#TRAVEL REPORTS
As the title says, this was a dream come true. My first trip to Tokyo, a city that I love, was a trip that I have planned for many years but I could not make happen, I finally made it thanks to my job last year.
One of the things that happen to me when I visit a city for the first time is that I never forget the first impressions, so that plays an important role in my memories of each city I visit, and Tokyo is one of my favorite cities.
First of all, I have to say, that as an Argentinian that lives in Buenos Aires, the trip to Tokyo is very long and not easy to make, but it is worth it.
I arrived at Haneda Airport, one of the two main airports in Tokyo, the other one is Narita, the benefit of arriving at Haneda Airport is that is in the city, so arriving at your hotel is much easier and fast.
For work reasons I stayed in three different hotels during my days in Tokyo, the first Hotel was in the Chiyoda City district, but next to Akasaka district. I used the Limousine Bus to arrive there, but you can also use the Train and Underground. Read my review of the Limousine Bus here.
The Chiyoda City District.
I stayed the first night at the APA Hotel Pride Kokkaigijidomae, the area where it is located is very quiet, a very nice area, next to the Hie Shrine temple, and just next to Akasaka district, where you can find streets with restaurants and supermarkets but not much more.
The good thing about Tokyo is the connexions you have, you can find an underground or train station that connects to the place you want to go to very easily.
Visiting Akihabara
On my first day, I decided to go to Akihabara district, as said before the metro service is very efficient and easy to use, you can get a ticket in the vending machine and the cost depends on the place you want to go, these machines have different languages so it is easy to get your ticket. The cost of my trip was 170 yens (1,49 USD approx.)
Akihabara is the district where you can find the mayor electronics shops, it is not the only one, but it is the most important for shopping for electronics. Although the shops look big from the outside, they are small inside, some of them having 4 o 5 floors with different types of products, you can find from computers, printers, and all related products, to Cameras, lenses, and accessories for photography.
In the bigger shops, you can find absolutely everything. The variety of products is amazing and if you go with something in mind, buying something can be difficult as the offer is immense.
Read my review of APA Hotel Pride Kokkaigijidomae here.
On my second day I had to change hotels, and I have to say that I was privileged, as my company paid me a stay in the Ritz Carlton Tokyo, an amazing hotel, actually I never stayed in such an expensive Hotel before, and I can say it is worth at least stay once in a hotel like this.
Change of Hotel and stay at the Roppongi District
On my second day I had to change hotels, and I have to say that I was privileged, as my company paid me a stay in the Ritz Carlton Tokyo, an amazing hotel, actually I never stayed in such an expensive Hotel before, and I can say it is worth at least stay once in a hotel like this.
The Hotel is located in the Roppongi district, just next to Roppongi Crossing, in the Tokyo Midtown building, to reach the lobby you need to go up to the 45th floor. My room was on the 50th floor, so the view was really spectacular.
Although I stayed three nights in the hotel and most of my time was working I managed to see the surroundings and I was lucky that the people that organized the meeting for my company took us to several places, including the Tokyo Tower, the Skytree, and Roppongi Hills.
The Tokyo Tower
We had dinner at the Toufuya Ukai restaurant, just below the Tokyo Tower, if you want to taste traditional Japanese food, I recommend this place. The place is very traditional, with Japanese decorations and historic appliances related to the way food was made in the past, along with photos of those times.
The food is excellent, and the service was magnificent, in this matter, I have to say that the service the Japanese people give is always polite and efficient. At least that's how my experience was.
Skytree
This is a visit you must do when traveling to Tokyo. The Skytree is a broadcasting and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo. Its full height is 634 meters. And the views you have from there are amazing.
It has floors in the 340, 345, and 350 meters and 445 and 450 meters. Just taking the ride in the elevator is quite an experience.
We have dinner at the Sky Restaurant 634, on the 345 meters floor. having dinner there is something out of this world. Fantastic food, and amazing views. The food is New Japanese Cuisine, very modern and delicious.
If you don´t want to have dinner, you can enjoy having a coffee in the SKYTREE CAFE, you can find two, one on the 340 meters floor and another one on the 350 meters floor. There are also some shops to buy souvenirs.
Changing hotel again.
Once my meeting was over, I had to change Hotel again, as the company only paid me for three nights, so I looked for a cheaper hotel and I changed district again. This time I went to Shinjuku, a very busy area with a lot of movement, here you can see the typical postcards of Tokyo, with many lights and many people. Although the district has some bad fame, I can say that Tokyo is a very safe city. Shinjuku is more crowded and with the area that is said to be the red zone of Tokyo, Kabukicho, actually, my hotel was a few blocks from there, and I can say that you can walk at any time of the day and night feeling safe.
I stayed at the APA HOTEL SHINJUKU-KABUKICHO TOWER, as said before, the area is very crowded, but the connections to this area are many, very near the Shinjuku Station, one of the busiest stations in Japan, that has connections with many train lines and many metro lines.
In my following days, I visited many of the main districts of Tokyo, like Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Ginza.
Shinjuku
The area of Shinjuku is crowded, but you can find in this area many places of interest, from big electronic shops, many restaurants. In this area you can also find the Golden Gai, this is a small area, which is located in Kabukicho. It is composed of a network of six narrow alleys, connected by even narrower passageways, and it is full of Bars and Restaurants.
You can also find some temples, as the Hanazono Shrine, and the Shinjuku Goyen National Gardens, a very big park of 58 hectares full of gardens, green areas, and greenhouses.
Harajuku District
This area has four main attractions, Yoyogi Park, the Meiji Shrine, Takeshita Street, and Omotesando.
To reach Harajuku is very easy, you have the JR Harajuku Station that leaves you just in front of Takeshita Street, and is very near to one of Yoyogi Park entrances.
But you also have the Meiji-Jingu Mae ‘Harajuku’ Metro Stations that connect with the Chiyoda Line and the Fukutoshin Line.
Yoyogi Park and Meiji Shrine
Getting into Yoyogi Park is like being in the forest, you can not believe you are in the middle of an immense city like Tokyo. Trees, nature, Crows (it is very common to see crows in Tokyo, and during the early morning you can hear them a lot) is all you can see while you walk the park.
Takeshita Street
Getting out of Yoyogi Park, and in front of Harajuku Station is Takeshita Street, a pedestrian shopping street full of fashion boutiques, cafes, and restaurants. It is a very popular tourist attraction and is visited by many Japanese students and youth. A place to see first hand the Japanese urban culture.
Omotesando
This avenue is very near Takeshita Street, the main attraction of Omotesando is the fashion flagship stores within a short distance of each other. So if you are looking for fashionable clothes this is a good area, although expensive. But it also is a very nice area to walk.
Ginza
The main attraction of Ginza is a large number of internationally renowned department stores, boutiques, restaurants, and coffeehouses. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo and it is considered to be one of the most expensive, elegant, and luxurious city districts in the world.
Many metro lines take you to Ginza, depending on the line there are several metro stations, like Ginza Station for lines Ginza Line, Hibiya Line, and Marunouchi Line. And also you have the Higashi-Ginza Station for lines Asakusa Line and Hibiya Line.
Some of the main attractions you can find in Ginza are the Mitsukoshi department store, the Sony Building, Kabuki-za theater, and the Ginza Six shopping complex (the newest shopping center in Ginza).
Ginza is ideal if you are looking for fashion.
Tokyo is a huge and fantastic city, full of culture, modernity and very kind people. It is a trip that you need to do.
