Most nervous trip ended up becoming the best | Tokyo, Japan

For whatever reason, going to Japan was one of the most nervous trips I've experienced. Maybe it was the foreignness of it, or the food, maybe the language barrier, but given how many tourists travel to Japan each year, it wasn't something that I should even be remotely worried about.

Prior to my departure to Tokyo, I bought the airport transfer (N'ex or Narita Express) online in advance for ¥4070 (return) which is slightly cheaper than if you were to buy them at the ticket machine. It is still pretty steep for an airport transfer but understandable due to the long distance between Narita and Tokyo.

As with everything in Japan, I also bought the Shinkansen ticket online in advance, and I was able to score a cheaper Green class ticket (premium cabin), since it was only a couple of dollars difference between a normal cabin and this I opted for the Green Class hoping that it would be a much more comfortable experience even if it is only a short distance that I will be travelling. Although in saying that, it is also very expensive to travel the Shinkansen with this return trip costing ¥7380 for only 30 minutes each way.

DAY 1

Arriving in Japan, the immigration queue was long and there was a lot of Japanese instruction yelled out which is not very useful when you are dealing with foreigners in the queue. It was more of an organised chaos than anything else.

I made it out to the train station bound for the city with minutes to spare for my booked time ticket, I was supposed to collect my 72 hour transit ticket pass at the airport but totally forgot about it, fortunately, I was able to collect it in the city as well, but by the time I got into the city it was late and I couldn't make it as I found out how confusing Tokyo station is.

I think I circled the station for about an hour trying to find a vegan restaurant (T's Tan Tan Ecute) hidden inside the station, and in my mind I thought it would be somewhere outside the gated area, but it is actually inside and only by sheer luck I was able to find it after finding a paper map of the station located on one of the entrances. A kind Japanese man also tried to help me after probably seeing how lost I was and he couldn't tell me where it was either, and he said it should be before the gate area which added to the confusion I suppose.

I would highly encourage you to obtain a paper map of Tokyo station if possible, especially if you are going to be navigating inside fairly often or looking for something specific. There are different entries for the Shinkansen as well, I thought it was one of the entries but turned out it was a different entry point, and same with the exit which I was told it was not my exit and I got turned around by the staff and it took me a long time to find the right exit.

DAY 2

I started the day heading to a convenience store just a few steps from my hotel. I found out that they offer decent cooked microwaveable meals, all of the meals do contain meat which is a bit of a challenge since I am vegetarian, so I found one that contains the least meat on top, none on the sauce and just takes the meat out to the side. I also got myself a smoothie to energize myself for the day. All in all the meal was cheap and tasted good.

I then explored the neighbourhood of Asakusa which was where my hotel is located. There's a popular temple called Senso-Ji nearby and a bunch of shopping strips close by around the area, it was already very crowded by the time I got there and would definitely not recommend going later in the morning as I would imagine it to be packed.

I was going to go to the Imperial Palace but found out that it was closed on Monday, for whatever reason I didn't check that correctly. So I had to compromise and headed back to Tokyo station to collect my 72 hour transit pass which worked out, and then explore the Ginza area which is only nearby. I wanted to buy some stuff at Uniqlo but I didn't realise that they do tax free, and the tax free has to be done in store unlike some places I've travelled to where you claim it at the airport, so I had to rush back to my hotel to collect my passport. As I have started my 72 hour transit pass, there's also limitation as to which lines I can use, and given the complexity of the transit system there, it did take a bit of trial and error to figure out what I can and cannot use it for, some I will need to pay extra for using.

Given my time constrain due to the unplanned detour, I have decided to head over to Shibuya and explore the area. It didn't seem like there was much going on there during my research but I was really wrong about that, turned out there were way too many things to do and see I didn't have time to explore in much detail, so I mostly had a quick glance and also pop into the MEGA Don Quijote which is a store that sells literally anything and everything, it's a 2 dollar store in steroid basically. I bought some items and since I've got my passport with me, and they do tax free shopping, I was able to buy the items tax free, but weirdly they didn't advertise that there's a minimum spend for tax free eligibility and also they seal it up in a bag so you cannot use it until you're out of the country, but not all stores seal up the purchase as I headed back to Uniqlo at Ginza to get the clothes I wanted and also even though they claimed that it has to be hand carried, given some of the things I bought are liquid, I wouldn't be able to hand carry it anyway so I was told by the airline check in staff that they will only need to see the receipt but when I was going through immigration where the tax return booth is, there was no check of any kind and I asked the staff there if I needed to report it and they didn't seem to bother, there's some sort of tablet to fill in the form and such but that place was more dead than the desert. Although the Japanese government is talking about abolishing their tax free shopping as people were abusing the system by reselling it on the street to make a profit.

