Tokyo, Japan

We visited Tokyo in Sept 2011 just after the Fukushima disaster. I had some air-miles which were going to expire and I wanted to take Angie on a holiday she would remember. Of the options available to us, Tokyo was the one that we both were keen on although the radiation scare was of concern. I did do plenty of research prior to the trip and the general consensus was that Tokyo was far enough away from Fukushima that there was no danger. (Note: on our last night, we still checked to see if we glowed in the dark.... :p )

It was a good time to visit Tokyo as well as all the hotels were offering steep discounts due many tourists cancelling their trips due to the radiation fears. We got a great deal on Sunroute Shinjuku which is a very nice business hotel right next to the Shinjuku station. If you're travelling to Tokyo, I highly recommend this hotel due to the quality of the rooms and very good location.
http://en.sunrouteplazashinjuku.jp/

Map

Download Garmin gdb file here.

TIPS ON TRAVELLING IN JAPAN

• Getting into Tokyo from Narita Airport - It's very easy to get to Tokyo from Narita airport. Upon arrival, you just need to go down to the basement and buy a the Narita Express (N'EX) ticket from the Japan Rail sales office and then board the train.http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/nex_round.html
  
  When I visited Japan, JR had a package where they would bundle the N'EX ticket with a Suica card (a prepaid card) which can be used for train and subway travel in Tokyo and can also be used with vending machines to pay for goods. However, they are now sold separately. It is highly recommended that you get a Suica card while you are buying your N'EX ticket.
  
• Cash - Japan is a famously cash-based society and many of the small shops do not accept credit cards although the larger supermarkets and shopping complexes do. Hence, it is advisable that you carry a lot of cash/yen while you are in Japan. It is best to plan for your entire trip to be paid with cash (with exception of your hotel).
  
• Tips on Ordering Food - Ordering food in restaurants can be quite a scary experience especially when you don't speak the Japanese language. However, this is a useful tip we picked up for ordering food.
  
  Most times, a Japanese restaurant will have a display case with plastic models of the dishes they offer. All you have to do is take a photo of the dish you want to order with your smartphone camera and then show it to the waitress when you go into the restaurant.
  
• How to Eat Cheap - Tokyo is famous for being expensive and most meals will typically set you back by ¥1,000 to ¥1,500. However, there are budget alternatives and the smart traveler can save a lot simply by doing some research and planning ahead on where he intends to have his meals.
  
  Yoshinoya and Tenya are very affordable chains that offer meals from as little as ¥400 to ¥600. Yoshinoya specialises in thin strips of beef over a bowl of rice while Tenya serves very good fried tempura ingredients over a big bowl of rice. A good way to plan is to search for these chains on Google Maps to see if there are any branches near your tourist destinations and schedule it into your itinerary.
  
  Another good place to find cheap food is Family Mart or Lawsons (these are the local version of the 7-Eleven convenience stores). They do serve hot food as well as a mix of sandwiches, pasta and rice dishes in the store. Good for packing a take-away lunch on-the-go.
  
• Subway / Rail Map - Japan's rail and subway system is one of the best in the world is very well connected but can be confusing. It is good to print out a copy of the Rail Guide and have it handy when you travel around. You can find it available for download here: https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/downloads/
  
  Another useful tool is the MetrO app, a rail/subway network calculator. You just enter your current location and your destination and it will calculate and advise you the best route / train line to take. You can download it for free here: http://metro.nanika.net/
  
• Common Phrases - The Japanese are very kind and polite people. However, majority of them do not speak English. The English language is taught in school but most only have experience writing but not speaking English. Hence, it is to your benefit to learn a few common phrases in Japanese.
• Good Morning - Ohayo gozaimasu
• Good Afternoon/Good Day - Konnichiwa
• Good Evening - Konbanwa
• Good Night - Oyasumi Nasai
• Goodbye / Farewell - Sayonara
• See You Later - Mata Ne or Ja Ne
• Excuse Me - Summimasen
• I Am Sorry - Gomen-nasai
• How much is this? - Kore-wa Ikura desu-ka
• Where is this <place>? - Summimasen, <destination> doko desu-ka?
• What is this? - Kore wa nan desu-ka
• Thank you - Arigato
• Thank you very much - Arigato-gozaimasu

FIRST DAY - SHINJUKU

We arrived at Narita Airport on a Sunday morning and took the Narita Express (N'EX) straight from the airport to Shinjuku station as we wanted to leave our luggage at the hotel.

The train is very clean and modern and there are designated areas for you to store your luggage bags and even connect locks to secure your luggage. 

The train ride takes about 45 minutes to get to Tokyo and the overhead displays give you key information on progress, ETA and local time.

We got off the train at Shinjuku station and from there, it was a short walk (dragging our luggage bags) to the hotel where they were kind enough to store our luggage while we went out to tour the city.

