Tokyo Is The Place To Go!

Dates of travel: 29 May 2015 - 02 June 2015

It has to be said: Tokyo is one of the coolest cities in the world! But maybe I'm biased... and to be fair, I haven't been to all the cities in the world, haha. Nevertheless, I have always loved Japan since my first visit on school exchange at the age of 16. The culture, the food, the people; what's not to love! On this occasion, I spent a few days with my girlfriend, Avy, exploring Tokyo only. And anyone who has been will know that a few days is nowhere near enough.

First things first: if you're of above average height, then you're gonna wanna keep an eye on the door frames! This is me on a trip to the bathroom during a dinner with my customer. I had the same issue on my first trip at 16; granted, I probably wasn't much shorter back then than I am now. It's fair enough though: on average, the Japanese are shorter than westerners!

Now... onto the good stuff! On the first day, after meeting Avy at the airport and travelling into the city, we went wandering to find some food. Actually, we were heading for a place about 15 minutes' walk from our hotel that she had heard about from her friend. It's a very popular tempura place, I understand. But when we got there, the line was about two-dozen people long. The hype wasn't wrong, I guess! We were too hungry to wait so long, so we walked back toward the hotel to find something else. Down a little side street, about halfway back, we saw a quaint Ramen shop. I can't tell you exactly where it is, because the side street is not for cars, so Google Streetview has failed me! This was the best way to start a holiday in Japan! The top one in the picture is Shoyu (soy sauce) soup base and the bottom one is Miso soup base. For anyone who is familiar with Ramen noodles being dried instant noodles that university students eat because they are cheap... well I'm sorry, but you're wrong! :)

In the evening of our first day, we headed to Ueno station. We had planned to check out Ueno Park and the shrine there, but the weather took a turn. So, instead, we just explored the shopping market street that runs parallel to the train line known as Ameyayokocho. Avy was familiar with this street because, apparently, lots of Taiwanese people love to shop for cheap medicines and cosmetics in Japan... and this is one of the most popular streets for that! They do have other things as well, like clothes, shoes, fruit & veg, fresh seafood - all sorts of things. There are also quite a few restaurants nearby, which came in handy for us. We found a nice Japanese restaurant (of course) and sat down to some tasty pork, rice, and a few other bits and pieces. One thing to remember is that Japan is not overly cheap, when it comes to food and drinks. It's about on par with Australia, or maybe a little cheaper. Of course, you can get cheap meals, but for a good quality meal, you will be looking at around 1000 - 4000 yen per person (about AUD 10 - 40 by the current exchange rate).

When it comes to getting around Tokyo, you can't beat the train system. You are spoiled for choice when it comes to options. If you are going to be venturing outside of Tokyo (and are not a Japanese resident), then your best bet is to get a JR pass. This will get you onto the JR lines extending further around the country, including the Shinkansen lines. However, if you are just exploring Tokyo, you can, as we did, pick up a 1, 2, or 3-day pass for the Tokyo Metro and Subway lines. You can buy them at the Keisei Bus Counter in Narita airport when you arrive. For 1500 yen, you will get a 3-day pass which allows unlimited use of the Metro and Subway lines for 3 days, starting at the first use in a turnstile. You can get basically everywhere you need to go, and the trains at most stations are usually no more than 5 minutes apart. Anyone familiar with the London Tube will get a hang of it with relative ease.

On the morning of our second day, we headed out to Tokyo SkyTree, in the East of the city. This is a relatively new building, purposely built for taking in the view of the city - and boy, what a view! It's great to get up there and see the city in all its glory, but it will cost you a pretty penny; a little over 2000 yen per person, and another 1000 yen if you want to go right up to the top. Oh and, it's probably going to be jam packed with tourists, just like yourself, so finding a spot at the window to take some photos can be a struggle.

But anyway, it's worth doing at least once so you can take in the sprawling metropolis that is Tokyo.

After we were done feeling very small in a very big city, we went back down to enjoy some brunch. One of the most popular characters in Japan at the time of our visit was Gudetama - the lazy egg. And he has a theme restaurant in the Tokyo SkyTree building. It was a great gimmick, and the character is very cute... but honestly? The food was pretty average. The little fried-egg taco dish on the left looked like it would be pretty tasty. But the egg was burnt on the base, and the wafer-type biscuits used to make it into a sandwich were a bit like eating cardboard. But... it was on the list of places to go, and we've been there now. And in any case, it's a limited time cafe, so they won't be open forever.

After brunch, we headed for Asakusa to visit the famous Kaminari-mon gate and shrine. The gate, seen here, with its gigantic lantern, features as one of the most common tourist photos. But funnily enough, I had never been here on previous trips. Outside the gate, crowds of people try to position themselves to take a photo in front of the lantern, while rickshaw operators in funny hats offer to take you on tours of the area. Beyond the gate lies a long, souvenir-filled shopping street (see left). All sorts of trinkets, from keyrings to fans to yukatas and swords can be purchased. There are also plenty of little snack shops, be it for eating there or for taking home. But if you want to eat there, you will be ushered off to the side of the shop to eat, as walking down the street while eating is not allowed. A smart rule for keeping the street clean, but some of the shop owners were a bit angry in their attitude when enforcing it!

