Day 1- Entering Tokyo and Exploring Japan

Day 1: みなさん、こんにちは。日本からのご挨拶です。

We have arrived, landing at Narita International Airport just after 12pm thursday April 10th. You’ll know why in just a bit why i want to emphasize the size of the city and the mass transit. But first, a little history on Tokyo, the capital and most populous city in Japan. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes parts of six neighboring prefectures and 23 special wards (like buroughs in NYC), is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with 41 million residents. It was originally founded at least 2,000 years ago, and was first known as Edo. There was a massive earthquake and fire in 1923, killing over 100,000 people, followed by Workd War 2 which destroyed a majority of the city. The city was rebuilt, is the economic and political center of the country. It’s got an incredible transportation system with over 60 subway, tram, light rail and monorail lines. The transit system carries over 40 million passengers daily.

It’s also home to the world famous Tokyo Giants baseball team who play at the Tokyo Dome.Narita International is located about 70 kilometers from the City Center and had over 38 million passengers last year. There are subway and bus lines, an express high speed rail, helicopters, private cars, and of course taxis. Taxis are crazy expensive. A ride from airport to the city center was US $272 and would’ve taken 1.5 hours.

We chose the limo bus, cost round US $18 each, same time frame.

Our hotel was located by the Tokyo Big Shot, the big convention center located on Tokyo Bay. It’s connected to a train station, a must when staying here. The amount of walking and the stairs are something else, let me tell you. My dogs are barking! After showering and settling in, it was just after 3pm. Time to check out the town. Now, to navigate the system. We bought a 3 day unlimited subway visitor pass for all the transit lines for US $10, or so we thought. Welp, come to find out, it did not include any JR/JA/JY lines. We ended up having to get a Suica Card too.

For those in the know, it’s currently Sakura season (Cherry Blossom) in Japan, with the full bloom happening last week. I found online an area that still had 70% of its bloom that hadn’t fallen or blown off. It was in the midtown area, known as Roppongi. After some confusion, rush hour congestion and 2 transit lines, we arrived at midtown garden. Side note: All the men wear blue or black suits, with a white shirt. No one speaks in transit, it’s dead silent. The elderly get seats. And the subway cars are PACKED. Like sardines.

Roppongi is one of Tokyo’s high end areas, with Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Prada mixed in with Don Quiote and 7-11. The weather was overcast and breezy but comfortable in the mid-60s. Sunset was just after 6pm, so we got to see the city light up. I would say come alive, but the bustle is intense, everywhere.

We walked along 200m avenue lined with cherry blossoms in the Garden Area. There’s music and food, and the trees are lit up in pink. Gorgeous!Back on the train we went, heading over to the heart of the City, Shinjuku. This is one of the biggest train stations in the world, there is nothing like it in the US.

We walked over to the Metropolitan Government Building-2, which has nightly projections on the towers. It was then a 20 minute hike to shinjuku-dori avenue, akin to Broadway and Times Square in NYC.

The specific area was Kabukicho, which has the nightlife. The goal, to see the Godzilla head at the Hotel Gracery on the Shinjuku Toho Building. It depicts Godzilla, occasionally with glowing eyes and smoke.pretty awesome.

Last spot for the evening, the famous 3D cat billboard overlooking the square.

With all the billboards around, slightly underwhelming. Now, it was time for food. Nothing crazy, just some pork chops and rice, overlooking the crowds. Back in the subway we go, it was 1030, and let’s see if we can rest. We did stop at the 7-11 at at our hotel, got snacks (including this delicious Dandy Yankee waffle/ice cream/chocolate thing).Check out the view from our room! Night y’all, it’s time to rest. #roppongi#sakurablossom#shinjuku#tokyo#japan‍ ‍#Asia2025