12 weeks in Japan is where I record my experiences of living in Tokyo for 3 months. The cities, the culture and the people I meet will be a big part of this journey, which I'll share with you. I intend to publish 3 posts at a time so stay tuned.
You can follow me on Instagram to get a closer look at my journey, all photos and videos are tagged with #12weeksinjapan.
You can follow me on Instagram to get a closer look at my journey, all photos and videos are tagged with #12weeksinjapan.
Shibuya crossing
I arrived at Narita Airport, took the train to Shinjuku before finding my local train and locating my Airbnb house
These O-nigiri quickly became my favourite breakfast meal
I finally arrived at my Airbnb house and took some much needed sleep after a 14 hour trip.
Shimokitasawa at night
Spent the next days exploring Shibuya, Omotesando, Harajuku and the surrounding area of where I'm staying (Setagaya). Walked around for a while and ended up in a place called Shimokitazawa, a bustling community centre of sorts. Lots and lots of second hand stores here, I'll definitely be coming back. After a few hours I ended up eating at a sushi conveyer belt restaurant.
Shimokitasawa
Wifi café - Lattest
On Saturday I sat down to edit some photos at a café called Lattest in Shibuya/Omotesando. Since it was Saturday and I felt like socializing, I decided to join my first ever pub crawl which I found out about on Meetup.com. I suggest taking a look at some of the other groups they have here in Tokyo as well. There's "international meetup's" and "day trips" which you can sign up for, it usually costs about 1-2000 yen (really depends on the event though), day trips costs a bit more.
I still wish it was a themeless event since the whole "balloon hat" theme they had going was a bit cheesy, but it sure made it easier to meet new people and get out of your comfort zone which I'm guessing was the idea. I came to the event alone (which was nerve wracking initially), but I ended up meeting people from all over the world and made some contacts in a country where I didn't know anyone at first.
I still wish it was a themeless event since the whole "balloon hat" theme they had going was a bit cheesy, but it sure made it easier to meet new people and get out of your comfort zone which I'm guessing was the idea. I came to the event alone (which was nerve wracking initially), but I ended up meeting people from all over the world and made some contacts in a country where I didn't know anyone at first.
After that first weekend, my first official week in Tokyo finally started. I went down to the Tsukiji fish market in the middle of the day since I was in the area. It's empty during the day, but there's still sushi restaurants nearby with fresh sushi. The best way to experience the market is by visiting the tuna auction they have. The auction starts at at 05:00AM, and you will have to line up even earlier than that to be one of the 60 tourist who get to see the auction. It's something you must check out if you're visiting Tokyo.
Though to see the auction you will have to sign up for the auction at the "Osakana Fukyu Center" which you can find at the Kachidoki Gate. It's a first-come first-serve basis they're operating on so be there on time. You can however visit the market after the auction is finished and when it's opened for everyone at 09:00AM. Then you'll see lots of different fish and sea creatures being sold (mostly to restaurants).
Though to see the auction you will have to sign up for the auction at the "Osakana Fukyu Center" which you can find at the Kachidoki Gate. It's a first-come first-serve basis they're operating on so be there on time. You can however visit the market after the auction is finished and when it's opened for everyone at 09:00AM. Then you'll see lots of different fish and sea creatures being sold (mostly to restaurants).
The empty streets of the Tsukiji Market
Didn't know rice could be so good!
Couple of days later I visited Shinjuku and took a quick look at Golden Gai (“Golden District”) which is a tiny area of Shinjuku where they have managed to squeeze in a bunch of tiny bars which usually only seats about 4-5 people. Some of them have 2-3 floors though, but most are on the smaller side. I'd heard so much about it and didn't get to visit it the first time I was in Tokyo so I had to take a look. I'm planning on returning at night to get the full experience in the next couple of weeks.
Golden Gai
My trip to Shinjuku was late on a Friday, so on the sub-way home I decided to jump off at Shibuya and go visit a bar called Tight which a friend had told me about. Turned out to be in an area that used to be called "drunkards alley" but has now since been taken over by a bunch of bars similar to the ones in Golden Gai.
I couldn't see any sign and spent some time looking for it until I realized that the bar was on the second floor. Went up the staircase which took up half the bar space and saw that it only seated 5 people. Since it had just opened I was the first one there but after a few beers I was joined by a german fellow (too drunk to remember the name) and some Americans who were accompanied by one of the bartenders who also worked there. After a few hours and two "snake shots" later we ended up going to a bar called Alcatraz where you actually pay to sit in a prison cell. Next up was a club called Womb which houses up to 3000 people (I think), it has 3 floors and each with it's own type of music. Can't remember if it was good or not ;)
I couldn't see any sign and spent some time looking for it until I realized that the bar was on the second floor. Went up the staircase which took up half the bar space and saw that it only seated 5 people. Since it had just opened I was the first one there but after a few beers I was joined by a german fellow (too drunk to remember the name) and some Americans who were accompanied by one of the bartenders who also worked there. After a few hours and two "snake shots" later we ended up going to a bar called Alcatraz where you actually pay to sit in a prison cell. Next up was a club called Womb which houses up to 3000 people (I think), it has 3 floors and each with it's own type of music. Can't remember if it was good or not ;)
