Week one in Japan is complete! I really had a great time staying in Tokyo for my first week. Super grateful to Tomomi for letting me stay with her in her apartment. I don’t think I’ve ever been so acquainted with the Oedo Line than I have during that week. =P

The day after Ginza I met Megumi early in the morning at Shinjuku to head towards Yokohama. I have no idea how she managed to take an overnight bus to Tokyo Station then jog the entire way to Shinjuku and still have energy to take me out for the day. I would have already passed at the overnight bus part. Haha.

After we got off at Yokohama Station, we switched over to the subway to head to Chinatown. Since it was a holiday it was incredibly packed everywhere we went. There were massive lineups for food outside, so we decided to find seats inside the restaurant where there wasn’t any lineups. I already had an idea what to expect eating Chinese food in Japan, so I wasn’t too disappointed with the food when it came. While it was pretty average it still hit the spot. =)

After exploring the rest of Chinatown and browsing through some shops, we boarded a bus towards Sankeien. I’m not sure why Sankeien wasn’t on my list of places to visit before in Yokohama, but it’s definitely worth going to if you’re there. The gardens inside are absolutely beautiful. It was also a sunny day out so it made the walk even better.

Once we left the park, we boarded a bus which took us towards Yamashita Park. From there Megumi and I took the Sea Bass on a short ferry ride back towards Akarenga. Then we had a really nice dinner inside a restaurant at World Porters.

The next day I met Junko early in the morning and we headed to Meiji Jingu. While it wasn’t my first time at the shrine, it was my first time going to the inner garden, which costs 500 yen admission. One of the highlights in the garden was Kiyomasa’s Well, which is apparently the location of a power spot. It supposedly gives off positive energy if you stand there. Beware there’s also a guard who hurries people along if they’re hoarding the well for too long. =P

For lunch we went to a restaurant called Yasaiya Mei, which serves vegetarian cuisine. Junko and I had a lunch course which started with a raw veggie appetizer arranged in a glass vase. I didn’t even know you could eat raw eggplant, beets and asparagus! It was way too much food for a lunch course, but I don’t regret trying to eat anything.

After lunch we strolled through Takeshita Dori before making our way towards Kichijoji. We first saw the lego exhibit inside the Parco department store, then took our time exploring the rest of the shops. We also stopped by Komeda Coffee for afternoon tea. It’s supposedly a popular coffee shop chain from Nagoya, so I guess I’ll be seeing a lot more of it in the future!

While I was still incredibly full from lunch, Junko made reservations for us at a sushi restaurant called Watagami, which is in Ogikubo. It was my first time going to a sushi restaurant where there’s only 15 seats around the counter and no menu to order from. Junko is well acquainted with the chef, Itou-sama, who had worked abroad in both NYC and Boston. He was super friendly and recommended really yummy fish for me to try. Sanma is the fish in season right now and it was probably my favourite that night.

Since the sushi bar was very high class, most of the time Itou-sama would recommend what condiments to use. Aside from the usual soy sauce, we also had ponzu and salt brought from Okinawa. Most of the time he would prepare everything so all we had to do was eat the sushi as is. We also had oysters steamed with sake and lemon juice and it was amazing! I would go and eat there once a week if I had lots of money. Lol.

The next two days I was mostly out on my own so I set small goals for myself so I didn’t have to stay out for the entire day. The first day I went to Kagurazaka and had fun reminiscing the filming locations for Haikei Chichiue-sama. I also had lunch at Canal Cafe to complete the experience. In the afternoon I took a walk from Azabu-Juban to Roppongi, then made my way back to Tomomi’s place at night.

On Friday it was raining so I spent my time museum hopping first at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum to see the Monet exhibit, then to the Tokyo National Museum which is directly beside it. For dinner I decided to try a restaurant called Hainan Jeefan Shokudo at their Ebisu branch. I was the first person inside the restaurant at the start of dinner and it was super embarrassing sitting there by myself with 5-6 waiters standing around. Lol

Saturday was the day I left for Nagoya, so Tomomi and I had lunch at another Singaporean restaurant close to Shinagawa Station where I watched her struggle eating chilli crab. =P

Overall I had a great time in Tokyo. I loved being back walking through all the old neighbourhoods. It was also was nice to discover new places like Mount Takao and Shimokita. Now that the Tokyo part is complete, I look forward to getting back into routine once school starts in October!