Nearby Shinjuku station is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building which consists of 2 towers. At the Northern tower, you can take an elevator ride up to the observation deck to get a great view of Tokyo. On a clear day, you can even catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. Admission is free which makes it a more sensible visit than Tokyo Tower which charges admission.

At the southern side of the Observation Deck, we could see the Meiji Gardens (which houses the Meiji Shrine). The garden is huge and from up here, we got a sense of the size of the garden. It is definitely worth a visit and we resolved to go later in the week.

After walking around the various electronics and department stores in Shinjuku, we decided to have lunch at Katsukura located on the top floor of Takashimaya Shinjuku. It is famous for it's pork cutlet rice (Katsu don) and was recommended to me by a colleague who had visited Tokyo.

The dish is as shown on the left and may not appear appetizing but it was absolutely delicious and was definitely worth following my colleague's recommendation. This is one of the more accessible dishes for tourists.

At night, we took a stroll to Omoide Yokocho (Memory Lane). It's a small little lane beside the Shinjuku train station and is lined with various small yakitori shops. These yakitori shops are famous haunts for the Japanese salary man after work as they would have drinks and snack on the various yakitori sticks with their fellow colleagues. The area is steeped in history as this lane grew up out of the post-WWII development.

This lane also has a more unsavoury name - "Piss Alley" which comes from the actions of the patrons who are too drunk and unable to find a toilet after a night of serious drinking.... :p

We walked around until we found a small yakitori place that looked good (decent crowd) and had spare seats and we sat down and ordered from the menu. Most of these places have an English menu if you ask for it and you just need to point to what you want to order and they will make it for you.

DAY 2 - MOUNT FUJI AND HAKONE TOUR

On the next day, we took a guided tour of Mt Fuji. We were lucky in that the pick-up for the tour was at Washington hotel in Shinjuku which was near where we were staying. 

On the trip up, the bus stopped at the Mt Fuji museum where we could get some background history on Mt Fuji. Mt Fuji is an active volcano and the area around it are also active geo-thermal hotspots. This is one of the reasons why there are so many hot spring resorts in the area and if you have more time, you can arrange to stay overnight at one of the hot spring resorts in Hakone. The Japanese believe that bathing in the hot springs is good for health as well as for relaxing the mind and body. However, be prepared that Japanese etiquette requires that you bathe naked in the hot springs. It is considered poor manners to wear swimming costume into the hot springs. You are required to wash yourself first in a shower area before slipping into the hot springs.

At the museum, we could see many exhibits from past eruptions of Mt Fuji with samples of lava balls and even a lava tree mold (shown on the left).

Our bus eventually took us to the 5th Station. This is the highest station that can be visited by car/bus. In the past, these stations served as resupply stations for pilgrims making the trek up the mountain who needed to refuel their oil lamps. It has since developed into a major tourist destination.

There is also a very ornate temple here where travelers would stop to pray for protection on the trek to the summit.

Unfortunately, the peak was hidden behind a wall of mist that day. According to our tour guide, legend has it that the female mountain spirit gets shy if there are handsome men visiting the mountain and thus hides behind the mist.

Angie took the opportunity to sample some of the street-food here as she bought some grilled squid and also some grilled beef. It was superbly done and very tasty.

You can also buy some souvenirs here but overall, the trip here was a disappointment due to the dense mist.

After we boarded the bus, we were whisked off to Hakone pier which is a town towards the south of Mt Fuji. During the ride, we could see a lot of the forest and country-side houses along the route.

The tour had included a cruise on Lake Ashii on this pirate ship. It was really cheesy but in a fun way. Angie and I had a big laugh over how cheesy it was. :p

Throughout our trip, we saw torii gates everywhere. This one was unusual in that it was situated over the water. The Japanese believe that when you pass through a torii gate, you cleanse your spirit of sin. This deep sense of spirituality everywhere is what makes Japan so unique.

At the other end of the lake, we boarded a cable car that took us to the top of Mt Owakudani. Unfortunately, these cablecars are not air-conditioned and the glass windows served to make them into a hot greenhouse. We were glad to escape them once we got to the top.

On the journey up, luck graced us as the mist had cleared and we finally caught our glimpse of Mt Fuji, rising majestically from the clouds.

The cable car took about 30mins and dropped us off at Owakudani which is a great viewing point to see the mountains and all the geothermal steam vents around the area.

On the side of the hill, there is a small cottage that makes hard-boiled eggs by boiling it in the hot spring waters. Due to the sulphur, the egg shells turn black. The Japanese have a belief that if you eat 1 egg, you are adding 1 year back to your life but with all the sulphur in the water, I secretly wonder if we are actually reducing 1 year from our lifespan... :p

Through out the entire area, we could see hot spring water everywhere. The waters were bubbling and sizzling as it trickled out from the rocks. We noticed that the waters was murky with a milky white substance... 

