August 3rd was another full day in Tokyo, and our first stop was Tokyo Tower. We weren’t there to go up the tower though. Our destination was the building at the base which houses many attractions… including Tokyo One Piece Tower! One Piece is a popular Anime worldwide, and I’m a big fan. When we entered, we were greeted by Chopper’s footprints and immediately knew to follow that.
If you’ve been following my Instagram, you’ll know that I started working on my next Tashigi cosplay. The full costume isn’t done, but I finished the shirt and wore it as a casual Tashigi outfit for the day 🙂
Entrance to Tokyo One Piece Tower
The first thing we did was watch the live action show, which was surprisingly good. The costumes were amazing, and all of the actors really looked and acted like the characters they were playing. They even used the original voice actors for the audio, and there were a lot of neat special effects. I enjoyed it more than I expected!
The rest of the place has mini games for each of Luffy’s crew and various areas for taking photos. We did all the ones that didn’t require extra money or knowing Japanese. This means that we skipped the ones for Franky, Nami, and Robin, but we did the ones for Luffy, Zoro, Chopper, Usopp, and Brook. (Sanji’s is a restaurant instead of a game.)
Since the attraction allows re-entry, we took a break part way through to get lunch. I’ve tried a few curry chains in Japan, and Curry House CoCo Ichibanya is my current favorite. I ordered the one with fried chicken and vegetables, and the flavor and texture of the curry really hit the craving I had!
When we got back, we went to Mugiwara Cafe for One Piece themed desserts. My husband and I ordered the ones for Luffy and Ace, which are soft serve on top of shaved ice. I also bought a few things at the One Piece store!
As a final verdict on Tokyo One Piece Tower, it’s kind of cheesy, but I found it really fun as a One Piece fan. I don’t think someone who isn’t into One Piece would enjoy it as much because it references events in the series, and if you’re not caught up, you could run into spoilers.
We headed towards the train station afterwards and happened to pass by Zojo-ji Temple. I was immediately mesmerized by the Jizo statues and had to stop to look. Each one is in memory of a child that died young or before birth, and it was both a beautiful and sad sight.
From there, we headed to Ueno Park because I heard a festival was happening there. We made our way over to the pond and saw all of the food stalls. The most amazing part was how many people were playing Pokemon Go there! I had seen people playing it in Tokyo, but not so many in one place. We caught a ton of water Pokemon, mostly Magikarps, Slowpokes, and Psyducks.
Pond in Ueno Park
For dinner, we looked up ramen places, and Fuunji was frequently mentioned as a “must try”. It’s known for its tsukemen (dipping ramen), and the line was out the door when we got there.
Part of the line was inside along the back wall, and while waiting, I was in awe at how the chefs were working like a well oiled machine, quickly and efficiently making bowl after bowl of ramen. We ordered the “special” tsukemen which comes with an extra “taste ball”, making the broth really rich. It’s one of the better tsukemens I’ve had, though I have to admit it’s not my favorite one.
After being filled up on noodles, we felt we needed to take a walk. We walked over to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building, which has a free observation deck. It’s nice because it’s free, but if you want a really good view of Tokyo, I’d go to Skytree instead.
View from the Tokyo Metropolitan Building
My next entry will cover going to Sendai, which I’m excited to write about. This was my second time visiting Tokyo, but Sendai was a new city to me!
Awesome. 😀 It’s great to read about more of your adventures.
The Tokyo One Piece Tower looks amazing! I love how there are displays there to attract some neat photo opportunities ;). Ahhh, the curry looks delicious! It’s cool how there are theme-specific places in Japan. It takes fandom to a whole new level! The dipping ramen looks yuummmmmyyyy.
I can’t remember if I saw the Jizo statues on my last visit… I feel like I have, but maybe not. I find those kinds of things mesmerising as well, especially when they are all slightly different, and given their meaning as well.
I didn’t go up the Tokyo Skytree (just went there but didnt go up). I didn’t have any other views of Tokyo, but I should consider that for next time. Ueno Park is lovely from what I remember, and the zoo too.
Glad you got a chance to play some Pokemon Go! 😀
The Tokyo Tower looks so cool! 😀 I didn’t know you could go up the tower (it’s the same as when I found out you could go up the Effiel Tower haha!!) I bet the view would be outstanding!
Good luck with finishing the cosplay, I like how you got to wear it casually too! 🙂
Skytree has an amazing view! I live for city views so any views high up always attract me! 😀
Tokyo is gorgeous ^^ The Tokyo tower is so beautiful and I had no idea you could go in it, but it makes sense.
The skyline is so breathtaking. One day, I’ll travel to Tokyo or anywhere where the skyline is huge.
Love the shot of Tokyo Tower! I haven’t made it over there. Instead, I made it over to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building for the free observatory deck. If I’m in Tokyo again, I’ll definitely check out Skytree! Thanks for the tip 😀
I am not an anime fan, but my husband is and I bet he would have loved the one tower. He would have been pokemon go playing with you all along too lol.
So cool, I stood in that exact place at Tokyo Tower at the entrance too! 😀 I don’t know OP that well, but we mainly went up the tower for the view anyways. Which was breathtaking!
I also visited the pond at Ueno Park and Yeeeeees so many Pokémon Go players! I didn’t have internet outside but I played a bit at the hotel and I’m so in awe of the amount of Pokéstops.
Your curry looks amazing too. I’m really craving one now 🙁