When in Tokyo..

Tokyo is a beautiful and amazing place. I absolutely loved it. It kind of reminded me of New York, with that big city feel, but with humble and small town people. The streets are freakishly clean in a way you probably wouldn't believe a major city could be until you saw it for yourself. The people in this city are kind and courteous and will do their best to help you even with the language barrier. Tokyo an interesting mix of old temples and new shiny skyscrapers. Travel through one ward and you’ll see beautiful temples and gardens then take the subway just a short fifteen minute journey into another, and be blinded with bright lights, anime culture and eccentric Harajuku fashion.

The Harried Traveller

I landed in Tokyo excited, a tad irritable and just ready to collapse from the sheer exhaustion of my twenty eight journey from Dublin. Just landing in Narita didn’t end my travels of course, but rather, I had to pick myself and my backpacks up and cart them for a further two hours into the city. Tokyo has two main airports, and due to costs I chose to fly into the further airport. In the future I will fly into Haneda though. After the journey I had made, when I landed I was berating myself for not spending the extra cash to fly into the closer airport. After walking back and forth a few times for about thirty minutes, trying to decipher the city’s complex subways lines and consulting google I bought my PASMO transport card and was ready to hop on the trains that would take me to my hotel.

Where To Stay?

Tokyo is absolutely huge. Its centre and the Greater Tokyo area boasts a population of over 36 million people. This makes Tokyo the most populous metropolitan area on the planet. To put that into context, that’s just under two times the size of the New York metropolitan area and about two and a half times the size of the Greater London metropolitan area.

Tokyo city boasts a population of just under 13.5 million and is further divided into 23 distinct special wards or tokubetsu ku which could be loosely understood as cities in English. I went into a bit of detail here because it is actually quite important to know this. As I said, Tokyo is a massive place, however there is no “Tokyo City Centre” as there are with other major cities around the world. If you go to London, Dublin or even New York, there are clearly defined places that are understood as being central or being the centre of things, usually with a high concentration of the area’s major sites. This same logic does not really apply in Tokyo.

Each of these wards are special and unique in their own right. Shibuya and Shinjuku are some of the most popular with tourists as a lot of shopping areas, restaurants and nightlife are concentrated within these two wards. Chiyoda ward has a special area called Akiharaba Electric Town which years ago used to be (and still is) the best place to get bargains on electrical goods in Tokyo, however it is also now considered an Otaku cultural centre. Otaku loosely translates as an individual who is obsessed with anime and manga culture, amongst other things such as gaming along that spectrum. I can go on and on, but you understand my point? Different wards boast many different and wonderful things for any traveller to go and discover.

The area I chose to stay in was the Chuo ward. There weren't many interesting things to see here, but that’s not why I chose it. I chose it because after spending weeks researching each of the wards, what sights were there and so on I came to the conclusion that rather than stay near certain sights, it would be better to stay somewhere with excellent public transport links so I could just hop on the train and be taken to wherever I wanted to go. From my hotel I could access most places with just one train and most journeys took less than 20 minutes.

The Hotel

Now. If you’re familiar with Japan and Japanese culture, then you know that they have their own special kinds of accommodations such as Ryokan, Minshuku, Shukubo and Capsule hotels. The first two are a type of Bed and Breakfast or Inn. The difference is mainly in the meals provided and the size of the rooms. A Shukubo is Buddhist lodgings. Tourists can, for a fee, choose to stay in such areas. A Capsule hotel room, much like a hostel really targets those who are just in need of a bed for the night. Rather than opting to stay in a regular hotel, I jumped right in and booked myself a Capsule hotel experience for the duration of my stay in Tokyo. I stayed in the First Cabin Nihonbashi Yokoyamacho. These are not Capsule hotels in the truest sense as the capsules here are actually larger than the typical capsule (Pictures below for comparative purposes). My reasoning for staying in these larger capsules was that capsules are typically just for overnight stays, and I was planning on staying there for 4 nights. I wanted to find a little more comfort in the accommodation choice I had made.

