Japan Travel Plan
- Day 1 - Arrival Haneda - Hotel Mystays Kiyosumi Shirakawa
- Day 2 - Tsukiji, Ginza, Shibuya
- Day 3 - Tsukiji, Asakusa, Shibuya
- Day 4 - Skytree, Ginza
- Day 5 - Departure Narita - South Korea
I intentionally went back to the same neighborhoods as I wanted to eat again at different restaurants. This was more a food tour and the subway system is so cheap and fast it really didn’t matter, in fact it was a nice way to sit and relax for some time between stops.
1st Day - Arrival Haneda Aiport, Mystays Hotel
First day in Tokyo. Was exhausting and took 2 hours to get out of Haneda due to immigration and even longer to buy a Pasmo Train Card. I know better and should have:
- Buy Pasmo online ahead.
- Use a luggage cart.
- Exchange USD for Yen ahead of time stateside.
International travel is tough and I wanted to conserve energy by taking it easy and simply head to the hotel and a nearby restaurant for a meal. Doing those 3 aforementioned things will save you 60-90 minutes and avoid the long queues in the busy airport as well as save your energy for walking.
Pro-Tip - Expect A LOT of walking in Japan
The most important thing I did remember? Prepare to walk, a lot! Anticipate doing 15-20k steps per day. Something that is 2-3x more than typical stateside. I prepared for this doing 8-10k steps a day which was tough in US. Bring comfortable shoes that are broken in and can withstand walking 8-10 miles per day.
Flight into Haneda — Pleasant
The flight in was good. United LAX to HND offers a decent economy meal. The Indian Butter Chicken was actually phenomenal. There was also a breakfast entree before landing of eggs & ground beef that was filling and also decent.
Only downside of the Boeing 777 are the limited number of lavatories and I waited 20 minutes. But otherwise flights are pleasant with free movies, music and free alcohol…but the limited lavatories made me limit my beer consumption.
Train ride to Kiyosumi Shirakawa Mystays Hotel - 1st Night - Udon @ Kogane SeimenjoJapanese transit system is excellent and with Pasmo card very easy to use. Google Maps is also perfect and guided me for the 40 minute train ride. I had to switch trains from Keikyu at Daimon to board the Asakusa line.
In hindsight while it sent me to A14 Stop. A13 might have been better, but not much difference.
Mystays is a budget hotel, but better than anything in the USA. This isn’t a Motel 6, but it’s not a Hilton either. It’s worth the price and very clean, well stocked with what I need and nothing else.
Travel Tip - Stations have elevators
If you’re staying at Mystays as well, then take Morishita Station E13 exit A6 has an elevator. There is also an elevator at exit A3 for Station E14. Both work and close enough to Mystays.
Dinner was at a nearby Udon shop called Kogane Seimenjo as I was lazy and too tired to try a train ride to Shibuya. While it was rated 3.9 for Japan this might seem mediocre, but for me it tasted fantastic. So take Yelp ratings with a grain of salt if you’re a foreigner, it’ll taste phenomenal and likely not be as busy as people all clamber for the 4.5 - 5 star rated spots.
Of course a kombini like 7-Eleven. Loaded up on food for my room if I get lazy and hungry.
Chita Single Grain (Corn) Whisky
Tried some corn whisky. It’s sweet like a bourbon with some mouthfeel. I’d prefer a scotch when reaching for a Suntory. But I can learn to like it.
2nd Day - Tsukiji, Ginza, Shibuya
I did some epic walking today and hit new goals on my Apple Watch with over 22k steps or almost 10 miles. Started out in Tsukiji Market as it’s only thing open before 8 am other than a kombini. Most businesses don’t open until 10-11 am. Got some egg snack tamagoyaki? And the Wagyu beef, which was excellent.
