After a week on the west coast, AJ and I hopped on a 11.5 hour flight to Tokyo - a city rich with food, culture, and activities. I knew Tokyo was a big city, actually the largest city in the world, but I didn’t know what just how big it is. If you looked on a map at where you were headed you’d think “oh, I could walk that” only to find out it’s a 45 minute stroll. Despite its size, the public transportation system is among the best in the world and anyone with even limited experience with public transportation would easily find their way through the busy streets. Tokyo is a city where you either need 3 days to see all the hotspots or 30 to really get a feel for it. With a little over 4 days, we were able to land somewhere in between, giving us an opportunity for relaxation and adventure.

Our first stop in Tokyo was the TeamLab Borderless digital art space - “a museum without a map...teamLab Borderless is a group of artworks that form one borderless world...wander, explore with intention, discover, and create a new world with others.” If you’re going to go there, go early. It gets quite crowded as the day goes on. Our favorite room was the LED room. Thousands of LED light strands hung from the ceiling and performed a coordinated show with music, including times when blue lights made it appear to be raining. Even with the crowds it was amazing to be in there and experience the beauty and magic of it. Another highlight was the aquarium room where you colored a photo and it was then scanned and brought to life. It was cool to see adults fully excited and engaged in coloring - just like they were kids again. I can’t think of too many places that inspire that behavior in adults.

After TeamLab we headed up to the Tokyo National Museum, which ended up being closed on Mondays. Luckily, it’s located in Ueno Park so we took a stroll through the park, alive with people. That was a common theme across the parks in Tokyo, no matter the time of day there were always people out enjoying the fresh air and taking time to relax. We eventually made our way down to Ameyoko, an open-air market with over 180 shops and restaurants. What I loved about this area, and Tokyo in general, is that you really do feel outnumbered, even in the high tourist areas. I heard a lot about how many tourists come through Japan, but you don’t feel as if you’re swimming in a sea of Americans and Europeans, which is what I expected. Sure, many of the Japanese there may also be tourists (just as in NYC), but you still get a sense of authenticity and exploration among the local residents. It was in Ameyoko that we had our first interesting food experience of the year. I can only describe it as a mozzarella stick the size and shape of corn dog (battered, fried, and on a stick), but then it was coated in sugar. One bite was enough, but it was interesting to try!

We took the subway over the Shibuya area, famous for the Shibuya crossing, which is generally believed to be the busiest intersection in the world with as many as 3000+ people crossing at one time. After popping in and out of different, shops, happy hour was upon us and we got our first glimpse of Japanese social lives. We were told about the expectation of Japanese business men to go out drinking every night with their coworkers. Can you imagine? I have loved a lot of my coworkers, but the last thing I want to do is get drunk with them every single night. It made me feel a bit sad for their families, but I suppose this is a custom that they are used to and maybe don’t feel that same cringe that I did when hearing this.

After a quick cocktail, we headed down to Yokohama to meet a friend of AJ’s from the Naval Academy, Vic Taylor. Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan, and located just an hour train ride from Tokyo. Vic took us to the top of Landmark Tower via the fastest elevator in Japan and second fastest in the world, which had beautiful views of Yokohama. We followed it up with some ramen at AFURI, a popular chain, at the train station. While this may sound gross to anyone who has been to Penn Station or any bustling train station, Japan is actually known for having amazing food at their public transportation buildings. Here we learned a Japanese custom of not leaving your chopsticks sitting upright in rice as that’s something that’s only done at funerals and is a symbol of bad luck. Neatly placed atop your bowl will do.

Our jam-packed Monday led to a lie-in on Tuesday before heading to Yoyogi Park, a highlight for me. Yoyogi park is home to the Meiji  Jingu shrine, dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife. To get there you walk through a stunning tree-lined path which was once again, full of people soaking in some fresh air. After leaving the shrine, we found our way to the inner gardens. There is a small entrance fee but it’s worth it and actually makes it feel slightly more secluded. It’s an area of land with a small tea house and gorgeous grounds including a lake, iris garden, and azalea garden. It inspired us to create a similar peaceful oasis once AJ and I settle after our trip. On our way out of the park, we came across barrels of sake which are offered up every year by sake brewers to show respect to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken.

After soaking in a bit of history, we found our way to an open area where we laid and relaxed. Here we observed everything we could about daily life in Tokyo. We saw a group of girls there to celebrate a birthday. They drank and giggled non-stop. We saw a lot of cute dogs that looked like toys. We saw a group on angsty teens smoking and hanging out. And several photo shoots. We even saw some Uber eats delivered to the middle of the park. It was also here that we started to get a sense for just how safe Tokyo is. It was amazing to see how many small children walked around freely without adults. Some with friends and some on their own. I think if you saw that in the US you’d be worried, but here it was completely normal. I was so impressed by their confidence in navigating such a large city. The children in Tokyo also seem to be incredibly happy and always laughing and having fun with each other. We stayed here for almost 3 hours and never ran out of things to see.

