6/9/14

Tokyo Adventure Day 1: Arrival

It has always been a dream of mine to travel to Japan ever since high school and it finally came true! Tokyo was absolutely beyond what I expected! The first few hours in Tokyo was already surreal and overwhelming!

During my train ride from Narita to Shinjuku Station, I noticed that everything was so clean and vibrant. The buildings all looked freshly painted, the grass were bright green and the trees were in huge clusters! Here's a 16 second video of my train ride scenery in Narita. Sorry for the low res, I didn't know how to set up my phone cam. >_<



I stayed in a hotel in Kabuki-cho Shinjuku, which is supposedly one of the most dangerous areas in Tokyo at night... However, everyone I encountered in Kabuki-cho were very friendly and helpful. Yes, there were a whole lot of host clubs touts but none of them paid attention to me except for one Filipino tout who has been living in Tokyo for 19 years. He told me that it was really obvious that I was a tourist. He also said that if he only met us earlier he would have been glad to give us a tour! Filipino hospitality at it's best!



Shinjuku at night
Takoyaki from a random vendor
Unfortunately, I have something to rant about and I really need to get this out. I actually traveled to Japan with my sister... I didn't mention her at first because we clashed during the whole trip. I honestly wish I traveled alone since she hated everything I was interested in. Thankfully, Tokyo was absolutely amazing that it kept me going until our last day. Despite the clashes and the muscle pain, it was amazing.

Speaking of muscle pain, here's the after math of our first day in Tokyo:



As a palette cleanser, here are some tips I can offer based on my trip:
  • Invest in comfy shoes. If you are planning to buy new shoes, buy them a month before and break them in!
  • Prepare and study maps of the area you will visit so you won't lose time or tire yourself out while looking a certain area. Save PDF copies of the maps in your phone.
  • Print multiple copies of  the subway map.
  • It is easy to plan what train to ride going to places in Japan, Google maps can give you an accurate guide on which train to ride, how many stops and transfers needed, and how long the ride will be.
  • Try to watch videos about the train system before your trip. I did not get lost because of the following useful videos:
  • There are a lot of free wifi spots in Tokyo but most wifi spots require you to register. Here are the sites I registered to before flying to Japan:
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