My 4ish Days in Tokyo
We had high expectations for Japan, but wow. We were stunned by how much we loved it!
The food. The culture. The natural beauty. The hospitality. The old architecture. The public transportation. The smart toilets. The general coziness. The coffee and tea. How clean everything was. The history. The quirkiness. What’s not to like?
Day Zero | Thurs, May 9
Welcome to Tokyo! We landed at Narita Airport around 6PM. It took us 3+ hours to get off the plane, collect our bags, find an ATM (at the 7/11), set up our IC cards, find the right train, ride on various metros, and walk the rest of the way to Hotel Gracery in Asakusa. We showered in our waterproof room (all the bathrooms had the toilet/sink area separate from the shower-room), we experienced our first smart toilet, and said goodnight to Tokyo as we lowered the blackout shades for sleep (the sun would come up at 4:30AM).
Day One | Fri, May 10
It was at Woodberry Coffee that we first got acquainted with the infamous breakfast queue. But we waited here longer than anywhere: over an hour. Great location, good food and coffee, but the service was sloooow (they seemed woefully understaffed). It was after 11 AM by the time our eggs benedicts and coffees arrived. Thankfully, we were in no real hurry.
Next up: Shibuya Crossing
A.K.A. the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing. We crossed, then watched the crossing from inside the Starbucks. Touristy. Times Square vibes. But, you gotta do it.
With time to kill before our main activity of the day, we walked to About Life Coffee Brewers (ALCB). This conveniently located corner stand serves up some tasty Onibus coffees. When in Shibuya, go here!
Tokyo Ramen Tasting Tour
Our tour met up at Hachiko Square, named in honor of the faithful dog, Hachi, who would meet his owner at the station every day after work. He continued to do so for years after his owner died. Hachi’s bronze statue is a popular selfie spot and the plaza is great for people watching.
Our tour group walked to three nearby ramen shops for a sampling of: classic Hokkaido ramen (miso based), fusion tonkotsu ramen (pork based), and curry ramen.
We also tried our first alcoholic beverages in Japan, including ginger highballs, plum wine, and some other Japanese liquor (gin, maybe) with lemon tonic. The highball was my jam.
We learned what made ramen ramen and asked our tour guide, Sahori, all the questions about strange-to-us things we’d encountered in Tokyo (e.g. dogs peeing in cups). Sahori grew up in Tokyo but actually lived in Tampa for a bit (so random!), so she really got where we were coming from. Our tour lasted about 3 hours and we were stuffed by the end. My only critique was the cost. We paid $120/p, when IMO it shouldn’t have cost more than $75 (tourist pricing, for sure).
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
We decided to end the day 45 stories up at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Unlike a lot of viewing platforms for city lights, this one was FREE. We spotted Mt. Fuji out the window (pictured below), browsed their gift shop until the sun went down, then took a bunch more photos after dark.
We were already so sleepy by 7 p.m. but tried to keep our eyes open for the light show on the building. It was just alright.
After a 40ish minute walk/metro/walk back “home,” we passed out.
Day Two | Sat, May 11
This was our most perfect day in Tokyo, starting with what would become our favorite breakfast spot:
Misojyu
It was sooo nice to walk there under beautiful blue skies instead of dealing with the metro first thing in the morning. The queue went fast, we loved the traditional soup/onigiri breakfast, and Fuglen Coffee (another fave!) was right around the corner. The Asakusa neighborhood was also delightfully calm early in the morning.
This day, Misojyu was serving a mushroom & sweet potato soup and I chose a pickled-plum onigiri. Yum!
teamLab Planets
By 9:15 AM, we were on the metro, headed toward teamLab Planets.
We arrived a little late according to our ticket-time (purchased ahead through their website, ~$28/p), but it was nbd.
Everyone enters the immersive experience barefoot, starting with the water tunnel. Each room is a surprise. The first is completely dark, made of soft, squishy fabric. The next is all mirrors and lights and colors.
The third is more water and music and interactive lights. You get the idea. Several more rooms.
The flower garden is the grand finale, where motion-activated, live orchids move up and down with you.
