One thing we’re learning during Tokyo’s rainy season is that we can’t let a little rain (or a typhoon passing through) get in the way of exploring the city! A quick Google search pointed us in the direction of Namjatown. Namjatown is an indoor theme park in the shopping complex of Sunshine City. Sunshine City is home to a planetarium, aquarium, observatory, Namjatown, and tons of stores and restaurants! A little more research and we found that this complex also has a hotel attached. We booked a room right away! This sounded like the perfect adventure for a rainy weekend.
The theme park was pretty inexpensive to enter (¥1000, around $10) for two adults, and our baby got in for free. One of the areas of the theme park was dedicated to gyoza from all over Japan and we arrived just in time for a late lunch.
Gyoza Central
There were several different small booths and restaurants selling gyoza. Gyoza are Japanese dumplings, typically pan-fried and stuffed with meat and vegetables. However, there were many different types here, including some that were made with soy meat and some that were boiled. I opted for a plate full of gyoza drizzled with mayonnaise and topped with seaweed and green onion. Yum, yum, yum! Although our kitchen is vegetarian when we’re home, I never can resist eating gyoza when we’re out and about. It holds a special place in my heart.
My husband opted for a lunch set that had rice topped with pork and a raw egg, with a tray of boiled gyoza as a side. As a culture, Japan is very serious about their food. Raw eggs are a normal part of Japanese cuisine because of their excellent food distribution and sanitation system, as explained in this video. All eggs are checked for cracks or blood before they are sold in the supermarkets or to restaurants. Another major difference between American and Japanese eggs is that the shelf life for Japanese eggs is much shorter. The “best by” date on Japanese egg cartons is always within a short time frame–usually less than a week.
This goes for many items in the grocery stores–if you buy bread, sandwiches, milk, juices, or numerous other food items, expect to eat it very quickly! It’s much healthier to consume food while it’s still fresh, instead of packing it with preservatives and allowing it to sit on the shelves for weeks and weeks before being consumed. It just makes more sense this way.
Cats, Cats, Cats!
After stuffing our faces a considerable amount, we explored more of Namjatown. It was a pretty quick walkthrough, as we passed through a dessert area, past a little arcade, and several cat shrines.
Cats, cats, cats everywhere! I love it! Some of the shrines had little signs on them in Japanese, which maybe said something along the lines of “All hail the mighty cat!” The dimly lit hallways were strung with lanterns to light the path, making for a magical ambiance.
Just as we were getting ready to leave, loud music started playing through the speakers and drums started beating. The empty stage we walked by earlier now had a large dancing cat and several other dancers onstage with her! This cat costume and dance are kawaii culture at its finest. See for yourself!
This made my day. I was actually more excited than some of the kids in the audience. I was definitely more excited than our five month old daughter (who although was mildly interested, was definitely not impressed).
We watched the performance and started to walk towards the exit, just as the dancing cat exited the stage and walked through the hallway past us. Oh yeah, let’s get up close and personal!
(And yes, you did need to see two videos of this amazing cat.)
Needless to say, this cat’s appearance absolutely made my day. I think I found my spirit animal! What made this day even better was that we could get back to our hotel room for Ariana’s nap without ever stepping foot outside. Namjatown was the perfect place to spend a rainy afternoon in Tokyo. The rest of Sunshine City was still to be explored, but for now–naptime!
