Ameyoko was busy with lots of foreigners, restaurants, and vendors trying to sell trinkets, clothes, and souvenirs. I really wasn’t in the mood to buy anything here.
Colorful vending machines and Gashapon machines in a side street
After I got a delicious pork and rice set at the Hidakaya near my hotel I wandered down the road to find a Book Off with some nice Famicom games. I love the design of those and wish I could take some home and put them in a display case. But my backpack is already way too full and I need to be careful not to get in trouble. I thought about buying some new luggage so I can take more stuff home. No decision until now. Also, I sold most of my physical game collection last year before beginning to travel. With one major exception: My Game Boy games (without boxes). I actually bought some GB games here too. I may report about them in another post soon.
I had to change hotels and decided to go into a different part of Tokyo Metropolis: Ueno in Taito City. It really is a lot more residential here. It’s close to many museums and to Asakusa as well as to Akihabara.
View from a pedestrian bridge over Ueno Station
I went for a long walk around the area and the park. Later I visited the National Museum of Nature and Science which was interesting as only 30% of the signs were available in English, so I had to use camera translation a lot.
Especially enjoyed the calculators and early japanese computers section
After resting, I made my way to the other side of Shinjuku Station to see Shinjuku Chuo Park and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building to relax in the late afternoon.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
There were a lot of joggers that I had to dodge or that had to dodge me. I found a peaceful part to sit down and relax the scenery. Just sitting there people-watching. There were people meditating on the grass, people walking their Shibas, groups of western people walking straight to the Starbucks or trying to find entrance to the nearest shrine.
I wanted to make my way back to Tokyo Station to walk around the Palace. It was a super bright day. Clouds and the bright ground were reflecting the light and my legs were getting tired from days and days of walking. I decided to take it easy after I visited the Imperial Palace.
Nijubashi Bridge and Fushimi-yagura
I got some supplies from Lawson Station and put my feet up for a couple of hours.
This time to the north of Shinjuku only 3 stops on the Yamanote Line I visited Ikebukuro.
Owl is a homonym for parts of the areas name
I walked a little bit around until I went into Sunshine City to look at some shops inside. I saw a lot of western people lining up to buy Pokemon merch and I browsed a bookshop for a while.
Vending machines in the streets of Ikebukuro
After some sushi from Kura Sushi I walked some more and found some really quiet streets and a really nice buddhist temple. I enjoy the stillness of these places.
Without aim, I wandered the streets of Shinjuku in the night to see the lights and billboards. Trying to take in the metropolitan night atmosphere. It’s always amazing how quiet and peaceful streets can be just 5 minutes from a major amusement spot.
Small Shinjuku street at night
The next morning I awoke very late but with a fire in my belly. I found a rice with egg set at the local Matsuya for breakfast for about 4 Euro.
Waking up slowly I figured that I’d check out Tokyo Station which was about a 25-minute train ride away. I took the JY Yamanote Line from Shinjuku to Tokyo Station.
In Tokyo Station I checked out character street with its cute anime shops and Travelers Factory for notebooks. Tried hard to not spend all of my money on Gashapon. Sat in front of the station for a while admiring the weather and the architecture.
I had Ramen for lunch in Ramen Street and went home to rest.
The afternoon was more walking but this time in Shibuya. After walking over the scramble, seeing the Hachiko statue and visiting the Nintendo store, I looked through the Miyashita Park Mall for a coin purse. I have collected tons of coins. They are not as heavy as for example the Filipino Peso coins, but it’s annoying to have them jingling around when walking. I didn’t yet find a purse, but I found a few cute shops.
Japanese minimalism or cluttercore?
Speaking of shops: I went to Don Quijote — total sensory overload. I didn’t buy there anything this time.
On my way back, I sat down for sushi at Sushiro in Shinjuku. First time Sushi in Japan! 50% of the seats were taken. There were many free booths. The sushi was better than anything I ever had in Germany, and I paid around 9 Euro for the whole meal. I wasn’t aware you could get solid cheap sushi in Japan. Food in general has been affordable. My biggest expense is the accommodation, which is unsurprisingly a lot more expensive than in Southeast Asia.
I am slowly expanding my radius of action here in Tōkyō Metropolis. Next on my list are the areas directly to the south of Shinjuku: Harajuku and Shibuya. But first I had a Japanese breakfast teishoku with salt-grilled mackerel, natto, miso soup at Yayoi. A real good workout of my poor chopstick skills.
Harajuku Station
Most of the morning was spent visiting all the obligatory sites like Takeshita Street, Kiddyland and the Meiji Jingu Shinto Temple.
Big Sake Barrels near Meiji Jingu
After 20k steps I capped off the morning with a small bottle of calpis
and a tuna mayo sushiroll from Family Mart.
I’m still not convinced that Japan is a real place. I have been here now for three days, but it really feels like I have landed on another world.
Narita Express took me early Saturday morning to Shinjuku Station. It was a rainy and gloomy day, but I enjoyed the view from the train.
1.5h train ride from Narita to Shinjuku
Google Maps works really well for navigating the streets and public transport. I found my hotel and explored my immediate surroundings for an hour. I got snacks from 7-Eleven and Family Mart and basically called it a day.
Everything is photogenic
I am still recovering from my second cold in a month, so I went to bed early(let’s not go for the triple, please). Missing not much because of the rain. The next day I awoke to the perfect weather: blue skies and sunny 28 degrees. Perfect day to explore Shinjuku.
Godzilla!
I did the usual tourist stuff in Kabukicho when I stumbled upon a small market in front of the Hanazono Shrine.
Movie Posters
After delicious Gyumeshi at Matsuya for lunch, I went for a long walk in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden before exploring Shinjukus stores for a while.
The security queue in Manila was not only an inconvenience for my self, but in the end our flight was delayed because we had to wait for passengers traversing said obstacle. We arrived in Narita Airport with about an hour of delay, which made it impossible to get my booked connecting train. Feeling pretty tired, I decided to get a room close-by the airport and take the train first thing in the morning.
The Zipair flight was very pleasant and not at all what we would call budget in Europe(looking at your Ryanair).
I am scared to admit: It feels good being back in a first world country. Clean hotel rooms, no black mold, safe food/water and functioning infrastructure. I am happy to be here for sure.
Entrance to Ameyoko Street
Colorful vending machines and Gashapon machines in a side street
Super Famicom games and more in the Book Off Ueno
View from a pedestrian bridge over Ueno Station
Especially enjoyed the calculators and early japanese computers section
Trees in Ueno Park
One of the big stroads here.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
Junisha Kumano Shrine Haiden
Cold Soba for breakfast
Nijubashi Bridge and Fushimi-yagura
Owl is a homonym for parts of the areas name
Vending machines in the streets of Ikebukuro
Honryūji Temple
Small Shinjuku street at night
Tokyo Station
Japanese minimalism or cluttercore?
You should not ride a bicycle here
Harajuku Station
Big Sake Barrels near Meiji Jingu
1.5h train ride from Narita to Shinjuku
Everything is photogenic
Godzilla!
Movie Posters
Sunday vibes in the Garden