First Solo Trip! 1 week stay in Tokyo

Hello! This was my first solo trip outside of the US that was purely for vacation and not for work. I was a bit nervous going into the trip since I was going solo and did not really plan much aside from booking the flight and hotel.

\*\*Pre-Trip / Info\*\*

1. Booked my flight through CitiTravel and booked the hotel through Expedia.
2. Dates: 9/16 to 9/25, originally, I was supposed to fly out on 9/24 at night but when I got to the hotel, I realized I did not want to have my bags stored at the front desk and appreciated the extra convenience of being able to shower so I extended my hotel reservation by another day. At that point, I decided to also change my flight to 9/25 in the morning to give me some more time to relax the day before.
3. Airline: ANA through United. A pretty long flight, over 13 hours. I didn’t notice the outside of the jet until I landed in Haneda. It was one of the Eevee Jets with all the eevee-olutions on the outside. I didn’t even notice the design on the headrest/napkins until they brought it up towards the end.
4. Hotel: Shinjuku Prince Hotel, overall pretty nice location, was close to the station and had a lot of good food nearby.
5. About me: 26 year old male that was very much out of shape with a bad ankle after a sprain a few years ago
6. Data: I had purchased a data plan from my carrier for 5GBs for $35. In hindsight, I should have looked for other ways of data. My phone was e-sim only so I couldn’t buy a sim card.
7. Weather: Was in the high 80s – low 90s for most of my trip until the weekend. I did bring shorts and T-Shirts but not enough for the entire trip.

\*\*Day 1 (Sunday)\*\*

Landed in Haneda in afternoon/early evening. First issue I had was trying to get through customs. I tried to use the QR code feature by it wasn’t able to scan my password. Eventually, I gave up and filled out a paper form. Once that was done, I was finally out of the terminal. I tried to find the Keikyu line from the airport and saw that it wasn’t accepting credit cards at the ticket stand. I forgot to exchange cash back home so I had to find an ATM to withdraw money. Rate was okay, I think it was 1USD for 141 yen. After getting help from one of the officers in front of the ticket machine, I was able to get through. I overheard someone speaking English, it looked like they were helping their family so I ran up to him and asked how the digital card worked. After he showed me, I got a PASMO and that was so much easier to use than a ticket. It was kinda cool seeing the trains and how efficient everything was! The fact that just about every train had an English announcement and electronic display made it a lot more comforting. Eventually made it to Shinjuku station and instantly got lost trying to get out. Google Maps kept telling me to use the West Gate and something about Exit B15 but I could never find it. Getting out of the west gate was painful since it was so crowded and I couldn’t find a way to get over to the East side of the tracks. After finding the hotel, I checked in and crashed for the night.

\*\*Day 2 (Monday)\*\*

Still jetlagged so I woke up a few times at 3AM and again at 3AM. Grabbed breakfast at 7-11 to see what the hype was. Definitely so much better than the ones in the US.

McDonalds – Tried out their Tsukimi items, the burger was alright, I preferred that type of bacon instead of the crisper kind at home. The pie was my favorite, it had a nice mochi and red bean filling that worked pretty well.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden – Got there at around noon since I didn’t know what else to do at the time since I wanted to stay local for the day. Walked around but eventually got tired from the heat and went to my hotel room.

Kinokuniya – Saw it on my way back and dropped in to see what it was like since I been to one of them back at home.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building – Google maps said it was closed but I guess it got confused. Either way, managed to get in the south tower and saw the view. Waited for half an hour for the sun to set and watched that

Ichiran in Kabuki-cho – Had this ramen before at home but was curious to see if it was the same. Long line to get in but it tasted the same as the ones in New York. Still good though.

Toho Cinemas – Felt like a waste to see a movie while on vacation but didn’t have much else to do. Saw A Haunting in Venice that came out a few days ago. Much better than the last movie in the series.

\*\*Day 3 (Tuesday)\*\*

Still jetlagged and woke up a few times. Grabbed breakfast at FamilyMart to see. I’m noticing a trend so far that these konbinis have what looks like the same items? just branded differently?

Tokyo Sea Life Park – Originally I wanted to go to Disney Sea but decided against it after realizing I’m not interested in Disney. They had some amazing displays, especially the one with the tuna swimming in a circle. Honestly, I felt like a kid again going on my first field trip.

Diamond and Flower Ferris Wheel – Wanted to give it a try since I’ve never been on one before but it seemed pretty empty so I backed out to avoid being awkward.

Tokyo Dome – First time on a rollercoaster, line was super long since it was in the afternoon / early evening. Almost peed my pants on the Thunder Dolphin. I thought I was going to die on some of the twists and turns. Fun but would not do it again for my heart health. Went on the Big O Ferris wheel to make up for the one I missed earlier today. Not as tall but still a nice view of the dome.