Ending the day is a beautiful sunset view on top of Tokyo Tower. There are 2 different levels but my city pass gets me access to the lower level only. Regardless, it was still plenty high enough and at times slightly terrifying.

Given it was late and I didn't know where to eat, I pop into 7/11 on the way back to my hotel and found the Omurice (omelette with rice) which was absolutely delicious, I didn't realise they have rice inside the egg so I bought another set of rice, fortunately I was really hungry and manage to finish most of it.

DAY 3

Today's first attraction is the Tokyo Skytree which is not too far from my hotel. I arrived there about 10-15 minutes prior to opening and there was a huge queue formed inside already. Ticketing opened on time, even though I have a reserved time I still had to get a paper ticket from the automated machine, which fortunately was quick so the queue was able to move relatively quickly. The observatory is just like any other, boasting several floors with a souvenir shop, restaurant and cafe. There's a separate observatory at a higher level as well.

From there I headed towards Teamlab, one of the most sought after attractions in Tokyo, and while I have seen a few travel recommendations on this and the general description, I didn't know what exactly I should expect, and I have to say it is one of the most unique and mind blowing interactive art exhibition I have ever been to. I highly recommend this for anyone choosing to visit a limited attraction whether that's due to budget or time. After finishing up inside, there's a vegan ramen food truck conveniently situated right outside which has a unique colouring and twist. I was supposed to book this with my city pass however it was all booked out by the time I bought the pass a month out from my departure, so make sure if you are to make full use of your city pass and you're planning to visit this attraction, do buy it early and lock it in.

Located within the same area with a short monorail ride is Small Worlds, I wasn't expecting much at first, however there were a lot of quirks and there was way more to see than I have expected it. There was a NASA rocket launch which happen at a specific time, and an airport with traffic navigating, taking off and landing which was impressive.

With my legs turning spaghetti by that point, I didn't have the will and power to continue exploring the rest of the area which houses some more statues in their parks and squares, I headed towards the shopping mall which I had to pass through some hydrangea and it was beautiful. I had a quick look in the mall, take a rest and then head to Chuo City where one of the Godzilla statues is located. As the sun was setting and some showers started to come through, I quickly went there to take a peek and I was rather disappointed by the size and the way it was presented, which was on top of a car park of sorts, there was nothing really impressive about it so I walked to dinner which is located nearby as well.

This restaurant is called Tenzo, not too far from the Ginza area, they are a vegan restaurant. It was empty when I was there and during my time there were 1 or 2 people that came, but it was around 6pm so maybe it was still early, and also probably it was a weekday. I ordered a "fried chicken" with rice and a soup, the taste was ok but the sauce was not mixed well with all of the "fake chicken" so eating the top part was not flavourful but it was ok by the time I got down to the bottom. There was also brown rice, carrots and other greens in it which was a healthy balance overall. There was only 1 staff working behind the kitchen as the front of house is mostly self-service, as I was leaving the staff was no where to be seen and I didn't want to bother anyone anyway, the automated door quietly roll open and after walking out he came over the hatch quickly and yelled out something in Japanese which is very common as you leave so I assumed it would be something along the line of "thank you for visiting please come again" but the Japanese version of it. I find it pretty funny that they won't give up even after you have left which shows the high customer service expectation in Japan and the pressure the customer service sector in Japan must be under, although as a customer that's what made me love this country more because of the friendliness and overly customer-focused culture, that you not only can expect in high end establishments but consistently anywhere that you go to.

Ending the cold wet night, I took the opportunity to visit one of the onsen which is on the higher end spectrum so the price was higher but the facility was good, clean and there were several pools with different temperatures. One of the pools is situated "semi outdoor" with lounge chairs for people to chill, the warm pool there has a lounge chair shape seating so I spent a long time there enjoying the cool down but still keeping warm by the pool. They also have a cold pool as with a lot of onsen, I never tried it but given how many people were sitting there for a long period, I didn't think it was that bad, but as I dip both my feet inside the pool, I could feel the chill going deep inside my bones and I couldn't get out quick enough, as much as it is health beneficial I am not abusing myself.

DAY 4

The weather was perfect without many clouds in sight. I was going to do the tour at the Imperial Palace, but I ran late and missed it so I only walked parts of the garden given it was super hot and the cloudless sky was not helping. The tour doesn't get you access to the Palace ground anyway, but parts of the restricted public access areas which if you are into the history of the ground and royals might be something that you could do.

