving the temple Pretzel, Waifu & Gene would then accompany me to have my many firsts of flavors. Takoyaki, something I've always wanted to try after playing Persona 3: Reload and Persona 5/Royale and watching many animes. Dango was another treat I was looking forward to and then Curry Bread was something not on my list, that I very much enjoyed.

Afterwards we went to an Eel spot and found out it would have been a 2 hour wait and decided to call it a day. Before we parted ways at the Train Station, was able to enjoy some more architecture and spot the first White Rabbit in Tokyo.

April 13th (Evening) I set out to meet Luna at Tokyo Dome. It was Luna's birthday and as I just had my own birthday on March 13th (and didn't do shit this year tbh) decided to celebrate someone else's and enjoy that experience for both of us.

Luna was on a mission to get a baseball cap. What we both didn't realize or know was that today was game day and there happened to be quite a crowd. Once we met up we went out for Katsu at Niigata Katsudon in Chiyoda City. I treated us both to the meal and was again surprised that for both of us, it only cost 3,000 Yen (~$22) TOTAL. I cannot say this enough, now is a GREAT time for Americans to visit Japan. The airplane ticket is the big cost, but once there it's $20-$30 to rent pocket wifi during my whole stay + maybe $20-$40 a day in food.

Next to vending machines and probably above or on equal par in Japan, is Konbini aka Convenience Stores. With 7-11, LAWSON, and Family Mart being the big 3. I just so happened to be near the Konbini Triangle where I was staying and had my choice of all three. I found 7-11 to be the easiest for withdrawing money and was also surprised to see how much better their 7-11 is than ours in the state, in terms of fresh food and Weekly Shonen Jump + Manga selection.

DAY 2

April 14th I was once again up early and decided to checkoff (2) personal checklist items and included an extra stop at a Starbuck's Reserve (as Pretzel recommended to me from the day before).

From here I was on a mission to visit Kojima Productions. Funny enough, looking at these photos I believe I may have caught pictures of the Tokyo Tower without realizing it, I would later visit this on my last evening and will dive more into that then.

Kojima Productions was not an easy find. It turns out it's part of and located within a larger facility. I actually accidentally went past the Ludens Statue before locating it on my second time going inside of the building.

After taking care of this personal checklist item (Kojima Productions + Ludens Statue photo), it was time for me to visit Akihabara for the first time. On my way there, in the train station, I was excited to see Anime characters being used to advertise products (in place of human models). Human models exists too in Japan, but Anime/Manga culture was strong and even the businesses and Train Stations would use Manga to communicate messages as well as have personalized mascots.

I had arrived too early in Akihabara, around 9:30am and surprised to find most of the shops wouldn't open until 11am and some even at 12pm. Although it made sense, as I imagine many Otaku types into Manga/Anime aren't early risers and probably night owls like I normally am in the states. So did a little sightseeing with smaller crowd of people and found somewhere to eat and kill time before exploring the shops.

I ate a restaurant chain in Akihabara called Johnathan's. I wanted to experience the Robot server, even though this isn't something unique to Japan. Once again I was happy to see the tablet with english options for easy ordering and then enjoyed this beautiful server who was giving me the eyes.

After eating I would go explore Akihabara for the first time. I was overwhelmed by the many shops full of figurines, cards, and everything I love. I surprisingly didn't purchase anything other than Gacha balls from these shops. There was one that had a very awesome Power from Chainsaw Man figurine, but it was quite HUGE and I was stressed about trying to fit that in my luggage.

430PM I would head out to Ginza Line after a quick rest at my airbnb before meeting up with Greedyblock, Low_Profile, & Jojonitsu. Greedyblock was very kind to organize Coffee + Dinner + Whiskey with a sightseeing tour from a local. There were originally supposed to be more people joining and some would come meet with us later for the Whiskey section.

It was during this leg of the trip where I truly appreciated the resources Azuki membership provided to us. Being able to tap into a network of people who live in Japan and having a personalized guided tour, at no extra cost, catered to sharing time together and experiencing what the city had to offer that wouldn't normally be included or available to tourists.

