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Welcome to our Tokyo trip report. Tokyo is a MASSIVE city! The largest city in the world by population in fact. They will be hosting the 2020 Olympics and spectators are in for a treat. Their rich culture, amazing food, modern technology will no doubt amaze all visitors. We had the pleasure to visit this awesome city on the way back home from our Thailand trip by utilizing our free stopover from our award flight. This is our Tokyo trip report that is loaded with pics and tips!
OUR TOKYO TRIP REPORT BEGINS WITH: THE AIRPORT
From Bangkok, we arrived to Tokyo Haneda airport. It’s a large airport that is closer to Tokyo than Narita. After arriving, you immediately get the sense of how efficient the Japanese are when it comes to their work. This was apparent while waiting in immigration. It seemed as if a number of international flights arrived around the same time ours did as the immigration line was long when we first got there. Once in line we noticed how quickly the line moved. There were a couple of immigration officers directing visitors to open booths which kept things flowing. Also while at the booths, the officers were quick with their process. It was one of the quickest immigration lines I’ve gone through.
GETTING AROUND
After immigration, we pulled some cash from the ATM and got in line to get our JR Pass. The JR Pass is a transportation pass available to tourists only, which allows you to take advantage of multiple modes of public transportation while in Japan. You can take their trains throughout the city, some bus lines and even their bullet trains across the country. It’s a great way to get around Tokyo and the country and you easily get your money’s worth.
With the JR Pass, we took the train from Haneda Airport to Shinjuku, which is where our hotel was. I’ll admit, the train and metro maps are pretty intimidating at first glance, but after a while they were pretty easy to navigate. Because Tokyo is such a large city, they not only have a subway system, but they have a city train system. With the JR Pass, you have access to the city train system. It’s easy to use and provides you access to the majority of the city. If you couple that with a metro pass, you can get around the vast majority of Tokyo for pretty cheap!
Uber and taxis are readily available as well, but are pricier. On a few occasions, we used Uber to get to some sushi restaurants and they were about $40 for a 10-15 minute ride. While expensive, I was amazed with how professional Uber drivers are in Tokyo. It’s almost as if you hired a professional chauffeur service. All of the drivers we had wore suits and wore white gloves while driving. Their cars were impeccably clean and they opened and closed the doors for you. We were definitely pampered while riding with them!
ACCOMMODATIONS
For our stay in Tokyo, we chose the Hyatt Regency in Shinjuku. We chose it because of its location, distance from the train station and this property’s “points + cash” option. It was a nice hotel and the staff was very welcoming. By using the points + cash option, it made our stay a lot more affordable, as accommodations in Tokyo can be crazy expensive. Since we don’t have elite status with Hyatt, we didn’t get free breakfast at this property. It was a drawback to our stay. Since it’s so easy to get elite status with Hilton, we try to stay there more often.
THE FOOD
WOW!!! Our Tokyo trip report would not be complete without talking about the food! The food in Tokyo was delish. While I don’t consider myself or Adriana to be official “foodies”, we make a strong case to be accepted into the club! We’re willing to try all food at least once, and more often than not we end up trying it multiple times! Here are a few dishes that you must try while in Tokyo
Udon Noodles: if you’re looking for yummy filling food that won’t kill your budget, Udon noodles are the way to go. The noodles taste a lot different than what you normally have at home and you have several ways of eating them. We ate them at Tokyo Mentsudan Udon and it was delish!
Sushi: Obviously sushi had to be on the list, and it’s hard to go wrong where you go in Tokyo for sushi. Even 7-Eleven has good sushi!!! When planning our trip we wanted to splurge on some fancy sushi at a couple of highly rated restaurants and it didn’t disappoint!
Tsugu Sushimasa was outstanding! It’s a small intimate place and the Sushi Master doesn’t speak English, however the server attending us did and she translated for us. It was quite the experience and the pride he had in serving each delicious morsel was something to admire.
Ichibancho Teruya was the other nice sushi place that we went to and it was equally amazing to Tsugu Sushimasa. While the rice used was different, you appreciate their different approaches to their art, and you REALLY appreciate the yumminess of his sushi. The chef speaks English so you’re able to chat him up during your omakase experience.
Street Food: As with other places that you visit, you must try the street food stalls and dives as you’ll find some of the yummiest grub around. We stopped at several places that served Yakitori, Takoyaki and other Japanese favorites. While many of these snacks are hard to pronounce, it’s easy to say “yummy” while you’re enjoying them.
THINGS TO DO
Since Tokyo is a gigantic city, a few days is not enough time to see and enjoy everything that it has to offer. We made our best effort, but there are a lot of sights left to see for when we return. Here are some of the highlights
Electric Town: Located in Akihabara, Electric Town is a video game/anime paradise. While I’m not a gamer, this part of Tokyo was such a cool place to see. I’m sure those who are heavily involved with video games would’ve appreciated this place as much as I did, if not more. There are arcades at every corner and you can find any accessory for your gaming system here. You could probably find things here that you’ve never even heard of back home.
Asakusa: This is the old part of Tokyo and still retains that vibe from ancient times. While not as flashy as Shinjuku or Ginza, this side of Tokyo is not to be missed. In fact, it’s one of the most visited districts of Tokyo. You can easily explore this district on foot but I recommend taking a guided tour on a rickshaw.
Tokyo Tower: Day or night you should check this place out for some spectacular views of Tokyo. We went at night and the city lights were mesmerizing. The lines can be long so make sure to give yourself enough time while there.
Shinjuku: Home of the world’s busiest station, there’s a lot to do and see for everyone. From department stores, electronics, cameras, all night eateries and bars, I’m sure you can find something that you’ll enjoy. There is also a famous redlight district that I don’t recommend you to visit, but to each their own.
CONCLUSION
I’m really tempted to search flight options to go back to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics as Japan left an everlasting impression on both Adriana and I. The world can learn a lot from the Japanese people, the culture and the respect for one another among other things. Have you been to Japan? If so, what did you enjoy?
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