Trip Report: Japan First-timer Solo Tokyo Getaway 4/23 – 4/28

**Trip Purpose:**

I (46m) recently finished a medical treatment plan whose side effects included a compromised immune system (so I couldn’t eat any raw foods, goodbye sushi and sashimi) and a loss of taste for 6 months. To celebrate my successful treatment and the return of my taste buds, I decided to go to a foodie city and enjoy all that is good with life: food, travel, and meeting new people! Being from Texas, I originally thought about going somewhere close such as New York City or Paris but decided with my recent health scare that life is too short and head to the generally agreed upon #1 food city in the world, Tokyo!

 

I also enjoy watching anime (my first anime experience was the 1990 Akira movie), and wanted to experience some of the Japanese culture I’ve watched so much on the screen in real life. Akira also sparked a lifelong fascination with the “cyberpunk” city look (think neon colored rain soaked neo-Tokyo), so I was very interested in seeing that in real life.

 

**Planning and preparation:**

I decided on the destination a month beforehand and knew very little about Tokyo. I started preparing by figuring out what the must see sites are by reading various websites and watching Youtube videos to see what spots were most recommended. I created a custom Google map and pinned down areas of interest to see where everything was located in relation to each other, this way I could hit multiple sites together if they were close.

 

Fortunately for me, air travel and lodging would incur very minimal costs. I have free air travel benefits from a previous employer and I had accumulated a lot of credit card reward points due to paying medical bills for the aforementioned illness (thanks US health care!), so my only out of pocket costs would be local transportation and food. I targeted the end of April since it was between two very busy tourist times (cherry blossom season and Golden Week) and would also give me time to recover my strength and endurance and my sense of taste after my treatment finished in late February.

 

I found a Comfort Hotel in Kanda that I could use my credit card points on. It’s a business class hotel which is fine for me since I don’t need anything fancy. It’s also in a fantastic location close to major subway lines and a 15 minute walk away from Akihabara.

 

Due to recommendations here and elsewhere, I decided to use Ubigi and their eSim option for mobile data with my unlocked Galaxy S22 phone. To prepare for the amount of walking needed, I started walking between 3-4 miles every day. To prepare for the language barrier, I tried out some phone apps (Duolingo and Rosetta Stone) but quickly lost interest since I was not too interested in building out the language foundation and more interested in common travel phrases. I also started watching some additional anime to get used to the Japanese language and pronunciations.

 

I also looked into travel medical insurance due to my recent health situation. Even though I currently have a clean bill of health, I decided to err on the side of caution and bought a $17 Berkshire Hathaway medical only travel insurance plan from Squaremouth for peace of mind. Fortunately I never needed to use it so I have no opinions on how their actual service is.

 

Even though food was my top priority for this trip, I didn’t make any special restaurant reservations. After hearing numerous accounts of how it’s hard to find a bad meal in Tokyo and not having the patience to wait in long lines, my plan was just to find a nearby restaurant with no queues to try whenever I got hungry. I did do a preliminary Google maps search to find highly rated restaurants close to my hotel as I figured I would be eating in that area the most.

 

**4/22 – 4/23 Travel from DFW to HND to hotel**

My 13.5 hour flight left from DFW at 12:33pm. I was not able to sleep at all on the plane even though I bought an inflatable travel pillow for comfort. On the return flight, I didn’t even bother using the pillow, just wasn’t comfortable for me.

 

I arrived at Haneda airport at 4:29pm. Spent time in immigration (I pre-registered using Visit Japan Web), used the Lawson ATM to get 30,000 yen for $226.29 with my Capital One debit card, and bought a 500 JPY monorail with transfer to JR Yamanote line ticket through the machine. There was a significant line for the Suica machine but from previous research, I knew I could skip the machine here and get a Suica card at a regular subway station. Total time spent in the airport was about 1 hour 10 minutes according to my Google location history. Keep in mind I only had carry-on luggage though, so if you check in luggage your time at the airport will be longer.

 

Arrived at my hotel lobby at 6:19pm and checked in. Rested a bit and went out looking for dinner. I went to a rotating sushi restaurant close to my hotel that I had bookmarked previously and had a really good sashimi dinner. An interesting menu item was whale sashimi, but I was too scared to try it. After dinner I walked over to Akihabara to gaze in awe at all the neon signs and maids lining the sidewalk hawking their establishments. I decided to call it an early night as I was having gastrointestinal issues (started on the airplane) and I had been awake for close to 24 hours straight. I was back at the hotel at 8:23pm.