After walking around and taking plenty of shots, we had to rush back to the bus. Our tour bus then took us back past Hakone pier towards the train station where we caught our first glimpse of the Shinkansen bullet train. 

The speed at which the bullet train passed through the station was amazing and you could literally feel the air displacement from its passing. However, when we boarded the train for the trip to Tokyo, the ride was so smooth that you marvel at the technological wonder that it is. A perfect way to cap our day.

THIRD DAY - TSUKIJI FISH MARKET AND ASAKUSA

The next day, we visited the Tsukiji Fish Market. If you want to, you can come very early at 5am to catch the famed Tuna Auction. However, we decided to give the auction a miss this round as online reviews say that it's overhyped. We arrived around 9.30am hoping to find breakfast here.

Tsukiji isn't just a market for fish. It has a warren of shops surrounding the main fish market that sells all kinds of related goods. There are shops specializing in selling kitchen knives and blades while another sells spices. There was even a shop that sold souvenir sushi fridge magnets. While most traders here can't speak English, they are willing to negotiate by typing out their prices on a calculator.

Angie had done her research online and was keen to try out sushi at Sushi Dai which has very good reviews. The name of the shop is shown in the picture on the left but you can also identify by the long queue outside. Even at 10am, there is a massive queue. We waited in line for 1.5 hours before we were seated. You can come earlier if you want to beat the crowds. The shop is open from 5am to 2pm.

Sushi Dai only offers set menus of ¥2,500 (Standard - 7 pieces) and ¥3,900 (Trust The Chef - 11 pieces). We took the Trust the Chef set where he gives us 10 pre-set sushi and we can then choose an 11th piece out of the first 10 which he will make again for us.

Part of the reason for the long queue is that the shop is quite small and sits a max of 12 people only at the bar top. This is quite typical of Japan where the food shops believe is smaller groups in order to not compromise on quality of food and service.

Walking in, we could see this magnificent slab of tuna belly through the display case that left our mouths watering.... :p

We sat ourselves down at counter and had the best sushi meal of our lives. I definitely believe we have never had sushi as good as this ever before.

The best piece in our opinion is still the Fatty Tuna / Tuna Belly sushi and we ordered this for our 11th piece.

Don't go looking for Salmon sushi here. Salmon sushi is a western invention and it pales in comparison to tuna belly.

Angie was also intrigue by the conque on display and ordered this as an additional piece to try. It was a bit bloody after the chef pulled it out of its shell but Angie enjoyed it. 

After Tsukiji, we headed to Asakusa to see the famous temples. On the left, you'll see the famous Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) which has the huge lantern and 2 statues  of Fujin (Wind God) and Raijin (Thunder God) next to it.

Asakusa is a huge tourist attraction and there are stalls lining the Nakamise Street to the temple selling souvenirs like vases, kimonos, and shurikens. Many of these shops sell the same item and you should not buy from the first shop you see as the shops closer to the temple (deeper in) are generally cheaper than the ones at the entrance.

Closer to the Senso-ji temple, you will see the Hozomon Gate which is a much larger version of the Kaminarimon.

Passing through the Hozomon Gate, we finally saw the Main Hall of the Senso-ji temple. The original Main Hall was destroyed during World War II and then rebuilt.

At the entrance to the Senso-ji main hall, we again can see the huge red lanterns. Senso-ji is a temple to the Buddhist religion which is one of the main religions in Japan.

The large box is for donations and it is custom to drop a ¥5 coin (go-en) in before praying. As our tour-guide to Mt Fuji previously noted, very business-minded to pay-before-pray. J




DAY 4 - MEIJI GARDENS, HRAJUKU, AND AKIHABARA
The next day, we visited the Meiji Gardens which we originally viewed from the Tokyo Metropolitan Tower on our first day in Tokyo.

The Gardens is very beautiful and we get this sense of peacefulness as we walk through it. The casks shown on the left are from casks of Burgundy wines that were used to consecrate the grounds when the temple was built. There is a similar row of sake (rice wine) casks on the other side. I guess the forest spirits know how to enjoy western wines as much as Japanese rice wines.

The Meiji Temple is dedicated to the Shinto religion, which is the other major religion in Japan. The picture on the left shows a Shinto priest going through a morning prayer. 

The temple grounds are vast and the trees in the courtyard are huge. Worshipers here typically write their prayers or wishes on small paper cards which are then tied to the trees in hopes that the forest spirits will answer their wishes.

A short walk over from the Meiji Gardens, we visited Harajuku which is a typically young, hip, teen area. However, since it's a weekday, we didn't see much activity. If you visit it on weekends, you can see many youths or teens parading around in Lolita fashion or other street fashion cultures.

