Day one: We arrived in Tokyo after almost 24 hours travelling. We hopped on the train to the city and headed to our AirBnb in Shinjuku to drop the bags (great area to stay in). We grabbed a drink in Coin Bar, a small inexpensive bar where a drink affords you one karaoke song! Next we headed to the Robot Cabaret, whereby two robots on bass and piano supported a cute Japanese girl singing songs in the most gold adorned bar I have ever set foot in. The show itself has been described by Anthony Bourdain as akin to doing acid for the first time- it was an insane mix of multicoloured lights, anime girls, robots and loud music. The best way to get over jet lag!
Day two: We headed to the TeamLab BorderLess exhibition in the Mori Digital Art Museum, located a train ride away in Odaiba. The exhibition is a feast for the senses and totally awe-inspiring, strongly recommended to anyone in Tokyo in the near future (make sure to book weeks in advance through the website).
We headed to the Mori building in Rappongi Hills as an alternative to Tokyo Tower, because you can take cityscape pics from above with the Tower included (do buy tickets in advance – I would recommend sunset as the perfect time to visit). From here we watched the sunset over Mount Fuji and then enjoyed cocktails in The Moon bar up in the Mori Building afterwards, overlooking the city twinkling by night. From here, we headed to Medaka, an all you can eat and drink spot in Shinjuku (€25 euro for 3 hours), close to the Robot restaurant. The food was delicious- we got to try all the local dishes and sample Highballs – beer mixed with Sake. It’s probably wise to ask your hotel to book in advance to get a table.
Day three: An early start for day 3 for a walking tour with Tokyo Localized was not what our sore sleep-deprived heads needed, but it was very worth it. The tour started in Akihabara, the anime district of Tokyo, and lead via several shrines to the beautiful Ueno Park, where a panoramic lily pond surrounds a shrine. The park is home to a wealth of attractions, including the Tokyo National Museum, Ueno Zoo and the National Museum of Western Art – great to fill an afternoon with some culture, if you have the time. After a quick bite to eat, we headed onwards to Harajuku for some people watching and dinner in the Kawaii Monster Cafe, another crazy, colourful Japanese venue, complete with performances by girls dressed up as dolls.
Day four: Feeling like we hadn’t had enough Tokyo, we decided to get a later train to Kyoto and headed to Asakusa, an old-world area of Tokyo, filled with history, souvenir markets and shrines. We wandered the Nakamise shopping street, and marvelled at the Senso-ji Temple, before grabbing some bentos in a local restaurant.
Next we headed back to Akihabara to pick up some gifts and browse the anime stores, before hopping on the two hour Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto, for a sunset view of Mount Fuji on the way (check the timetable here or on Google Maps- we bought tickets at Tokyo station an hour before travel – ask for seats on the right hand side of the train for a view of Mt Fuji).
Toyko Highlights
