During our busy week in Japan, we managed to cover a lot of the main touristy ‘things to do’ with the help of google and TokyoTopia podcaster, Honor Dargan, who gave us some off the beaten path suggestions. What did people do back in the day without the internet?!
After twittering with the general public, we decided against the JR rail pass, which saved us about $300 each. Instead, we picked up a 2 day metro pass for Y980 each (about $10) at the airport which worked just as well or even better since we had no major side trips outside of Tokyo planned. There are 3 main companies that run metro lines throughout Tokyo – the Toei, Tokyo Metro and Japan Rail. You can get just about anywhere within Tokyo with either of these, so we planned out our routes using the Tokyo Metro with our unlimited passes.
Confusing Tokyo Metro Lines!
In addition to the fish market (previous post, I’m still dreaming about the sushi we ate), some of our favorite things included the following:
Hachiko Crossing | Located in Shibuya Ward, the famous ‘scramble crossing’ was crazy with hundreds of people crossing with each traffic stop onto one of 5 streets that intersect. The crossing is named after Hachikō, a dog who waited on his late master at Shibuya Station every day from 1923 to 1935, eventually becoming a national celebrity for his loyalty. A statue of Hachikō was built adjacent to the station, and the surrounding Hachikō Square is now the most popular meeting point in the area.
Harajuku | Great people watching! We saw some very fashion forward and imaginative outfits in this area – never knew that orange stripes, pink polka dots and bright blue checks would go so well in one outfit!
Young trendsetters standing out from the crowd
Sumo Wrestling | We were one week early! Sumo tournaments are held 4 times a year (this year Sept 13th) with week long matches, eventually crowning the huge, scantily clad Yokozumas – a sight not to be missed! Tickets for all day matches start at Y2000 and you can also visit the sumo museum that gives you an insight of the life of a sumo wrestler and their daily activities in the ‘stables’! Stories go that the wrestlers are overfed, massaged and given plenty of beer to maintain or gain weight – not too shabby!
Akihabara Electric town | Here you can find any sort of gadget that will probably come out in the States about 2 years from now! We saw and tried out the coolest phones, computers and saw the most interesting 24 hour Manga (comic, Japanese anime) cafes!
Japanese Animation and comic collections are a huge fad amongst the youth of Tokyo
Shinjuku, Ginza and Rappongi Hills | Western-feel shopping districts that have every designer clothing store imaginable from Gap to Prada to even a North Face ski store. Many of the stores were super expensive, yet almost each Tokyoite had at least one full shopping bag!
Mount Fuji and Hakonae 5 Lakes Area | We had planned to the Mount Fuji area during the week, so we trekked to the Fuji Kyuko Bus office to book our tickets only to find out that all seats on every bus back were sold out! Since we didn’t want to spend the night out in the mountains and it was a foggy rainy day, we opted out of the excursion. However, if you have the chance, we heard that the hour and half ride is well worth it to the five lakes area, with a spectacular view from the cable cars followed by a soak in the natural onsens (hot springs).
We had a busy week and definitely saw a lot of interesting and unique things that make Japan such a wonderful, clean and orderly city! We will be back!
Note: We will upload our 50 best Tokyo pics once we leave China – we’re having issues with certain sites being blocked and are having a hard time uploading! Stay tuned!
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