Our trip to Japan involved packing in as much as we could. So in 10 days, we checked out multiple areas of Tokyo, Kyoto, Odawara, Hakone, Nagoya and Osaka. We experienced authentic and historic Japanese culture as well as their more modern advantages.
just a bit of Tokyo
We started and ended our trip in Tokyo, since that's where we flew into and out of. So there were a couple days right after we landed where we checked out the most popular neighborhoods ... out of the 30+ that we got recommendations on or heard about. There's plenty to see and do in this mega-city for several trips.
The first night was the arrival around 8pm. I had to find a bus from the Narita airport (a little farther away from the city center than the Haneda Tokyo airport) into the main Tokyo station. We stayed in the Hanzomon area. There's not a lot going on there, but it's close to a lot of where we wanted to go. It's very convenient to get a local suica metro card to ride all the trains between neighborhoods. Also, get a local sim card (with unlimited data) from stores in the airport, or most metro stations. It helped a ton with directions, websites, translations, and train schedules.
The first full day we spent checking out Shibuya and Shinjuku neighborhoods just a little west of central Tokyo. They are both large areas with huge metro stations. We walked through the Shinjuku Gyoen national park and botanical gardens to see the start of the cherry blossom season. Close to that is Yoyoji park with the Meiji shrine. While there we saw a traditional Japanese wedding, followed the local customs with fountains to cleanse the evil spirits, and made wishes into the great unknown. We finished off the day with some crazy entertainment at the Robot Restaurant.
Robot Restaurant is a type of story told with humans, robots, lasers, and a number of other secrets. Yep, it's specifically over the top touristy, but it's worth it for a unique take on the culture.
The second day involved getting our breakfast extra fresh at the Tsukiji fish market and visiting the shopping mecca in Ginza, before catching a ride on a bullet train to our next destination (check out the Osaka, Kyoto, and rural Japan posts).
A week later we came back to Tokyo and had a few more partial days. That included a trip out to the Odaiba man made island of entertainment where we saw a statue of liberty replica, the amazing Team Labs Borderless exhibit, and plenty of shopping. I had an extra day after Sharon left and checked out Asakusa for the temple, markets, and river walk.
Borderless labs is a huge warehouse of multiple rooms of a diverse range of interactive art. Some you physically crawl and jump on, others you draw and visually interact, and others are nature based moving images. I don't want to spoil it for anyone that goes, but it is a MUST DO.
Of course the city is famous for it's ramen, sushi, and a ton of Michelin rated restaurants. We tried a lot of local food places and they were all delicious. Other sites and activities we saw included: the Shibuya scramble/crossing which is said to be the busiest pedestrian intersection, the observation floor at the Tokyo Government center, an izakaya (bar) alley for locals, walking through Yanaka (old school Tokyo), Ueno park, Akihabara electronics nirvana, shopping in Omote-sando and Harajuku, and catching more cherry blossoms by the Meguro river walk.
Recommend:
- Team Labs borderless
- Robot Restaurant
- any of the green spaces in the city : Yoyogi park, Gyeon gardens, imperial gardens
- eating at the fish markets, or any of the local noodles and sushi places
- Asakusa sites
Japan Trip
Tokyo
Kyoto and Hakone
Nagoya
Osaka
Videos
Robot Restaurant neon dance
Robot Restaurant dance
Borderless Labs crystals
Boderless Labs lamps
Trip Map
Pictures
Gyeon national gardens

endless city skyline

liberty replica

Robot Restaurant

Borderless labs


Murk Travels - Japan album
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Links
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MurkTravels Instagram - my attempt at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen