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(ad gifted). There’s always that awkward moment when you arrive at a tour meeting point somewhere busy and you need to find your guide. More than once I’ve approached the wrong guide and almost ended up doing something totally different than I planned.
On this tour, I had no such issue.
I arrive at the meeting point, and, poking out from around the corner of the building, I see the tips of two white rabbit ears – my guide is already here, and she looks as fabulous as I was expecting.
Who Is Cyber Bunny?
For those not up on their internet royalty, Cyber Bunny is just a bit famous online!
With over 130k followers on Instagram alone, her videos, which look at some of the cultural differences between Japan and the US, get thousands of likes and comments. Check them out on Instagram here.
She was one of the people chosen to guide actor Eugene Levy around Tokyo in the TV show The Reluctant Traveller (you’ll find our post on exactly where they went here if you’re interested)
She’s also behind the ‘Days of the Week in Japanese’ song’ that my Japanese teacher used to teach me my Mondays to Fridays. Even now when I try to work out what day I’m saying, it’s her voice that comes into my head.
And she wears a white wig and bunny ears to do all of these things!
Now she’s adding ‘tour guide’ to her repertoire.
What Happens on a Cyber Bunny Tour?
Well, that’s up to you to decide.
She says that on a Cyber Bunny tour, she helps you experience Japanese hospitality aka ‘omotenashi’ but exactly what that means is kind of up to you to decide.
It might mean riding bikes and then taking a picnic in the park with sake and a delicious bento prepared for you, or, as in my case, finding out what things you want to experience most about Japan and putting together the perfect itinerary for you to experience them stress-free.
Image @cyber bunny
She knows what you can just turn up for and what needs reservations (or someone else to stand in the queue for you), ‘We did one tour with a family and while we were at the Shiba Inu cafe, one of my team queued up for the giant cotton candy the little girl really wanted to try. She was so excited when she saw it,’ she tells me.
I’ve seen the length of that cotton candy queue – I’d be over the moon if someone stood in it for me!
Other tours have included trips to buy unicorn-themed gifts, an outing to find Japanese crystals, lots of shopping, cute cafes, and, even a stunning tea in a camper overlooking Mount Fuji.
She admits Cyber Bunny tours aren’t your traditional tour where someone talks at you while you walk, ‘I can tell you about the history of Meiji Jingu Temple, but you can also read about it online before or after your trip. The tour is more about connecting with each other,’ she told me when we did a pre-tour chat.
In other words, you’re going to be experiencing the culture and fun of Japan rather than just learning about when or why things happened.
And, she’ll also reign you in if needed, ‘people try and do too much when they come here – we want them to have time to enjoy things more.’ Although she also says ‘I do like to take people out of their comfort zone a bit when planning their day.’ Gulp!
I’m very guilty of trying to fit too much in – and, as such, my own schedule was pretty packed, so, for my tour, we decided to keep things simple and spend a few hours taking in the fun sights of Harajuku.
For two hours, we wandered up and down Takeshita Street, consuming all of the calories in a fun form that we could manage!
Harajuku, Here We Come
The first stop is the latest addition to the rainbow food trend.
On my last trip to Japan, my friend Kendall and I tried to buy rainbow cheese sandwiches. We walked up to the stall down a Harajuku back alley, yen in hand – at which point, an embarrassed person tapped us on the shoulder and explained that the big line of people opposite was the queue for said sandwiches and if we wished to partake in the trend, we had to join it – cue us slinking quietly away, sandwiches unsampled!
Trying Rainbow Corn Dogs
Today, though, it was time for me to consume colored cheese. But getting my rainbow on wasn’t going to be in the form of sandwiches, but a new addition to the trend Cyber Bunny had spotted – rainbow cheese corn dogs!!!
Admittedly, it’s not as photogenic as the cheese sandwiches – but that’s the other benefit of a tour from Cyber Bunny – she somehow manages to make the pictures you take look good, too!!!
The Poop-Ice Cream Shop
Our next stop was the shop selling ice cream shaped like poop and served in a mini-toilet!
I started my blogging career after a visit to the Toilet Restaurant in Taipei, so this was right up my street.
And we added in an impromptu drink of unicorn tears and a random blue mango soda from a baby’s bottle because we could!
Some of these treats were a great success – don’t knock poop-shaped ice cream until you try it, and drinking from a baby bottle is strangely relaxing. Although, if I never eat another rainbow corn dog, I’ll be happy. If you have a thing for rainbows, the cat toast from Ano Ano cafe almost opposite is much better – and cuter!
The great thing about having Cyber Bunny there was having someone who could translate what was actually in these things rather than my just wildly guessing and pointing.
It meant I could order the low-sugar drink rather than the fully fuelled version.