I tried some random sushi at sushizanmai bekkan which is another franchise and to be honest it was meh. This one was 4 stars and that is fair Yelp rating. While some servings were delicious and what you’d expect in Tsukiji, the rest was about the same as Sushiro but more expensive. Uni was excellent and what you’d expect and love about Tsukiji. On that alone this place is worth a visit as it’s not busy and easier to get a seat and enjoy some of the best uni, ever. It’s hard to equate as the uni is about as fresh as you can get and for a fraction of the price. US uni is shipped so already it’s lost some flavor and cost 3x more than here.
I also went to Tsukiji on a Sunday so some businesses were closed, but that might be better as it wasn’t as crowded.
Ginza is 12 minutes walk from Tsukiji and I went there after. I couldn’t get into Laduree so I opted for a simple coffee shop in the station tunnels and it was amazingly decent. I’ll try again another day.
This simple cheesecake was 450 yen and much better than Cheesecake Factory.
Shibuya is as crazy busy as you’d expect and doing the Shibuya Crossing is one of the wildest things. I’ve done it several times over the years but it felt even busier this time around.
It was too busy to enjoy so while I went to Mega Don Quixote, Parco for Nintendo & Pokémon, Atmos Shoes and more. I couldn’t take photos as it was so mad busy and no room to take a good photo.
Sushiro Shibuya is awesome and honestly the amount I ate was only half what I spent at Tsukiji but I got 3x more food decent quality. It’s not gourmet food, so don’t expect something amazing. Expect sushi quality you’d pay $5 stateside for $1 here or 5-1. Shibuya is also more expensive and Sushiro in other districts are even cheaper and likely just as good.
Winding down. Lawson’s kombini for more snacks and alcohol. The fried chicken nuggets are amazing and the onigiri was better here than 7-Eleven. The new Asahi beer where you can pull the entire top and it foams up is delicious and better than the Jack & Coke.
3rd Day - Tsukiji, Asakusa, Shibuya
I’m used to waking up early and walked around at 5 am. Went to several kombini for coffee and breakfast. Out of the three kombini - Lawson, 7-Eleven and Family Mart…I’d say Lawson has the better grab-n-go food. Everything else all 3 are the same.
The chicken nuggets are good. Onigiri always good. Sandwiches decent. Yeah, all of its awesome for the price.
Tsukiji again for Unitora.
Unitora. About 9500 Yen. Was worth the price.
Asakusa Shrine
Was packed full of people and this was a day after the Annual festival had ended. Got a good fortune omikuji.
For lunch went back to Shibuya for Tonkatsu and some shopping at Parco, Daiso and Don Quijote.
Dinner. I was lazy and to the same udon shop as the first night. It tasted better than the first time. Amazing. I also have to finish my beer and alcohol.
Day 4 - Skytree & Ginza
If you want upscale go to either of these Skytree or Ginza. This is where you experience that side of Tokyo. First was Skytree and Kirby Cafe. Had the hamburger and coffee.
Looked around the Skytree mall area. Then hopped on a train to Ginza for Mitsukoshi and Laduree was busy but was able to buy some macarons.
Enjoyed them on the 9th floor observation deck with Minori Cafe.
Had time to kill before dinner and shopped Don Quijote. Finally dinner at Sushi no Midori. It was excellent for the price and was in many ways cheaper than Sushiro, but for excellent quality sushi. Some items things I couldn’t eat, but I did my best to eat most of it.
Getting tired of 17-21k steps a day so I chilled at the hotel with some beer and snacks. Next time more comfortable shoes like Air Force 1s vs. Air Jordan 1s.
Day 5 - Departure Narita
In hindsight, take the Narita express train from Tokyo Station. I went instead to Skytree and took the regular train and spent an hour standing room only.
The train ride was exhausting and I stuffed myself with onigiri, chicken and a sandwich. Then another Starbucks drink that tasted more like strawberry syrup you would expect on a Sundae.
Final Meal in Tokyo. 7-Eleven Bento. It was not worth it.
This concludes my 4 nights, 5 day adventure in Tokyo after almost 5 years.
Comments
Post a Comment