The next stop was Shinjuku, I pop into Ikea thinking it would be similar to the one in Shibuya, but it was smaller and their restaurant is more of a takeaway version which was disappointing, but I still got the usual mashed potato and vegan balls.

I walked around the area and also did a quick stop inside Don Quijote, since this is not the MEGA, it is slightly smaller but has the same craziness of stocks inside.

The time then finally came for the second Godzilla statue, I was hoping it was a lot better than the one in Chuo City and when I found it I was so happy and amazed by the sheer size of it. I wanted to get up close but didn't know how to, after taking a few wrong turns, I found signage that pointed me to the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku, although the signage was stating that only hotel guests and cafe guests can access the balcony where the statue sits. I was ready to pay for a drink at the cafe to have access, but as I approach the wait staff at the cafe, she told me I can just go through and I was happy that I do not have to pay for the overpriced hotel cafe drink, but I would have if I had to. The timing was also great as there was a show of the mighty Godzilla when I was taking some footage of it. It would look much more amazing in the evening with the light and smoke coming out of it, but the timing was not right for me so the day show will just have to do it. I then went to the nearby Starbucks to cool off which it sits looking directly at the hotel building with a poster of Godzilla which was really cool.

The next and last item for the day is to head up to the free observatory at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. There are 2 observatories each in one of the buildings but one was closed at that time for Covid testing or something of sorts. It wasn't too busy when I was there and I only had to queue up at the lift to get up. There's a souvenir shop and cafe in the middle, and the rest were free for people to roam and look out 360 degrees. I wish there was some seating so that people can enjoy or wait for their group to finish without having to stand or use the cafe, maybe it's a tactic to stop people from staying for a long period or not using the cafe. It is also right at the flight path of Haneda airport so there are frequent sightings of airplanes approaching to land.

After being there for about 45 minutes, I headed down to another ramen restaurant just across the street. AFURI is under the Sumitomo Building but given most places are a maze it was a bit of a task but I was able to find it in the end. It has an open plan bar seating style so everyone gets to see the kitchen staff preparing their dishes. It was nice and had a good variety of greens.

As I was heading back to my hotel and navigating through the highly confusing and unhelpful underground location tracking, I made a quick stop at Akihabara where the Pop Life Department M's is situated. This is the largest adult store in Japan I believe and they have around 7 floors with all sorts of items to suit the crowd. While it may be mostly catered towards the heterosexual crowd, you can still find something that suits you as a queer person as some items can be used by any gender or sexual orientation. I do find it rather interesting that Japanese society as a whole can be rather conservative when it comes to sex, not nudity obviously, as anyone who may have come across Japanese pornographic materials will know that they do censor genitalia regions which I am not very sure the origin or purpose but that to me painted a picture of a social unacceptance towards sex, but possible one of the largest adult store operating in that country is such a weird concept.

DAY 5

Today is my excursion outside of the Tokyo city region. As Japan is well known for its high speed train, the world famous Shinkansen is the backbone of making that happen, I booked a trip to an onsen town called Hakone. As this route is heading towards Osaka and Mt Fuji, most rail passes will not cover this particular route. As the starting destination is Tokyo Station, I headed towards there and tried to find my way around. There are several entrances to the Shinkansen and the one I initially thought was the entrance was apparently not the right one and I was pointed out to the other entrance. So make sure to be there earlier if you are new or unsure of how the rail network works since it is confusing for their local subway networks, trains and their high speed rail. We pulled away from the station on time headed SouthWest, within 30 minutes covering 76km we got to Odawara station which is the transfer station to the local transit network for Hakone. I was fortunate to have sighted Mt Fuji in a short segment as that was the one and only time I was able to spot it.

I bought the 2 day Hakone Freepass as it worked out to be cheaper for the itinerary I have planned. The pass is in a digital form and can be immediately activated, as I did forget to buy it in advance. All transportation within Hakone is covered apart from the special trains, you can also get free access to some attractions, or discounts to the others.

As I made my way to the first stop which is the onsen in Hakone Kowakien Yunessun, I first hop on the train at Odawara to Gora, and then transfer to a local bus service. Yunessun wasn't my first onsen option as the one I found which is Hakone Yuryo I believe is the best in the region was closed for maintenance during my time there, but unfortunately as I arrived in Yunessun, it was also closed for maintenance. I wasn't sure how I missed that during my research, it could have been a spontaneous closing which could explain the reason for not knowing it a week or 2 prior when I did my research. I spent a bit of time in the lobby trying to work out how to reshuffle my schedule and whether there was any other good onsen around, eventually I found one but that is near Odawara which made it the ending activity.

