Part 1 – Our first night back in Japan
After having a taster of Japan in May 2016 we were very excited to return to one of our favourite countries and one of our favourite cities, Tokyo. To start with we planned only one night in Tokyo before heading to the alpine region the next day. With only one night and our flight arriving quite late we wanted some cheap accommodation. I have always been curious about the capsule hotels but also a little worried that the capsules might feel claustrophobic. Curiosity, however, won over and we booked a night at the Tokyo Kiba Hotel, one of the only capsule hotels in Tokyo which has double capsules for couples (most other hotels had single capsules and males and females were separated).
On arrival at the Kiba Hotel, we were given our PJs, slippers and towels and information about bathroom times (as all bathrooms are shared) and etiquette. We were then told that we would need to leave our luggage in storage but could put any valuables in a small locker. This made sense once we arrived at our capsule. The capsules were in rows, stacked two capsules high, and there were no doors but just a small curtain for privacy.
After checking-in our next priority was food. Everything around us was already shut but with the help of Google we stumbled on a great little place. A dark, smokey izakaya with only a eight or so seats at the bar and a few very cool looking locals. We instantly loved it! After managing to order some food (there were no menus in English), we couldn’t help but have a couple of Japanese whiskeys – we were back in Japan!
By the time we returned to the Kiba Hotel it was well after midnight so we both said that we would just go to brush our teeth but then… we discovered the bathrooms! The males had the bigger bathroom at that time of night with a large onsen (about 15m long and no one in it) so Daz couldn’t help but have a soak. Meanwhile, I got pretty excited when I saw all the Shiseido products in the female bathroom and wanted to try them all. The bathrooms may not excite everyone but to us after months in South East Asia they were awesome.
We loved the whole capsule hotel experience and it was so good to be back in Japan!
Part 2 – A few days of exploring
I’ve said it already but Tokyo is one of my favourite cities, so even after a few great days in the alpine region I couldn’t wait to get back. When we visited Tokyo last year, we tried to cover as much as possible, we loved it but constantly felt rushed and exhausted. This time we wanted to explore the city at a more leisurely pace and this included starting each day with good coffee. Luckily for us, Japan has an awesome coffee scene and very trendy cafes. A couple of our favourites cafes in Tokyo were: lab.LABAR (at Daikanyama) and Blue Bottle Coffee (we visited the Rippongi branch but there are a number around Tokyo). (Tip: we bought our breakfasts at 7-elevens which was a good and cheap alternative and meant that we could invest our money in good coffee instead. Breakfast in hotels is expensive and we struggled to find healthy and cheap breakfast options outside of the hotels.)
Although we took Tokyo at a leisurely pace we did manage to cover quite a lot in four days. This being Lila and Rob’s first trip to Japan, we hit some of the main tourist areas, including:
- Shibuya which is famous for the very busy Shibuya Crossing;
- Harajuku known for the Harajuku girls’ fashion style and the very sweet crepes; and
- Shinjuku a busy district with one of the biggest railway stations (this station became our nemesis!). Tokyo’s red light district, gay district and the famous Golden Gai (little alleyways full of tiny bars and pubs) are all located in Shinjuku.
As you would expect, the public transport system in Tokyo is amazing but Tokyo is also a great city to explore on foot and we did a lot of walking. Whilst Tokyo is busy, it is possible to escape the crowds and there are lovely neighbourhoods where you can wander around admiring the architecture, shops and restaurants. We particularly liked the walk from Shibuya to Omotesando along Cat Street and wandering around the trendy and upscale Daikanyama. Daikanayama also has one of the most amazing book stores I have ever been to, Tsutaya Books. The interior is just beautiful with everything meticulously arranged, I easily could have spent hours there! We also really liked Nakameguro and enjoyed a visit up to the Meguro Sky Garden, a lovely and non-tourisy outdoor space on top of a high rise where you can escape the busy city.
