Tokyo, Japan
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
As long as I could remember, I wanted to visit Japan. I always thought of visiting Okinawa to relive the scenes of Kill Bill and seeing what Japan was like in it's entirety. When the opportunity did come, I was wondering how to fit the enitre country within five days and determined that was not going to be enough. I settled on doing Tokyo only and I did not regret it.
I arrive in Tokyo Narita in the afternoon and took one of the local buses to my hotel. I stayed at the Hilton Tokyo who provided the exact route and bus need to get to the hotel. I did not mention as the bus number will vary by your hotel but do know they have a vast selection of buses from both airports. I chose Narita due to the abundance of flights from Seoul on Korean Air but Haneda is closer to the city. I made the hour long journey into the city arriving to my hotel in the late afternoon. After checking in, I had to settle a debate of the best Ramen in Asia, so I went over to Shohei Ramen to have my first Japanese Ramen. Not saying it's Japans best but it was the closest to the hotel and I'd had Korean Ramen a few hours before so it was a good time to compare while fresh on my mind.
Day two was a visit to Ueno Park. The park gets really busy in cherry blossom season. Athough it's the most expensive time to visit Japan, cherry blossom season might be the best time to visit. The park is not only filled with cherry blossom trees but bits of local art synonymous to Japan and its culture. There was also a food market in the middle of the park selling different types of local foods and ice-creams.
From here I took the train to Meiji Jingo Park and Palace to see local palaces. The city is amazing and the personalized chopsticks from the area will go down as one of the best gifts to myself ever.
Day three was a battle of ups and downs. I was not aware I needed an international drivers liscence as well as my passport to do Mario Kart in the streets of Japan so I had to let that one go. I did manage to try Ichiran Ramen in Shibuya, visit the Tokyo Tower and walk all angles of Shibuya Crossing. The food court at Shibuya was also one of the best i've been to in a long while. I was not aware Japan was that big on pastries and I swear I tried 50 dishes with matcha and strawberry on that day.
On my fourth day, being in Harijuku was one the worst things I could have done while in Japan. Not because I didn't enjoy it but because it reintroduced me to a side of me I thought was long gone. The day started with me visiting Nike Tokyo and explaining to the guys what particular sneakers I wanted. They directed me to Harijuko and it was over. Between stores like Basement and Kicks Lab, I knew I brought an empty suitcase for a reason. Typically i'm team carry on only but as a sneaker-head, this was inevitable.
The final day was a travel day, where i'd grab breakfast and relax before the long trek back to the states but I had quite the journey that day. I left my bookbag on the bus and I swear, anywhere else I'd call it a loss but it was returned to me a few minutes before my flight. I was grateful for that experience.
Japan is an experience. You can pretty much get anything you need from a vending machine. It's permissible to purchase Sushi from the 7-Eleven. It's clean, its futuristic and the people are warm and helpful. The city is clean and adventure is everywhere. I immediately began putting together a month long itinerary for my next trip to Japan because believe me, it won't just be Tokyo.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any parties mentioned. None of the entities mentioned has reviewed, approved or endorsed the content listed in this post.
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