TOKYO

Our hotel in Tokyo, the Metropolitan, was a short walk from Ikebukuro Station, one of the busiest in the city. When we got off the train from the Mt Fuji area, it was a bit daunting for us as we tried to work out which exit to take to get to the hotel. In hindsight it would have been ok if we had done a bit more research but as so often happened to us in Japan, a friendly local, who saw our bewildered looks, took us under her wing and walked us to the appropriate exit. There are probably half a dozen huge shopping centres located in the area around Ikebukuro Station so if you are into  shopping (and most of it is high end like our Myers stores), then this hotel would be great. And I have to say that the hotel itself was excellent. The staff were more than helpful and the ease of access to the trains was definitely a plus. However for us, we found the area was rather boring after dark, and we probably would opt for somewhere closer to the south east of Tokyo like Ginza.

We originally thought that our JR Passes would not be of use in Tokyo, as the rail system there consists of both private railways and JR lines. When  we took a closer look at the system, we discovered that JR has a circular rail line in Tokyo which runs both clockwise and anticlockwise. Since our passes were still operational, we just have to decide which direction was closest to our destination. Of course we could then take any of the private lines to get to our desired destination.

Research before we left told us that our first day in Tokyo was the very last day of the Kabuki performances in the Tokyo season. After checking in at our hotel we asked the concierge for some more information about the Kabuki theatre. We learned that if you want to just buy a walk-in ticket on the day, you have to turn up at the theatre and line up for a ticket. If you get there early you can get in first and get a good seat at the back of the theatre. We arrived at Ginza at around 8.30 and ended up waiting in line outside Kabuki Za, Tokyo’s kabuki theatre, for several hours. It’s not so bad if there are two of you as one can save your spot while the other goes for coffee or to the loo etc. You have to decide whether you want to stay for one, two or three performances. Although the first story was not the best, we decided to only stay for it, as several hours in the rather cramped seats would probably not be so enjoyable. We found it a really good intro to kabuki. Perhaps if you lived in Tokyo, buying the more expensive tickets would be worthwhile. But if you only want to see what it is and gain an initial insight into Kabuki, one session is enough.

Kabuki Za

The cast

After the show, we walked down to the Tsukiji Markets. Only the outer part of the markets remain as the Inner market where all the seafood is sold has now been relocated  further away on the waterfront. We enjoyed strolling through the markets though and found some lunch and a few gifts to take home. Then it was back to our hotel for a break before heading off again to the busiest pedestrian crossing in Japan, Shibuya Crossing outside Shibuya Station.

Even though it's really busy, nobody hassels anyone else.

 

We saw a couple of these craxy cart tours in Tokyo. Looked like fun
but I'd be scared of getting lost in the traffic or run over.

Some claim this is the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. It is said that over 1000 people cross here in peak times and it is easy to believe it. We enjoyed strolling around the streets and were hoping to find a club with live entertainment but the couple we did find wanted about $30 just to get in. We explored the rather seedy area of narrow alleyways known as Omoide Yokocho or ‘piss alley’ but found the whole area rather uninviting. Many of the bars clearly did not welcome foreigners and most were empty. We opted not to venture into any of them and slowly made our way back to the rail station and home to our hotel.

This lovely mural is at the Shibuya Crossing entrance to the station.

On our last day we were up bright and early and spent the morning exploring the area around the hotel. It was just one big shopping precinct and although there was a wide variety of shops, if you aren’t keen on shopping and you don’t like spending ridiculous amounts of money for things, then it can be a bit ho hum.

We then caught the train to Tokyo Station, which is a charming old historic building a short walk from the Imperial Palace and gardens. We would have spent more time in the area but rain threatened so we decided to head back to Ikebukuro. It was disappointing as the area is renowned for the beauty of the gardens.

Tokyo Station

Part of the Imperial Palace and gardens.

Before returning to our hotel, we visited some of the other popular markets and found some beautiful second-hand obi which were very reasonably priced. There are lots of small stores in Japan selling second-hand silk clothing including jackets and kimonos. New ones are very expensive so if you want to buy these items, don't rule out the pre-loved ones.

Later in the afternoon we caught the train to Shinjuki, the busiest station in Tokyo with up to 3 million people per day passing through its gates. By now we had become accustomed to catching the trains and even in peak times it was really easy. As with all the stations we had been in, the platforms were clearly marked as to where to line up and as always, the announcements on the trains were in English as well as Japanese etc. even telling us which side the doors would open at each stop. It was really stress-free getting around.

Lining up waiting for the train.

As this was our last night in Japan, we decided to visit Golden Gai. This narrow little lane is a collection of tiny bars and restaurants where you can eat a very diverse range foods, some of which are truly strange. Most of the food is offered on skewers and I have to say we weren’t too adventurous. After checking out the various little holes in the wall along the street, we chose one which seemed really friendly and had a tasty if not totally awesome meal in a very tiny space.

Golden Gai

The Shibuya area

We also ventured into one of the many pachinko parlors that we saw everywhere in the cities. Gambling for cash in Japan is illegal but they have a way around it. Pachinko balls won on games at the parlor can be exchanged for prizes or tokens which can be exchanged for cash at a place separate from the parlor. I quickly snapped a photo before being asked not to take photos.

Pachinko Parlor - The noise level in these is deafening.

I was also impressed with the 3 storey MacDonalds store although we noticed that most of the ones in the city had an upper level for people wanting to dine in and sometimes a third level where the toilets were located.

While in Tokyo we had hoped to visit Team Lab, Borderless, at Tokyo Light Museum. It had been recommended to us by fellow guests at Weekend Shuffle and we planned to go. Unfortunately, it was a fair way away from where we were staying so we decided to give it a miss but it would be top of my list if we ever go back to Japan. Check it out here https://borderless.teamlab.art/

We didn’t fly out of Tokyo ‘til late in the night so we spent our last day exploring the big stores either side of Ikebukuro station. There are any number of huge stores to explore but as I said, they are all rather expensive. Anyway we managed to kill some time there before catching our shuttle bus to the airport where we spent the last of our Japanese yen on gifts etc in the various duty free stores. Summing up, we loved Japan and would definitely go back there. The area north of Nikko and the island of Hokkaido would be first on the list.