Tokyo, Hakone, Fuji!
It’s time for Leg #2 of my backpacking trip! After leaving Taiwan, I arrived at Narita International Airport in Japan. It took me 2+ hours to get past the immigration line (even with a QR code on my phone with my completed forms that I did ahead of time), but I guess that highlights the tourism craze in Japan right now. I took the Skyliner into the heart of Tokyo, which I think is the ideal option in terms of both cost and speed.
Several trains later, I reached Wise Owl Hostel Shibuya and dropped my stuff off. After lugging my things around and the long immigration line, I was ready to hit the hay, but I ran into Dalton, my bunkmate from Canada. He invited me out, and I was so excited to be in Tokyo that I couldn’t say no. After meeting some Fins and Dutch guys, we walked into Shibuya and hit Camelot. The top floor was good at first but soon died. We then realized there was a bottom floor that was much, much better, so we ended the night there and walked home in the early rays of the morning. After some FamilyMart for dinner (breakfast?), I hit the hay and slept well into the afternoon.
I got myself ready and set out around 2 PM the next day, getting some well-needed rest from my Taiwan adventures too. Two minutes after leaving, I ran into some people advertising free chicken. I first walked past them thinking it was a scam, but after rethinking it, I came back and offered my services. I met Isshin, a student at USC, who informed me that they were running a survey for people to try a new chicken formulation for a Conbini, and I fear I’ve said too much. The chicken was delicious, though! And shoutout Isshin for inspiring me to buy Tokyo Giants resale tickets for the following day.
My next stop was the famous Shibuya Scramble that I’ve seen so many times in pop culture. I crossed it a few times and went up to the rooftop of the MAGNET building, where for a low price, I got a matcha drink and a view of the scramble. It was really cool, but I wish I had come at a busier time so I could see the scramble in all its glory during rush hour. The MAGNET itself had some great shopping opportunities, including the world-famous One Piece Mugiwara Store. As a One Piece fan, this store was literally paradise and I happily shelled out hundreds of dollars for merchandise for myself and friends. I also recreated the iconic pose of Shanks giving Luffy his straw hat with the Shanks statue outside. I wandered around and bought some cheap jewelry before setting off for Meiji Jingu.
Meiji Jingu is located in a beautiful park with tall trees and historical artifacts, like old sake barrels. I also paid the small entrance fee to walk around Iris Garden. The garden was peaceful and had some cool historical locations, like a Pavillion and natural spring, but it wasn’t that much more interesting than the main park. I made it to the main shrine area with just enough time to explore the Bonsai display and the Shinto Shrine, where I completed the ritual of throwing coins in, bowing twice, clapping twice, praying, and bowing once. I felt like a true local and walked out with pride, even turning around and bowing toward the shrine after exiting the Torii gate. I’m sure the locals knew I was doing everything wrong, but I had a lot of pride. The shrine closed around sunset, so I headed to the nearby Yoyogi park to walk around as dusk set in. This park is known for its loudly cawing crows, which are impossible to miss on the far side of the park. There were also a lot of couples and families at the park, and it was nice to see a glimpse of life in Japan outside of the touristy hustle and bustle.
For dinner, I walked to the famous Afuri Ramen in Harajuku. This spot usually has wait times, especially for a Saturday dinner, but I had luck on my side. Being a solo diner combined with a short line, I got in within 5 minutes. The ramen was delicious and the experience of sitting around the kitchen was unique and a lot of fun, but I think the edge goes to Ichiran over Afuri (unpopular opinion?). Afterward, I walked back into Shibuya and visited Tower Records, a famous 8-story records store. I wandered the aisles of different sections, discovering a lot of Lofi and J-pop music from the provided headphones in each aisle. I even ended up with a city pop vinyl (and no vinyl player).
I returned to the hostel, met up with some guys outside (shoutout the Fins Eetu, Juuso, Kasperi, Dalton, Jun from Korea, Job and Rens from the Netherlands, and Tim, a fellow American) and chatted with them for a while before walking back into Shibuya. After a standing bar and a stop at the vibey Legless Arms bar, I was exhausted and returned to the hostel with the same group (during nighttime this time!).
