Trip Report: 3 day and 4 nights in Tokyo, Jan 10-14, 2020

It’s hard to believe it’s been four months since I (23/M) first stepped foot in Tokyo, and it wasn’t even a possibility until a few weeks before I visited. Thanks to a unique work and traveling situation that I happened to be in and a little help from my parents, I was able to spend time in Tokyo on a modest budget.

**Pre-planning**

– Navigation: It would have been impossible to get around Tokyo if it weren’t for the existence of Google Maps. I cannot begin to tell you how difficult it would be to get around with a physical map. For one, even though signs use the Latin alphabet and kanji, it isn’t like this everywhere. Not to mention the fact that dealing with dozens of subway lines, hundreds of neighborhoods and many other obstacles for a tourist would be a total waste of time. I say this because quite a bit of my time was spent trying to figure out where I was and where I wanted to go. The subway exit guidance was also a godsend, as someone in a thread pointed out last week. And it was a seamless experience.
– Transit: I initially had a “Welcome Suica” Card but later got the traditional green one as a souvenir. Again, Google Maps was my personal transit guide and I can’t recommend anything else, not even Apple Maps which I’m fond of.
– Equipment: All I brought was my backpack and a toiletry bag, and there is a reason for this which I will get into below. I also had my DSLR and two USB battery packs for my power-guzzling iPhone SE. For communication I bought a WiFi hotspot at Narita for $3/day.
– My research was done through this sub, /r/Tokyo’s *Uncharted Tokyo*, an invaluable book created by the collaboration of Redditors, Japan-Guide.com, many other random websites on random topics, and in particular, [Paolo from Tokyo](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCixD9UbKvDxzGNiPC_fgHyA) on YouTube. His videos sped up my planning and gave my good ideas. Also, I had coworkers who had recently solo travelled to Japan and gave me advice on things to do, which led me to book a half-day tour of the city.

**Background**

Unlike most people, I didn’t have a 14-hour flight in. I happened to be working on the island of Saipan, 120 miles north of Guam, and 3 hours southeast of Japan (Saipan used to be controlled by Japan before World War II, but was lost when the US won it back).

A few months before my trip, if I were on the island then, I’d have to fly United down to Guam and then into Japan. But in November, a domestic Japanese airline called Skymark began service in a bid to [bring back tourism to the island](https://imgur.com/a/QrdDtvo/). As a side effect, those on island who wanted to do the reverse could do it (and I know several locals who said they couldn’t wait to go north and visit Tokyo, but then the virus came along).

I wasn’t in the best financial position while on island. I wanted to go to Japan so bad… every day I would check Skymark’s page to see if flight prices would drop. They were steady at around $400 round trip. For most people here that would be a drop in the bucket. I had to wait.

Eventually I gave up searching. A few days later, out of curiosity, I checked again. $90 one way, $280 round trip. I could make that work. Being that it was also the holiday season and I was over 7000 miles away from home, my parents helped a little bit and sent $500 to me for the of my expenses.

**Friday, January 10th** Saipan -> Narita/Shinjuku

**Afternoon**

Who thought a domestic airline could be this good? Skymark gave me a blanket, mug and nice meal [consisting of some Saipan delicacies… ](https://i.imgur.com/gQC3Fgp.jpg) I’m 99% sure I was the only non-Japanese person onboard, because I went through Narita customs alone! I then claimed my pocket WiFi, struggled to get the $40 JR Narita Express discount and then rode to Shinjuku.

**Evening**

After wading through throngs of commuters at Shinjuku station, I emerged (as planned) to the main strip in the area. Absolutely breathtaking. After visiting a 7-11, I got to my hostel ([UNPLAN Shinjuku](https://unplan.jp/shinjuku?lang=en)) around 10 that night, right before the sign in cutoff, and to my surprise, they had a free-to-use smartphone next to my bed, with data! If I had known this before I bought the pocket Wifi…

At $35/night, the hostel was amazing and modern, having opened a few months earlier. The bathrooms were clean, the dorm area was relatively quiet, and the staff were helpful when needed. The only things I didn’t like were the location (about 10 minutes walk outside of the center of Shinjuku) and the light they left on one night. I would stay here again though if given the option.

**Saturday, January 11th** Tsukiji Market, Bus Tour, Shibuya, Shinjuku

**Morning**

I got up early to visit Tsukiji Outer Market. Since I had a bus tour at 9, I got there around 7:30 and cut my time short at the market to about an hour. I was overwhelmed by the food options, but settled on some [salmon onigiri and seared tuna skewers](https://imgur.com/a/iXgef6V) This was also my only time seeing Ginza.

I took the subway up to Hamamatsucho Bus Terminal, where I almost missed my tour thanks to being lost. It was a great half-day tour where we first went to Meiji Shrine, then the Imperial Palace Grounds (only open certain days) and then Asakusa, where I left the tour to explore more of that area.

After ramen for lunch, I took a train to Tokyo Station, got a bento box, and headed back to my hostel because I needed to rest with the miles I put on throughout the day.

**Evening**

After laying down for a bit, I headed out to Shibuya to check out Shibuya Scramble Square, a new shopping complex that had recently opened. It has a depachika in the basement and about a dozen floors of shops. So many of these buildings felt like escalator jungle gyms. I mostly did window shopping here, because I came to get a view of Tokyo from the sky deck: https://imgur.com/a/e2pgQWA/

Later on I got dinner in Shinjuku (pizza believe it or not, but the restaurant was REALLY good), walked around Kabukicho and Golden Gai, and went to bed.

