Unfortunately, we lost a full day in Tokyo due to our flight being cancelled. We were supposed to arrive in Tokyo early (very early) in the morning, but due to weather issues and then engineering issues our flight was cancelled and rescheduled for early afternoon the next day.
Anyway, we lost a full day in Tokyo…
Once we arrived at Haneda Airport in Tokyo we made our way to customs. Before getting into the customs line we had to walk over disinfectant floor maps and walk through a body temperature scanner. I’ve only ever seen the scanners once before when we had a layover at Baiyun International Airport on our way to London. It’s an interesting idea and hopefully helps to prevent the spread of illnesses. I’ll have to do some reach and find out how accurate they are…
Once we got to the customs line, there was a huge queue of people waiting. It wrapped up and down a number of times. Luckily it moved pretty quick and constant, but it still took about an hour to get through.
After customs we made a pit stop before collecting our bags. This was our first Japan toilet experience – and it did not disappoint! The ladies restroom had huge bi-fold doors on each of the stalls. Inside was the famous Japanese toilet. There were more buttons on the toilet than on our TV remote control! I was too nervous to touch any of the buttons and I crossed my fingers that nothing unexpected would happen!
As I got near the toilet I triggered the motion sensor for the privacy speaker. Each stall had a speaker that played a noise that sounded like running water! I was hopeful that our hotel toilet would be just as fancy so I could give it a proper try…
Since it was late by the time we collected our bags and made our way to the train station we were only able to get a train from the airport to Tokyo Station – not quite far enough to reach our hotel. From there we would have to get a taxi.
It was a bit cold when we stepped outside at Tokyo Station and got in line at the taxi stand. We were coming from sunny Sydney and weren’t very well prepared to be standing outside for any length of time. There was a long line of people, but we didn’t think it would take too long as we both thought that taxis would be common coming/going from the station.
Boy were we wrong… There were several taxis driving down the streets around the station, but only a few actually turned onto the street where we were queuing. So we kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting.
After a while we were getting near the front of the line, we would only have to wait for a couple more taxis and then we would be on our way. Unfortunately, the group at the front of the line had a very intoxicated man with them. He couldn’t stand up on his own, the two guys he was with were having to support him. As a taxi approached, they would see the man and drive off without stopping. This happened a couple of times and we were all getting annoyed since the line wasn’t moving. We couldn’t believe that the taxi driver wouldn’t at least let the next person in line jump in!
Finally, one of the drivers left but ended up coming back and taking the next person in line (at least the line was moving again!).
When the next taxi approached one of the sober guys basically pushed the drunk guy into the taxi – he wasn’t given the driver the opportunity to drive away.
Finally, the next taxi was ours!
We later found out that we were about a 10 minute walk from the hotel – but it was cold and we didn’t have data setup on our phone yet, so we didn’t have much of a choice but to wait that night. Next time I’ll remember to come up with optional travel plans.
We arrived at the hotel, and the staff at the front desk were very friendly – even considering that it was after midnight. We checked in pretty quick, arranged for Ben to have breakfast at the hotel the following morning and made our way to the room.
From my research I knew that the hotel room was going to be small so I was expecting the worse. Which was good, because it was VERY small. The bed was pushed up against one of the walls. There was just enough room to walk at the end of the bed, and a small space between the bed and the other wall which had a narrow desk. By the door was a small cut out with hanging space.
The floor space around the bed and in the “hallway” wasn’t wide enough for me to put my suitcase. I had to open it up on the bed, and then close it so that I could store it upright in the “hallway”. It was a bit annoying at first, but I got better and remembering to take everything out that I needed before storing it away again! Ben had packed his backpack, so the cut out by the front door was a perfect size for his bag. He used the luggage stand and was able to get in and out of his bag as needed.
The bathroom was a bit larger than expected. It had a small size tub with shower, decent size sink, and a fancy toilet (yes!).
The overall size of the room was small, but they did a good job using all of the available space and we found it fairly comfortable. We weren’t planning to spend a lot of time in the room, so it wasn’t a huge issue.
By the time we got settled, it was late and we were ready for bed. We were planning an early start in the morning so that we would have the day to explore Tokyo. We still weren’t sure what we were going to do, but we decided to get some sleep and figure it out in the morning!