The first stop on our tour with Greedyblock was Streamer Coffee in Harajuku. It was an excellent moment to rest before continuing onward and again getting a great appreciation for the architecture in Tokyo/Japan.

As we made our way to the dinner location, we killed time by visiting the Fashion district where Balenciaga, Prada and other famous buildings were in Tokyo.

The Gentle Monsters building had an installation with a line that during the day would stretch for blocks and even in the evening was not a short wait to get inside.

Dinner was spectacular. Some of the best meat I've ever tasted. It was so good that there was very little dipping into the sauces. Could definitely have enjoyed the meat raw and was very careful not to overcook it. The thinner cuts were incredible, but I definitely enjoyed the thicker Wagyu and Kobe cuts. I also tried tongue for the first time.. and ended up being the only one eating it.

After dinner we would have a nightcap at Tokyo Whiskey Library. Extravagant atmosphere and once inside, you understood the Library part of the name as there were endless shelves of Whiskey (Irish, Scottish, Japanese) and even one of those rolling ladders used to go up and grab the true 'high shelf' whiskey.

When it was time to depart, I scheduled my route home and made sure to grab the final personal checklist item for the day (Weekly Shonen).

DAY 3 - AZUKI EVENT

April 15th today was the day, the tentpole event and reason I had finally made my way to Tokyo and Japan. Something I've long wanted to do since I can remember. A personal bucket list item that began with a love of Sushi as a child and then continued on being of interest as I discovered Manga and Anime. Japanese cinema in general, from Seven Samurai to Yojimbo, Kill Bill paying homage to those classics and then later Japanese Horror films and grindfest favorites such as Ichi the Killer and The Audition.

My photos and journey starts during my evening travels to the event around 445PM. I spent the earlier part of the day with a beautiful Japanese woman and that is all I will say about that. Well and that also when she learned I loved Manga/Anime we shared enjoyment for Jujutsu Kaisen and then I excitedly named all the others I enjoy before she kindly said "you know a lot more than me." To which I replied, yes, "Otaku." lol.

Now onto the next White Rabbit and my journey to the Kanda Shrine.

After walking around and getting photos of the shrine itself, one for enjoyment and two for my awkward introverted ass to recharge and prepare to meet with others. I walked over and met Zhu for the first time as well as others. I unfortunately cannot remember the name of the gentleman in the traditional Chinese garmet, but he asked if anyone wanted to get some food before the event I followed him to get some Inari Sushi. The best tofu wrapped rice I've ever tasted and also tried the version with Tofu wrapped Mochi.

The Azuki event was upstairs and after they setup the lanterns and finished the rest of the decorations we were invited in. There are a few more photos I will share from the inside and during the event. But you can tell I was NOT on top of taking photos while there, just enjoying the experience. We got a private screening of the anime, the first episode 'The Waiting Man' of the 3 part Anthology series: Enter the Garden, produced with Gorō Taniguchi (One Piece: Red, Code Geass)

Azuki Enter the Garden, Episode 1 "The Waiting Man' releases on April 30th to the public. For now you can enjoy this Trailer & Press from Dentsu, IGN, Crunchyroll, Anime Trending, Anime News Network, Screen Rant and more..

Day 4

April 16th during the previous evening I had met Ace Spader for the first time and learned he was going to Kyoto, to which he invited me to join him. I knew that I wanted to visit at least Kyoto or Asaka prior to leaving Tokyo as I also wanted to ride the Bullet Train aka Shinkansen before leaving Japan. But first, along with my purchase of Azuki Tokyo T-shirts, I received a voucher for Graniph Tokyo 'secret menu item' coffee. This little morning adventure before heading to Kyoto would also grant me my 3rd White Rabbit spotting.

Thanks to the Azuki Japan group chat, we all received the alpha that when riding from Tokyo -> Kyoto you want to sit on the right side and from Kyoto -> Tokyo sit on the left side to get a view of Mount Fuji. Unfortunately though, the clouds block the view both ways. But was still thankful for the tip and to try and capture images while riding the Bullet Train.