Once you get to the end of the shopping street, you will find yourself at the Sensōji Shrine. It's a pretty remarkable and ornate building. Outside, you can pay 100 yen to get a fortune. You drop the coin in, shake the box a couple of times while asking for something specific for your future, then tip it over and out comes a stick with a number on it. Find that number on one of the draws, then open it to find your fortune slip (it has English on the back!). The best part is if you don't like the fortune you are given, you just tie it on the string and walk away! The first time I did it, my request was too broad and vague (so Avy tells me), so I got "the worst" kind of fortune. I tried again and got a good one - not "the best" but, still pretty good!

That evening, we went out to the Shinjuku area to experience a bit of Tokyo nightlife. We started with a trip to the Government Building, where you can go up to the 45th floor for free to check out the night view. It's pretty impressive to take in, but tricky to get a photo; the whole observation floor - which contains a restaurant and toy shops - is lit up pretty brightly. Most of this light finds its way to bouncing off the windows and into the camera lens. I managed to get a couple by shielding the lens with one hand; I saw a different guy wrapping a cloth or shirt around his! But whether or not you can get a good photo, it's a cool view from up there.

Our evening was, at that point, interrupted and delayed, somewhat. About 800km south of Tokyo, in the middle of the ocean, and several hundred kilometres underground, some rumblings were afoot. On the first shake, I thought it was just the wind, being in such a high building. But when it happened again, everyone looked around and we realised it was an earthquake - about 7.5 on the scale, so not a small one, either! Thankfully, it was far enough away that didn't do any damage in Tokyo. It did, however, prevent us from taking the lift back down. We were delayed for an hour or so before the building staff led us down 10 stories of stairs to a different elevator. I'm not sure why this elevator was okay; maybe it was of stronger construction for exactly this purpose. Whatever the case, we eventually got back down to the ground!

After that fun experience, we headed for the nightlife area of Shinjuku. We had to skip a few things due to our delay, so we just went to check out one of Japan's most famous brik-a-brak shops: Don Quijote (spelled phonetically in Japanese as "donkihote"). I had a whole lot of bags from the earlier events of the evening, so I waited out near the front - it's way too cramped and crowded to be heading inside with luggage. But Avy headed in and got lost for an hour or so, buying all sorts of stuff at Bargain Basement prices! From my post out the front, this was my view. Neon lights, traffic, and thousands of people scrawling around the streets. The place was buzzing with life, and this was about 11pm. Welcome to Shinjuku!

The following day, we had planned to go to Tokyo Disneyland. But after we got back to the hotel at about 1am, and to get to Disney would have required about a 6:30am train, we opted to postpone it. The fact that we had bought an open ticket for a non-specific day actually came in handy! Instead, once we'd rested enough, we headed for Roppongi. It took us a while to work out where the life of area was. But after a nice sushi lunch (not pictured), we discovered Roppongi Hills on the map. This area is guarded by Maman the Spider God... or something. No, not really. It's an art installation, and is one of half-a-dozen replicas posted around the world, the original being at Tate Modern Museum in the UK.

After a stroll around the area, we considered going into the art museum. However, there was a special exhibit on, so the waiting time was quite long. Plus, they wanted about 1500 yen for the one-floor normal exhibit... we decided our time and money could be better spent... on CAKE! Actually, it's not really a cake, but rather a concoction of fruit, cream and crepes. This is apparently the most famous dish at HARBS, a branch of which is hidden away in a corner (it took us a while to find) there in Roppongi Hills. It's called Mille Crepes. I'm not a food connoisseur (I just like the stuff). This was pretty tasty, but nothing out-of-this-world. But to be fair, I've never been really into desserts, except for a choice few types. Still... who can say "no" to a tasty coffee and cake??

After our sugar-fix, we jumped back on the train and headed for Omotesando, the fancy shopping district, littered with brand names. We browsed a few of the shops down the main strip and eventually made our way toward the Meiji Jingu Shrine. Unfortunately, due to our late start, we didn't get there in time - the shrine closes at 16:30. So, we moved onto our next planned activity: Harajuku. This is Takeshita Dori (Takeshita Street), on of the most popular pop-culture streets in Harajuku. As you can see by this photo, on the weekend it is full to the brim with shoppers, mostly sub-30. Sometimes, you can spy some interesting fashion, too, but on this occasion, we didn't see much.

By chance, we came across Pompompurin Cafe - yet another food establishment based on a cute character! This one is a little yellow dog who has a sheep or cloud or something for a girlfriend... Japan! The food itself is not at all Japanese. We shared a plate of nachos that came with rice in the shape of the character. It was fun to break him apart and eat him.

After devouring the cute little dog, we continued strolling down Takeshita Dori, stopping at a few shops along the way. By the time we got to the end, the sun was setting. We circled back around to the train station where we'd first arrived. Before heading back to the hotel, we decided to check out the Ginza area, as it was on the way back. We obviously wouldn't get to see much of it, but we were on such a tight schedule that a lot of our stops were brief. At least we can say we dropped in! Here's a photo from the side of the road somewhere in the Ginza district.

