Our trip to Japan was truly amazing. I did manage to knit both on the way there and the way home. On the way there I knit on the Pimpom Shawl, which I have since frogged, and on the way back I knit on my Urdr Shawl.

I had stopped by my local yarn store, Warm and Fuzzy, for a new cable for my Chiaogoo needles. They didn’t have the right size in the traditional red lace but did have one that would work in the swivel cables. I used the swivel on the Pimpom Shawl and LOVED it. I now want to buy every size and have the complete collection. I will likely slowly collect them as I need additional cables. Great appreciation to the staff at Warm and Fuzzy for the recommendation.

We got to Japan after a long flight in time for a beautiful sunset over the city from our hotel room balcony.

We visited a Tokyo yarn store called Walnut when they opened around lunchtime and I found some amazing yarn. I have a loose idea for the blue but the green was just so pretty and squishy that I couldn’t resist it. I also got some fun knickknacks and a Walnut bag.

We then wandered around for a bit and ended up finding a small ramen shop where we both had the most delicious ramen we’ve ever had. All the food was amazing but this ramen was truly the best food of the whole trip. I enjoyed the 7/11 egg salad sandwich and the hamburger steak from a restaurant at the top of the Sky View but this ramen was out of the world.

We were quite lucky with our timing for visiting Walnut. We stopped by on a hot and sunny Wednesday. By Thursday the typhoon had arrived and they were closed for the day. Can you imagine how disappointing it would’ve been to miss the local yarn store? We did go out during the rainy weather. We took an uber to a nearby mall and jumped right out of the car into a huge puddle. This was the uber ride where my husband left his phone in the car, which was understandably rough to stomach until we checked the location on Find My iPhone and realized that the driver had taken it back to the hotel where he had picked us up. Everyone we met on the trip was incredibly kind and hospitable but this one really took the cake. How incredibly nice of him to take care of a stranger in that way. We gave him a big tip and great rating on the uber app but that’s the most we could do. I hope he knows how much we appreciate him.

The typhoon did end up giving us a nice rest afternoon. I got some knitting done on Urdr at the hotel with the city in the background.

I made good progress on it at the airport when we were heading home as well.

If you ever have the opportunity to travel to Japan, or anywhere really, I cannot recommend Tokyo enough. The people were kind, as I mentioned above, but the city was rich and dynamic with convenience stores with interesting wares, unique shops filled with anything you could think of, as well as culture and art. I hope someday I get to go back, and I’m not just saying that because I have yen leftover in my wallet that needs to find a good use.