First Cabin VS Standard Capsule

The Capsule Experience

The capsules are typically divided into male and female areas. In the place I was staying at, my access card granted me access only to female areas. Even the lifts were mono gendered only i.e. lifts for female only areas and lifts for men only areas. Men couldn’t access the female lifts with their cards and vice versa. Bathrooms and showers were shared and they were so clean. There was a spa for woman at the top floor. I didn’t get to try it at all, but maybe next time! I would definitely recommend at least a night in a capsule hotel if you’re looking to come to Tokyo. For me, it was definitely a positive experience. If you’re slightly weary about stuffing yourself into a coffin sized capsule room or suffer from any sort of claustrophobia, then the First Cabin chain is a good choice. Their capsules are easily twice the size of a regular capsule, and the other amenities, such as the spa and computer facilities definitely give you good value for money. Each capsule had its own television also. Staying here set me back ¥18,450 or what amounts to about €142 for the 4 nights.

When I arrived the hotel staff were kind and courteous and explained all of the above to me regarding key card access, the shared bathroom facilities, spa, luggage store and safe within my capsule. In my exhausted state I somehow made it up to my “room”. Within the capsule, they provided you with slippers, pyjamas, toothbrush and toothpaste and towel. I showered, got into the pyjamas, crawled into my capsule and was promptly dead to the world.

Traditional Tokyo

My trip, and what I saw can probably be divided into these main sections; Asakusa, Shibuya, Akihabara, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku & Roppongi. For your own ease and efficiency when it comes to travelling around Tokyo, I recommend travelling by ward or by area. I say this because, it will quickly become very timely if you decide that you want to see the Senso-ji Shrine in Asakusa, then decide that after you want to do a bit of shopping in Ikebukuro and then after move onto Takeshita Street. Don’t get me wrong, you can absolutely do that, but here’s another idea. Have a look at what’s in the area you want to see and design your itinerary based on that. You’ll get the most out of your stay by doing things this way in Tokyo.

After my much needed rest, I was up, wouldn’t quite say refreshed and ready to take on Tokyo. I met up with Becky and we headed towards Asakusa as our first destination. We leisurely strolled down Nakamise street checking out the wares of the vendors. There were a mix of clothing, souvenirs and traditional Japanese street food on display. The street itself was packed to the brim with tourists trying to get their piece of Old Tokyo. Though not one of the wards designated as Old Tokyo, Asakusa still has a lot of Edo Era architecture in some places, though much of it was destroyed in world war two. At the end of Nakamise street the Hozomon Gate beckons you forward, enticing you to explore what is within. Once you pass this gate, within the compound you are presented with the Senso-ji temple. It is Tokyo’s oldest temple and one of its most significant. The area itself was packed with tourists and locals, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike coming to pay their respects. Inside the temple one can consult the oracle. Those who ask questions can shake labelled sticks that are inside an Omikuji box and can get one of a possible one hundred answers. If you receive a good answer, or good luck, then you can take it with you. However if you’ve received bad luck, then one should tie the Omikuji paper on one of the designated racks in the temple and leave without it indicating that one should shed all bad luck. Outside the temple is a beautiful Pagoda and the Asakusa shrine. There are also beautiful gardens around the whole area too, so take a walk around to feast your eyes.

After this we made our way towards Ueno park. One can get the train here, however Becky and I like to walk, so we walked the 20/25 minutes instead of hopping on the train. The park was beautiful and very large. Walking the whole width of the park took another 20 or so minutes. Within the park itself there is a Zoo, a Shinto Shrine, the Shinobazunoike Bentendo temple and around four or so museums. So yes, a very big park. At the end of our walk through the park we entered the Tokyo National Museum. The TNM is both Japan’s oldest, and largest museum. It’s filled with archaeological artefacts collected from all over Asia, a comprehensive collection of art works and writings from all over the region also. Walking through each of the exhibits was like taking a walk through many different era’s throughout the Asian continent.

Jetlag hit Becky and I hard and about three quarter ways through the museum, we began to struggle to continue taking everything in. We quickly finished the museum and started making our way back to the hotel and both crashed in our respective capsules. Once rested we later headed out for food and messed up majorly when it came to train times. That “quick nap” we took left us leaving for food at around 11pm. We found ourselves stranded about an hour or so walk away from our hotel as public transport had already ceased for the day, so we did what Becky and I both excel at; walking through the some of the world’s major cities at night. We’ve walked through Rome at night, we’ve walked through Koh Samui at night and now I can add Tokyo to this list. I didn’t mind too much, as we were both very awake at this time anyway, and need to expel some energy. I feel like walking around cities is the best way to help orient yourself within a new city in any case.

