Japan Part 1

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Tokyo Part 1

Due to the heat in Thailand I made plans to arrive to Japan three weeks earlier and it was absolutely worth it! The minute I landed in Tokyo I felt a sense of relief as I don’t have to worry about mosquitoes and the dreadful heat anymore. The weather in Tokyo through out my stay was the best weather I could get during my entire trip.

Reunion

Matt

Matt is a good friend of mine from back at home and is living his dream in Japan by teaching English. He knew a bit of Japanese so he was the translator whenever there was a communication issue (there were many). One of my highlights of Japan was just meeting up with Matt and drinking some Suntory Strong Zero (The drink is absolutely amazing and sadly only sold in Japan. It is 9% alcohol drink that has many different flavours and it is a cheap way to get tipsy) while walking (this is taboo in Japan but we were foreigners so they didn’t care).

Clubbing Part 1

Personally I’m not much of a clubber and I’ve only been once back in Toronto but I’ve always wanted to try something new. Also Matt wanted to go clubbing, so I agreed to tag along and as soon as I arrived to Tokyo, we made plans to go clubbing my second day in Tokyo. There are a few clubbing districts in Toyko and we decided on Roppongi because it was the foreigner area. We ended up at a club called IBEX-TOKYO and it was quite small but I had a great time because it was a rap club where you can request songs (I’m weirdly attached to the song “Life Style by Young Thug”). Something interesting Matt told me was that a way for clubs to attract more people they would hire PR girls to attend the clubs for a few hours so it can get more guys (Maybe this is for every club).

I was so gone when that picture was taken

Clubbing Part 2

The following weekend me and Matt decided to try out a local club called “Atom Tokyo” and it was absolutely huge. It had 4 floors, each with different music and the DJs on each were really good. They even had lockers in the club to store your belongings and the top floor was just a chilling floor where you can take a break from dancing. While using the elevator at the club with Matt there were a group of Japanese girls that were also in the elevator and they said “foreigners look scary” in Japanese. The funny part is that Matt knew enough Japanese to understand that and that made my night. The conclusion from all this clubbing is that I’m personally not a fan still but it can be fun when you go with a certain group and if you go into the club with the mentality to dance then it makes it A LOT more enjoyable.

Atom club

Clitza

Clitza from the Taiwan Youth hostel was also in Japan working as a babysitter for a few months before going to Australia and she was my personal tour guide of Japan. We met up a few times during my stay and she showed me some secret non tourist spots that were really unique.

At Yoyogi park. Usually at Yoyogi park there are festivals every week. When I was there it was the Thai festival.
I was lucky enough to be in Tokyo when the Kanda Matsuri festival was happening. Every neighborhood has their own shrine and apparently I was told they compete with each other to see who has the better shrine.

Accommodations

Below are the pros and cons for each accommodation I stayed at

GRIDS NIHOMBASHI EAST HOTEL + HOSTEL

I booked my stay at the GRIDS NIHOMBASHI EAST HOTEL + HOSTEL for two weeks and i definitely stayed too long. I was afraid if I liked the hostel and decided to extend my stay I wouldn’t be able to. This was what happened in Taiwan and so I decided to pick the top rated hostel that was available and book for the long term.

Pros
* Staff was very nice and everything was very clean
* Cheapest capsule hostel
* Bi-weekly hostel events (Like making your own Gyoza or Takoyaki)
* Even though I didn’t try their breakfast because I never woke up on time, it smelt really good.
* I had a good time sleeping but if you wanted to sleep in there would be cleaners that start pretty early
* Subway was nearby and it was in a very nice quiet neighbourhood
Cons
* Lockers are tiny
* Smallest capsule I’ve stayed in and there wasn’t an area to dry your clothes so I made a makeshift hanger in my capsule
* It was more of a hotel than a hostel and I felt like most hostels I’ve stayed in while in Japan were very quite. Maybe I just went during low season. I did meet some amazing people in the hostel but it was not often
* I personally didn’t like how the social lounge was on the second floor because I feel like it is easier to meet people near the lobby
* Chairs don’t have a backrest so good luck reading

Making homemade Takoyaki at Grid

MyCUBE by MYSTAYS Asakusa Kuramae

After staying in a tiny capsule for so long I decided I wanted something nicer and I booked a stay at MyCube. Even though it wasn’t a private room, the capsule were huge and you can stand up inside it. This definitely wasn’t marketed as a hostel but I still met some people in the lobby.

