Tokyo, Japan

 Notes from the journal:

• Tyler and I took an overnight Flix bus from Vegas to Union Station in LA and then took public transit to LAX
• We did our first of many preparations for airport weigh ins by putting on jackets and putting heavy items in pockets so we looked like the Michelin Man :) we checked in at the counter and found out we were unfortunately not sitting together for the 12 hr flight but we both had aisle seats and Tyler was sitting directly behind me
• I was exhausted from the all-nighter so I took a nap at the gate and when Tyler woke me up to board I swear to god I have never been more disoriented in my entire life…I thought we had a kid named Tyler?? So I started panicking and asking where Tyler was, which obviously confused Tyler and then I asked if we had a kid and he said no, so I don’t know what that was but it was a hell of a way to wake up
• Took off around 10:30 am on 5/13 and landed around 2:30 pm on 5/14
5/14
• Went through customs, did an ATM withdrawal, bought our bus tickets
• Arrived at Tokyo station and picked up some pre-purchased JR line tickets, bought Shinkansen (bullet train) tickets, then walked to our hotel
• The culture shock was extreme - the city was so green, clean, and incredibly quiet. Even though we were exhausted, we enjoyed the peace of the city and made our first of many convenience store stops for some snacks and passed out at the hotel around 6pm

• Woke up for the day at 3am
• Took the metro (an experience of its own - super quiet, clean, and organized with fun door closing melodies unique to each line) to Jinbocho street (known as a book street)…nothing was open yet except for a diner-style curry place so we stopped for breakfast
• Took a beautiful walk to Kagurazaka for coffee and saw lots of locals going to school and work
• Beautiful walk through a peaceful residential alley full of locals to Nezu shrine
• Explored the famous Asakusa Shrine/Senso-ji temple/Nakamise-dori street, which was extemely crowded with tourists
• Had the famous creme bruleed sweet potato and then headed to Akhibara to see the lights and billboards
• Made our way back to Jinbocho and wandered around book streets and shops
• Went back to hotel for a little rest and accidentally took a 5 hr nap
• Woke up at 8 pm and went to a hole in the wall ramen shop near the hotel (one of our favorite Tokyo memories by far) where we sat at the counter with the door open and a light rain was falling outside

5/16
• Visited Hie Shrine, which was very peaceful in the rain
• Strolled along the Meji Gingko Avenue and sat on a bench there for awhile
• Went to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (our favorite place in Tokyo), strolled around the greenhouse, woods, and ponds, and laid in the fields reading
• Went to Shibuya crossing, viewed from the 2nd floor of Starbucks (underwhelming in my opinion)
• Went to a delicious sushi place downtown and then went up to the South Observation deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Govt Building for an amazing view of the city and the sunset
• Went to Omoide Yokocho (little alleyway with little bars with Yakitori), Kabukicho (flashy lights, “red light district”), and Shinjuku Golden Gai (narrow alleys full of bars)
5/17
• Woke up early and went to the Tsukiji Outer Market and bought some food, most notably, we waited in a long line for a beef and egg bowl
• We took trains down to Yokohama and saw glimpses of Mt. Fuji
• I got to meet more of Tyler’s family which was so lovely! We walked through the Chinatown in Yokohama and ate lunch at a cute restaurant nearby :)
• Tyler and I went to a beautiful park with a view of the Harbor and we sat on a shaded bench to talk and read for several hours
• Took trains back to Tokyo and finally found an Izakaya that had a bit of space for us so we had some snacks and sake

Read if I referred you to this post:

• The cheapest way to get from Narita Airport to Tokyo is to take the regular airport bus to Tokyo station, which can be easily purchased at the airport for 1,300 yen - very fast and a nice bus!
• Set up a Suica or Pasmo card for public transit (covers almost all of Japan) before you leave home
• Can’t withdraw less than 10,000 yen from an ATM unless it’s a JP ATM (or airport ATM) found at post offices and in many train stations
• Would highly recommend Jinbocho book street, Kagurazaka, and the area around Nezu shrine (all with few tourists - we didn’t see any while we were there)
• I cannot recommend the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden enough! The entry is 500 yen and provides hours of beautiful strolls, afternoon siestas, etc. with beautiful nature, shrines, and a great view of the city
• The Tokyo Metro Govt Building is free as opposed to Shibuya Sky and does not require reservations, but if you plan to see sunset, I would recommend going very early and bringing a book to read so that you get a spot up there
• Our hotel was in a very residential and non-touristy neighborhood so we enjoyed the overall vibe and food options. I would recommend finding a hotel away from the main tourist attractions. The only non-peaceful parts of Tokyo were the touristy places, which were all pretty overrated (as expected)
• Lots of tourists visit Tokyo BUT because it is the city with the largest population in the world, the proportion of tourists to locals feels very small. We really enjoyed wandering the non-touristy neighborhoods of Tokyo!
• We took a bus to LAX instead of a flight bc we booked a very affordable flight to Japan that we really didn’t want to risk missing and ZIPAIR doesn’t have partnerships that would have allowed us to get a connecting flight as part of the same flight series - thus allowing us to not be out a bunch of $ if our connection was delayed