After waking up quite late and a brunch at 7-11, I met up with my new friend Kasperi at the hostel and we took the train to the Giants game at the Tokyo Dome. The dome was impressive and I’d never seen a fully indoor baseball game, which was a nice touch considering the summer heat. I got a baseball hat and a Yomiuri Giants towel, and we each got a Teriyaki Chicken pizza and some Sapporo. The pizza was surprisingly delicious, even with its mayo-based sauce and corn topping, and the game was much more hype than any American baseball game. The chants and cheering section reminded me of a tamer version of European soccer, although I was spoiled from watching a Champions League elimination game. It also didn’t help that Tokyo lost 4-1 to the Orix Buffaloes from Kobe. Seeing a Japanese baseball game was a unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience and I’m so glad I got to experience it—I won’t be able to go to an American game the same way again.
Two quick trains later and I was in Shimokitazawa, a neighborhood known for its thrift and vintage clothing scene. After walking around the lively streets, I visited some stores I had pinned on my maps from social media and then wandered into some other stores randomly. Interestingly, the “big name” stores I had saved had a poor selection and the random stores (like Dylan and Huskies) had some gems that I took home with me. It’s fitting that the famous vintage stores aren’t as good as the “underground ones” since some people treat thrifting as staying out of the mainstream. Most stores had closed by 9 PM, so I visited Don Quijote to explore and got some Cheesecake snacks.
Before heading back to the hostel, I grabbed some Taiyaki, a fish-shaped party with vanilla custard inside from a place called Naruto Taiyaki Shimokitazawa on Google Maps. I went back 3 times for the taiyaki and the matcha ice cream in a taro bun. It was perhaps the best dessert I’ve EVER had and I made sure to tell the man running the stand (using Google Translate). As the rain started, I took the train back and walked back to the hostel and through a calm residential neighborhood, taking in the vibes of the rain and quiet Tokyo streets. I met up with some hostel friends outside and chatted for a while, but decided to stay in and eat some snacks before calling it an early night.
The next morning was Game 2 of the NBA finals for the Mavs. I proudly donned my Luka jersey and made my way to coast2coast, a sports bar in Harajuku that was showing the game with the purchase of an entry ticket (which came with 3 drink tickets). The bar was packed, the atmosphere was electric, and the mango beer they were serving was delicious. I stood with others wearing Luka jerseys, but there were a surprising amount of Celtics jerseys present in the bar. That proved to be superrrr annoying after they won the game. As consolation, I got to hold Shaq’s signature shoe, which was actually signed by him!
My next stop was Asakusa, which evidently was a tourist hotspot. After walking around Nakamise Shopping Street, I saw a lot of tourists wearing traditional Japanese wear. So, I decided to join them and replaced my Luka jersey with a rented kimono. I thought it looked super cool, even if it was a little tacky (especially as a guy). I did have to shake off some pointing and giggling from teenagers, but I was having a great time in the comfortable outfit. I visited Senso-ji Temple and asked maybe 10-15 people to take pictures of me in different areas so I could get a couple of good shots. You never know what you’re going to get from asking strangers to take pictures for you! I paid my respects at the shrine with the same bowing-and-clapping procedure and took in the culture before walking down the nearby shopping streets. I ended up at a matcha store and tried their strong matcha latte, matcha beer, and matcha ice cream. It’s true—the matcha in Japan is worlds better than most American matcha, which is why I ended up going back three times. While I snacked on a likely-fatal dose of matcha, I got some chopsticks engraved with my family’s names from the shop across the street. Fun fact: Japanese chopsticks have smaller and rounded tips, Korean chopsticks are flat and usually made of steel, and Chinese chopsticks have larger and blunter tips.
I returned the beautiful kimono and walked to the nearby Asahi Group Headquarters, which is lovingly called the “Golden Turd” for the weird golden shape on top of its building. The view was even better from the 8th floor of the nearby tourism building. This free vantage point provided views of the bustling shopping streets, Senso-ji Temple, and the Asahi Headquarters, so I highly recommend it.
After some 7-11 refreshments, it was time to head to Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills. On the way there, I met a local high schooler on the train who gave me some recommendations (although I’m proud to say I had most of them saved on Google Maps anyway). Mori Tower has an observation deck on the 52nd floor, which provides beautiful views of the city and Tokyo Tower. I went up just before sunset and stayed until nightfall to get golden hour views (of course, covered in clouds because of the start of the monsoon season). The city lights at night were breathtaking and I couldn’t get enough. Eventually, my growling stomach forced me off the observation deck and I walked around the Roppongi area, searching for food. After getting rejected from several restaurants that only had beef/pork, I got a pizza from Domino’s to tide me over while I researched spots. I decided to go to the ol’ faithful, which would definitely have options: an Indian place! Vibaya served surprisingly delicious food that tasted authentic. To burn off my feast, I decided to walk home back to the hostel and quickly fell asleep.