 

**4/24 Akihabara, Tsukiji, Imperial Palace, Senso-ji, Skytree, Suga Shrine, Shinjuku (32,082 steps, 15.3 miles as measured by Garmin Vivoactive smartwatch)**

During this trip, I severely underestimated how much jet lag would affect me and how much walking I would do. I had a terrible night’s sleep, pretty much didn’t get any kind of deep or REM sleep. I finally gave up at 3:17am and decided to walk back to Akihabara to take pictures of the neon landscape. On my way there, I grabbed a salted salmon onigiri from 7-Eleven which was delicious. Sadly for me, it turns out all the building lights are turned off when the businesses close so I couldn’t take any good pics. I walked around the Don Quijote discount store a bit then decided to take the subway to Tsukiji Outer Market.

 

I arrived at Tsukiji at 5:30am which meant no crowds, but also meant most of the shops were either closed or prepping to open. I walked around a bit and found a seafood donburi restaurant open and ordered a bowl. It was delicious! Walked around a bit more after that and decided to try the A5 wagyu beef skewer, which was also delicious. More people were starting to show up so I decided to head to my next destination, the Imperial Palace. Before taking the subway, I stopped at a Buddhist temple close to the market and sat enjoying the atmosphere for a bit.

 

Unbeknownst to me, even though Google Maps showed the Imperial Palace to be closed I thought the gardens would be open, but nope, everything was closed that day. So I just ended up taking pictures (so fascinating how both old traditional buildings sit right next to modern skyscrapers in Tokyo!) and grabbed a coffee at the Starbucks in front of the palace. I decided to walk to Tokyo Station and head to Senso-ji next.

 

I arrived at Senso-ji at 8:54 am so again, no crowds but most of the merchant stalls were closed. I bought a couple of charms and decided to walk to Tokyo Skytree next. I took the iconic picture of Skytree and the Asahi building across the river and continued walking. Let me warn you, don’t underestimate how far your destinations are! In the pictures, the Asahi building and Skytree look pretty close, but it’s another good 15 minutes of walking!

 

I got to Tokyo Skytree right when they opened at 10:00 am and went up to the observatory. The view is pretty good, but it’s probably the least favorite out of the 3 observatories I went to on my trip. The problem is you’re pretty far away from everywhere else and you’re so high up, it doesn’t feel like you’re amidst the skyscrapers. The other 2 locations make you feel like you’re smack dab in the middle of the skyscrapers.

 

At this point, I was pretty exhausted and had a really good bowl of ramen at a restaurant in the lower floors of Skytree. The main differences between the ramen in Tokyo and the ones I’ve had in Texas is the broth is so much richer and the noodles are much more dense and come out piping hot. The Texas ramen comes with lukewarm noodles and a broth that is nowhere near as tasty or rich as the Tokyo ramen. After lunch, I took the subway back to the hotel, arriving at 12:25 pm.

 

I was hoping to take a much needed nap but again, even after taking melatonin I was not able to get any kind of decent sleep. Just pretty much lay in bed with my eyes closed listening to the city sounds (the window of my hotel room opens up a bit so I could get fresh air).

 

Finally decided to get my otaku on and visit the Suga Shrine staircase made famous by the “Your Name” anime film. It was fun wandering around the quiet neighborhood and when I got to the stairs, there were a few other anime fans also there for the same thing.

 

Next I took the subway to Shinjuku to go up to the free observatory at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for sunset and night time pictures of the city. Watching the city light up and start sparkling as it gets dark is pretty amazing! I highly recommend this observatory since it’s free, there wasn’t a line or wait to get up, and the views are pretty good!

 

Decided to once again call it an early night at 7:38pm since I was exhausted and was hoping to catch up on my sleep. Dinner was a mayo tuna onigiri and melonpan from 7-Eleven, which again was delicious.

 

**4/25 Kanda bar, Meiju Jingu, Harajuku, Shinjuku (25,972 steps, 12.4 miles)**

I went to bed by 8:21pm the night before and again had a restless night’s sleep. I gave up at 2am and decided to walk around Kanda to find drinks and/or food. It was a pretty interesting experience to explore the streets of Tokyo very late at night! It’s very quiet and jarring to see the otherwise crowded streets empty, and there were girls along the streets close to the train station asking if I wanted massages. I finally stumbled onto a bar that was open till 5am so I went in and got a draft Kirin beer. I started chatting it up with the locals and had a good time, another fellow ended up picking up my entire tab so at closing time, I bought a final round for everyone (it was a tiny bar with only 5 of us including the bartender) and headed back to the hotel.