Shibuya & Harajuku

The next day in Tokyo took me to the Shibuya ward. Shibuya is… hard to explain. There is plenty to do and see in this ward. You won’t be bored if you decide to make this ward your home base in Tokyo. It is one of the more popular destinations for tourists to stay, due to its high concentration of attractions. From the chaotic and iconic Shibuya Scramble Crossing, endless amounts of shopping areas, to the eye catching fashions in Harajuku and Takeshita Street, there’s something for everyone to do and see in this ward. Alongside the luxury shopping in Omotesando Hills and people watching on Takeshita Street, one can take the time out to take stroll through the beautiful Yoyogi Park and visit the Meiji Jingū Shrine. Visiting the Shrine and strolling through the park was high on the list of things that I wanted to do.

Once you pass through the massive torii gate boarding Yoyogi Park, it’s like you’ve entered another place. It felt cut off from Tokyo somehow. As one would expect, the park was extraordinarily clean, and well-kept like the rest of Tokyo. The surrounding trees served almost as a sound barrier for those of us strolling through the park from the outside world. Walking through the park, you’ll eventually arrive at the Meiji Jingu Shrine. It was busy with bright eyed and curious tourists taking pictures of the historical site. The Shrine itself is a Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the spirits of Emperor Meiji, the 122rd Emperor of Japan and his wife. Upon leaving the shrine I walked passed an ornate wall of straw covered sake barrels. After leaving we headed towards the Harajuku area to do some people watching. Harajuku is the self-proclaimed fashion and cosplay capital of Japan. While, I didn’t see many people out in cosplay, there were plenty of other things to have a look at on Takeshita street.

Akihabara

I could have travelled to Tokyo just to see Akihabara. Akihabara is a cultural mecca for those who love gaming, anime culture, manga readers and those looking for bargains on electronic goods. Anyone who knows me knows that I love gaming, anime and that I’m the worst kind of technophile (i.e. someone who’s obsessed with the latest and greatest gadgets). So yes, this place was heaven for me. Some of my earliest childhood memories are deeply entwined with gaming. The first and I believe earliest Christmas memory that I can recall, I received the original PlayStation as a gift and I vividly remember the excitement and hours of confusion that followed when my mother tried to set it up. In fact, every console, both handheld and stand-alone that I’ve ever owned as a child I still have (minus my Gameboy advance, that was stolen from me at some stage). So yes, gaming is something that is a part of me. I didn’t get into anime and manga until much later in life, however when I did, it became another defining point of my personality.

While walking through Akihabara, it sounds horribly cliché, but I felt like there was electric running through my veins. There’s a lot of bright lights, billboards and noise in this electric town. I wanted to bask in everything around me. There were massive multi-storey arcades, shops upon shops dedicated to anime, maid cafes, gaming stores, stores to buy electronics, there was just so much! While I was in Tokyo, it hit me all at once some of the harsh realities of backpacking. I wanted to buy so many manga and trinkets, but knew that transporting them over the next 6 months would be nigh on impossible. So for me being in Akihabara was a special kind of torture where I could see all of these things, but couldn’t buy it. Never the less, I enjoyed walking around and seeing it.

Ikebukuro

Being in Tokyo, and with my interests leaning as far towards anime culture as they do I obviously went on the hunt for some Pokémon. If you don’t know (READ; if you’ve been living under a rock for the past 23 years), Japan is the home to these pocket monsters. Pokémon Blue was the first game I ever played on the Gameboy Colour (and yes, I still have it). The Pokémon franchise, like Nintendo, Toyota and Nissan is one of Japan’s most well-known exports globally. My search for a Pokémon centre brought me to Sunshine City, a large shopping complex situated in Ikebukuro. My initial search was very narrow minded and singular in that the Pokémon centre was the only thing I had any intention of seeing here. In fact, Becky and I had split apart for the day because I didn’t feel like it would be fair to have her following me around looking for the Pokemon centre because it was actually quite a bit far out from where we were staying. The centre itself was amazing, filled with all sorts of Pokémon merchandise and playable games for visitors. After approximately 30 minutes of walking around, I left with a small keyring and backpack patch.