Time for a day trip to Hakone! I woke up early and caught the train from Shinjuku to Odawara (a beautiful seaside town), transferred to the Hakone Tozan line, transferred to the mountain Hakone Tozan train at Hakone-Yumoto, and ended up at Gora Station. I grabbed lunch at Marmie Kitchen, a vegetarian-friendly (!!) noodle spot near the station. Their dandan noodles were DELICIOUS and the medium spice level was perfect for me as a spice-lover. The next steps were a funicular to Sounzan and a ropeway to Owakudani. There, I visited the geologic museum (small and only somewhat interesting, but also only 100¥) and explored the volcanic fumaroles nearby. I also tried the famous black egg, which is created by boiling the egg in the sulfur- and iron-rich volcanic hot springs.
Next, I took a cable car down to Lake Ashi and waited to buy tickets for a lake cruise. The boat looked exactly like a pirate ship and it was a unique experience to ride on the calm, blue lake surrounded by lush greenery. On clear days, you can supposedly see Mount Fuji, but it was way too cloudy for that. After an intermediate stop, we arrived at Motohakone, which was within walking distance of the famous Hakone Shrine. The path near the shrine was littered with Torii gates, and the shrine itself was much calmer than the shrines in Tokyo. What was NOT calm, though, was the floating Torii gate that was in the water next to the shrine. There was a line of 30+ people waiting to take their Instagram pictures, so I just took pictures from a distance and moved on. After a quick walk back to the boat station, I caught a bus to Hakone-Yumoto (which took some planning to make sure the buses were still running and I took the correct bus back).
On the bus, I researched onsens that were near the train station, which are traditional Japanese hot springs with bathing facilities. I walked to Kappa Tengoku, an onsen a 5-minute walk from the station up some stairs. It was a traditional, no-frills spot, perfect for a quick 30-minute visit before my train back. At this point, it was also past sunset, so the onsen was quiet and I had a private onsen for most of the time (which was good because I was hesitant about bathing naked with other Japanese men). It was a perfect end to a day filled with hiking and exploring.
Afterward, I picked up a bento box and some Grande Riviere basil rusk biscuits for the Romancecar train back (a direct, faster train to Shinjuku). While back at the hostel, I met my friend Joe (from UPenn), who was on his own solo travel adventure, but overlapped with me for a couple of days. After hanging out with our hostel mates behind Wise Owl for a couple hours, Joe and I set off for Womb. Womb was an EDM-themed club in Shibuya that we’d heard a lot about on social media. The production was top-notch and the music was really solid (and the cover wasn’t too bad), but it was a little empty. Understandable for a Tuesday evening—gotta come back on a weekend next time! We headed back and hit the hay.
I woke up early the next morning to switch hostels for a change of scenery. I was sad to leave my friends at Wise Owl and the convenience of being walking distance to Shibuya, but decided to stay in Minato for the rest of my time in Tokyo. I hauled my stuff on the trains to Minato and checked into my hostel, which was right above a Thai restaurant. The hostel had no one else in it yet, which I kind of liked after 2 weeks of social hostel travel.
After settling in, I took a train to Akihabara station and went shopping in the attached mall (and bought 3 things within 15 minutes). I met up with Joe in Akihabara, which is featured heavily in one of my favorite animes, Stein’s;Gate. We walked past the radio tower that gets hit by a UFO in episode 1 and the main station platform where…well, no spoilers! We walked around a bit, and I helped myself to a cheap SD card from the electronics stalls, which are famous in this neighborhood. As our apetites increased, what better place to go than a maid cafe! We went to at-home, a 7-story maid cafe, and lucked out with the wait (because we were late for lunch) and were immediately seated. The experience of a maid serving you and calling you “master” was a little bit weird and cringe-worthy, but when in Rome! We each got a drink with art hand-drawn by the maid, omurice with ketchup patterns drawn by her, and a polaroid with her too. The food was meh but the experience was a cool once-in-a-lifetime experience. I didn’t realize that these cafes actually exist and are even visited by regulars! If you’re in the area, also check out Cafe Mai:Lish: the maid cafe featured in Stein’s;Gate (it was just closed on Wednesdays, which is when we went).