The JR line dropped us off right in front of Fushimi Inari, which would later go back in the evening and walk. But first we were very interested in eating. The place we went to was pretty American influenced, Wagyu Sushi. Which was simply all meat rolls. Of course the Wagyu in Japan is incredible, so I couldn't complain and the cost of food was so cheap/American dollar strong that even the tourist trap places with overpriced items were still a bargain.

As everything in Tokyo was a nice 30-40 minute or less train ride to visit, all the places we went within Kyoto were a nice walk. The Airbnb I was staying at was a straight walk to Fushimi Inari/Train Station home (less than 9 minutes). All the other places we visited were also within convenient walking distance. The streets were beautiful during the evening and when we arrived, it would be the next day that I would get overwhelmed by all the tourists in the area.

During this part of my trip I looked at my bank account and was surprised to see I had way over budgeted. For the final days of my trip I wanted to splurge a little and was trying to find an Airbnb with a private Onsen, since my tattoos did not permit me to all the public ones. The airbnb I ended up was quite a large home, and had an incredible shower room with a giant bath. Which I took advantage of before the Inari walk and afterwards.

Fushimi Inari was a good 2-3 hour walk. From flat to escalated flat services to longer stretched out steps to full on narrow stairs. As someone who recently has been quite stationary, working from home, I definitely tested myself and was thankful for a long history of athleticism to tap into and make the full journey. I spent a lot of time thinking about my grandfather while I made the walk.

I also enjoyed the company of Ace and we both admitted how we expected the other person to flake out on the invitation as we had only met the night before. Being from California, I was very used to people making empty promises and took for a grain of salt his invite and he admitted he took my acceptance for the same until we both proved to be true to our words and went on the journey together.

I highly recommend doing this during the evening as there are A LOT less tourists, plus the night walk is magical. We also were blessed with rain near the end, to cool us off and add to the atmosphere. We did also go off the beaten path, and encounter some rather chilling spots as well as be reminded that there were wild boars and monkeys to be concerned with. Also spotted some frogs on the end of our journey.

Day 5: Kyoto

April 17th (morning/afternoon) we decided to check out Vermillion Cafe, even though the meal was far from Japanese traditional - it had a very promising view and great ratings. I once again enjoyed my morning walk and going off the beaten path to make my way there, snapping photos along the way.

After Breakfast and a little souvenir shopping, it was time for me to head back to Tokyo. The Bullet Train journey would be 3 hours, but it goes by quick and I was excited for another chance to try and capture Mount Fuji.

Day 5: Tokyo

April 17th (Evening) I once again had the pleasure of being invited out to dinner by Greedyblock. It was finally time for me to experience some real Sushi while in Japan. We would be venturing to Tsukiji Fish Market, where I am told early in the mornings one could watch and participate in auctions as fresh fish arrives. The style of sushi would be Omakese, which is highly recommended as I trust the chef to prepare a great meal. But first, a little Ginza sightseeing.

Sightseeing would then continue as well as me experiencing two more bucketlist items, Taiyaki and Cream Puffs (very well advertised to me through the Manga/Anime Mashle: Magic & Muscles).

Before heading out to Roppingi, Greedyblock introduced me to a popular meeting spot that feeds out/into a Train Station. There was a nice opening here, we enjoyed our Cream Puffs and conversation.

For the final stretch, leaving Ginza we headed to Roppongi with two goals. One to view the Tokyo Tower and then also to capture the Jujutsu Kaisen shot.

CLOSING Remarks

Soft serve ice cream in Japan is incredible. Enjoy it when you can. Grab Ramen at the airport prior to leaving, nice way to say goodbye. Low_Profile told me that 5 Yen Coins are akin to our American $2 Bill. When you come across them, hold onto them, as they are rarer currency and can use them at temples, consider them lucky coins.

Also want to give a shoutout to Samuel Gildas the incredible artist who made my stickers. He also was very kind to invite me out to the private event day before and other times -- unfortunately I was in bed each time he invited me as I was again in bed early and up early in the morning while overseas instead of my usual night owl activity.