Although, even with the best translation in the world, neither of us was expecting the cornflakes that suddenly appeared at the bottom of the ice cream poop! Notice to anyone else trying this – scoop all the way down and mix or you’re basically eating dry cereal!
Then, it was time for that ‘out of your comfort zone’ thing she mentioned! And in my case, it was Purikura!
What the Heck is Purikura?
I’ve been to Japan a lot. I’ve done a lot of strange things and embraced many a trend, but Purikura had passed me by because frankly, I couldn’t work out what the heck was going on.
I’m still not completely sure I could manage it alone!
For the similarly uninitiated, Purikura is a photo booth where you have photos taken with your friends. But, unlike when I did this as a teenager, you don’t actually have to look like you in the end result!
Woot woot.
The machines actually take a slightly distorted version of your image – what the pictures look like on the outside of the machine gives you an idea of what you’ll end up looking like – but you can usually expect very big eyes!
When we arrived, there were already groups of girls giggling around a machine and another girl in a gorgeous white outfit making the most of the onsite hair products.
I didn’t even have a spare lipstick on me and was looking a bit shiny after a morning spent walking around – but this did not matter because, once you’ve taken your photos, you get to re-edit them completely.
You might have noticed I rarely appear on this blog – that’s because 99% of the pictures of me are not deemed acceptable for publication!
Being able to create an edited version, therefore, sounded great.
The reality wasn’t quite the image I hoped for!
Cyber Bunny talked me through the different options, and I spent a happy five minutes changing the shape of my eyes, blotting down my shiny skin, and making my face a bit thinner!
Strangely, the filter the machine had added had shrunk my lips to half their size, and no attempt to plump them back up would work on the editing – I’m glad I hadn’t paid a fortune for them!
I found the whole thing fascinating – and I guess the fact that you couldn’t make the lips huge said a lot about the different beauty standards between Japan and many other countries – but I digress, let’s get back to the tour…
The Most Adorable Ending
Our last stop was something I’d mentioned I wanted to try, and it was one of my favorite things of my whole trip, let alone this tour.
About a 5-minute walk away from Takeshita Street is the Anakuma Cafe.
Anakuma means ‘bear in a hole’, and so, at this cafe, you’re not served by a waiter or a barista, but through a hole in the wall by a ‘bear.’
Because the bear is shy, you only ever see their paw – but despite that, they’ll write you messages, play rock, scissors, and paper with you, and they might even bestow magic tokens to play on the gachapon machine outside.
It’s adorable. Seven different bears work behind the counter, so you might get served by a grizzly, a brown bear, a polar, or another bear entirely.
If you go on the Anakuma website, you can find out the name – and personality – of the ‘bear’ that’s served you (you tell them apart by their paw color), which is a fantastically Japanese touch that I love!
Most theme cafes are big on the theme but not so much on taste, but Cyber Bunny said her coffee was one of the best she’d had – I had the fruit tea (above), and that was pretty good, too.
And, for a bit more money than a cup, you can buy it served in an adorable bear – which, then served as my teabag carrier for the rest of the trip and is back at home sitting watching me type right now!
Would I Recommend a Cyber Bunny Tour?
I really enjoyed myself.
Having someone to show you the cool spots is fantastic. Despite how many exciting, trendy, new, out-there, and innovative things there are to do in Japan, I haven’t found a tour that covers Pop Culture in Japan, especially one looking at newer trends or that you can personalize to what you want to do, so this is a great addition to what’s out there.
Also, while I could have found the things we did on my own, I wouldn’t have understood them as much without Cyber Bunny – and there’s no way I’d have worked out Purikura!!
And remember, you can choose your own day – if eating novelty junk food is not your thing, she’ll plan something that is – as I said, she’s very good at suggesting good places to shop, especially if it’s something you’re not sure where to find.
Whatever you do, she’ll take you to her secret recommended spots – and, if you’re going further afield than just one area, she offers private transportation around the city if you need it as part of the tour.
She also does concierge services and will make reservations at the best restaurants locals love to go to.
How to Book a Cyber Bunny Tour
Find more details on the tours on her website. You can then discuss in more detail what you might want to do on the day and the costs.
You can see more examples of things she’s done on her tours at @cyberbunnytours on Instagram.
If you have any more questions, hop on (sorry) over to our Facebook group and ask them there, and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Who Writes This Blog?
My name is Helen Foster, and I’m a journalist and author. My travel articles have appeared in publications including The Australian, RAC Horizons, Jetstar Magazine, Sainsbury’s Magazine, and more.
I’ve traveled to Japan five times before- solo and with my partner – and I’ve just returned from trip six in June 2023. So, everything here is pretty up to date.
