Spring 2016 (4/4 - 4/12)

Day 1- Shibuya Nights

First time going to Japan. I was excited and eager to experience the food, culture, nature, and shopping. Ended up going on the trip with a friend of a friend. I had meticulously planned out the whole 8 day trip. Booked a 4 star hotel for cheap in Shibuya called Shibuya Excel Hotel Tokyu.

Arrived in Narita in the evening. Picked up the pocket wifi I rented, grabbed some currency, and JR pass. My friend and I then opted to buy a LimoBus ticket as one of the stops was at our hotel. The bus ride was comfortable enough, but took quite a long time to get to our hotel due to the frequent stops. However, I enjoyed the ride and gazing through the windows out at the Tokyo skyline and feeling the energy of the streets.

Checked in. Unpacked. We both decided to do a little exploring around Shibuya and also grab some dinner. We wandered around a bit and checked out what was nearby our hotel and then popped into a local ramen shop. I used my limited Japanese to order two bowls on tonkotsu ramen with no issues. The ramen was super cheap, but quite delicious. We did some more exploring at night and did some night photography. As we were passing through Shibuya crossing, there was an engaged couple posing for some engagement pics in the middle of the street. It was kinda wild seeing that on our first night out. Pretty interesting vibes so far, Tokyo.

I also snapped some pics of some sakura trees in full bloom and checked out the Hachiko statue. Kinda cool seeing all the local spots that I only saw in Youtube videos prior to this trip. After a bit of exploring the streets of Shibuya, we called it a night as travel fatigue set in.

Day 2- Sakura, Sake, & Spider

Woke up to a brand new day. So much to do and explore. We decided to explore Shibuya a bit more during the day time and stumbled upon a sakura tree lined street called Sakura Dori. It was pretty nice and we snapped a few shots at the location. We wandered further into Shibuya and walked towards Meiji Jingu shrine. The area was very lush and well kept. As we strolled through the main tori gate, we passed by a wall of old sake barrels. I believe that the sake barrels were donated by various sake brewers to be used for ceremonies and festivals.

As we wandered further in, we could gradually see the shrine appear in the distance. We participated in the 'temizuya' cleansing ritual by washing our hands and the handle of the wooden ladle before walking up to the shrine. The architecture was pretty cool and intricate. I even got a glimpse of some Kannushi Shinto priests and Miko Shrine Maidens.

After wandering around, we headed back to our hotel to rest up. Then in the evening, we headed back out to meet up with my brother in Roppongi to grab some dinner. I snapped a quick picture of the Maman spider sculpture near Mori Tower. We ended up eating at a local spot called Honu and had various dishes including some Okinawan dishes and randomly foie gras fried rice. The food was great and the vibes were very chill. After dinner, we called it a night and headed back to our hotel for the night.

Day 3- Ebisu

Woke up and decided to check out Ebisu for some soba. It was a bit rainy, but we managed to get there fairly dry. I totally forgot the name of the restaurant, but it was pretty tasty along with the tempura on the side. The lady there was even kind enough to flag my friend down to return his forgotten umbrella. Great hospitality. 

Afterwards, we decided to head out to Tokyo Fuji Art Museum to check out some exhibits. While I wasn't really interested in the art there, my friend was eager to check out some of the pieces there. Overall, the museum was nice and the architecture was pretty interesting.

We wandered around a bit, then headed off to Shimokitazawa on my brother's gf's recommendation as the area is known to have a lot of thrift shops and second hand goods. 

Day 4- Sakura Season

Booked a guided tour for sakura and our tour started off at the Showa Memorial Park (Showa Kinen Koen). We were let off from the bus and given a few hours to check out the park. My friend and I opted to rent out some bikes to get around the big park faster. All of the sakura trees were in full bloom, so the bike paths were quite peaceful and serene to bike through. I lost track of time and we were nearly late going back to our bus and so we put the pedal to the metal and barely made it on time. 

Our next destination on our guided tour was Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. I once heard a story where one of the employees was terrified of tourists and did not charge a bunch of tourists the entrance fee for a while. He eventually got fired I heard, haha. Sadly, we had to pay on our visit.

The park was even more gorgeous than the previous one and had lots of nice places for a picnic. I remember trying to take some pictures on a bridge of the area and a sudden gust of wind blew and tossed a bunch of cherry blossom petals in the air. It almost felt like a 'movie moment' and I was in awe of how amazing it was being showered by sakura. 

Our next stop was Tokyo Tower...aka the Eiffel Tower of Tokyo. While it was a very touristy place, the views were quite nice from the top and you can get a good sense of the scale of Tokyo.

Day 5- Kyoto

Woke up and headed out to Kyoto to check out the sights. First we stopped by a little village area, which I forgot the name of and checked out some old wooden houses and temples. Then we hiked up a small path in the mountains up to Arashiyama bamboo forest. The forest was quite packed with tourists, but being amongst all the tall bamboo trees was mesmerizing. Just a sea of green gently swaying in the wind. It was quite peaceful and cathartic being one with nature.

After enjoying the bamboo forest, we walked back out parallel to the river and stopped by a soba restaurant to grab some lunch. While my friend didn't like soba as much as ramen, the options were pretty limited in the area.

After the meal, we headed off to Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavillion) temple and took a short cab ride from the JR station. The temple was super crowded with hoards of tourists. It was pretty tough trying to find a good spot to take some photos, but eventually I was able to score some nice ones. While it was cool to look at, that's pretty much all there is to it. What you see is what you get. Kinda not worth it, IMO. You're not missing out on much if you skip it. We also made a stop and checked out Tenyru-ji zen temple.

I had planned to meet up a college buddy out in Nagoya afterwards, but we were both pretty beat from the day and so unfortunately was not able to meet up with him. We then headed back to Tokyo a  bit exhausted from the long trip and called it a night. 

Day 6- Tsukiji Fish Market

Woke up a bit early and headed off to Tsukiji Fish Market to try out some fresh seafood and see all the sights....and smells. Saw a lot of grilled seafood offerings, shellfish, and sushi. I tried some fresh tuna out there and it was amazinggggg. I even saw one vendor selling real wasabi roots, which can be quite pricey.

Day 7- Shibuya, Harajuki, Shinjuku

Decided to peruse the local shops and areas nearby including Shibuya, Harajuku, and Shinjuku to finish up some shopping. Checked out the local eateries as well including some yakitori and kushikatsu. Sad to say it was our last full day in Japan, but I managed to do most of the things on my itinerary without being overly ambitous. Kind of a boring day in terms of sightseeing, but it was a chill vibe on our last full day.

Day 8- Sad Sayonaras

Packed up and made one last round around the local shops and restaurants before we made our way back to the airport by LimoBus. Definitely enjoyed our accommodations and being so close to all the nearby hot spots. While I planned most of the itinerary and pretty much carried the whole trip for my friend, I still enjoyed it thoroughly despite him not being as participative. Nevertheless, will definitely have to come back again to explore more areas and to stay with my brother once he gets established in his own place next time. Til then, sayonara!