Prior to our trip we purchased a couple of travel books from Aldi. One was a pocket guide to Tokyo and the other was a guide to Osaka and Kyoto. It was a random find while we were browsing Aldi, but was perfect as they only had guides for a few different cities and two of them were where we were going!
While Ben was having breakfast at the hotel we flipped through the Tokyo guide to give us some ideas of what to do. In the guide we found a few pages with suggested itineraries, so we decided to follow the day one plan.
From the hotel we had a two minute walk to get to the metro station. Outside of the station there was a tourist info – we decided to stop and see if there was any additional information they could offer.
I had the idea to purchase metro cards for our Tokyo travel. I thought we would get them at the train station, but it turns out they sold them at the tourist info. I’m not actually sure if you can get them at the train station – they check your passport and everything before you purchase. Luckily I read somewhere that tourist in Japan should always carry their passport – which we found to be true as we needed our passports multiple times.
We ended up purchasing the 48 hour pass – which was perfect as we had two days to explore Tokyo before Disneyland. The pass was really easy to use through the gate and Ben downloaded a metro app that we could use to plan our travels.
Following the pocket guide book, our first stop was Shibuya. This area is known for the Shibuya Crossing (massive street intersection) and the trendy shops.
Before you leave the train station there is a window overlooking the crossing. It’s a good photo op from above.
After leaving the train station we wondered the streets. We didn’t really have a plan and just went down any street that looked interesting. There’s a lot of shops and little streets to see.
After wondering the streets for awhile, we started to head towards Meiji- jingu. It was a bit of a walk and nothing too exciting to see along the streets, but it was probably quicker than making our way back to the Shibuya Station.
As we got closer to the shrine we decided to check out the shops and find somewhere to eat in the Harajuku district. As we crossed the street we saw a sign for the hedgehog cafe. We had talked about doing the hedgehog or owl cafe. You could hold and play with the hedgehogs, whereas the owls were just for watching. We were getting hungry, but decided to check out the cafe in case we needed to book a time.
We ended up going at the right time. There were only a few tables filled and we got right in. We went with the 30 minute plan and one of us ordered food (meal-worms) to feed the hedgehogs.
After the hedgehog cafe we went to the Meiji- jingu Shrine. This was our first Japanese shrine. It was a nice, peaceful walk to the shrine. The leaves on the trees were still a beautiful fall color.
The Meiji Shrine is a shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. The shrine was built and dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and the Empress Shoken in 1920. The shrine was destroyed during the Second World War but it was rebuilt shortly thereafter.
Emperor Meiji was the first emperor of modern Japan. It was during this time that Japan modernized and westernized itself. You can learn more about the Meiji Period from Japan-Guide.
Before entering the shrine we went to the wash basin to purify ourselves before entering. At the wash basin you can watch others, but the main steps are as follows:
- Take the ladle in your right hand and fill the cup full of water.
- Pour the water into your left hand, then taking the ladle in your left hand wash your right hand.
- Put the ladle back into your right hand and pour a small amount into your left hand.
- Use the water to cleanse your mouth, then use the remaining water to wash your left hand again.
- Return the ladle to the stand with the cup facing upward.
Once inside the shrine we visited the main shrine and we each made an offering. At the front of the shrine, you toss a coin in the box, bow twice, clap your hands twice, and then bow again.
We were lucky enough to see a few bridal processions. The bride and groom, along with other wedding party members and guests looked amazing. The bride and groom were taking pictures around the shrine.
Twice a day at 8am and 2pm you can witness nikkusai. this is a ceremonial offering of sacred food and prayers for worldwide peace and everybody’s prosperity. The ceremony takes about 10 minutes and is worth watching if you are at the shrine during that time.
After the shrine we walked through Takeshita Street. The Pocket Tokyo book recommended Harajuku Gyoza-ro – a local favorite for dumplings. We followed the map in the book and were able to find it easily enough. There weren’t any signs posted, but we saw a line of people outside one of the restaurants and figured that must be it.
The line was quite a few people deep and the inside of the restaurant wasn’t very big. We thought we would have to wait a while, but it went pretty fast and before we knew it we were sitting at the counter.