I used the opportunity to do some souvenir shopping here.

Angie had done some research and found us another economical place for lunch. Tenya is a chain serving mostly tempura rice bowls. The prices are typically around ¥500 to ¥800 yen a dish which is quite economical for Tokyo. The dishes are typically vegetables or prawns dipped in a light tempura batter and fried and served with rice.

Angie had a vegetable tempura dish with miso soup while I had a prawn mixed tempura dish. It was very tasty and filling.  

In the evening, we took a trip down to Akihabara as I always wanted to visit this tech and anime area. At the station we again came across Japan's love for vending machines. We even saw a vending machine for ice-cream and decided we had to try it out. We even saw a vending machine for umbrellas and hot cakes. J

Akihabara is a haven of electrical and electronics shops and you can find many of the latest tech gadgets or electronic components here. Also, on Sunday morning, it is the site of a large congregation of Japanese anime cosplay dressers. Unfortunately, we missed this as our flight arrived on late Sunday.

We also dropped by Animate, an 8-storey store filled with anime and manga. Unfortunately, I can't read Japanese so I couldn't find anything to buy here.... he-he-he

We also came across the current fad at that time - a "Maid Cafe" where the waitresses dress up in French maid costumes and feed patrons food. While Akihabara is very modern we do come across some Japanese fads that are very unusual.

At the Akihabara station, we found this famous 4-store Curry Shop. This shop is famous and has good reviews and is unusual in that it consists of 4 famous curry stores that share the same store space.

All 4 stores were famous so basically, we just sat down and ordered something we liked. I had the usual Chicken Katsu Curry Rice (fried chicken). The chicken was very crispy and rice is superb and the curry comes in a separate gravy dish so you can pour in as much as you'd like. Definitely a good place to have dinner.

DAY 5 - IMPERIAL EAST GARDENS

This was to be our last day in Tokyo and we visited the Imperial East Gardens which is open to the public and admission is free. This is a great place to take a peaceful walk and view the historical architecture. The garden is surrounded by a huge moat and we can see swans, koi fishes and even a water terrapin swimming in the moat.

As we walked through the gardens, we came across this historical guardhouse. In ancient times, samurais would rest or lounge around these guardhouses while waiting for orders from their shogun to go out and chop someone up. J

From the Imperial East Gardens, we then took a train up to Ueno station to visit the Ameyoko Bazaar which is a large bazaar located under the train tracks. It is a great place to shop around for souvenirs and Angie also wanted to visit Daitoryo, a famous yakitori shop located under the train tracks.

This is a great shop to take a break from your shopping and have a quick snack. They also have English menus (with the associated English spelling errors - Horse meat spelled as "Hose Meat").

The beef yakitori is superb and the size is generous. I really enjoyed this.

The shop also serves other internal organs which you don't normally see in a restaurant but this is typical for a country that historically is unable to produce sufficient local food to feed its population and relies heavily on imports. The dish on the left is some chicken or cow's womb yakitori.

We also ordered some Sabaa (mackerel) which was grilled to perfection. I really admire the skill and dedication of the Japanese chefs in spending years mastering their craft.

This is one of the dishes you should definitely order.

After some more shopping, Angie was again tempted by a tuna sashimi dish. She enjoyed it a lot although she said the tuna was not on par with the ones we tasted at Tsukiji Fish Market. That's understandable considering this dish costs only ¥800 - ¥900 (a fraction of what we spent at Tsukiji).

For our last night in Tokyo, we wanted to have a good Japanese meal. We returned to the top floor of Takashimaya Shinjuku and Angie picked this restaurant which is near Katsukura (the place where we had lunch on our first day).

In Japan restaurants, the food presentation is every bit as important as the taste and this can be seen in all the dishes served including the appetisers. This is a small tofu with a small cup of chawan-mushi.

Angie's dish was more elaborate - she was given thinly-sliced pieces of waghyu beef to cook on a hot pan. You can see the beautiful marbelisation on the beef that shows why waghyu is superior in taste to most other beef.

After cooking the beef, Angie was supposed to dip the beef in a bowl of raw egg yolk before eating it with rice. All the guidance and instructions were provided by our very helpful waitress.... although, I have a secret suspicion that she must be mortified by how uncouth we tourists are at Japanese dining etiquette.... J

I had a typical waghyu steak cutlet but even this simple dish is prepared with very good presentation.

This dinner capped off a superb and wonderful holiday to Japan and made it on my list of must-visit destinations. I strongly urge you to visit Tokyo at least once in your lifetime and don't let the language barrier put you off as the Japanese people are a very kind and friendly and do their utmost best to try to make your visit a memorable and happy one.