Around the World in Almost 80 Days: Domo Arigato, Tokyo!

Every place I went to leading up to Tokyo was pretty much a “fly by the seat of my pants” type of thing and I didn’t feel scared when getting into a new place but while I was still in Hong Kong, I’m not sure why but I started to freak out a bit in anticipation of Tokyo. I hadn’t figured out my lodging yet and I wasn’t sure what to do because I didn’t want to pay for a hotel room and I wasn’t sure what I would do about a hostel, since I hadn’t yet needed to do that. Since I was a little worried, I asked all the people I knew who had any experience in Japan for advice and I had a wealth of advice by the time I was ready to fly out of Hong Kong.

Welcome to Tokyo!

I had talked to a CouchSurfer in Tokyo who had offered to meet up to show me some sights but when I told him that I hadn’t figured out where to stay yet, he offered up his place. Later, I would find out why he hadn’t offered to host in the very beginning. But anyway, I had done my research about pod hotels and hostels and computer cafes and wherever else I could rest my head in between my expeditions around the city and I decided I would figure it all out after I landed so I booked one night at a hotel in the airport since I knew that I was landing in Tokyo pretty late and wouldn’t want to deal with too much inconvenience.

PJs provided by my hotel

What else would I be watching in Tokyo?

"First, calm down..."

With the first little treat for myself and getting a pretty swanky hotel room with bathrobes and whatnot, I had a comfortable night of rest before setting off to do some exploring in the morning. I was fairly intimidated by the public transportation in Tokyo because that seemed to be all that people warned me about when I had mentioned that I was going there. I still did what I was used to at this point and grabbed a bunch of tourist booklets and looked them over the previous night and it didn’t look too bad. So that morning, I set out with my bags and went to the closest stop. Since the Yamanote line goes in a circle around the city, I figured I would check out each of the little suburbs along the circle and Shinagawa was the first stop.

Suica card in hand-ready to go!

Ready for some ramen

Lots of buttons - no idea what any mean

Luckily there were lockers all around each of the metro stations so I dropped off my large bag and went to search for some food. The thing I was most excited about was all the food so when I first left the station, I was kind of disappointed to not see too many places where I could get some grub. I kept walking along before I saw a place called Moukotanmen - Nakamoto where a line had formed so I figured something had to be good there. It was pretty interesting because there was vending machine at the entrance and I didn’t quite know what to expect so when I got to the front of the line and no one was there to greet me, I just stared at the vending machine for a bit and analyzed all the various buttons with either a small photo or a few Japanese characters on them. I had seen that the patrons ahead of me in line had pressed a button and given a tiny slip of paper to the waiter so I assumed that’s how they placed their order but I didn’t even know what I could order so I just waited until someone could help me. Finally, when the waiter came up to me and extended his hand, expecting me to give him a ticket for my order, I just pointed at the vending machine and started speaking in English, asking for help with interpreting the buttons. The waiter came back with a menu to show me what I could order but he didn’t match up the photos on the menu with the buttons and just waved his hand over the buttons that indicated rice dishes and waved again over a few other buttons that would order ramen dishes. I still wasn’t satisfied with the answer so I pointed at a couple of the buttons and tried to get the difference between them to which the waiter pointed at three different photos on the menu and said “Hot – hot hot – hot hot hot.” With that, I figured that we weren’t going to get very far so I just picked a random button and hoped for the best. When I got seated and the waiter gave the order to the chefs, all of them repeated the order and were very excited and it just seemed the whole kitchen staff enjoyed what they were doing so it just made for a fun dining experience. Even though it seemed like a place where businesspeople moved in and out fairly quickly, I still chose to take my time and soak in the environment. When I got my first bowl of soup, I was kind of disappointed at what I had randomly ordered but then another bowl was placed in front of me, and then another. At that point, I was very pleasantly surprised at what I had ordered and even though I still have no idea what it was, I am very grateful that I have no food allergies and everything was delicious.

Whatever this was, it was delicious

Front row view of the kitchen

More noms

Getting to the waterfront, Shinagawa-ura

I started to walk away from the station some more and passed by Tennozu Park and found a bunch of temples. I found that there were many, many temples around that were along the path of one hundred scenic spots in Shinagawa and it felt pretty serene as not many people were around, which I liked. I continued to walk through the neighborhoods and found a university and a few gardens to walk through and I pretty much found myself wandering quite a bit into areas where I had no idea what to expect. The path I followed took me past the Houseboat (Shinagawa-ura) down to the Kaiunji Temple and Tenmyokokuji Temple, up to Koyasan Betsuin Temple and Happo-en, a Japanese garden and looping back to the station.

