Three weeks ago, my friends and I were enjoying a communal meal after class. As we ate our delicious dumplings, someone said “let’s go to Japan!” Then a week later, we were at the Hong Kong airport on our way to Japan. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan and I couldn’t believe that it was actually happening! After landing in Tokyo, we took the train to our hostel in Ryogoku. I’ve never stayed at a hostel before, but it was a decent experience.
Our hostel was near the JR Station, which was great for navigating around Tokyo. We were only there for 3 days and 3 nights so we wanted to make the most of our time. We ended up experiencing so much of Japan despite the brevity of our trip.
Harajuku
Our first destination was the Harajuku area. Harajuku is a nice area full of shops, interesting people, and things to see. After we ate delicious pancakes for breakfast, we visited the Meiji Shrine. The journey to the temple was so peaceful. It was nice to see the traditional Japanese architecture in person.
After the shrine, we went to Omotesando and Takeshita street which was a street full of tons and tons of shops. I got quite a few items from there. For dinner, we went to this crazy restaurant called Kawaii Monster. If you think the title is odd, that is exactly what this place is. It was so fun! The interior design was very eclectic, the food was delicious, and the performances were awesome! It’s a great place to go to with a group.
Shinjuku
To conclude the night, we walked around Shinjuku, which looks amazing at night with all the signs light up.
Asakusa
The next day, we headed to Asakusa. We walked through the area and made our way to the Senso-ji Temple. Before the temple, there is a street full of shops where we got lots of food and souvenirs.
There were a lot of great food options in the area so we made sure to try most of it.
The temple was remarkable and worth visiting!
Sumida
After visiting the temple, we headed to the Tokyo Skytree Tower, a 634m tower in which you can get a 360 degree view of Tokyo. It was absolutely beautiful especially since we went at sunset.
Once we saw everything, we went to a sushi restaurant by the tower. I got to eat at the conveyor belt and I loved it! Sushi really is the best in Japan!
Shibuya
To conclude the night, we went out Shibuya which is like the Time Square of Tokyo. Being two days before Halloween, the area was like a giant halloween party! We had so much fun and saw a lot of great costumes.
That concludes the brief trip we took to Tokyo. It was an amazing experience and I know that I will return one day!
