After a five-year hiatus from international travel (excluding the move to New Zealand), we are so excited to give this site some love.
Due to this length of time not travelling, we felt a bit out of practice. As Japan has been on our travel list for some time, we took a long time to complete our itinerary for this trip – about five months.
We started out with a list then we mapped out where we should stay based on groupings in the list. Then we returned to the list and had to cull several items because we’re not superhuman and wanted to allow for some serendipity. This process seems simple but is extremely emotional. Every item we desperately wanted to do, yet we felt we needed to be responsible in our time and effort so that we could enjoy those fewer items more.
Fortunately we agree on most things and compromised on the rest. Let’s see how it all plays out though!
From Planning to Delivery: Foreigners in Tokyo
The flight was 12 hours and uneventful. We landed at Narita and the process of going through immigration and customs was straightforward.
Japanese immigration takes your fingerprint scans and they’re one of the few countries that still stamp your passport!
Before leaving, we registered via our iPhone Wallet app for a SUICA card. These are travel cards you can load money onto, like a GoCard or AT Hop card. The differences are:
- They cost nothing to register for one
- You can use it to pay for items at convenience stores like 7 Eleven and anywhere that accepts “IC Card” as a payment type
Very cool!
Because of this, it was straightforward to navigate the transit system. The only thing that was challenging was knowing the difference between a normal train and a special one – but a worker helped us out there.
Before leaving the airport, we purchased SIM cards. At first we had decided that Chris should get one as it was quite expensive and then we found a vending machine which had cheaper ones so Chantal also got one. The SIMs are all data only and no phone numbers, and no need to register your identity or anything like that.
After taking two trains and a welcome walk, we got to the hotel and crashed.
Ueno Park and Museum
Top of the list was the museum so we decided to head in that direction. On the way there, we needed to get a coffee. In Japan, it is rude to eat and drink whilst walking at the same time. This made it interesting because we had to stop to take sips.
When we got to Ueno Park, it was buzzing with people taking photos and admiring the cherry blossoms. We made it! And we had perfect timing.
Chris has read news reports that the cherry blossoms hadn’t bloomed yet and there were many people over Easter who were disappointed. Not us!
It was around this time we started getting messages from friends and family that there was an earthquake in Taiwan and a risk of a tsunami hitting Japan. While the news was terrible, we are luckily in a completely safe area.
Once we got over looking at the 700th tree, we saw some Buddhist temples and then found the museum. By this stage, we had already done 10,000 steps. We had a look in the Asian galleries and the main exhibition of the Tokyo National Museum where we learned of the different cultures which have inspired the people of Japan.
A notable thing was that throughout Japan’s history, incorporating elements of Indian Hinduism as well as Thai Buddhism and Chinese culture has been happening since the 8th century. As much as some people write that Japan is a monoculture, it was clear to us that trade and globalism is incredibly influential.
Globalism is also visible in the people here in Tokyo. Everyone we have engaged with so far can speak English, so ordering and getting around is very easy. Having a go at our limited Japanese is still very encouraged, with most people showing enthusiasm when we thank them (arigato gozaimas).
We also learned that the art and science of stationary has been part of Japan’s ancient history. This was visible through the gorgeous writing boxes and water droplet “teapots”.
Akihabara Electric Town
After that, it was time to explore Akihabara, which is an area of shops and experiences. There are anime stores and people dressed up; buildings covered in billboards, and lots of tourists. It was a little bit overwhelming.
Highlights were:
- Stationary!
- Chris got to hold and play with one of his dream cameras, a Hasselblad (this particular model had a 1,200,000¥ price tag)
- Who needs all these kinds of shredders?
- Chantal got excited for luggage that’s also a scooter
Cat Cafe and Wrapping up the Day
Then we calmed down at the Mocha Cat Cafe. The cats were so friendly that one group of tourists thought they had to have been drugged. Don’t worry, we don’t think that they were.
Then our poor tired feet needed to take us back home. We found a ramen place on the way and enjoyed a Chinese-Japanese fusion ramen with Asahi (which was a really good combination!). Looking forward to tomorrow.
Chris and Chantal 