We spent some time walking around Akihabara and visited a lot of anime and pokemon stores in the famous Electric Town, including Animate and many others. The figures were impressive, but the prices were unfortunately even more impressive. We even found some mistranslated shirts (similar to how companies in America put random Japanese characters on a shirt, Japanese brands sometime put English words on a shirt) and I was so, so excited to buy them. After a quick bite of taiyaki, we walked to Kanda Myojin Shrine, a a shrine for techies to pray for their tech jobs as well as their devices. Being a future software engineer, I prayed super hard. We then looked for dinner around the UDX area, a corporate building with a food court below it. We couldn’t much to our liking, so we ventured across the river to visit Kanda Matsuya for soba. Along the way, we visited the Kanda Myojin shrine, which was the shrine where Luka Urushibara lives and works in Stein’s;Gate. The shrine’s interior was closed after sunset, though, so we quickly headed for our soba dinner.
There was a short line, but the service was quick and we got our food and drinks relatively quickly. Side note, but I love hot sake, which apparently is a hot take (pun unintended). The noodles were delicious, but the real star of the show was the wasabi. I’d heard that the fake, horseradish-spiked wasabi in the US is incomparable to real wasabi, but I was blown away. I actually was smiling while eating the wasabi because it was so unqiuely earthy and delicious.
After a satisfying dinner, Joe and I took the train to Shinjuku, got some dessert and refreshments at 7-11, and headed to the Golden Gai district. This area features 10ish narrow roads lined with tiny bars with different specialties. Most bars seated 5-10 people and had themes like vinyl, karaoke, whiskey, foriegn-friendly, foriegn-unfriendly, and so on. We started with Champion Bar, a balloon-covered Filipino bar with karaoke. It was entertaining watching the middle-aged Japanese men belt out love ballads, but it got a little overrated when the tourist crowd switched it to 1990s anthems, so we switched to Onban Sakaba Seishun, a vinyl bar on the second story focusing on Japanese city pop. As one of my favorite genres, this bar’s vibes were absolutely immaculate and I loved every second of it. We hit 2 more bars, ending the night at a foriegn-freindly bar atop a narrow and steep staircase where we met some travellers and even a professor of fluid dynamics at a local university. Meeting people while traveling and hearing their life stories is one of the highlights of solo (or, in this case, partner) travel.
We made sure to leave before the last trains at midnight and parted ways to our own hostels. In the future, I would stay at Shinjuku so we could hang around this area for longer because the vibes are so unique and perfect for exploring. The next morning, I woke up early, donned my Luka jersey, and walked to coast2coast for Game 3 of the NBA finals. The bar was once again packed and I was psyched to try more of their mango beer with my entry ticket. There were more Luka fans to meet this time around, but a tough loss was still incredibly disappointing.
To drown my sorrows, I wandered around Harajuku and stumbled into this katsu restaurant whose name is lost to history. There, I had the crispiest chicken I’ve ever had in my life and I will forever be chasing that high. After some boba to wash it down, I took a train to Shinjuku and shopped at the nearby H&M before meeting up with Joe again. The two of us then walked to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, which is featured in the hit movie Garden of Words. It had a small entrance fee, but it was an impressive oasis in the bustling atmosphere of Shinjuku. We even found the exact gazebo that was featured in the movie and rested there for a while. Soon, it was sunset and the park was closing, so we spent some time walking around Shinjuku before settling into Rokumonya for okonomiyaki. It was my first time having okonomiyaki, but I didn’t love it (probably because the only vegetarian option was potato-based, which is definitely not their specialty). They did have some tough math problems on the wall, though, and I spent the waiting time trying to (unsuccessfuly) crack them.
Afterward, we explored Shinjuku a little more and wandered around a Bic Camera mega store. The jingle, biiiiic bic bic bic camera, is still stuck in my head, but the store was impressive; it was like a high-tech Don Quijote. We browsed the camera section and stationary aisles, but soon left for Taito Station, a more entertaining venue with arcade games and claw machines scattered around 4 floors. After losing some more money on claw machines, I settled on an easy-win machine and won some french fry keyrings while Joe hunted down a stuffed watermelon. We wandered around the well-lit streets of Shinjuku and even saw the famous Godzilla statue. As nght fell, we stopped by a FamilyMart for some dessert and refreshment before walking back to the Golden Gai district.
The narrow streets were once again littered with neon signs and quirky little bars. We visited Sasuke and were seated in a loft above the bartender (after climbing a noticable steep ladder). Next, Joe and I hopped around to two more bars, including one with snake sake with the bottle (+ snake) visible to the patrons. That was my favorite drink of them all, so I guess the snake does contribute a lot. The other was a standard spot, run by a bartender with legendary gray locks. We ended the night at Dongara-Gassyan, which had some delicious bar snacks like fried garlic. Joe and I raced back to the train and went back to our own hostels to end the night.
