Travelogue: Tokyo Travel Guide 2015 (Places To Go, Things To Do)

Having been to Japan 5 times in the past 2 years. I've finally got down to doing travel guide for one of my favourite country in the world! Here's a general idea of what to do in Tokyo, Japan if you have less than a week to explore. Maybe I'll do a budget Japan post in future. Just maybe. Hah.

Tokyo Travel Guide

• Asakusa*
  -See the famous Senso-Ji (Asakusa Kannon Temple)
  -Eat street food along Nakamise-Dori
  -Rent kimono and take lots of photos there
  -Have fun pretending to be a Japanese

• Shinjuku*
  -Lots of food and shopping malls
  -Exit at Central exit to start exploring the intersections
  -Picnic at Shinjuku Gyoen during sakura season

• Harajuku*
  -See the Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu)
  -Walk from Shibuya if time permits
  -Explore the very crowded Takeshita-Dori
  -Eat plenty of street snacks
  -Try freshly fried potato crisps from Calbee
  -Try the crepes from the famous Angel Hearts (personal preference) or Marion Crepes
  -Go to DIASO (4 levels high)
  -Walk straight through Takeshita-Dori to find plenty of sneaker stores (Try ATMOS)

• Shibuya*
  -Shop at the many shopping malls there
  -Eat at Ichiran Ramen (2 locations)
  -Cross the Shibuya Crossing
  -Chill by the window seat at L'Occitane Cafe facing the famous crossing

• Ueno*
  -Walk through Ameyoko Street
  -Buy cheap snacks from Niki no Kashi (二木の菓子)
  -Visit Ueno Park during sakura season 

• Odaiba*
  -See the huge Gundam at DiverCity
  -Shop and Eat among the many stores in DiverCity
  -Shop at Kura Chika at Aquacity (Porter products)
  -Chill/Play/Eat at Oedo Onsen Monogatari (Onsen themepark)

• Tsukiji/Tsukiji Shijo*
  -Queue at the famous sushi joints (Sushi Dai or Sushi Daiwa)
  -Eat at any stores if you're short of time
  -Eat really fresh sushi with entertaining chefs (if you're lucky)

• Maihama*
  -Visit Disneyland and Disneysea
  -Eat yummy themed food
  -Shop for adorable Disney merchandise 

• Hamamatsucho/Daimon
  -See the sunset and Tokyo Tower at Tokyo World Trade Center
  -Chill and eat while watching the gorgeous sight before you 

• Akihabara
  -Visit here for electronics, otaku and anime stuff
  -Play at the many arcade stores here

• Mitaka
  -Visit the famous Studio Ghibli
  -Get tickets from Lawson convenience store or your local JTB outlet

• Roppongi
  -See one of the best Christmas illumination area in Tokyo

*must go

-updated oct 2015

PS will be updating this travel guide with pictures later on! also more details if possible.
ask.fm/nsofina for questions if you have any!

Photos of the areas I mentioned below.

Hello Japan! (Day 5)

Day 5
Last Day

Woke up at 0430am. Needed to catch the first shinkansen to Tokyo. Had my first bento! So cute right omg. I was skeptical about these boxed up food. But it actually taste decent! I think I got it for below 1000yen.

I thought I missed the sight of Fuji-San while on the Hikari train. (Please remember to ask for the window seat on the left side of the train!) But then, about 30-45mins before reaching Tokyo, I heard people snapping away! And THERE SHE IS! omg damn epic. I just "ohmygod" and faster whipped out my DSLR+ gopro and started snapping away. The view was just for a short while. Damn sad because it looks so beautiful! Sigh (blissful)

Still my favourite area in Tokyo, Shinjuku!

So once I reached Tokyo. Put my bags down at hotel. And proceed to Shinjuku Gyoen! It is such a pretty garden. Well, a massive garden actually. You can easily spend 4 or more hours there. But I was in a rush to go all around Tokyo. But even so, I spend about 2hrs there.

A sea of people just chilling happily.

PRETTY!

So actually, it was pretty cold out there. Here's my gear of the day.

Honestly, carrying so many things around is such a fussy thing. I don't know how professionals do that. And I won't be trying that sort anytime soon. The current DSLR is more than I can handle. What with my gopro and polaroid cam and iphone?! I must be crazy.

Check out the Hanafubuki! Cherry Blossom storm is one of the best experience there. Raining flower petals really is indeed one of a kind. Mind blowing in fact.

Cute little ones posing like one hell of a professional. So cute! All of them.

しろい さくら

There and various sakura trees and plenty of spots for you to picnic under the superb view. It started raining while I'm moving off. Made a mad rush to the next stop.

Headed over to Harajuku for crepes (yes, again) and Diaso! I love Japan's Daiso so much. LoL

Oh yes, during weekends, all the popular areas in Japan is jammed packed with people. So be prepared.

Next, Ameyoko street at Ueno. I've heard so much about the cheap Japanese stall! And I'm not left disappointed. Look out for the red banners in kanji to find the store. It's not on the main stretch of Ameyoko, but towards the right alley.

Afterwhich, I went to Hamamatsucho! I never knew about the place until I stumbled upon a blog post about the views of the observatory there! It is, I would say, the best observatory so far. You can see Tokyo Tower and it's not tiny! Also, there's unobstructed views of the city plus seats and tables should you be waiting to watch the sunset. The perfect timing to go will be around 5.45pm-7pm. You can catch the transition of the city.

Lovely Sunset!

And finally I went back to Shinjuku. I love this place. So much shopping and food to do! you can't finish it in a day. Probably 2 days to be familiar with the area because there is many alleys. Check in to my hotel at the end of the day. Very decent for the location and there's a lot of things in a single room! Nishitetsu Inn Shinjuku. It's quite a bit of a distance from Shinjuku JR station. About 10-15mins walk.

_

Well that's all for my Japan Spring 2014 Trip!

Yes, I'm vaguely aware that I didn't even finish posting last summer's trip. But hey, at least this is done. HAH.

I'll post up the VLOG soon (: And perhaps do a brief summary/guide. Or maybe not. We'll see! Any questions relating to Japan I'll be more than happy to address.

Ask.fm/nsofina