The next day, we headed for the Happiest Place in Tokyo! Avy put on her Minnie Mouse ears and we headed out to Tokyo Disneyland. From our hotel, it was only about an hour by train to get there; we arrived at about 7:30am and joined the line. We'd been monitoring the crowd calendar in the days leading up to our visit to try and pick the least-busy day. Unfortunately, on our weekend, they were all about the same! If you are checking out the calendar, note that the number on each day is the expected crowd in 1000s.

After the gates flew open at 8:30am, the crowd went into a bit of a frenzy. There were staff members scattered in front of the entrance, smiling and waving and telling people not to run - waste of time really! Everyone raced off into the park to jump in the lines of the most popular rides or to grab a FastPass to return later. It was all a little bit manic. Avy had an action plan - she was going to go straight for the Monsters Inc. ride and get us a FastPass while I went to the Toy Story ride and did the same. A couple of things went wrong: 1) you can only get one FastPass per ticket, and you have to scan the ticket to get it; and 2) the Monsters Inc. ride was closed for maintenance. Not the best start to the day!

We joined the queue for Space Mountain, since the waiting time was only 30 minutes (and it actually only took about 20). I'd been to Disneyland twice before (only in Tokyo, no others), but Avy hadn't, so she wasn't familiar with Space Mountain, the roller coaster in complete darkness and sudden turns and drops that you can't see coming... much screaming followed! I had a great time though. I always feel a bit weird on roller coasters, because guys don't usually scream, but it's also strange to shout "WOOOO!" or something similar. So I usually just sit there in silence, which is probably even more weird!

After Space Mountain, we walked up to Toon Town, where you can meet lots of different Disneyland-employees-dressed-as-characters (maybe I'm too cynical to go to Disneyland?). Apart from that, Toon Town is mostly for the kids. You can visit Mickey Mouse's house (and meet Mickey)... if you want to wait in line for 2 hours. You can play on Daisy Duck's boat and do some kind of painting activity in Goofy's house. Lots of kid stuff! You can see here that my problem with the door at the start of the blog isn't exclusive to the real doors in Japan, either. I'm aslo too tall to visit the Toon Town Post Office!

After some further exploring, we visited Cinderella's Castle. It's a very pretty and well constructed interior, but the experience itself was a bit pointless (for people our age, maybe!). You can go upstairs and pose next to the glass slipper, then get a photo sitting in Cinderella's throne... and that's about it! So needless to say, we didn't really hang around too long. But from the outside, it's a very pretty castle!

We spent the day walking around the park, picking up FastPasses and going on various rides. We managed to get on most of the big ticket items, so it was a day well spent.

Buzz Lightyear (robot body, hologram face) introduces us to the Space Troopers ride.

The Star Wars ride: a slightly 3D simulator ride through a Star Wars type scenario.

It's A Small World. We didn't go on this one, but any Simpsons fan knows not to drink the water (thought I'm not sure why you would try, anyway)!

After a brief stopover in the medical centre (Avy got a bit dizzy from one of the water rides), the day picked back up. We shared a Mickey iceblock, which was nice on such a sunny day. After sunset, the Electrical Parade took place. We'd watched a parade earlier in the day, so we just took a few photos and continued on.

We had a quick look through Mickey's house, and did join the line to meet him, but opted to not wait for a half-hour to do so. On the way out, we tried to steal his car, but it turned out it wasn't real.

By the end of the day, we were pretty stuffed! I asked a shop attendant what time the fireworks were going to happen... he informed me it had been cancelled for that day, which was a shame. But what was even more of a shame was that it was not true! We were busy browsing through the shops around the Central Arcade while the sky over Cinderella's Castle was ablaze. We only happened to walk outside in the last 2 or 3 minutes of the display. How annoying! But all in all, we had had a jam packed day and really got the best out of the Happiest Place in Tokyo.

Our last day in Tokyo was supposed to start with a trip to Tsukiji Fish Market at 5am. But who wants to get up at that time when you're on holiday?! Anyway, the only reason to go there so early is if you want to somehow get involved with or watch the tuna auctions, and the number of tourists in there is strictly limited. It's a place of business, after all.

We eventually rolled out of bed and packed up our luggage; we were both set to fly out that evening. We left our bags at the hotel and headed to the market for a late breakfast. By the time we sat down for our delicious sushi, is was basically an early lunch. We had a wander through the market, but it is, at the end of the day, a fish market, complete with the powerful smell one would expect at a fish market! From Tsukiji, we walked about 1.5km to a different branch of Don Quijote, as Avy wanted to pick up a few last minute things before leaving. We wandered around this area for a while, stopping in at a supermarket to get some Japanese groceries to take home. I picked up some miso soup base and this garlic chili mixture of spices - I don't know what it's called, but it's pretty common in restaurants, and it adds a nice zing to most anything!

After that, we headed back to the hotel, grabbed some lunch nearby, then headed for the airport. It was a busy and hectic schedule, but that's just how it has to be if you want to see Tokyo! My advice, if you're planning a visit: allow a lot more time than 4 days!