Japan Trip Report – Tokyo – Days 1 to 5

Day 1 and 2

Despite landing in Tokyo at 4:45, by the time we got our luggage, got through customs, and took the hour Keisei Skyliner train into the city, it was close to 8:30 before we found our AirBnB.  We booked a small apartment just outside of Shinjuku which worked out well as it was close to many of the places we wanted to visit at night.  Our host was American, but decorated the apartment with traditional Japanese furniture including the sleeping futons and legless chairs.

After some quick bites from 7-11 (surprisingly delicious), we crashed quickly the first night.  But, it didn’t stick.  I was up at 1am and the boys were up at 3am.  The sun started to rise at 4am, so I figured it was time to start exploring.  I wanted to see the rest of Shinjuku, but didn’t quite realize that we’d be walking through the red light district to get there.  And even at 4:30am, it was an education for my kids.

Spent the rest of the day in Shinjuku and Shibuya districts.  Caught our first glimpse of the Shibuya Crossing, but it was underwhelming early in the morning.  We walked up to the Meiji Shrine and then took in Takeshita Street where pop culture comes alive in front of you.

First real meal had to be ramen.  We stopped at Ichiran which is a Japanese chain, but it’s a little more English friendly than others and it specializes in the tonkatsu broth which is the pork bone broth which is milky smooth and unlike anything I’ve had stateside.  And the best part is that they give you your own private slurping booth.

After a nap, it was ready to head to Robot Restaurant.  More of a show than a restaurant, Robot Restaurant gets a wide range of reviews by tourists.  I guess it’s a bit controversial.  But, if it was good enough for Anthony Bourdain, then it would be good enough for me.  And we loved it.  It started a little slow, but it was pretty much the craziest thing I’ve ever seen and you have to appreciate the logistics of the show.  Even if the plot makes no sense.  It’s pretty much dinosaurs fighting robots with dancing girls and a big panda in between.  This is not an authentic local show.  But, no where else but Japan could something like this be created.  Appreciate it for it is and you’ll have a good time.

Day 3

The next morning we started off in by heading to the Tsukiji Fish Market.  And we got to ride the Tokyo subway in rush hour.

The subways weren’t bad for the most part, but if you hit it at the wrong time, it did get a little cozy.

The main fish market where the auctions are held has moved away from Tsukiji, but this is still the place to go for where locals can shop and get some of the freshest sushi.

We walked (a really long way) to the Tokyo Tower and went up to see the view.  A bit disappointing.  Personally, Tokyo is not a city you appreciate from above as it’s too spread out.  A bit like Los Angeles in that respect.  Much better from the ground.

From there, we hopped the subway to the Akihabara District which is famous for being the mecca for video gamers and electronics.  It has building after building with floors of arcades.  But, they seemed a bit of repetitive and didn’t even hold my kids’ interest.  There wasn’t a Nintendo focused one which is a big miss, but I heard it’s coming.

One final stop in Asakusa to see the Sensoji Temple.  It’s by far the most famous temple in Tokyo and hitting it in the middle of the afternoon was a big mistake.  Asakusa was the only time I felt overwhelmed by tourists in Tokyo and the whole area is built for tourists with the familiar hotels, restaurants, and souvenir stands.  That might be comforting for some and worth avoiding for others.  We got out quick.

Nobody wanted to do anything else.  We had walked 10 miles two days in a row.  That’s my cue to go grab a beer.  I found YYG Brewery in Shinjuku which had a good modern vibe and decent beers.

On the walk back from YYG Brewery I passed through the Golden Gai bar district just outside of Shinjuku.  It’s essentially a network of hundreds of bars literally on top of each other in the back alleys behind the skyscrapers.  Each bar has only 5-6 seats.  Not all are open to foreigners, but many and are and it’s an interesting place to grab a drink or two.

Day 4

The next morning we had an early morning appointment to attend a sumo wrestling practice at a local sumo stable.  We booked ours through Voyagin.com   It was cheaper than others that I saw and worked well.  You cannot attend a practice without booking through an agent.   It was a really cool experience and I highly recommend it.  The practice is long and can be a bit repetitive.  But, you’re watching a real workout.  It’s not a show for tourists.

After the practice, we walked up to the Edo Museum.  But need lunch first.  Found a Japanese curry restaurant called Hinoya which may have ended up being our best meal of the trip.  It was amazing.  The staff was friendly, but the restaurant wasn’t English friendly and I had to figure out the vending machine on my own.  The menu had pictures and I was able to match up some of the symbols to the buttons and it all worked out.

The Edo Museum is basically a museum of miniature displays of how Tokyo looked in different centuries.  And it’s full of groups of Japanese schoolchildren.  We didn’t stay long.

We spent the rest of the afternoon looking for Pokemon souvenirs and weird flavors of kit kats in a few different malls and stores throughout Tokyo before heading home.  We fed the kids some pasta that we made in the apartment and my wife and I headed to the Park Hyatt to get Lost in Translation in the New York Bar

Day 5

I had plans to head to Kamakura or out to Mount Fuji, but sometimes you have to read the room and jet lag was taking a toll.  So we planned a rest day for our last full day in Tokyo.  We walked down to explore a bit more of Shinjuku to get coffee and a bit of breakfast.  We started at the Shinjuku Station where I needed to activate our JR Rail passes.  The big train stations in Japan are basically giant malls full of entertainment, shopping, and restaurants.  The pictures don’t capture the size and they go underground as well.

Most stations and malls have food halls in their basements which offer just about anything for sale.  Most of it is for takeaway.

After killing some time, we headed up to the 14th floor to Katsukura for tonkatsu.  It’s basically a Japanese pork schnitzel with panko and some dipping sauces.  It’s a formal meal, even for lunch.  And it’s fantastic.

After lunch we braved the rain and headed back down to Shibuya.  I wanted to drink some beers and the kids wanted to see the hedgehog and cat cafes.  We literally split in different directions at the Shibuya Crossing.  And so I got some alone time

I found the Mikkeller Tokyo bar down an alley not too far from the crossing.  Had a few good pints there before heading to Good Beer Faucets.  Despite the great name, the beer and vibe was disappointing.

We walked back through Takeshita Street in the rain.  But, it wasn’t the same and we were tired.  We grabbed some dinner in the station by our apartment and called it a night early.

NEXT – HIROSHIMA

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