Japan diaries – Tokyo suburbs

It was the trip of a lifetime – one month in Japan over the cherry blossom season. From the blooming pink sakura trees and delicious food to the cute stationery and fascinating culture, a holiday to Japan was a must for me and my husband.

Our ight departed from Auckland, had a brief stop in Sydney, then carried on to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Including our nearly two-hour layover in Sydney, it took us a bit longer than 14 hours to get from the Land of the Long White Cloud to the Land of the Rising Sun.

We arrived at 5.50am to a busy, bustling airport. We were guided through passport control and customs, and nally made it outside. Our rst day was admin – dropping o suitcases, learning the ropes when it comes to train travel, and getting used to the language.

A few trains, a bit of confusion, and maybe an overtired tear or two later, we nally checked into our rst hotel and – more importantly – a hot shower. By that time, we showered, found the closest convenience store for dinner (190m, if anyone was curious, with the next closest was 350m in case you needed some variety), and collapsed into our beds.

By rail

e next day was dedicated to exploring the wider Tokyo area, and even then we only reached two or three places. A quick walk to the underground train station, a bit of Google Translate, and a train or two later, we were in Shibuya. If I’m honest, we got a bit overwhelmed with the sheer amount of people; Tokyo is home to nearly 14 million people and Shibuya Station sees more than three million passengers daily.

We picked up our pre-arranged Japan Rail Passes and got ourselves a Pasmo card for catching trains, then headed out of the station and into the light. We got our bearings and found ourselves inside a typical Japanese arcade, complete with ashing lights, ve di erent music tracks playing simultaneously, and more toys and trinkets than I could count.

A few hundred yen down the tubes and we walked out empty-handed.

Wallets lighter and stomachs growling, it was time for lunch. Google Maps directed us to a well-rated a ordable sushi restaurant where we sat at a round bench with our sushi chefs in the middle. Once they’d masterfully crafted the sushi, they popped it on a plate and threw it down on a conveyor belt, which slowly trundled its way past each patron until it found a willing mouth. Conveyor belt sushi was a novel experience, and a great way to try a bunch of di erent avours for a fraction of the price.

Shibuya Crossing

e world-famous, ‘busiest pedestrian intersection in the world’, Shibuya Crossing was just down the hill from the sushi restaurant, so we decided it was time to take part in the pandemonium. What a rush!

Everybody crowds the sidewalks on every side of the road, eyes trans xed on the lights, waiting for that little green man to appear, and once he does… BAM! Everyone surges forward, bodies sliding past each other seamlessly in every direction – unless you’re a gawky tourist. e trick, it seemed, was to constantly be in motion; stopping seemed to cause more chaos and almost confuse locals. I went into the Crossing expecting it to be something like Queen St in Auckland but it was much busier and, being Japan, much more exciting of course.

e rest of the day was spent ducking into shops, peeking into restaurants, and getting a general lay of the land. We stopped brie y in Shinjuku to have a peek, got ourselves lost, and then made our way back to our hotel suburb.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed and still a bit jetlagged, we visited the convenience store to pick up dinner and got ourselves some shut-eye for another exciting day tomorrow.