I am going to attempt to get all of my Tokyo blog in one go so I hope it does not turn out too much of a long read. My journey to Tokyo did not start off too well. I was delayed leaving Beijing which meant that instead of a 2 hour layover in South Korea I got 40 mins. I only got 40 mins because the flight from South Korea to Tokyo was also delayed (I should have only had 15). Due to this, I can not say much about South Korea Incheon airport other than we had a very cool traditional Korean greeting waiting for us. Anyway, boring flying chat over, I landed in Tokyo at about 2030 and quickly got a bus to the main train station and then a tax to my place. For Tokyo I stayed in an AirBnB and it was probably the best decision I could have made. The apartment was a great size, comfortable and 15 minutes walk from Shinjuku station (the busiest station in the world with 2million passengers a day). There was a closer station but you always needed to go to Shinjuku and I am not lazy enough to not walk for 15 minutes.
What can I say about Tokyo in one word....nothing. It is impossible as there are so many things to say about this amazing city. It was completely like what I imagined after watching Lost in Translation. Flashing lights, very tall building, lots of people wearing suits, tv screens everywhere but then much more. Everyone was so polite, they smile, asking a question of someone in a shop etc doesn't feel like you are inconveniencing them. I decided early on that I would only stay in Tokyo as travelling to Kyoto would cost me £200 on the bullet train so it was not worth going for just a few days. Instead, I took the whole 8 days in Tokyo and will go back to Kyoto to give it the attention it deserves another time. Tokyo itself is not a very old looking city due to an earthquake in 1923 and from the Americans bombing it in WW2 destroying many of the old buildings. Due to this, everything looks very futuristic. You can get a hint of the old capital when you visit the Imperial Palace. The only bits surviving from the WW2 destruction is where the Emperor lives and members of the public can only visit on the Emperors birthday and at New Year. Instead, we can to wonder around the vast gardens which proved to be a very relaxing experience.
Whilst travelling around the other countries, I made a concerted effort to stay away from Japanese food knowing that I would eat as much as I could in Tokyo. Yo Sushi will never be the same again in all honesty as eating the real thing really does make you realise the big difference. Everywhere I ate, I tried to keep it local so seeing no white people was always a good sign. One particular bar I ate in did dumplings, I say bar because it was so small and you literally walked in through the door and onto a chair at a bar with the chefs behind and they just cooked your dumplings etc to order. I am pretty sure I have never tasted anything as good as some of these local places. I made a friend in Japan who studied at UCL. The best part of that day was coffee that turned into having dinner before hitting some bars and culminated with singing karaoke at 4am with a bunch of local young people that did not really speak English but could sing along to the Beatles. A very epic evening indeed.
Tokyo has many shrines and temples scattered around which were interesting to visit and spend some time just standing and thinking and enjoying the free green tea that they hand out at the Senso-ji temple. This is Tokyo's most sacred temple but unfortunately, lots of it was damaged by the American bombings during WW2 so has had to be re-built or things are just missing. The buildings were spectacular though and as with places in China, you had people giving offerings and praying right next to people trying to sell their bits and bobs. Unfortunately because of that, you can never get a photo without being photo bombed 100 times and just before you actually enter the temple area, you walk through a narrow outdoor corridor with small outdoor shops which took some time to navigate through due to the shear number of people. As I have said before, if you think London is crowded, the tourist areas in some of the cities I visited are twice as bad.
Whilst in Tokyo, I decided to take a trip to the Science and Natural History museum as you do. It had much more to offer than the one in Beijing with so many specimens including one of my favourite extinct species (Megaloceros giganteus) and virtual displays designed for children to understand things but useful to everyone.
Walking around Tokyo sometimes proved confusing and one of my two stress attacks came when trying to find a particular bookshop that according to the signposts existed but didn't seem to be anywhere. I eventually found it with some help but it was not where I expected. People do not cross the road unless the green man is on even if the roads are clear and it is illegal now to smoke outside. Instead you have to go to designated smoking areas that are randomly around the streets. It is an interesting policy aimed at cleaning up the air for the 2020 Olympics however you can still smoke inside so as you can imagine, coming from a country where it has been banned since 2005, going to a place to eat and being surrounded by smokers is a tad uncomfortable (and made my clothes stink).