Joe and I woke up early (well, early for us) and met back at Shinjuku—see why I would stay at Shinjuku next time? We took the Chūō line to Kawaguchiko Station near Mt. Fuji. There is a famous Lawson store that has Fuji in the background that is now blocked for tourists, and we found one with a black wall preventing tourists from getting a good vantage point of the mountain. After a quick stroll, we were starving and grabbed lunch at Fuji Tempura Idaten. The tempura was delicious, but the real star of the show was the miso soup that I got with my combo meal. I thought I didn’t like miso soup until that moment, but I was converted.
We walked to the nearby scenic (and gigantic) Lake Kawaguchiko, which reminded me of Lake Como. There’s a handy funicular that takes you up to a vantage point, and we used that to get our first unosbtructed views of Mt. Fuji (we didn’t even see it before this moment because we were too dumb to turn around while at the lake).
Fuji is even colossal than it looks in pictures and takes up your entire visual field. The only thing comparable in size is the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, at this viewpoint, the top was obscured by some clouds. Even though the day was crystal clear, Fuji is so massive that it creates its own weather system. We took some pictures, unsuccessfully ordered some matcha ice cream (the machine broke, basically a McDonald’s), and took the ropeway back down. The view of Kawaguchiko Lake from the ropeway was gorgeous and would have been the star of the show anywhere else except next to Mount Fuji.
As we got to the train station, the clouds started to part and we were able to see the snow-capped peaks jut up above train station. Those views were unreal. Joe and I took the train towards Shimoyoshida, but we were too impatient and accidentally got off at Gekkouji. Luckily, it was walking distance to Shimoyoshida and even featured a traditional, quiet temple on the way. After a nice walk through the suburbs of Fuji, we climbed up the steps at Arakurayama Sengen Park up to Chureito Pagoda. The climb was challenging, but the views were 100% worth it. The pagoda is a classic marvel of Buddhist architecture and has the magnifence of Mount Fuji in the background: Japan in a photo. The photo spot wasn’t too crowded, which was great to capture to peak of Fuji as the clouds dispersed even further.
The walk down was dotted with beautiful red trees (which framed Fuji excellently) and ended up some idyllic rice fields (which also framed Fuji excellently). Joe and I grabbed some food at a nearby Lawson (not the famous one, but still had Fuji visible) and ate while admiring the view of Fuji poke above the houses and street cables. After grabbing some souveniers from coin-operated gachapon machines, similar to gumball machines, we caught the train back to Shinjuku (with a connection). Interestingly enough, the train system around Fuji was in a partnership with the Matterhorn train system in Switzerland.
In Shinjuku, we paid a visit to a revolving sushi bar, Sakura Sushi, and once again lucked out on the quick wait times. It feels like every restaurant has a small line, but moves fast enough if in a small group. The sushi was pretty solid, especially the tuna (which I tried for the first time!), but it wasn’t anything life-changing or crazy. I thoroughly enjoyed the pay-by-the-plate system, and because I took some of Joe’s empty plates to settle debt, the chef was amazed by the stack I had built up. We took a stroll around Shinjuku, admiring the lights and sounds once more, even enjoying a street jazz performance. The vibes were amazing, but I was so tired from our Fuji excursion that we called it an early night and I returned to my hostel in Minato.
The hostel had more people now and all the bunks were filled, but it wasn’t as social as Wise Owl and was mostly filled with older, Asian guests. Without any late night yapping, though, I got some great sleep and woke up early for Game 4 of the NBA Finals at coast2coast once again. I was in my Luka jersey and baseball cap, so thank god we won this game and didn’t get swept 4-0 in the finals. The vibes at the bar were just as lively as before, and this time I could genuinely enjoy the energy at the end of the game with the other mavs fans. I met some Canadians, Chinese, and Japanese friends, took some pictures with them, and even went with the Japanese and Chinese guys to the NBA Fest hosted by Rakuten. I had no idea this even existed, but Motoharu and Arata knew about it, and I’m so glad I met them because it was such a cool experience. I took pictures with life-size cutouts of Mavs players, played NBA 2K and won a free shirt, and even saw the Larry O’Brien trophy up close. Apparently, Ray Allen was in town and famously walked across Shibuya crossing with the trophy.