Image result for mycube by mystays asakusa kuramae
Google Picture

Pros
* The capsule was very spacious and it was very quiet
* The lobby area had really comfy seats
* Washroom had a bunch of free amenities and was very clean
* Towel/Robe refill everyday
* Big locker
* I had a good time sleeping but if you wanted to sleep in there would be cleaners that start pretty early
* Very near to Asakusa
Cons
* Can be pricey without the discount

New people

Amit

I met Amit at the Grids hostel and we just started talking in the common room about our trip. He was the first new person I met in the hostel and I invited him to go get some food because we were both free that day. Amit is from Kuwait and works as a firefighter on the boats. I had a great time listening to his stories back home about his job and Kuwait. It definitely made me want to go to the middle east after he spoke really highly about the food there. Also, I’ve never seen the desert before so it would be cool to check it out. While Amit was in Toyko he discovered this robot game that he got addicted to and when I played it, I instantly got hooked. It was the funnest arcade game Ive played in a while. You sit in cock pit and when you move in game the chair moves as well so it made it 100x better. We got addicted and I even got a card to save my progress.

On our way to the Katana museum there was a beautiful garden with a bunch of Turtles
In the zone
Gundam Museum in Odaiba
Unicorn Gundam in Odaiba
Statue of Liberty in Japan because why not?
We found this amazing Jazz bar called “Jazz Bar Intro”

After being in Asia for so long I was really craving Kebabs and I suggested to Amit we go find some. I looked for the best middle eastern restaurant that served Kebabs in Tokyo and we landed at a restaurant called “Pao Caravan Sarai”. At first the decor of the restaurant seemed promising but as soon as we got our food we immediately noticed the portions were tiny and it lacked the tenderness of what you would usually get. I guess the first red flag was the cooks were Japanese.

I will definitely be visiting Kuwait to meet up with Amit again or hopefully be able to meet-up with him somewhere else in the world.

Annina

Annina is Clitza’s friend that she met from a meetup and she invited her to come to the imperial palace tour because she had an extra spot. Annina is from Finland and she is doing a school exchange in Japan. She told me it is all paid for by the government and I didn’t know much about Finland at that point, so it really surprised me. Near the end of the tour Clitza had to leave because of work and since I had an abundance of time I invited Annina to hang out. Clitza recommended us go to the government building in Shinkuju for the city view of Tokyo and it was free. We also got some really good udon after the government building.

Shinjuku Government Building

Shin

We met at the Takoyaki event hosted at Grids hostel and I invited him a meetup event because he was free. Shin is from Germany in a town near Cologne and he quit his previous career to travel around Asia while he decides on his new career path. When I met him he was traveling within Japan for a few months and plans to work at a farm in Sapporo. Shin was in Sapporo a few months before I came to Tokyo and he warned me how desolate the hostel situation is there and so that was very helpful because I will be spending quite a bit of time over there. We met up for food a few times and it was very interesting seeing him traveling to different parts of Japan, while I do the same. The next time I hit up Germany I would love to meet up with him again.

Solo Travel

During my time in Japan, I’ve spent most of my time going on solo excursions because the hostels I were staying at were not really social and it was low season. Here is a collection excursions I went on:

Since I had so much free time in Tokyo, I searched for many places to read and found myself near the Imperial Palace Garden often.

Food

First day I was in Tokyo, I had to get my Ichiran fix with a cold beer of Asashi. Honestly after traveling for 3 months and trying different beers around Asia, I personally like Japanese beer in Japan.
Akasaka Ittenbari. Marc’s favourite ramen place and apparently the spicy miso is a must have.
Yayoiken. Popular chain restaurant in Japan that offers a traditional Japanese breakfast. If you want a healthy (I know there is a lot of sodium) breakfast then I recommend this place.
Rokurinsha. Located in Toyko Station in the Ramen district was insanely hard to find but the dipping ramen was delicious and worth the line up
Gyukatsu motomura. I went here 5x when I was in Japan and would keep going back if I stayed any longer. You get a small personal grill to grill your beef to your liking or you can eat it raw.
Sumo food beside the sumo arena. I went with Amit when we tried getting tickets for Sumo (You need to line up at 6am for tickets). The food was good and was obviously carb heavy
Curry Udon Senkichi Shinjuku Koshu Kaido. I went with Annina after the government building because the popular udon places around this restaurant was packed. Even though the restaurant was empty, the udon was delicious.
Ethiopia. An Indian curry restaurant with Japanese flavours. There was a huge lineup and even though the curry was good I would not wait again.
Curry Bondy. Clitza showed me this place and told me it won the best curry in that neighbourhood. I thought it was the best curry I had in my life because the sweetness and tenderness of the beef paired perfectly. I will say though, the second time I went the beef wasn’t as tender.
Ippudo Ramen. A competitor to Ichiran Ramen and has many stores around the world. The ramen was good but I personally still prefer the style of ramen served at Ichiran.
Sapporo Dominica. This place is perfect when you are sick, which I was in Tokyo. They serve soup curry which is just a soupier version compared to the traditional curry and is a traditional meal up in Sapporo. I got the hamburger curry (Japanese people love burgers) and it was a flavour explosion. I suggest getting more rice if you go. Even though it doesn’t compare to the soup curry in Sapporo it was still really good.

BRB Going to HK

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Published by frankiettravels

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