**Sunday, January 12th** Shinjuku Gyoen, Shibuya, Roppongi Hills

**Morning**

What was hard to adjust to was the fact that everything opens late and closes early in Japan for the most part. So I couldn’t do everything I wanted (but may not have had the energy to do it all anyways). I spent the morning in Shinjuku Gyoen, about a 10 minute walk from my hostel, and stumbled upon a nice indoor botanical garden.

I got on the Yamanote Line for a short ride to Shibuya Station. It was pretty cool to see so many people crossing that intersection at one time.

**Afternoon**

I spent over an hour waiting to get into line at [Katsu Midori](https://i.imgur.com/Iyt8VTh.jpg), Seibu, a well-known conveyor belt sushi restaurant in Tokyo. This is one of those rare times that I think waiting in line was worth my time, because not only was the food cheap, it was also fresh and the atmosphere was inviting. This was one of those recommendations from Paolo that I had to do.

Later, I visited a place around the corner called “[Milk](https://milk-craftcream.com/en.html)” which has good ice cream and crepes.

I then did some hopping around to Tokyu Hands, Don Quijote and a few other places to get soveniers and window shop. On a side note, I wonder why the U.S. doesn’t have its Tokyo Hands equivalent? That place was amazing!

**Evening**

Again, I found myself gassed, so I went back to the hostel to recover. I’m not even out of shape, it’s just that you can only do so much walking without resting that you’ll feel you have to sit down. This, combined with some rain and a lack of cash on hand at the time (IIRC) made me go back.

Around 7:00 I went down to Roppongi Hills, another place I had been wanting to visit. Hindsight is 20/20, and I would have gone to Harajuku or Akihabara instead, if I could grasp how limited my time would be on the trip. But this was an alright place, another escalator jungle gym with plenty of stores and ways to get lost. Maybe it would’ve made more sense if I had more time, but it didn’t seem like it was worth the visit. To add to this, most places I wanted to visit has closed by 9:00. I did manage to get [pretty good tasting tsukamen](https://i.imgur.com/0bLJ28r.jpg).

**Monday, January 13th** Mount Takao, Tokyo Skytree, Akihabara

**Morning**

UNPLAN Shinjuku has a decent selection of breakfast items, such as bread and toast, Greek yogurt with peaches, and hard boiled eggs. It was enough for me.

I took several trains out to Hachioji, home to to Mount Takao. It’s about an hour away from Shinjuku and a good excursion for those who want to hike or see Mount Fuji without going to it.

Here, you can ride a chairlift to about 1/3 of the way up, where you follow the path to the summit. It’s not a trail per se, it feels more like a city park with its temples, shrines and shops along the way, so you don’t feel isolated. I tried dango here, which was worth it, and had soba noodles at a restaurant just past the summit. On a clear day, you can see Mount Fuji, and I was able to that day.

A bit further down are hiking trails that extend hundreds of miles to the southwest. I went on one for a few hundred feet but then headed back to the base of the mountain.

Also of noteworthy mention is Takao 599 museum, which is free to enter and has stickers and postcards.

**Afternoon/Evening**

My Afternoon was spent going from Mount Takao to the Tokyo Skytree. I left Takaosanguchi Station around 2:00 and got to Sumida around 4:00. It was around this time that I ran out of data for the day, to my surprise. So I had to scramble and find public networks to access my fast pass ticket. Once I got it, I was up to the top very fast. I had tickets to the Tembo Galleria and Skydeck, and again, it’s worth it to get the full thing. This was a great way to cap off my trip because it was a clear day and I could see the sun set behind Mount Fuji, as well as the glow of the city below a bit later.

I figured I’d have enough time to visit Akihabara, so I went to an arcade and played for a while, then a few manga places. If I could rearrange my trip, I would’ve spent at least a half a day here; I was only there for a couple hours.

My final meal was okonomiyaki from a restaurant in a nearby shopping center. I had no idea how to eat this this because there was a burner at the table, but it was good! I checked out those wacky vending machines and then headed back to my hostel.

**Tuesday, January 14th** Shinjuku -> Narita -> Saipan

**Morning**

Checkout was simple, but with my flight leaving at 10:15 and me waking up at 6:30, I had to haul ass. I missed a train at Shinjuku-Gyoenmae station that set me back a few minutes, and led me to nearly panic and scramble when I got to Tokyo Station, as the Narita Express was set to leave literally within 2 minutes of when my other train got there. Here’s a tip: don’t wait for an elevator if you don’t have to. Always scan surrounding signs to see what trains are on what platforms. All I did was turn around and I had my answer.

~~You can get to Narita Airport an hour before your flight if you don’t have checked bags~~ You should get to the airport two hours in advance, even though I couldn’t. In the time I had there, I was able to check out the observation deck, get breakfast, and get a shirt for my sister.

The flight back to Saipan was smooth as always, and the [meal was another great touch](https://i.imgur.com/o4BjStZ.jpg).

It wasn’t my goal to write a novel, but I felt like I could help others with my experience and pass it along. It all costed about $800 in the end, which was a bargain deal. Let me know if you have questions!

Edit: I forgot to add that I brought my pocket WiFi back to Saipan by mistake and had to mail it back with DHL for $50… otherwise it would have been $400! Make sure you return these things!

Edit 2: If you’re in Tokyo for at least a few weeks or a month, consider flying down to Saipan (my recommendation) or Guam! They’re basically the Hawaiian Islands of Japan, although they’re U.S. territories. I would consider myself a great source for information on Saipan travel, so please PM me if you want details.