Tourism

So I’ve had drafts on this series of Japan posts since the autumn trip happened on October 2017 haha. It’s a seven-day trip and who knows when I can finish writing about all seven days. I figured might as well shoot out what I already have, so here we are  🙂

For this trip to Japan I played happy and very willing tour guide to my sister. It was her first time in Japan and she was very excited and was also very easy to please. She had a list of things she wanted to see (which is basically why this itinerary was spread out so thin hah your fault but it’s cool). I filled in the gaps with my own best-of and must-go-never-been list.

Day 1. Manila to Narita. We flew in via Jetstar on a 12:40am flight from Manila. It was a smooth 5-hour ride to touchdown. Escalator from luggage claim and immigration clearance led directly to the food court, such genius. We parked our luggage for some well deserved hot udon for breakfast, then took our time playing with the Gapcha machines (found a Bigbang one!) while sister bought a magazine* from an airport store.

*This will be the first of a few that she will buy. Japanese magazines are thick and come with super nice freebies such as packets of fancy facial serum or a pack of Moomin-print pouches.

Jetstar sells the Keisei Skyliner tickets we needed going from airport to Tokyo, so we got that for Y2,200 (discounted by 270). Hopped on, almost broke our backs hauling our luggage up and down the designated rack (Use your core! Use your core!), then got off at Nippori station to transfer to the Yamanote line. Got off at Shinjuku station then transferred to Odakyu line and finally landed at Shimokitazawa station. Sounds like a lot of walking and hauling luggage and climbing of stairs? Yep. We just got there and our limbs already hurt and we loved it.

Official check in wasn’t until 3pm, but our very nice Airbnb host Masashi/Massage offered to meet us at 12pm so we can leave our stuff and walk around freely. Yes, please. The stuff must be left behind and we had a lot walking around to do. So we bought some curry pan from a nearby Family Mart and stayed put at the station’s West Exit for Masashi to get us.

Should you ever want to stay at Shimokitazawa, maybe take a look at Masashi’s apartment? It’s a 5-minute walk from the station, it’s nice and clean and had enough rooms and space to comfortably fit three grown girls and all their stuff. Also, it’s the best best best neighborhood with all the vintage shops, cafes, restaurants, hair salons, live houses, and little grocery stores. The apartment was close to a post office too! Which was great cos we wanted to send postcards. The area is also only a 5-minute train ride from Shibuya and Shinjuku, so easy access to the other fun stuff.

Meiji Shrine. After dropping our bags, we walked back to Shimokitazawa station and took the train going to Meiji-jingu. Followed the signs and checked the map and tried to jog my memory and soon enough we arrived at Meiji Shrine. I’ve been here before and I enjoyed how peaceful and quiet it is as soon as we crossed that first torii gate. There’s that sense of calm from the thick canopy of trees and the steady yet leisurely pace of everyone else around. Like the bustling city outside was far far away. We took our time, walking up to the main shrine and waving at the trees. We saw a cute family dressed in their kimono best, posing for pictures. Sister bought a charm for good fortune. I’d say allot an hour here if you want to visit, because it’s a bit of a walk in and out again, and when you get there, it’s not really a place you would want to rush through anyway.

Harajuku. After the calm, here comes the frenzy. I was super excited to come back to Harajuku. The Fountain of Youth is here, didn’t you know? We walked down Takeshita-dori once, just to see what was there (there was A LOT), crossed the street for some tantanmen (yes we were hungry again) then crossed right back and walked back up and down the street a few more times, stopping in stores and wandering down a few side streets. It was well into the afternoon by this time and it was freezing by the way, because we were two girls who dressed for very light autumn. Thank you, stores and your heaters for being our refuge.

We found ACDC RAG and Stylenanda and a few vintage stores (some were high-end selling LVs and Comme des Garcons and some choice Chanels, some were much more affordable). We had Marion Crepe and Calbee fresh potato chips drizzled with honey. It was awesome.

Cat Street. We had to choose between Cat Street and Omotesando given the constraint of time and capacity of our bodies, and we ended up at Cat Street since this place was both new to us. My only wish was that we came here when we had more time/were less tired/had proper outwear because it was freezing. It’s a quaint shoppersville too, much more spacious than Takeshita-dori, lined with stores that were a bit more expensive. We found more vintage stores like Ragtag and Flamingo. We found Opening Ceremony which had great stuff, G-Dragon style but huhu not cheap.

It was well beyond dinner time at this point and well below 20 degrees too. A nice, warm restaurant would have been in order but we found Luke’s Lobster and we weren’t going to say no to those lobster sandwiches even though we had to hunker down in one of their tiny outdoor chairs and eat them there. While eating, we eyed a gyoza place that had a long queue of locals–the sure sign that it was delicious stuff–but we were too cold and beat to line up. So we headed back to the station, found this cafe-slash-boutique called Honey Mi Honey, and climbed the stairs and went in for some warmth and rest and lattes. It was our last stop for Day 1, and it was a great call.