Spa LaQua – Main reason for coming to the Tokyo Dome, never been into an onsen before and needed a break after all the waling over the past few days. I had no idea how to change or use the locker rooms. I lowkey waited for someone else to change before I figured it out. Eventually got in the onsen and tried out the various pools and saunas. Did an hour long massage to help with my stiff back and aching legs/feet. While waiting for my massage time, saw another tourist and chatted with him for a bit

\*\*Day 4 (Wednesday)\*\*

Tokyo Tour via Gray Line, costs 14,000 yen with lunch included. Thankfully, my hotel was on the list of hotels that they picked up directly from.

Imperial Garden – Way too many bugs on the moat and those guys do not let go. Got bit a few times. Only about 30 minutes there but managed to explore some of the garden.

Tokyo Tower – Only went up half way due to the time limit. View was okay but after seeing the view from the Government Building, it wasn’t as magical this time around. There was a nice spot where you could stand on a glass tile looking down.

Menji Shrine – Seeing the red gates in person was cool. There was a purification spot that I tried out and made some wishes at the offering box and statue.

Hama-Rikyu Garden – We were allowed to split up and explore the garden as long as we were able to make it back in time. Saw this tea house by the lake and went in to give it a try. Had some nice cold green tea and confectionary. The view of the lake out the window was lovely too. Sadly, I had to cut it short otherwise I would miss the bus.

Sumida River Cruise – Nice peaceful ride. Started chatting up this one family on vacation while they were talking to this one elementary school student on a field trip. Honestly, it was refreshing being able to talk to someone on a solo trip.

Asakusa Kannon Temple – Walked through the busy shopping street and prayed again at the temple. Lovely sight and much more crowded then the previous shrine/temple earlier.

At this point, the tour ended and we had the option to go back to the hotel or get dropped off at the Skytree or Akihabara.

Akihabara – Instantly got overwhelmed once I stepped out of the bus. So many people, so many stores, so many bright lights. Went to Gamers to look at the Love Live merch, saw more stuff at the Radio Kaikan. Sadly didn’t have a chance to buy anything though since I didn’t know what I wanted. I haven’t watched much anime recently outside of Spy Family, Demon Slayer or Suzume and I wasn’t too into them to get merch. Was looking around for Raiden Shogun/Genshin Impact merch, mainly the Statue of Her Excellency, the Almighty Narukami Ogosho but didn’t find much outside of keychains, mats or stands.

Gigo – First time trying out the claw machines. Ran across someone trying to win a Bond figurine from Spy Family. Was fun watching them try and one of them thankfully spoke English! After that, I tried out one of the machines in the corner for a small dream kirby plushie. Managed to win that one after 4 tries. After all that, went to another Gigo building to try to win a Nilou plush, gave up after dropping like 2-3k yen.

\*\*Day 5 (Thursday)\*\*

Breakfast at FamilyMart to try out the Famichiki. Its so surprising that konbini food is this good. I saw a video on tiktok where they combined the famichiki with the butter/maple pancake sandwich. 10/10 would recommend. After that, my quest for the Statue of Her Excellency, the Almighty Narukami Ogosho continued in Shibuya but sadly no luck.

Shibuya Station – Looked for the Ginza line for the Persona 5 memes, managed to find it pretty quickly.

Shibuya Crossing – Seeing the crossing in person was magical, the way that everyone just moves at once in all directions. I wish I had a chance to see it up from Shibuya SKY but maybe next time.

Pokemon Center – Saw the absolutely massive plushies. My favorite was the Substitute one. I didn’t get the big ones but settled for a smaller one. The Mewtwo display was also cool to see.

Nintendo Tokyo – Right across from the Pokemon Center. Sadly no Fire Emblem merch but grabbed the pink/yellow joycons.

Sunshine City – Wanted to visit the mega Pokemon center to see if it was any different.

Mega Pokemon Center – Mostly the same stuff on sale, finally logged back into Pokemon Go for the first time in years for the big lab area they had. Its tough being a Valor fan.

Sunshine City Aquarium – Not as impressive as Sea Life but they had this one show called Terror Night. Nothing too spectacular aside from the spooky music playing as you roamed the aquarium and all the exhibits had a red light to them to make them look spooky. It was alright but definitely should have skipped this one. Mostly came in to pass the time before the next item.

Sunshine City Planetarium – Second reason for coming to Sunshine City. There was a show where they told various stories sent in and each story was accompanied by a song. Stories all had star themes so it was a bit generic but it was still really emotional watching it all under the stars. Sadly, all the bed seats were taken so I had to settle for a normal reclining chair. The show is in Japanese but you could request a listening device to listen to it in English. The couple behind me fell asleep.