Since I couldn't do the onsen, I pushed all the activities later in the day forward. I got on the cable car from Gora to Sounzan, which is a transfer station to get on the gondola to get to the end station which is Togendai. On the way around midpoint I found a spectacular volcanic crater so I decided to hop off to check it out, and given it was also midday I wanted to find something to eat, conveniently a restaurant is located on the top floor of the station. Initially I didn't find anything good on the menu they have posted outside, but I decided to go in to enquire about the food where I then came across a paper on the counter saying they have a vegetable curry with rice, given I'm not good with spicy food I was worried and the staff told me it was not spicy since it's tomato based so I got one and it was probably one of the tastiest things I've had, maybe also because I was hungry. The portion wasn't much and it was expensive given it is a tourist town after all, but I had no complaint apart from that. The restaurant has a great view out towards the crater which is worth paying to eat there and enjoy the view. After lunch, I pop out quickly to take some pictures before heading back to the cable car to get to Togendai where the Hakone Pirate Ship cruise is, I saw a schedule posted there for the cruise which I wasn't sure I could make it but running to the ship with another guy we barely made it for that sailing.

There were 2 ships parked up and we got on the Queen Ashinoko, there are 2 stops on the southern end of the lake but most of us are doing the roundtrip scenic cruise which is around an hour long. On a good day we might be able to spot Mt Fuji but given it was cloudy there was not a lot of scenery to be seen apart from the mountains around Hakone.

After the cruise, I wanted the quickest way to get to the onsen at Yumoto Fujiya Hotel, and the local bus seems to be the one, and also a change of scenery allowing me to see the smaller towns around Hakone. There are 2 indoor pools and 2 outdoor pools, the water temperature is too hot, maybe exacerbated by the sunburn I had obtained the day prior. I stayed there for around 90 minutes before I couldn't handle it anymore and decided to call it and head back to Odawara station.

There are some shops, a supermarket and a department store inside Odawara station. I went to the supermarket given I was starving from the onsen and bought a chocolate bread/cake, a pudding and a juice, the chocolate bread/cake was probably the tastiest thing I've ever had, I wish I had bought more of it.

After returning to Tokyo Station, I went back to T's Tan Tan Ecute and tried their seasonal cold lemon ramen, which I was doubting whether it was good in the first place but since they were advertising it I thought it shouldn't be that bad, well all I am going to say is that I won't be ordering that dish again.

DAY 6

My full last day in Tokyo is to spend it in Disneyland. I knew I wouldn't have much time to pack so I spent the morning packing as much as I could, and by the time I got to Disneyland it was around noon.

It wasn't the best day either given it was raining but fortunately the rain stopped shortly after I've arrived. I wasn't able to do some of the rides as some were closed, some were operating but busy so I went to other ones but by the time I return it was closed, I wasn't sure what were the reasons but I still couldn't manage to do some of the rides I wanted towards the end of the day as I just didn't have enough time.

I ate my dinner at Eastside Cafe, there was a fairly long queue and it was the only restaurant with food that was suitable for me so I waited for about 30 minutes to get a table. I got a set that comes with a bred, soup and the main. I also got a lemon iced tea, which was rather interesting as it was given to me deconstructed.

I wanted to do the Beauty and the Beasts ride before I leave and there was a huge queue before the parade so I went to watch the parade instead and then while queuing to enter the ride, I was able to watch the fireworks as well which saved me a lot of time and not missing out on doing a ride. By the time I came out of the ride, the park has closed and well past the closing time.

CONCLUSION

I have really enjoyed my time in Tokyo, there were definitely a lot more things to see and do that I didn't find online, but given that now I have known of the potential areas I could spend more time in and explore more of, I would be able to plan better.

As this is my first time visiting Japan and Tokyo, it was mostly just visiting tourist attractions and doing tourist things, but there are of course a lot more tourist attractions both within Tokyo, outskirts of Tokyo and across Japan that I should also visit.

I mostly enjoyed the order, cleanliness, and attitude of the people. The most surprising thing to me is that I enjoyed a lot of the food even though I was initially afraid of the food situation given that Japanese food has mostly been foreign to me apart from the occasional visit to a Japanese restaurant where I live but they don't serve many of the local Japanese food that you can find there. Talking about food, I am also impressed with the convenience of having fresh chill cooked food in convenience stores that I can bring back to my hotel to heat up, or even if they do not have one, the convenience store could do it for you, which I find remarkable as I have not seen such a thing after travelling to many of the Western countries or even in Asian countries. I could access healthy food most times of the day instead of going for instant noodles or other unhealthy alternatives, and the best part is that it's not even that expensive, each store stocks different variety so you can never get bored since there are plenty of convenience stores across the city.

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