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It's Mal's and Dan's birthdays! Stephen, Mal, Chaz, and Jeff attend a bird-watching event at the ryokan where they also see some foxes and then they have a set breakfast. They take a snowmobile, a bus, and then the bullet train back to the Airbnb.
Chaz, Jeff, and Lindsey take a bullet train to Nagoya for Inuyama Matsuri, a traditional festival with tiered floats. They visit food stalls and try potato chips on a stick, okonomiyaki, yakitori, and yakisoba.
Stephen and Mal join Dan, Alex, and Hayley in Akihabara. Stephen talks about how Akihabara is so busy during weekends. Hayley and Mal return to the Airbnb after a bit, while Dan, Stephen and Alex decide to eat at Denny's before going to a Sega Arcade. Stephen had wanted a more "Western-style" meal after eating traditional Japanese cuisine at the ryokan and he points out how vastly different the menu is. They visit the arcade, then head to Tokyo Dome City. Alex and Dan ride the Thunder Dolphin, a roller coaster that goes through the building. Stephen says that he had to take both of their stuff because they were required to take out all of the things in their pockets before going on the ride. Dan remarks that it was "terrifying, but in a fun way." They stop at another arcade and get snacks at 7-Eleven on the way back to the Airbnb.
Chaz's group films some Shiba Inu dressed in yukata being pushed in a stroller. They then wait for the lanterns on the layered floats to be lit while being mobbed by gnats. The lanterns are lit and they watch the parade of layered floats. Back at the Airbnb, Stephen mentions that Hayley and Mal have been watching a Japanese TV show where they present guests with multiple items, some of which are made out of chocolate and some that aren't, and they have to guess which item is made out of chocolate. He then mentions that they will be visiting the festival of the "reproductive organ" tomorrow.
Notes[]
- Yakitori is a Japanese type of skewered chicken.
- Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake containing a variety of ingredients in a wheat-flour-based batter
- Yakisoba, "fried noodle", is a Japanese stir-fried noodles
- Shiba Inu are a Japanese breed of hunting dog.
- Tokyo Dome City Attractions is an amusement park located next to the Tokyo Dome in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan, and forms a part of the Tokyo Dome City entertainment complex.
- A gnat is any of many species of tiny flying insects attracted to certain smells, especially fruit and sweet scents.