Travel Diaries: Tokyo
Last weekend was yet another three day weekend in our school year, possibly the last one for a while. I decided to go to my old stomping grounds Tokyo. I kept this a low-key trip by only telling a few friends because there some areas that I wanted to visit while I was there. I just want to say, as much as I’d to think I know this city really well, I really don’t. (All locations will be listed below)
This time around, I stayed in a small hostel located in a quiet part of Shinbashi. I’ve been to Japan and lived in Japan for a few years, this was actually my first hostel experience. In the past, I’ve usually stayed in a hotel with my parents or an AirBnb with an SO (at the time) or with friends. The one I chose came highly rated on Booking.com and also Google Maps, and the price for the days I would be there were a steal, most likely due to the fact I booked a month before I would travel. I had been to Shinbashi many times but I never really ventured out past the station. There were so many more restaurants I saw just on the way to hostel my first night there. The sleeping area were comprised of rather spacious cubbie holes with futons about the same size as a single bed, a lamp on the inside, and a curtain at the entrance of the cubbie hole for privacy. The bathrooms were well kept and I imagine cleaned daily in the early AM hours. The elderly woman running the hostel was really nice and quite knowledgeable. I could swear I heard her speaking German on my last night there. I highly recommend for anyone just looking for a place to sleep and not worried about no privacy.
During this trip, I went to a few new places but in areas that I’ve been to before. One being the Alice on Wednesday store located in between Harajuku and Omotesando. I always wanted to go to this store but would always forget to look for it while I was in Tokyo. I was very surprised that it was hidden away on a street that I had walked past many times before. If you’ve ever seen the short video of Alice on Wednesday, it’s exactly as advertised. You walk through a tiny door in the front, often tended by a security guard. Because it was still winter when I had gone, the bottom floor gets a nice draft from outside, but as you wander further up to the second and third floors, they have the heater blasting in your face on high. The first floor of AoW is food omiyage. This brand pays very close attention to details because almost all the packaging were to designed as pop-up storybooks. I’m not sure about you but sorry Marie Kondo, I’d horde all the packaging because it’s too pretty to throw away. The second floor is jewelry and small accessories like notebooks, folders, files, glasses cases, etc. And then the third floor was larger accessories like bags, umbrellas, but what really stood out to me were the antique-looking pocket watches, stored in a glass case. I have a recurring tendency to lose one of my watches so this would totally come in handy for someone like me.
Another place I crossed off my list of places to go was one of those 7-level matcha ice cream places, specifically Nanaya Aoyama in Shibuya. I do love me some matcha, actually for a few years, I used to be obsessed with matcha omiyage, mostly in chocolate form. This slowly grew to a love of all things tea flavored in chocolate or ice cream form (except for rose teas, those taste like soap). I still love matcha sweets but in moderation. I knew I wouldn’t be getting the level 7 matcha because I’m not a huge fan of bitter things. I opted for the 3 flavor ice cream and got level 2 matcha, brown rice tea flavor, and their milk flavor. The level 2 matcha was perfect for me. Not too sweet but not too bitter, and had the perfect amount of matcha flavor. I’d like to go back when it’s slightly warmer and not 32°F weather and snowing.
Oh yeah, did I forgot to mention? It snowed while I was in Tokyo. I have only really seen snow about 3 or 4 times in my life. I’ve probably seen it one or two times while visiting my relatives in Vancouver, once when I studied abroad four years ago, and last weekend. It usually doesn’t get cold enough in Tokyo to snow but it snowed on the Saturday and Monday I was there. I was worried that the snow would affect my flight going back to Oki but it merely delayed my flight by 35 minutes.
Although it snowed on Saturday, Sunday experience really beautiful sunny weather. It was still cold but warm if you moved around enough. I decided to go to one of the teamLab exhibits, specifically the Planets one. You can find at least three of these exhibits in Tokyo but highly recommended to buy tickets in advanced as they do sell out quite quickly. I wanted to go to the Borderless one but that one was completely sold out last week, and I almost bought tickets for the weekend after had I not double checked my order. I highly recommend going to one of these exhibits. I originally thought that teamLab were the same people who did the Art Aquarium in Nihonbashi but that is done by a different company. In any case, both are highly recommended. There is just something eerily soothing about visiting a motion graphic art exhibit.
The Planets exhibit is located right outside the second to the last stop on the Yurikamome line which is Shin-Toyosu. It is recommended to buy tickets online in advance instead of waiting the day of because there is a high chance that the time slots will sell out. Also recommended to get there early before your time slot begins because there will still be a line when you go. Expect to wait about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on what day you go. I went on a Sunday but the line wasn’t all too bad for me. The Planets exhibit is the one where you will be walking in water. I had known this and opted out of wearing fleece lined leggings that day, although I realized after I should’ve just worn them. The reason being, the exhibit offers free rental shorts for people who need them. There are lockers at the entrance before you enter the exhibit where you can lock all your valuables inside which was super convenient. The exhibit also gives you clear plastic cases to put your smartphone inside so you don’t accidentally drop it in the water. These plastic cases were to be returned when you leave the exhibit. These people have thought of everything!
One of the most common things about motion graphic exhibits is that the lights are usually completely off. If you’re someone like me who has slight night blindness, it may be better to go with someone else who can actually see in the dark. There were some areas that were separated by just a black curtain, which made it really hard to find, so be careful not to trip over yourselves! It’s also better to go with someone if you’re obsessed with getting those insta-worthy shots.
One area I wandered into while trying to get to the Oedo Line was Shiodome station. I had once visited this station when it was fairly new and stayed in a hotel in the area when I was 16. I remember it being in a glass building and the lobby located on the 25th floor rather than being on the ground floor. It was the first time in almost 15 years since I’ve been to this area, so I was amazed to see how much the area had expanded and the buildings filled with stores and restaurants. I definitely would’ve walked around more if I had the time.
That’s the thing about Tokyo; no matter how much I feel like I know this city really well, places and neighborhoods always change. I always try to explore areas I’ve never been to before but it’s always worth going to places you have been to before because you never know when you’ll discover something new.