We spent about 1.5 hours at teamLab Planets and had lots of fun!
Tsujiki Market
The Tsukiji Fish Market is best known for their tuna auction. (FYI, the priciest giant bluefin tuna sold for $788,440 on the first day of business this year.) The countless food stalls of the outer market make it a very popular lunch destination.
Shutoku Gonzo sushi
You wouldn’t find this tiny alley in the Tsujiki Outer Market unless you were looking for it. We were looking for it and still passed it multiple times.
It’s an omakase style sushi bar where the chef crafts each piece of nigiri in front of you. It basically ruined us for sushi forever. I wrote more about it here. It was one of our favorite experiences in Japan.
The Imperial Palace
The Imperial Palace is still inhabited by the royal family, so you can’t go inside. But it’s surrounded by pretty parks that are worth seeing, especially if you’ve been spending lots of time in crowded areas.
Aoyama Flower Market Tea House
We were so delighted to hear the Harry Potter theme music at the metro exit. What? Had we been transported to the London tube somehow?
Turns out, this is the exit for the theater showing the Cursed Child, and the surrounding area is Harry Potter themed. It was so cute! And amongst it all was this lovely tea house.
We ordered two loose-leaf teas and a light, snacky dinner of omurice and french toast to share. It was delicious and cozy. A perfect end to a perfect day.
Day Three | Sun, May 12
Senso-ji Temple
Senso-ji is the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo and the main attraction of the Asakusa neighborhood. It’s said to get extremely crowded after 9AM, so we decided to start the day there (a five minute walk from our hotel).
Most of the shops on the Nakamise-dori Street (which leads to the temple and offers lots of souvenirs and street food options) hadn’t opened yet, but that was okay with us if it meant less people. We mostly wanted to see the famed Senso-ji gate with its massive lantern, the pagoda, and the temple.
We learned how to draw omikuji here. You pay 100 yen (~63 cents), make your wish, shake the box around, remove the stick that shows your number, then match it to one of the drawers (this is the hard part if you don’t read Japanese. Someone had to help us find the right one.)
Inside the drawer is your fortune, which can be either good (take it home), bad (leave it behind), or a mix (your choice). Google translate helped us determine that ours was a mix, which my mother-in-law was not a fan of, so she tied it and left it behind, as is the custom.
Suke6 Diner
Next, we walked to Suke6 Diner for some solid avocado toast and omelets (a “Western style” breakfast). The servers were very nice. The coffee was just okay.
Meiji Jingu Shrine
It took us like 45 minutes to get to the Meiji Shrine by metro — that’s how it is in Tokyo. I tried to clump together activities in the same general area, but the city is SO big that it still takes significant time to get anywhere.
This Shinto Shrine commemorates the Emperor Meiji who modernized Japan. To reach it, you walk through beautiful wooden gates and a soul-refreshing forest.
Harajuku
The rest of the day was about checking off neighborhoods we hadn’t yet seen or foods we hadn’t yet tried; starting with with Harajuku (the very crowded shopping district) and what we thought would be conveyer belt sushi.
Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera
Not sure if we chose the wrong location or if their conveyer belt was broken that day, but our sushi was hand delivered (shrug). It was still a good experience.
We ordered via the screen as we went, mixed our own matcha, and stacked our many plates. My favorite selections included anything seared (scallops, salmon) and the miso soup.
A Happy Pancake Omotesando
We obvi had to try the suuuuper fluffy Japanese pancakes and were actually surprised how NOT sweet and kind of dry they were. Squishy, yes. Soft, yes. But much more “eggy” than expected and not as good as they looked (IMO).
Higuma Doughnuts x Coffee Wrights
To make up for our dashed pancake expectations, we found some freshly fried doughnuts (and coffee) in a really cool building. The cinny sugar doughnut was sooo good! The coffee wasn’t super special, but it was a great place to chill for a bit.
Kabukichō
This is the night life/entertainment part of Shinjuku district and…yeah. It definitely stands apart from the rest of Tokyo.