 

I had hoped the beer would help me sleep but it was not to be. After lying in bed with my eyes closed, I had breakfast at the hotel and headed out to Meiji Jingu shrine. I got there at 8:42am and there were no crowds. Yoyogi Park is a very nice piece of green space that you would never imagine could exist in the world’s largest metropolitan area. I asked for some blessings and bought a couple of more charms then decided to walk over to Harajuku.

 

I walked over to Takeshita Street at 9:31am and there were no crowds at all since all the shops were closed. I then decided to walk over to “A Happy Pancake Omotesando” to try the famous fluffy pancakes. This was probably my least favorite meal in Tokyo, as I’m not a big sweets/dessert guy and the “Sweet Pancakes” tasted like a dessert to me. Decided to head back to the hotel again to see if I could catch up on my sleep as I was starting to get exhausted again.

 

Once again napping consisted of lying in bed with eyes closed and listening to the city sounds. It was incredibly tough for me to get any kind of decent sleep during the trip. Decided to get an early dinner at a nearby ramen shop famous for their spicy ramen (Kikanbo). This was probably my favorite meal of the trip. When you walk into the ramen bar, the air is smoky from the kitchen woks stir frying all kinds of deliciousness. The chashu had this beautiful char to it and the broth was so filling and tasty. I am incredibly sad I haven’t been able to find this kind of quality ramen in the Dallas area.

 

Next I decided to head out to Shinjuku again, specifically Golden Gai and Kabukicho areas to experience the neon lights. I walked around Golden Gai a bit, it was ok. It’s exactly as advertised, a bunch of tiny interesting looking bars all jammed in a small area. I didn’t go into any of them as I had my fill of beer the night before.

 

Kabukicho was something else! The crowds, the lights, the vibe just walking around. It was the Tokyo I had imagined! Once again though, I started getting tired and was back at the hotel by 9:35pm. Dinner was a delicious egg salad sandwich from 7-Eleven.

 

**4/26 TeamLab Planets, Odaiba, Akihabara (19,306 steps, 9.2 miles)**

I had a better night’s sleep from about 11pm to 4am this time around. Since I only had carry-on luggage, I only bought 3 nights worth of clothes since I knew my hotel had coin laundry machines which I used that morning. Breakfast was the free hotel breakfast (which wasn’t bad, much higher quality than your typical US hotel breakfast) and I hopped on the subway to head to my 11am TeamLab Planets reservation. I got there early and just sat in the rain (it was the only rainy day of my trip) outside until it was my time to queue up. I got in line at 10:36am and was out the exit by 11:46am. The experience was pretty disappointing for me, I think it looks better in pictures than it does in real life. Most of the rooms are just mirror floors with video projections, or this one room with knee deep murky water with fish projected onto it. I feel like I get a better “immersive” experience with my Meta Quest VR goggles. This was probably the biggest disappointment of the trip for me.

 

Next I took the subway to Aqua City Odaiba to visit the Ga Kyo art aquarium, which consists of fishes in aquariums decorated with neon lights. The exhibit is small but interesting, I liked it better than TeamLab Planets. While at the mall, I found my first large gashapon store and got some souvenirs for my kids (ramen keychains, cute cat trinkets). I wandered the mall a bit more and had a takoyaki lunch at the food court downstairs, which again was pretty good! Much better than any mall food I’ve had in the US!

 

Next I walked in the rain and winds to DiverCity Tokyo Plaza to see the Unicorn Gundam Statue. The pictures actually don’t do the statue justice, I was expecting a cheap looking plastic statue but in real life it appears to be made of metal and functional looking rivets and joints. Definitely surpassed my expectations! Finally decided to head back to the hotel at 3:11pm and rest again.

 

Couldn’t nap again but just lying in bed off your feet does wonders. Headed out for an early dinner at a nearby Coco Ichibanya curry house. I never had Japanese curry before and got a chicken cutlet/spinach curry rice combo and it was delicious. It was still raining pretty heavily so I decided to just go back to the hotel until it stopped at 8:33pm. Then I walked over to Akihabara to take pictures of the neon lights slick from the rain.

 

Had dinner at an izakaya across the street from my hotel at 9:30pm. It was a delicious 5 types of sashimi plate.