Godzilla!

Better view of the waterfront

Just walking along

Passing through a park

The streets of Shinagawa

Start of the temple trail

Little food truck despite it being frowned upon to eat outdoors

Little school children

Stopping in Shinjuku

I was supposed to meet my CouchSurfing host, Takashi, in the evening so I figured I would continue onto another stop before heading to his. I had found that the sightseeing booklet I had picked up from the tourist center was serving me well with all the suggestions for places to go so I continued to follow that and landed myself in Shinjuku. There was a lot more to see in Shinjuku so I headed to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building first because the booklet said it offered a great view at the top. I was not disappointed so I hung around to check out the lights of the city for a while before I went on to find Kabakucho, which was supposed to be a mecca for entertainment in Shinjuku, but not without making a stop for some revolving sushi first.

Inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

City views

Cute things everywhere

Walking past Electronic Street

Revolving sushi

Revolving sushi!

Expensive produce

Kabakucho

Finding my way to Kabakucho, I could see where there would be a lot to offer for those looking to be entertained. There were lights everywhere and all types of games and arcades and electronics on display. I did a quick walk-through of the area before I went to try to find Golden Gai, which, I was told, was an area of really small alleys of old-timey Japanese bars. I was starting to be under a time constraint before meeting up with Takashi so I didn’t find Golden Gai and ended up getting lost in the mall for a while, trying to navigate to the entrance for the correct metro line I needed. I met Takashi at the metro station at Ueno and we had some time to me to drop off my things and grab some dinner.

I could see why Takashi hadn’t offered to host me from the very beginning because his living arrangements were very compact. He shared a small apartment with four other people and his room was a little wider than my wingspan but most of the width of his room was taken up by a desk at the entrance so there was a very narrow walkway to get to a set of stairs that led up to his bed, which hung over the desk. Very compact, as I imagined of Japanese housing, but it was pretty funny to see how he had his whole life packed into this tiny room and I just needed to make sure I didn’t make any sudden movements to knock over anything. After stacking my bags in the corner, Takashi and I went to grab a quick meal before I had to go meet up with another Couchsurfer to go to the Tsukiji fish market to watch the tuna auctions.

Entertainment everywhere

Dinner with Takashi - check out this menu!

The as-you-like-it pancake wind of tofu

Since the tuna auction was to start at 5AM, I didn’t plan on sleeping that night because we had to get there to reserve our spots two hours earlier and the metro stopped running around midnight. After dinner, I didn’t have much time to spend with Takashi before meeting up with Lukas, the other CouchSurfer from Germany but I would find the time later. This tuna auction was the one I had learned about when watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi (if you haven’t watched this documentary, I highly recommend it) and I was really excited to be able to catch it. I caught the last train that was leaving the station and got to the stop to meet Lukas and we were able to find the Tsukiji Market fairly easily. Since we couldn’t make a reservation ahead of time, we walked around to find a place close by to hang out for a few hours and we ended up in a restaurant called Jonathan’s where we ordered some dessert and warm drinks.

Moving large shipments of fish

Made this home base for a few hours

Waiting to go into the auction

When it was getting close to 3AM, we made our way back to the market where we were two of the last few people to get a spot at the auction (whew!) and we were all given vests and corralled into a small room to wait another hour or so. We didn’t think to bring any type of entertainment so we ended up talking to another group of people who were American and were playing a card game until it was time for us to go. Come time for the auction, we were marched to a huge garage, making sure not the get in the way of the people transporting fish back and forth.

It was such a spectacle! There was time for the chefs to go around to to inspect the pallets of tuna and when the auctioneer stepped on the platform, he rang a bell and started taking bids, which sounded like he was singing or chanting, as opposed to the speedy chattering of American auctioneers. I don’t quite remember the numbers but I know large amounts of yen were being paid for these fish and it was just so cool to watch!