\*\*Day 6 (Friday)\*\*

Mt Fuji and Hakone via Gray Line, costs 20,500 yen with lunch included.

Mt Fuji 5th Station – We were able to see Mt Fuji while we still going up the mountain. Thankfully the driver was able to let us out so we could take pictures of the peak. Once at the station, it was really foggy. Barely able to see much. Ran across this small shrine where I prayed and filled out one of those wooden boards that you tie to everyone elses.

Hakone Sky Gondola – Nothing too spectacular, the view was okay. First time riding one of these so didn’t expect much. Was still nice to see the valley below.

Owakudani valley – Way more foggy and sulfur-y here. Didn’t have a chance to try out those black eggs but maybe thats for the best. Still a breath taking view if you could stomach the smell in the air.

Lake Ashi – Took a ride on the Queen Ashinoko pirate ship as it sailed over the lake. You could go to the deck of the ship and feel the nice lake breeze.

Bullet train back to Tokyo, it was amazing how fast it was. If we went by bus, it would have taken about 2+ hrs so the fact that it went from Osawara to Shingawa in 30minutes was amazing

\*\*Day 7 (Saturday)\*\*

At this point, the fatigue from all the walking around finally set in and I mostly just stayed around my hotel room. Did some shopping at Donki to see what it was like. The music is so catchy and I can see why people say its the Walmart of Japan. Went to Harajuku to look around and see Takeshita Street. Really crowded since it was a weekend but at that point, I was pretty tired. Went back to my hotel room to rest and grabbed conveyor belt sushi for the first time. Had a bunch of nigiri and tried out picked plum for the first time. Would not recommend picked plum again.

\*\*Day 8 (Sunday)\*\*

Final day and the reality that my trip was almost over sunk in. I’m glad I decided to fly out Monday morning instead of Sunday night.

Ueno Zoo – Pretty average zoo but still nice to stroll around the park. There was a massive line since it was the weekend so a lot of couples and families here. The wait line to see the giant pandas was said to be 20minutes according to the sign but the line looked much longer.

Mid Autumn Festival – I had no idea that this was going on so I was really excited to see it. Got there at around 2pm and stayed until around 6:30pm. Saw a bunch of performances from various idol group / solo artists. While I couldn’t understand the songs, I was still really hyped and finally see the appeal of idol groups.

Akihabara round 2 – Decided that I was going to win one figurine from a crane game and buy something at the Radio Kaikan. Was on a clock since I had till 8pm before the stores closed. Didn’t really find much to buy so I went to Gigo again and won an Elaina figurine. While I don’t like the concept of these machines and how addicting they can get, it was fun to try it out and win. The goal was to dump the remaining of my 100 yen coins before leaving. Threw some more at an Anya figurine but no luck and decided to head back to my hotel.

Futago Yakiniku – Decided to go all out on my final meal and went here for dinner. Tried their Horumon platter, Wagyu kalbi and chuck rib. My personal favorite was the Wagyu kalbi. The chuck rib was a bit too tough for my liking but maybe I let it sit on the grill for too long.

Packing – Probably the hardest part since I had so much stuff from Donki and other plushies and merch. Eventually gave up and grabbed a Boston bag from Donki for 5k yen and used that as checked luggage.

\*\*Day 9 (Monday)\*\*

Final day and it was sad to leave. This small hotel room that I thought was cramped grew on me. I decided to take the airport limo bus to avoid rush hour in the train and since I was carrying a bag that was too big for me to hold. Made it through and had a small breakfast at the lounge.

\*\*Things I regret\*\*

Mainly not being more in shape for this trip or not planning as much. I didn’t look at the weather at all and a lot of the activities I ended up doing were cut short or changed because of the weather. Just about every day had me stop at the hotel room in the afternoon to cool off and rest before heading out at night. Lack of planning had me planning tomorrows adventure the night before or the morning of. Disney Sea, Skytree or the various non-art museums are some of the places that got cut due to poor planning.

I wish I spent more time outside of Tokyo but that can be something saved for the next trip in 2-3 years!

\*\*Recommendations\*\*

1. Fill out the questionnaire at Visit Japan before your flight. Will be a huge time saver when you land.
2. Get a transit card on your phone, tickets are too tedious
3. Get an e-sim or at least limit your data usage. I ran out of data half way through since I was browsing reddit or watching videos on the train. Use public wifi whenver you can. There is an app called JapanWi-Fi auto connect that helps you find free hotspots.
4. If you go in the summer or on hot weather days, its okay to rest at a cafe.

\*\*Final Thoughts\*\*Thanks for reading this or getting to this point. I hope you had as much fun as I did reminiscing about my trip. Honestly, I wanted to preserve this trip somewhere in my memory since it really opened my eyes and showed things about myself. At some point, I want to go back and make a scrapbook with all the photos and receipts I had.

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