The menu only had a few items on it. We ordered the fried garlic dumplings and the bean sprouts with mince. We were in a good spot at the counter so we could watch the chefs making the food. See the Harajuku Gyoza-ro Review blog post for more information.
After lunch we continued to walk around the area. We took a different route back to Shibuya. The streets were very crowded and there was lots to see in the shops and signs.
Back in Shibuya we went to the Disney store to purchase park tickets. It was late at night and there was another long line. We have found that most of the queues are pretty efficient. While waiting in line one of the workers was taking orders from everyone, and writing it down on a sheet of paper. You then take the paper to the register to pay for the tickets.
We wanted to get tickets for DisneySea on Christmas Eve (two days) and Disneyland on Christmas Day. Unfortunately, Christmas Eve was sold out. We decided to purchase the Disneyland tickets for Christmas and then get to the park early on Christmas Eve.
After we got our Disneyland tickets were headed back to the Shibuya Station to make our way to the Tokyo Christmas Market in Hibiya Park. The market was a European style Christmas market. It had a great amount of Christmas decorations, and most of the “huts” were food. It was a mix of all types of foods, but mostly Japanese and German foods.
We walked around a bit and then got some food and hot chocolates. Down the path, a little further from the main area there were a couple seating areas. We were able to find a sit and relax for a bit.
After the market we made our way back to the hotel. It wasn’t a late night, but we were tired from the previous day of travel and the long day of site seeing.
After the market we made our way back to the hotel. It wasn’t a late night, but we were tired from the previous day of travel and the long day of site seeing.
Day two started with a trip to the Tsukiji Outer Market (fish market). It was a short walk from our hotel so very easy for us to get to.
According to our guide book, we were able to find a map of the market from the information counter.
The market was huge. There were so many different stalls and a number of restaurants behind or between the stalls. We walked around for a while and were browsing the different options and stalls available. There was lots of fish stalls (obviously) but also various other food stalls, kitchen supply stalls, knife stalls, etc. There was a lot going on…
We both wanted to try some sushi and this seemed like the best place to try it. We went into one of the restaurants and sat at the counter. There were three chefs making the orders.
After lunch we took a walk to a nearby garden – Hama-rikyu Onshi-teien. It was a drizzling out but not enough to get us soaked. I had my umbrella which I purchased the previous day, so the rain didn’t bother us too much. It was actually quite nice, as there were not that many people at the gardens.
The gardens weren’t amazing by any means (they may be better in the warmer months), but it was nice to stroll through the gardens and take it easy during the day. There were some pretty lakes and bridges, also some trees still had some color to them so it was overall very nice and peaceful.
In the gardens there is a tea house – Nakajima no Ochaya. They didn’t perform a tea ceremony but they did have information explaining the process which we were able to do on our own.
The tea was placed in front of us.
You are first supposed to eat the sweet. Then you pick up the bowl with your right hand and place it in your left palm. When the tea was given to you the decoration on the bowl was facing you. Before you drink you are supposed to turn the bowl 180 degrees so the decoration is facing away from you. You are then to drink the tea in a few sips, wipe the area where your lips touched, rotate the bowl, and place it back on the floor in front of you.
The view over the lake and the atmosphere of the tea house was very nice. The tea and Japanese sweet were delicious.
Once we finished at the tea house we went to a traditional Japanese theatre show at the Kabuki-za Theatre. We discovered an option that allows you to purchase tickets for individual acts. We decided to see the ending. As the show was in Japanese we paid for a translation device. Text in English displayed on the screen as the show was going. Even with the translation, we found it a bit hard to follow. The Japanese story and culture of the store are very different to our culture, so it didn’t translate very well for us. It was a great experience, and it’s wonderful that they allow audiences to attend only parts of the show. This gave us a sample the theatre and allw us to appreciate the differences in culture. The acting, costumes, and sets were all intriguing.
After the show we headed to the Akihabara area. Quite the jump from old culture to geek culture! Ben and I aren’t very familiar with manga or anime, but were interested in experiencing that side of the Japanese culture.
While there we visited a large electronics store – Electric Tower. We only walked through the ground floor as we weren’t looking for anything particular and it was very busy. The sign next to the lift showed a long list of floors with different types of electronics.