Auctioneer

Inspection

After the auction, we were given the opportunity to eat at the top sushi places at the market and the line for the supposed #1 was really long so Lukas and I settled for #2 which had a long line too but still shorter than the former. We waited in line for a pretty long time since each restaurant seated no more than about ten people but man, was it worth it. We paid a set price and the sushi chefs picked what they made for us. Each piece of sushi that was set down in front of me was just melt-in-your-mouth heaven! So good! The fish I had there was like nothing I’ve ever had and will ever have again, I’m pretty sure. And I’m so glad that I got to experience the Tsukiji Market despite the sleep deprivation because I was told that this was the last year they were having the auctions open to the public and they were moving the auctions to a more private place just to do business.

Lukas and me

So much waste...

Second best sushi restaurant in Tokyo

Outside looking in

The American friends we made

Sushi chef happy at work

Waiting for sushi!

Get in my belly!

Sun starting to rise on my way back to Takashi's

After Lukas and I parted ways, I wasn’t sure if I had enough fuel in me to explore a bit before getting back to Takashi’s as it was about 9AM so I made a futile attempt, getting off at a stop I wanted to explore but then realizing really quickly that I was going to fall flat on my face if I didn’t take a nap of some sort so I headed back onto the metro to get back to Takashi’s. The night before, Takashi had made sure to show me certain landmarks to get to his from the station but I somehow missed something because I ended up getting lost for at least an hour and debating if I could just find a small corner to nap for a bit. Luckily, after walking back to the station several times and through several alleys and up and down streets, I saw something that looked familiar and found the door to his apartment!

Seeing the Tokyo SkyTree on my way back

Seeing this so many times trying to get back

Finally! Bedtime!

Going to look around in Ueno

After a few hours of sleep, I still had a good amount of time to explore before I was to meet Takashi for dinner so I went to a market in Ueno and got around to the Shinobazu pond and Bentendo Temple before heading back.

Lots of sights and smells

1 yen?! I'll take it!

Octopus balls

Yum

Bentendo Temple

Shinobazu Pond

Walking around

At Takashi’s, we had some snacks and drinks while he taught me some Japanese as I tried to figure out similarities between his language and Chinese. He told me that there was a Couchsurfing event at a speakeasy so we headed out to Otsuka to check it out. The bar that we ended up going to was packed with people from all different countries and there was barely any space to move around the mass of people there. Takashi knew some people there from other events so we hung around there to socialize for the rest of the night.

Takashi!

Learning my way around Tokyo over some snacks and drinks

Japanese numbers are the same as Chinese

Learning Japanese

Very interesting toilet/sink setup

Breakfast time

The next day, I was to switch up lodging and meet up with another Couchsurfer who had gotten an AirBNB in Shibuya so I grabbed all my stuff and went to the Ryogoku stop where I put all my things into a locker and went off to explore. I wanted to go to the Ryogoku Kokugikan to see if I could watch some sumo wrestling but unfortunately, it was closed that day so I continued with my plans of going to the Edo-Tokyo Museum before meeting up with another Couchsurfer visiting from Vancouver at the SkyTree. Lots of see at the museum which I will caption underneath the photos. The museum, like many others, ran through various eras of the city and showed everything from life pre-European influence and post. There was also a small demonstration given by a lady wearing some traditional Japanese garb that I was able to catch just as I was walking out of the museum to meet up with Jian.

Ramen for breakfast - yum

Sumo museum

Lots of mini displays to show the life in Tokyo

Amazing little figurines

Housing structures

Means of transportation

Topknot man bun!

Tricks!

Leaving the museum

Tokyo transportation turned out to be really easy and Google Maps helped a lot in showing me which buses were available to me to get to the SkyTree. Since the tower was literally a town, all decorated for the holidays, it took some time to find Jian but once I met up with her, we were able to explore the different layers of the tower and we were there at the perfect time, just as the city lights were popping up. We walked around the tower for a bit, making sure to get all angles of the city, before we left and I went to find my new Couchsurfing host.

Getting to the SkyTree

World's tallest towers

Going up!

View from the top

Looking at things inside the tower

Tokyo Tower straight ahead!

Looking down

Walking around outside

That evening, Sadat was set to meet up with a friend to go to Roppogi, which is where many foreigners go to party so I tagged along. We went into this club called Feria and despite its several floors, the place was packed everywhere. A lot of Europeans kept thinking I was Japanese, to which I was able to disappoint them but overall, it was fun to check out the night scene in the city.

