Big in Japan: TOKYO

Oh where to start? I’m currently on the bullet train to Kyoto and I just don’t know how to find words to describe how freaking incredible Japan is. The people, the food, the shopping, argh! But first I should start with my first destination: Tokyo.

Shibuya at night

Right, I should just put it out there that I have a long-standing obsession with Tokyo so if my post is dribbling with positive adjectives that’s why. Another thing to take note of is that I am travelling with my aunt and several of her friends so this will not be incredibly helpful to those travelling on a budget (although I somewhat am, so I’ll label budget traveller advice with a ** so you guys can filter out what is useful and what not).

We spent only 2 days in Tokyo, which is definitely too short a time to explore the city properly and we also spent the majority of the time on the hunt for cherry blossoms. They only bloom around this time of year for a period of around 2 weeks before they disappear again.

Cherry blossoms (Sakura) in bloom!

Asakusa also known as 'old Tokyo'

We took a river cruise across Tokyo that ended in Asakusa, also known as ‘old Tokyo’. It’s a famous area for viewing the Sakura and when they are in bloom the locals come out with their picnic mats, some food, and drinks, and gather with friends under the trees. It’s absolutely beautiful and a must if you are travelling with friends. Pretty sure it’s not a big dent in the finance department either. **

Locals picnic under the cherry blossom trees in Asakusa

Asakusa, where old meets new

If you walk further down from the underground station you will reach a famous shrine surrounded by cherry blossoms. It’s very crowded and there are weird guys in hot pants asking you if you want a ride on this odd looking thing. To view the sakura in a less crowded area you should go behind the Ana Hotel in Asakusa, on Izumi Street. It’s a secret our guide confessed to us so keep it on the down low yeah? ;)

The weird guy in hot pants smiling for the camera

Omgzzzz look! No tourists!

Asides from hunting down places to see the sakura, we spent most of our time in Tokyo eating. I think I could eat Japanese food for the rest of my life and be really happy. For reals.

For a cheap meal alternative, which I usually did for breakfast, I would just walk down the street to the nearest 7/11, Lawsons, or Family Mart and get some food there. You can get a piece of onigiri for around 130 Yen, a yakitori skewer for 100 Yen, and a bun for around 200 Yen. Cheap stuff. There are bigger meals there as well that are available for 400+ Yen. **

You can also save money by avoiding big restaurants and eating at the little holes in the wall instead. These are smaller restaurants that are kind of 'fast food' joints. Not the kind of fast food joints we are used to but taking the literal meaning that they serve nutritious Japanese food, well, really fast. These usually entail tempura with rice, or rice bowls (known as a don) or ramen. Each meal costs around 500 Yen and the tempura place we ate in Meguro offered us free green tea J.  Keep a look out for chains like Yoshinoya which offer really cheap rice bowl meals that can cost as low as 400 Yen. **

This is actually a Yoshinoya in Osaka, but they're everywhere.

Chain restaurants, such as The Royal Host offer really good food but at slightly higher prices. A meal will cost around 1500 Yen and the portions are not very big. You can try a tonkatsu place, which will have prices in a similar range but larger portions. **

You cannot go to Tokyo without checking out Ginza. It’s the main shopping area of Tokyo and also the most expensive, but you can always window shop right? Anyway we went to the Mitsukoshi department store, which is, as expected, crazy expensive but what I went for was to look at the abnormally sized fruits in the basement. They’re not GMO (not that I have anything against GMO) but they are still so massive! One strawberry will probably be the size of your thumb or more and half the width of your palm. However these suckers will set you back 400 Yen a pop.

I of course had to make a trip down to Shibuya station so I could try and locate the statue of Hachiko for my sister. I couldn't locate the exact statue, because I could barely get through the hordes of people, but I managed to find some tribute to his memory. If you haven’t heard of Hachiko’s tragically beautiful story, read it here.

Tribute to Hachiko at Hachiko-guchi, Shibuya station

Shibuya is also the hip part of Tokyo and near to Harajuku, where the young Tokyoians dress up as anime characters on Sundays. Sadly we were off to Mt. Fuji on Sunday morning so we couldn’t see any of this.


Transport tip: It's probably common sense but if you want to save money, do not take a taxi on your own. Never. The fare almost gave me a heart attack. A 10-minute right could easily set you back 1200-1600 Yen (12-16 USD).

Shibuya

From the brief impression I got of Tokyo, I think of it as the New York of Asia – quirky people, modern, and so full of life! I hope I can return to Tokyo soon and explore some of the weird stuff – maid cafés, cuddle cafés and all of that jazz.

If there are any wanderlusters out there, interested in seeing the weird side of Tokyo as well, hit me up! Of course I’d still have to save an arm and a leg’s worth to afford it but where there’s a will, there’s a way. J