From there we walked through a few arcade shops and looked at the rows and rows of arcade games. A large number of them were the claw games where you try to pick up different prizes. While we were walking around we saw a group when I nice stuffed animal.
Our last stop, before making our way to ride go carts, was the Mandarake Complex. This building is eight floors of comic books, action figures, manga, anime, and boy bands. We took the lift to the top floor and did a walk through of each floor as we made our way to the ground level. Every floor was filled with items. The aisles were quite narrow to fit as many rows as possible. There was so much to look at, it was overwhelming.
We were surprised to discover the work on the doujinshi floors – a floor for girls and a floor for guys. I looked up doujinshi to see what it meant and it’s defined as self-published works, usually by amateurs. The content within this work can cover any topic, and appeared to be more graphic (violent and/or sexual) than some of the work found on the other floors. It was quite funny as we are walking through the floors slowly realising the subject matter of the content we were looking at…
It was very interesting to explore the complex. Throughout the floors there was still a lot of items relating to DC or Marvel (which is our kind of geekism) so there were things that we recognised, but also a lot of new things. On a different day and at a different store, Ben bought a manga comic book. There weren’t a lot of options in English, but he would one at the bookstore we went to. In keeping with tradition the book was read right to left.
As mentioned, we booked an evening go cart tour. We got turned around at … and were late finding the subway station so we grabbed a taxi. We arrived a bit late to the go cart place, but I was able to call and let them know that we were on our way. They were very kind in giving us a few extra minutes to arrive. We quickly picked out our onesies, went through the safety briefing, and the jumped on the go carts.
Ben’s go cart was missing a seatbelt, but they said that he should be fine! Ha! They are very relaxed in Tokyo. We headed out on to the road and began making our way around the city. It was so much fun. People on the sidewalk and street around us were waving and taking pictures of us. It was hard to remember that we were actually on a road…we still needed to follow the road rules and stop at lights. Since we were a group of six plus the guide, we didn’t always make the lights together. Ben and I were at the back of the pack, so we got stuck at lights occasionally. It wasn’t really an issue as the rest of the group would pull over and wait for us.
At each light we usually stopped in pairs and get a check quick to make sure everyone was together. At one light, Ben didn’t pull up next to me. There were a few larger vehicles behind us, so we thought maybe he got stuck behind them. We all pulled over and waited a few minutes. When he didn’t show up, I started to get a little worried. As we were pulled over a taxi driver told the guide that he saw Ben. I wasn’t exactly sure what he said, but I hoped it was nothing serious. The guide went back to try to find him while the rest of us waited on the side of the road. I was able to connect to free wi-fi while we were waiting so I was able to get a hold of Ben. Turns out the go cart died and he was stuck on the side of the road. He said the guide had found him and they were working to try to get the go cart running.
We sat there waiting for quite a while. Finally we see the guide and Ben heading our way. They ended up switching go carts as there was an issue with the one Ben was driving. The bad go cart died multiple times as we continued on the tour. Finally, someone came with a different go cart so that we could keep going without any more issues. It was a bit annoying having the go cart issues, but it didn’t ruin the experience.
After the tour we had a good laugh about Ben being stranded in a go cart on a busy Tokyo road wearing a Mickey Mouse onesie!
The only issue was that we booked a dinner reservation and were now going to be really late since the tour took a lot longer than expected. I was able to call the restaurant and they were able to get us in a bit later. I was so happy because I was really looking forward to the restaurant. We were going to a ninja restaurant – http://www.ninjaakasaka.com/!
I found the restaurant online. There wasn’t a whole lot of information about the restaurant but the few posts and reviews I did find were all very positive.
Since we were running late I was trying to find information on where exactly the restaurant was from the train station so we didn’t waste any more time. I found this great post about the restaurant – https://www.picrumb.com/unique/ninja-akasaka/. Very detailed instructions at the bottom show exactly how to get there. Very useful! The restaurant is right across the street from the train station, but it was good to know which exit, which direction, and where to find the door.
We had a great experience! From the moment we walked into the restaurant it was a full ninja experience. I don’t want to say too much to spoil the fun for anyone else, but it was well worth it! The experience was amazing, the food was great, the service was top notch! I highly recommend it.
After the restaurant we went straight home. It was a late night and we had an early start the next day at DisneySea.