One of the best things about having such a long trip, is that we have time to just sit and enjoy. There isn’t that feeling of cramming so many things in before heading home. We can immerse ourselves and actually stop to enjoy the moment.

But relaxation time was over and it was time to head to somewhere with the complete opposite vibe - Harajuku - stopping for an obligatory bubble tea along the way. Harajuku is wild. Any stereotypes you have about Japanese pop culture exist here. Cat cafes, hedgehog cafes, cute cat shirts, candy, pink, bright colors, video games...they all exist in this small street of sensory overload. Naturally I bought a cat shirt and sequined shirt at a place called ACDC Rag. We didn’t need long there, but I’m so happy we went through it. It was like jumping into a video game. There was even a little mascot that went around picking up trash - she made cute little noises when you interacted with her.

Next and final stop was Golden Gai in the Shinjuku area. Golden Gai is an area with 200+ bars the size of a walk-in closet spread across 6 small alleyways. The dark alleyways are a nice reprieve from the neon lights and chaos of Shinjuku. The bars here seat about 5-15 people and all have their own unique flair. I’m not sure how you choose one, but just go to the one that speaks to you. For us, it was one with EDM music playing. We walked up the narrow steps to find the bartender, who sidelines as a DJ, with many former English-speaking girlfriends which is where he learned to speak English. He was excited to have us and gave us a complimentary glass of sake. The bar sat 10 people, with room for 15 if you wanted to stand. Turns out this bar is actually a members-only spot, but on the one night a week that he bartends, tourists are welcome. Similar to our past travels, we have found that people love to talk to one another. We met some girls from Argentina, Deloitte consultants from Australia, and a Japanese couple who cheered me on as a took a shot of Jagermeister gifted to me because the bartender and I share a birthday month. We called it a night and didn’t bar hop as most people do, just walking the streets was exciting enough for us.

On Wednesday we went to the Tokyo National Museum and Museum of Western Art before heading to the Asakusa area for an udon noodle cooking class that we booked through Airbnb Experiences. The class took place in a small restaurant, Sweets Cafe Tokyo, on a quiet street. Upon arrival we were prompted to take off our shoes and put on slippers before heading upstairs to the restaurant where we were greeted by Naoko, the owner, and Chef Masa. After learning the udon noodle technique (made from only 3 ingredients), we sat down for a meal prepared by the chef. It consisted of tempura vegetables and our homemade noodles. Being vegetarian in Japan is no easy feat. There is a lot of pork and chicken, but if you search hard enough you can find the right spots. Asakusa is a very special area full of little shops, you feel like it’s more of a local scene than a tourist attraction. One interesting thing that AJ noticed while we walked the streets of Tokyo is that for being such a large city, many of the buildings, shops, and restaurants are incredibly small - historic charm remaining from a city that has grown into a powerhouse over time.

Our last stop of the night was to a bar called JBS in Shibuya, which was recommended to us by a friend of AJ’s friend Anthony. This bar is truly special. The owner is an older Japanese man with a passion for Jazz, Blues, and Soul music. What he doesn’t have a passion for is people, an odd trait for someone running a bar, but you get the sense that he prefers to block out the people so it’s just him and his music. The small bar that seats less than 20 people is decorated with all of his favorite records, 10k+ if I had to guess. He started the bar as a place to come and listen to his favorite music and turned it into a bar for others to enjoy. He proudly displays the current playlist in a lighted music stand and makes simple cocktails while listening to his favorite songs. I wouldn’t go there expecting to meet many Japanese though, it’s pretty touristy.

On our last full day in Tokyo we explored the Ebisu neighborhood. Another recommendation from AJ’s friend Anthony, we went to Tsutaya bookstore, and amazing place that is a mix between a bookstore, library, cafe, restaurant, and bar. Anthony went so far as to dub it “the best bookstore in the world”. It spans across 9 rooms and is truly unique. You can rent CDs to listen to, work, or just relax and read a book. Ebisu seems to be a wealthy part of town with a heavy European influence based on some of the restaurants and boutiques we passed. After our bookstore retreat, it was back to Shibuya to hit up some stores and try out a Mexican place. Unlike Mexican restaurants in the United States, you don’t feel like you’re going to explode from chips and salsa before your meal arrives...they show more restraint.

The next day we activated our Japan rail pass and hopped on a bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto before heading down to Nara. The bullet trains go 200 mph, are impeccably clean and spacious, and lead to some amazing scenery as you speed down the countryside away from the bustling scenes in Tokyo.