Upon leaving, I suddenly found myself inside a large shopping complex with more traditional Japanese clothing stores, and not the western H & M’s, Forever 21’s and Banana Republics that filled streets of Shibuya, Shinjuku and Omotesando. It was both heaven and hell. As well as all of the above, I love to shop. Not the good kind of shop either, but rather, the mindless kind of shopping where I will just buy and buy and the following year, items from said shopping stint will probably still be in my wardrobe with all of the tags on them. Ask anyone that truly knows me and they will tell you about my awful shopping addiction. I’m not allowed to shop for clothing online because the online realm just exacerbates my habit allowing me to mindless click and add things to basket. I have gone online before and bought €600 worth of clothing (€1,200 really because it was black Friday and there was 50% off) in one sitting (though everything was returned immediately after). In fact, in saving for this trip, I’d say that stopping shopping was the single most helpful thing that helped me save. For about 12 months, I wasn’t allowed to buy a single item of clothing, and if I really felt like I needed something, my sister had to review the situation and would decide yes or no to the purchase. I’m not kidding.

So as I was saying, I found myself in a large shopping complex with quite cheap and fashionable clothing. Not even the fact that I’m travelling with a backpack (READ; limited space!) could stop me.

Shinjuku & Roppongi

The best impression I have from Shinjuku is of confusion and panic. The first taste I got of Shinjuku was from Shinjuku railway station. This station is not just any railway station in the world. This place is stupidly gigantic. This station is so big that it houses multiple shopping centres. This station is so big that the station ALONE spans many blocks. This station is so big that when you throw “Shinjuku Station” into google out of the 9 results that come up on the first page, 6 of them are station guides and maps. So yes. A large station. Getting off a train at Shinjuku station was panic inducing because if you exit from the wrong side, it could easily add an extra 15 to 20 minute walk to where you’re trying to get to. The station was so intimidating that I actually opted to walk further to another station when leaving Shinjuku because I just didn’t want to deal with the confusion again.

Tokyo Railway, while not the biggest railway system in the world (that honour of course belongs to the New York), it is the busiest in the world. Funny how the works right? New York more than two times the amount of rail lines, however, passenger wise, Tokyo carries an estimated 2.2 billion passengers a year versus New York’s 1.7 billion. Shinjuku Station, as you guessed is by far the busiest of the stations in Tokyo, with its passenger traffic reaching about 2 million daily. Coming from a country where the most reliable form of transportation is probably the bus (I’ll leave that up to debate), it was both awe inspiring and terrifying.

In my travels, I deemed Roppongi and Shinjuku to be the areas filled with the most tourists by far, not much time was spent here by me. As was expected, when I was in each of these areas, they were just filled with a lot of shopping, lights and restaurants. I personally did not feel the need to spend a lot of time in either of these wards, however having said that, I can appreciate that I missed out on some spectacular rooftop views of Tokyo that can be seen from Shinjuku. We stopped by, mainly just to eat and do some walking sight-seeing and people watching in these districts. Roppongi had a lot of bars, and was fairly lively at night, whereas Shinjuku had a lot of eating options and massive amounts of shopping options.

Overall I absolutely loved Tokyo, and I definitely intend on doubling back before the end of my trip, as there are things I didn’t get to do such as take a day trip to Mount Fuji and a trip to Kyoto (the old capital of Japan). I both love and hate travelling to major cities, because you’ll always get either one of two outcomes. You’ll have a city like Tokyo that’s absolutely rich in cultural history and heritage that you can spend days, or even weeks exploring or you’ll end up in somewhere like Dubai where two to three days is enough to explore and move on. Having said that, I do love Dubai, but in a completely different way from Tokyo. For me personally, I feel like travelling to Tokyo, Seoul and the Philippines first did a lot to ease me into the idea of long term solo travel. I’d liken it to having stabilisers on a bike. I’m not sure how I would have felt if I had just landed in Bangkok and gone straight for it. Becky is a familiar travel companion (in fact, I’m pretty sure the majority of the major trips I’ve done over the past years, she has been involved in) and being with her calmed my nervousness. It was actually quite heart breaking when I left her. Reality really hit me as I boarded the plane by myself bound for Bangkok from Manila. But I digress, after Tokyo, we departed for Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Home to probably one most technologically advanced populations on the planet, the self proclaimed fashion capital of Asia and K-Pop.

Until next time..

Babs