 

**4/27 Imperial Palace East Gardens, Akihabara, Shibuya (23,021 steps, 11 miles)**
 

Slept better but still not the full 8 hours, I was up at 6am. Decided I wanted some peace and quiet away from the crowds and made the 23 minute walk from the hotel to the Imperial Palace East Gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day and the gardens were very scenic and peaceful.

 

Took the train back to Akihabara at 11am to finally do some shopping. Went to Don Quijote to pick up some souvenirs and Japanese snacks for the family, then to some of the various stores to see if they had souvenirs from some of the anime we’ve been watching. Found a “Haikyu!!” acrylic stand and paper theater that would easily fit in my carry-on luggage. Walked back to the hotel, lunch was a bento sushi lunch box from 7-Eleven.

 

I had a 6:20pm reservation at Shibuya Sky observatory so decided to head to Shibuya early. Went to MAGNET first to check out their gashapon store, but it was mainly all the same stuff from the AquaCity store. Then I went to Shibuya Parco to check out the Nintendo, Capcom, and Pokemon stores. Walked thru the Shibuya Scramble crosswalk a few times, it feels like being in a river of people. Got some coffee at the Shibuya Scramble basement food floor till my reservation time, then went up.

 

I can see why Shibuya Sky is so popular! The view is amazing and the outdoor rooftop observatory makes it even more so. With the indoor observatories, if you try to take pictures you get an annoying reflection from the windows because there’s light sources directly behind you. In the outdoor area, there is little to no reflection and in some spots you can take a picture with no windows between you and the view. Definitely recommended if you can get tickets and are a huge fan of city views, but I think the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is a nice consolation prize since it’s free and there’s no lines (there is an annoying reflection though). If I was to rate Shibuya Sky a 100%, I’d give Gov’t Building a 70% and Skytree a 50%.

 

Headed back to the hotel and had dinner at the same izakaya across the street from my hotel, yakitori and fried rice on a hot plate (delicious once again!).

 

**4/28 HND to LAX to DFW**
 

Because I have flexible flying benefits and I can book additional hotel nights for free using credit card points, I could have extended my trip for another day or 2 for little to no cost. But I honestly was exhausted and drained, my throat was also getting sore so I was worried I was coming down with something. So I went ahead and decided to fly back home on Friday as originally planned (I considered extending my stay to take a day trip to Mount Fuji). Direct flights from Tokyo to DFW were full so I took a connecting flight from HND to LAX to DFW. The lines to depart were much longer than the lines to enter, but still manageable. Flights were uneventful, although I still find sleeping on a plane difficult.

 

**Final Thoughts**
 

Jet lag took its toll on me. I didn’t sleep well and it caught up to me in the afternoons, I was generally pretty energetic in the mornings but all the walking and lack of quality sleep catches up in the afternoon. Napping was impossible for me too. Sleeping through the night was getting better later in the week though. I’m hoping since jet lag was so bad flying east to west, it won’t be as bad west to east now that I’ve returned home, I was able to sleep 12 hours last night in my own bed (9pm – 9am, woke up briefly at 3am).

 

The people and food were outstanding. People were so nice and polite and it really is hard to find a bad meal in Tokyo.

 

It’s cheaper than I thought. The USD to JPY exchange rate is pretty good, and the food is actually much cheaper than what I’d pay here in Texas if I was to go out and eat, and it tastes better to boot!

 

Don’t underestimate the walking! I overdid it the first day and I think it hurt me the rest of the trip, I was never able to catch up on rest.

 

The favorite parts of my trip (other than the food!) were the quietest times, like walking through the empty streets of Kanda at 4am, the quiet hilly neighborhood where Suga Shrine is, and the walk through the peaceful neighborhood between Asahi building and Tokyo Skytree. Watching people go through their everyday patterns in this incredible metropolitan area just fascinates me.

 

The least favorite part of my trip was the crowds and noise. It was interesting at first, but after a while it just got to sensory overload. The jet lag worked in my favor in that regards, as getting up early I was able to visit many of the popular tourist spots before the crowds.

 

I will definitely be visiting Japan again, but probably not Tokyo. Too crowded and noisy for my tastes. Okinawa definitely sounds interesting, a mix of a tropical island with Japanese flavoring sounds like right up my alley!

 

Thanks if you’ve read this far, hopefully someone will find this wall of text helpful! If you have any questions, feel free to ask away!