Tokyo
Writing about Tokyo isn’t as simple as the description of our time in Kyoto. My experience of Tokyo wasn’t linear or as clearly definable as our days in the quieter, older city.
We had a list of things to see and do plotted semi-randomly against our calendar - recommendations from friends who had been to Japan and a lot of reading online. Catherine bought the wonderful Hello Sandwich Tokyo guide which helped us find all sorts of tiny and wonderful neighbourhoods we might not have seen otherwise.
On the more touristy side of things, there were the huge suburbs of Shibuya and Shinjuku, Tokyo Disney, Studio Ghibli, the Mori Tower and for a few of us, the Tsujiki fish market and tuna auction.
There were the contrasts: beautiful minimalism and glaring neon at the Pachinko parlours. Quiet trains during the day which were a hub of noise and activity late night. The beautiful, eclectic fashion sense of the young girls and the strict business dress code.
My favourite thing to do was explore little neighbourhoods like Shimokitazawa and Daikanyama. Tiny streets, small restaurants and a lot of observation of regular Tokyo life. We’d go, wander around and not see another tourist for miles. Even in our own neighbourhood (Yotsuya), there were plenty of random & wonderful things to find, like a BBQ restaurant where we sat around barrels and cooked our own food the first night we arrived to the sound of businessmen laughing and clinking their beer mugs.
It was so easy to move around within Tokyo and become a part of it. The rest of the story is in some of the pictures, or a few anecdotes that we should share over a nice cold Asahi sometime.
See also:
My full set on flickr | Sneak’s on Flickr