Busy streets in Shibuya

Eating a few bites before going out exploring

Only photo taken that night at Roppongi

The next day took me to Harajuku, where I expected a lot more radical styles of dress, but didn’t see too much of that. After some revolving sushi, I made my way over to Meiji Jingu Shrine, built in 1920 to enshrine to souls of the emperor and empress Shoken. The place was huge! Inside, there are about 100,000 trees that make up the forest that were donated from all over Japan. There looked like there was a harvest festival going on and I believe I witnessed a wedding. There were some kids running around in traditional clothing too. Super cute! Jian happened to be in the same area too so we quickly met up and walked back from the Shrine to the station, where I met up with Sadat.

Tree at the station

Loving the revolving sushi

Passed by this on my way to the Shrine

Streets of Harajuku

Getting to the Shrine

Cute little kid posed for this haha

Harvest festival celebrations?

Amazing structures!

More photos of kids

Wedding procession

Lots of wishes

Not sure what was going on here

Look at this child!

Takeshita Street

So packed!

Tokyo Plaza

Streets of Harajuku

Amidst the crowds of Harajuku

Takeshita Street in Harajuku

Bustling streets in Harajuku

As we were walking back towards the AirBNB, we passed by a very bustling arcade, where people were playing this game called Pachinko so we decided to give it a try. Neither of us had any idea of what we were playing but everyone around us were winning these little metal balls and had stacks upon stacks of them. I finished my game very quickly since I’m not sure which buttons I was actually pressing. I didn’t put much into the game so didn’t feel at a total loss.

Hachiko entrance at Shibuya station

Pachinko players

Sadat figuring out how to play the game

I lost...

Someone's winning big...

How do you play this game??

Walking the streets of Shibuya like a local

That night, we had planned to go to the Tsukiji Market and I was excited to show it to Sadat, feeling like a local already, but unfortunately, it was a holiday so the auction was closed. However, he wasn’t to be disappointed so we searched for a place to have some super late night sushi. We were the only two in the restaurant we went to but it afforded us the time to have some fun with the sushi chefs. The sushi wasn’t as good as at the Tsukiji Market but still pretty damn delicious.

Found a spot to hang before seeing if Tsukiji Market was open

Small bites beforehand

Still found noms!

Learning how to eat sushi properly

Making friends with the chef

Made these while waiting for the train

Japanese comic

Wanderings

At the train station

Ferris wheel by the bay

When I was searching for lodging, I had entertained the idea of a traditional Japanese guest house because a friend told me it was pretty cool to experience it but I didn’t request it in time so I searched for an on-sen, a Japanese bathhouse, and was able to get Jian to join me. I headed to Odaiba that day and we got to the Oedo-Onsen Monogatari which was like a mini city. When we walked in, we got these bracelets with barcodes which was our way to get billed inside. We changed into our robes and headed to the artificial hot springs and just took time to explore the various rooms where people were napping or watching tv or playing on the computer. There was a communal area where there were carnival games and food vendors and I could see how hours could pass by quickly in there. After a few relaxing hours in there, we decided to call it a day and Jian headed back to hers while I went back to Shibuya to meet up with Sadat to explore Golden Gai.

Inside the onsen

Getting ready for some relaxation

In our robes

Chilling out and chowing down

Inside the communal area

Communal area of the onsen - practically a city!

It took us a while to actually find the place as it turned out to be a few hidden alleys. We walked through Kabakucho, the electronic street, and asked someone where Golden Gai was but it seemed like we were pronouncing it wrong as it was supposed to be pronounced “GOLden gai” when the people we had asked finally figured out where we wanted to go. So when we finally found the small streets containing these old timey restaurants, we walked up and down before deciding which ones we wanted to go into. Each one either charged a cover fee or a minimum amount so we wanted to be wise about our choice. We ended up sitting at one for a bit that seemed pretty calm and enjoyed a few drinks before finding another one to check out. The second one we went to was a lot smaller and cozier and a few of the patrons were already pretty drunk and kept telling Sadat that he loved him. As this was my last night in Tokyo, we decided to stay out pretty late and celebrate. Luckily, I still was able to drift my way to the airport. Since I was pretty wiped out, I did miss my stop initially but luck was on my side and I made it to the airport, ready to fly out to Bangkok!