As we have mentioned before in our post “Japan in one week” certainly this amazing Asian nation has plenty of things to do to stay for more than a week, but as it might happen to many of you, we only had that amount of time. This being said, we needed to find a way to make the most of it, and cover as much as possible. In the plan, Tokyo got assigned slightly over two days, since we arrived until we headed to Kyoto.
In this post, I describe how we organized our days, and what I liked the most and the least of Tokyo.
Saturday night:
We arrived at Haneda Airport on a Saturday afternoon. After doing all the required “paperwork” –JR Pass, SIM Card, ATM, etc > for details click here – and getting settled in our hostel in Asakusa, we took the Metro to one of Tokyo´s most popular nightlife wards, Shinjuku. This area, which houses many company headquarters and government buildings, is also known for the small bars and restaurants and the busy streets with colorful neon signs.
We looked for a spot for dinner on Omoide Yokocho, a very tiny street with one restaurant next to the other where no store is wider than 2 metres (being generous) and I had to watch out not to hit my head with the ceilings! The one we picked (just based on price and look) was decent enough. We had cold green beans as entree (japanese classic), and then some meat (beef, chicken) on sticks with local beer. Was good, and for less than 20 dollars for the two of us.
After that, we headed to Kabukicho and the Golden Gai area, where lots of bars and restaurants are located. Some bars might have a cover charge, so it is best to check before if not planning to spend that much money. If looking to get some sake, you probably will find it here 🙂
Sunday
Early in the morning, we started by heading to Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Shrine. The Park and Shrine are located in the Shibuya ward, and we got there by train (Yamanote Line using JR Pass), getting off at Harajuku station. The park is very nice, quiet like an oasis in the big city.
The Meiji Shrine is dedicated to Emperor Meiji, and has some details not to be missed:
- The traditional Japanese weddings. Mainly held on Sundays, they are super interesting.
- The Sake Barrels, full of images and colorful and very nice for pictures.
- The prayers left by visitors.
- The giant Torii in the entrance.
After seeing the shirne, we walked to Takeshita street, in the Harajuku area, and from there to Omotesando. These are Tokyo´s trendy neighbourhoods. Full of people doing shopping as it was Sunday, some nice spots and stores we enjoyed there were:
- Tokyu Plaza Omotesando: The entrance, a very unique design of mirrors is certainly great for pictures.
- Kiddy Land, a toy store so full of clasic japanese games and toys we spent a while checking.
The best part was people watching, so when visiting this area, just check out what happens around you. Also, some food displays are so worth a stop!
From there, we walked to Shibuya, to see the world famous crossing and check out the surrounding area. I was particularly interested in seeing this crossing, as the invasion of people in the streets when the lights go red is certainly impressive. If you have seen movies based in Tokyo such as Lost in Translation or Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, you certainly know what I am talking about. I was so interested in it we came back next day to check it by night.
Once we had taken pictures of the Shibuya crossing from all corners and from the Shibuya Station, and walked around for a while, we headed to Akihabara on the train. This area is known for the stores that sell technology (not necessarily state-of-the-art, also classics), anime products, video games and some interesting people can be seen. Also, many maid cafés are located there. This cafés are known for the waitresses dressed in maid costumes who act as servants, and treat customers as masters. We did not enter into one, but saw many from outside.
From Akihabara we headed back to Asakusa to check the Senso-Ji temples. These temple complex grounds (the most interesting part) are free to visit, and very nice; they are open all the time, and we liked them specially by night as the lights go on.
It was time for dinner, so we found an open restaurant close by, and we had some chicken with Sapporo beer. Again, the entree they served was certainly strange – quail eggs in soy sauce.
Fed and tired, we went to bed!
Monday
This is exactly the Mondays we like: Exploring amazing cities! And our second full day in Tokyo was certainly fantastic.
We started by passing by Tokyo Skytree. A quick view of this tower, one of Tokyo´s symbols (does not say much to be honest), and then we took the metro to visit the Tsukiji Fish Market. This market is the biggest wholesale market in the world, and attracts visitors from both Japan and overseas.
It is possible to visit and see the the tuna auction, but this is limted to only 120 people per day, and it is estimated you need to be there by 2am to be allowed in (auction is at 5.50AM). We decided not to see the auction. We actually went to the outer market, full of small shops, checked a few, walked around, tried some food (loved the omelette on a stick), and by 11, when the inner market is open for public, we went in. You can’t take pictures inside, but we got a few from the outside. It is very impressive!. See this post from Tokyo Travel for more details.
After seeying the market, we headed to Ginza. This is an upscale commercial area, full of international brands. We walked trough the luxorius streets, checked some of the impressive buildings and eventually reached Tokyo station.
We reserved tickets in preparation for our trip to Kyoto, and had lunch in one of the many restaurants in the basement of the station. After that, we checked the traditional entrance of the station, and started walking towards the Imperial Palace (a 20 minute walk).
The Imperial Palace Grounds can´t be visited without a reservation (which we didn´t have) except on January 2nd and December 23rd. Anyway, the outside gardens and bridges that can be seen for free are certainly nice, and worth a walk to get a few pictures. If interested in visiting the grounds, check this link .
From the palace, we went to Ueno park, again, by rail. Located as you can imagine next to Ueno station, this park is full of temples, statues and gardens, and is a very nice place to wander around, and also to do people watching. Our favorite place there was the Toshugu Shrine, with a nice construction and not so full of people.
Finally, when the sunset was approaching, we headed to one of the best free experiences in Tokyo: the Metropolitan Government Building. Views from 202 metres are certainly great, and it is open every day until 11pm (last time to go up is 10.30pm). There are observatories on both towers, North and South. The South observatory closes at 5.30pm, however if that day the North Observatory is closed, it stays open until 11pm. See details in this link .
Night was here, and I wanted to head back to the amazing Shibuya Crossing, so that we did. Great opportunity to see again the huge amount of people invading the streets with the red ligths, and we found a spot in Starbucks that allowed us for a better view.
With that, our 48+ hours in Tokyo finished. The next morning we woke up and took the Shinkansen train to check Kyoto, a story we will tell in a new post!