One particular evening that I must share was when I travelled up to the observation tower at the Tokyo City Hall. 42 levels up was a pretty scary though and once there, looking out onto the city you realise just how huge it really is, it literally spreads to the horizon as shown in this photo (apologies for bad quality but the window reflects).
I was very sad to leave but at this stage, I had been travelling for 3 weeks and home time was getting closer. My next leg of the journey was back to Hong Kong and then finally back to London.
What can I say about Tokyo in one word....nothing. It is impossible as there are so many things to say about this amazing city. It was completely like what I imagined after watching Lost in Translation. Flashing lights, very tall building, lots of people wearing suits, tv screens everywhere but then much more. Everyone was so polite, they smile, asking a question of someone in a shop etc doesn't feel like you are inconveniencing them. I decided early on that I would only stay in Tokyo as travelling to Kyoto would cost me £200 on the bullet train so it was not worth going for just a few days. Instead, I took the whole 8 days in Tokyo and will go back to Kyoto to give it the attention it deserves another time. Tokyo itself is not a very old looking city due to an earthquake in 1923 and from the Americans bombing it in WW2 destroying many of the old buildings. Due to this, everything looks very futuristic. You can get a hint of the old capital when you visit the Imperial Palace. The only bits surviving from the WW2 destruction is where the Emperor lives and members of the public can only visit on the Emperors birthday and at New Year. Instead, we can to wonder around the vast gardens which proved to be a very relaxing experience.Whilst travelling around the other countries, I made a concerted effort to stay away from Japanese food knowing that I would eat as much as I could in Tokyo. Yo Sushi will never be the same again in all honesty as eating the real thing really does make you realise the big difference. Everywhere I ate, I tried to keep it local so seeing no white people was always a good sign. One particular bar I ate in did dumplings, I say bar because it was so small and you literally walked in through the door and onto a chair at a bar with the chefs behind and they just cooked your dumplings etc to order. I am pretty sure I have never tasted anything as good as some of these local places. I made a friend in Japan who studied at UCL. The best part of that day was coffee that turned into having dinner before hitting some bars and culminated with singing karaoke at 4am with a bunch of local young people that did not really speak English but could sing along to the Beatles. A very epic evening indeed.
Tokyo has many shrines and temples scattered around which were interesting to visit and spend some time just standing and thinking and enjoying the free green tea that they hand out at the Senso-ji temple. This is Tokyo's most sacred temple but unfortunately, lots of it was damaged by the American bombings during WW2 so has had to be re-built or things are just missing. The buildings were spectacular though and as with places in China, you had people giving offerings and praying right next to people trying to sell their bits and bobs. Unfortunately because of that, you can never get a photo without being photo bombed 100 times and just before you actually enter the temple area, you walk through a narrow outdoor corridor with small outdoor shops which took some time to navigate through due to the shear number of people. As I have said before, if you think London is crowded, the tourist areas in some of the cities I visited are twice as bad.
Whilst in Tokyo, I decided to take a trip to the Science and Natural History museum as you do. It had much more to offer than the one in Beijing with so many specimens including one of my favourite extinct species (Megaloceros giganteus) and virtual displays designed for children to understand things but useful to everyone.
Walking around Tokyo sometimes proved confusing and one of my two stress attacks came when trying to find a particular bookshop that according to the signposts existed but didn't seem to be anywhere. I eventually found it with some help but it was not where I expected. People do not cross the road unless the green man is on even if the roads are clear and it is illegal now to smoke outside. Instead you have to go to designated smoking areas that are randomly around the streets. It is an interesting policy aimed at cleaning up the air for the 2020 Olympics however you can still smoke inside so as you can imagine, coming from a country where it has been banned since 2005, going to a place to eat and being surrounded by smokers is a tad uncomfortable (and made my clothes stink).
One particular evening that I must share was when I travelled up to the observation tower at the Tokyo City Hall. 42 levels up was a pretty scary though and once there, looking out onto the city you realise just how huge it really is, it literally spreads to the horizon as shown in this photo (apologies for bad quality but the window reflects).
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