John, the new Chinese friend I made at the game, and I split off from Motoharu and Arata and headed towards the Imperial Palace. We visited the The Museum of the Imperial Collections Sannomaru-Shōzōkan exhibit, which featured beautiful art, tapestries, and sculpture from the last 1000 years. The well-preserved intricate patterning blew me away, especially the detail on the world map they had assembled. We then walked around the vast East Garden, which was not all that impressive, all things considered, and was more entertained by talking with John. He was translating what the locals were saying, and apparently it was 90% complaints against Westerners and Chinese tourists!
We had enough trash talking for one day and walked to the Western side of the palace to look for food. It was a little difficult finding something without beef or pork, but we found a decent soba place with a soba set consisting of a chicken and egg rice bowl with soba noodles. Afterwards, John and I took the train back to Shibuya to meet up with Joe in Modi building (unrelated to India’s Prime Minister!). The top floor held the BragMen One Piece Fitness Gym: a gym that is One Piece themed (my favorite anime). It was a little expensive, so John stayed outside while Joe and I changed into our gym clothes and worked out on the bench with Berry-logo plates, lat pulldown with Whitebeard’s mustache, and barbell curl with a meat barbell. There were even autographs on the wall from Oda and the several of the characters (live action characters, probably). I thought that the equipment was top-notch and the theme was cool, but the high price meant it was definitely a one-off, gimmicky place.
The three of us parted ways and now with a fresh pump, I took the train to TeamLab Planets. On the way, I stopped at Beard Papa, a small bakery in the train station. It was viral on social media for a while for their custard cookies, but I have to say that the cookies were above average at best. It seems to be a theme that the most hyped spots are inferior to the hole-in-the-wall, local spots. Once at TeamLab Planets (albeit a little late from my ticketed time), I went through the orientation and took off my shoes and socks as instructed.
I’d seen some of the exhibits at TeamLab Planets on social media before, so I knew to expect a foot-cleansing waterfall and an etheral room of mirrors and lights. The aforementioned mirror room was even grander than it was on Instagram and made for some amazing pictures. The other exhibits were also immersive, colorful, and interesting, especially the plant room at the end with flowers hanging upside down from the ceiling. This was probably one of the first modern art museums that I genuinely enjoyed because of the immersive and playful nature of the exhibits, although I found the explanations to be a little pretentious at times. There is simply no way a colorful yoga ball represents the human condition. I stayed until it was almost closing time, then took the train back to hostel since it was raining. I accidentally took a much longer route than planned, but it went over the water several times and I loved seeing the bright city lights reflect off the water.
I packed up my things, painstakingly rescued the charger I dropped behind my bed on the first day, and fell asleep early in preparation of leaving Tokyo. The next morning, I went to Tokyo Station to board the Shinkasen to Osaka. It was a little stressful finding my station at first, but I ended up having enough time to buy a bento box for the train.
And thus ends my time in Tokyo. TO BE CONTINUED!
Takeaways
- Tokyo has a literal infinite amount of streets with neon signs that you simply won’t be able to get enough of
- The food is amazing, and I won’t be able to eat wasabi in the US ever again (I’m about to be insufferable at every sushi restaurant with “well, when I was in Japan…”)
- The train system is impressive, but if you’re out past midnight, make sure you’re where you want to be until 5 AM (shoutout Golden Gai)
- Mount Fuji is 100% worth the hype, but MUST visit on a sunny, clear day. Reorganize your trip if you must
- The twist of modern animanga (Akihabara) and traditional Shintoism/Buddhism (Meiji Jingu, Senso-ji) is surreal
- Anthony Bourdain’s quote about Tokyo resonates strongly
Rose-Bud-Thorn
Rose (what went well): Among many things, I loved my time at Wise Owl Shibuya and meeting really interesting people that I still call my friends. It was the first hostel that I knew I could come back from my daily adventures and have a group of guys to go out with at night, even as a solo traveller
Bud (what was good but could be improved on): I can’t really think of anything here—everything was basically amazing. If anything, I wish I made more of an effort to plan food locations. The food I had was AMAZING nearly every single time, but there were some “famous” restaurants that I wanted to try but that I didn’t plan around.
Thorn (what did not go well): Changing hostels from Shibuya to Minato was a slight mistake. The transfer process was a little annoying, and my second hostel had very little social atmosphere. If I had to do this again, I would have my second hostel be in Shinjuku to stay out for longer when exploring that neighborhood.
Rohan Chhaya 