BRIGHT, loud, dirty by comparison, and more on the “seedy” side, this is where you’ll find host/hostess clubs and “love hotels.” It’s also home to Golden Gai, the famous alley of tiny izakayas (bars). Tiny, as in, 10-or-less seats, so if you want one, claim it early. The vibe was smoky and touristy, though, so not our preference.
Ecchan Ramen
We came here specifically for the shoyu based tsukemen (dipping ramen). No English menus and you order at the machine in the front, so make sure to have Google translate ready.
This is not a fancy establishment, but they will serve you a large bowl of soup and a separate large bowl of noodles (to dip) for only $6. I dare you to eat it all (I came no where close). Don’t forget to wear a bib (provided) and slurp!
Another hidden alley worth checking out is Omoide Yokocho. Even if you’re not looking to eat at one of its many yakitori (skewer) bars, it’s worth walking through for the experience in contrast (from the mega-bright, colossal street to the dark, skinny alleyway). Had we not already filled up on ramen, we probably would have grabbed dinner here.
By 8:15 PM, we were exhausted. We knew we’d be traveling to our new home in Osaka the next morning, so we decided to hop on a metro back to our hotel (about an hour away) and catch some zzzzzzs.
The following morning, we returned to our favorite breakfast / coffee combo in Asakusa (Misojyu + Fuglen), this time in the rain. Our hotel provided us with these clear umbrellas :)
Then we were off to Osaka for a week! Bai bai, Tokyo!
Day Four | Mon, May 20
We returned from Osaka in the late afternoon and checked back into Hotel Gracery. We hadn’t really planned anything for this last day, so we consulted Google Maps for saved pins and said to ourselves, hey, we haven’t seen the Tokyo tower yet.
It’s slightly taller that Eiffel’s, but it’s hard to tell since it’s surrounded by other tall buildings.
Passage Coffee
We popped into Passage Coffee for a little afternoon / pre-dinner caffeine boost, then walked to PST Pizza.
PST Pizza
Gabe read that PST takes a limited number of walk-ins, so we got in line before they opened at 5. It was a good thing too, as we just made the cut.
BTW, we wanted to eat pizza — not because we were tired of Japanese food but — because, according to chef Dave Chang, the best pizza in the world is in Japan.
“Pizza Studio Tamaki…is led by Tsubasa Tamaki, who trained under lauded pizzaiolo Sussum Kakinuma of Seireinkan and Savoy. The bases are light and chewy, sporting the characteristic puffy crust and thin centre of Naples-style pizza.” — Time Out
This small spot packs out and has a fun indoor/outdoor vibe with the pizza oven in the middle of everything. We ordered 3 drinks, 2 appetizers, 2 pizzas, and dessert (all wonderful!) and were in the middle of a conversation when Gabe looked up and said…
“Um, Justin Beiber is here.”
I chuckled, following his line of vision to a guy who did look a lot like the Beibs standing just outside the restaurant. Same body type and facial structure, very similar tattoos…random. I thought little of it, went back to my pizza, then did a double take.
Now Hailey Beiber, in a bucket hat, was talking to the host.
Both Beibers. Definitely them.
They had no entourage, though. After a few minutes, they were led past us, up the stairs. Other patrons definitely recognized them too, but played it cool.
We figured they must have reserved the whole second floor for privacy. But when my mother-in-law was sent up there for the bathroom, she reported back that no, they were seated at one of several occupied tables. And you had to walk past or stand in front of the Beibers’ table if waiting to use the bathroom. LOL.
I’m sure they loved that.
But, Beibs or no Beibs, this place had very authentic Italian food and everything we ordered was exceptional. Pricey compared to most of our other meals (about $100 for the three of us) but worth it. Would recommend!
The Following Day
There was one more thing we had to try before leaving Japan: Lawson’s (convenience store) egg salad sandwich — as recommended by Anthony Bourdain.
Official review: If you’re looking for a quick, on-the-go meal, this sandwich is as perfect as it (or any egg salad product) can hope to be. We look forward to the day we can return and eat another one!
Stay tuned for my days in Osaka!