Without doubt, one of our favourite neighbourhoods, if not the favourite, is Shimokitozawa (or Shimokita for short). It is a cool hipster neighbourhood with little streets full of vintage shops, bars, restaurants and more hairdressers per square meter than I have ever seen. We fell in love with this area on our previous visit and couldn’t wait to return this time, coming back on two separate occasions. The first time, we spent the afternoon browsing the vintage shops, dodging local hipsters on bikes, and drinking craft beers at a tiny little place. The second visit was to the Shribu izakaya, popular with both foreigners and locals and famous for its very tasty flame torched mackerel. Following a very oishi (delicious in Japanese) meal at Shribu, we rounded off our night with a night cap at Shimokita Komorebi, a cosy standing only natural wine bar.
Speaking of food, Tokyo is without doubt a foodies’ haven. It has over 100,000 restaurants including some of the top restaurants in the world. However, you don’t have to spend a fortune to eat well. Whilst we would usually try to avoid getting food in train stations, in Japan the food options at the large train stations are absolutely amazing. For our ramen fix, we headed to Ramen Street at Tokyo Station. As the name suggests there is a whole row of different ramen restaurants but we chose Soranoiro Nippon as it serves both traditional tonkotsu ramen and also vegetarian and vegan versions. The ramen was absolutely delicious!
Tokyo is also famous for its yokochos, which are small alleyways full of little eateries. These again are good value but also give you an authentic experience of local food. Last time we were in Tokyo we went to Memory Lane, also known, as Piss Alley and famous for yakitori. We had an awesome and memorable night eating and drinking with locals. We wanted to repeat the experience but this time decided to try the Ebisu Yokocho, an indoor alley near Ebisu Station with a variety of local eateries. The alley was packed with young locals and the food did not disappoint! The yokochos are a great place for a night out, they are usually buzzy and crowded and if you’re lucky you’ll get chatting to some friendly locals.
As you would expect, accommodation in Tokyo is expensive. After much research we chose the Hotel Mystays Premier Akasaka for our four day stay. Akasaka is a business district so the area near the hotel was not particularly exciting but the hotel was clean, modern, close to transport links and reasonably priced (for Tokyo). The best part, however, was the jazz bar we discovered next door, G‘s Bar. A tiny little place with great live music, friendly bartenders and Japanese whiskey. We barely dragged Rob away!
Part 3 – Our final two nights in Japan
Returning to Tokyo after a long train journey from Fukuoka, we met our friend Aki, at Nakameguro for dinner at Sato, a cool restaurant in the rail archways. We had an amazing meal thanks to Aki’s expert ordering – the highlights being the grilled salmon and the young bamboo sashimi. The plan was then to go see the cherry blossoms. After weeks and weeks of anticipation and then disappointment everywhere we went I tried not to get too excited…but it was a good sign that Nakameguro was heaving with people. So we followed the hordes to the river and as we rounded the corner there they were… cherry blossoms upon cherry blossoms in bloom. It was magical and so worth the wait! In celebration of the sakura (that is, cherry blossom) season there were various stalls lining the river selling local food and drinks. The atmosphere was buzzing with people eating, drinking and taking photos and we loved being part of it!
On our last full day in Japan, Lila and Rob headed to a tour of the Tsukiji Fish Market (run by Japan Wonder Travel). The tour takes you inside the huge and busy wholesale market and also to the outer market which has various shops and food stalls and where you can sample local food. We did this tour last year and it was very informative and enjoyable (if possible it is best to do the tour at the start of your time in Japan as it gives you a great introduction to some of the local foods). Dale and I meanwhile had a relaxing morning and then to headed to Ginza for our final sushi fix. Ginza is famous for its sushi restaurants including some very fancy restaurants but there are also very reasonably priced options. We initially chose Midori Ginza but arriving to a long queue decided to go to a small place across the road called Itame that offered very good value set course sushi platters.
It was then time for more cherry blossoms and we headed to Shinjuku–Goen, a beautiful park famous for cherry blossom viewings.
For our last evening we chose the New York Bar on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt. Made famous by the Lost in Translation movie, this is a great bar with amazing views and cocktails. It is best to get there for opening time (5pm) so that you can get the best spot and watch the city lights come on as you sip on your cocktail. In our case there was an early evening storm so we were also treated to a spectacular light show. The live music starts at 8pm, but there is a cover charge if you want stay – thank you to Lila and Rob for treating us! It was a great night and a perfect ending to an excellent few weeks in Japan. We already can’t wait to return!
NEXT: a quick hop to Singapore and then onto Sri Lanka.
