TLDR: 2.5 day stopover in Tokyo turns into one of the most exciting and memorable trips.
Right before the world shut down, in January 2020, my boyfriend (at the time), Ashvin, and I took the most memorable vacation, ending with getting engaged in Thailand - but more on that later! While the star of this vacation was our 2 weeks in Thailand, we decided to extend our stopover in Tokyo, and we were definitely NOT disappointed. While we only were able to explore Tokyo for 2.5 days, we made sure to pack them with as many experiences as we could.
Exploring the City
We went into this trip without a set itinerary and rather just had a list of places to see and played the rest by ear. Looking back, I think Tokyo was the best city to travel this way. There is so much to see and it's such an easy city to navigate; it really is more fun to see where the day takes you!
We stayed at the Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, a solid hotel in the heart of Shinjuku, a huge hub for all things entertaining! We decided to stay in Shinjuku since our #1 priority was being close to the action! Shinjuku was perfect for that. In walking distance, we had fun bars, good restaurants, and just general hustle and bustle. We especially loved the 8-bit cafe which was a cool bar where we could enjoy a drink while playing classic arcade games!
Speaking of arcade games, as a life-long Nintendo fan, the Akihabara Neighborhood was so much fun to explore. This neighborhood basically looked like it was straight out of a video game! The streets were lined with arcades and electronic shops and was an overall fun place to explore and people watch! I will say I was surprised by the number of claw games that lined the streets, it seems that claw games are all they hype in Akihabara. While we didn’t indulge in any claw games, we definitely made our way into a couple arcades to play some Mario Kart.
The last neighborhood we explored was Shibuya. While Shibuya also had a lot of nightlife and great restaurants, similar to Shinjuku, the real exciting part was Shibuya Crossing. We decided to get a prime spot in a window in the Shibuya Station to get a birds eye view of the Shibuya Scramble, when literally all traffic stops to allow pedestrians to cross in any direction they desire. The crossing’s organized chaos was entrancing; we were forced to stay and watch several times!
Outside of exploring the famous neighborhoods in Tokyo, we also hit up a couple of traditional tourist spots. We used the very efficient public transportation to make our way to the Asakusa District to visit the Sensō-ji Temple, which proved itself as one of the most colorful and popular religious buildings in Tokyo. We also trekked out to visit the Gardens of the Imperial Palace. While the Palace itself was closed on the day we decided to explore, the gardens were well worth the visit!
Food Scene
Going into this portion of our trip, I was definitely a little nervous about the food. Everything I heard about Tokyo said it’s very difficult to navigate as a vegetarian. I am happy to report that not only did I not have any difficulty finding food, I LOVED all the food I had.
First and foremost, we had to indulge in some Ramen! While there are definitely vegetarian broth options in Tokyo, I don’t mind meat broth, so we decided to just find a random ramen spot instead of looking for a veggie specific one. We stumbled upon a small ramen shop, which turned out to be the chain Ichiran. While most foodies will tell you that you should enjoy the hole in the wall ramen shops and not to waste your time with the chains, we absolutely loved Ichiran!
We used the same strategy when searching for a sushi restaurant, and walked into a street-side shop.The best part of sushi in Japan is the experience. Every sushi spot in Tokyo is completely different from restaurants in the states. We were walked to two spots along the sushi bar and we simply circled our choices and the chef served us directly. We also ventured for some Gyoza at Gyoza No Fukuho. While there wasn't much for me to enjoy here, Ashvin thoroughly enjoyed his pork Gyoza and still talks about this meal!
Our final memorable meal in Tokyo is one you would not expect on a Tokyo blog - Savoy.
Savoy is a Napoli style pizzeria. This restaurant is nestled in Roppongi and easy to miss. While the outside is unassuming, the food is absolutely delicious! The pizzas are freshly made in their brick oven and really hit the spot. We would happily trek back to Tokyo for another slice of pizza from Savoy. Both Savoy and Gyoza No Fukuho were recommendations from my Sister-in-Law from her many trips to Tokyo.
Night Life
The final and most exciting part of Tokyo to share is definitely the night life. Tokyo has really perfected the art of the “drinking adjacent TM Pending activity”. While there were many fun bars around our hotel that we enjoyed relaxing at, we decided to truly experience the uniqueness that Tokyo has to offer for one night. It was nothing like any night out back home.
We started off by attending the Robot Show in Shinjuku. Prior to our trip we got many mixed reviews of this show and were therefore completely unprepared for what to expect. The night started off with holding all show attendees in a small room with a bar. Ashvin and I decided to enjoy a couple of 9% ABV seltzers (pro-tip alcohol is definitely recommended for this show). After about 30 mins of enjoying our drinks we were escorted to our seats for the main show. Somehow we ended up sitting in the front row, which probably added to our entertainment factor. This “show” was seemingly an ongoing battle of amateaur parade floats with cool lighting and music, designed specifically for the American tourist (the entire show was in English and there was not a single Japanese person in the audience). While the show was cheesy and ridiculous (and honestly objectively terrible) we had an absolute blast. Ashvin and I enjoyed our front row seats making fun of how ridiculous the entire thing was. If you are expecting a robot battle or anything high tech, you will be very disappointed, but if you go into it expecting pure entertainment (or get very drunk like my husband) - this will deliver!
Leaving the robot show with pure exhilaration, we wanted to keep the party going with another activity, but weren’t in a clubbing mood. We found our way to a late night bowling alley arcade. I understand that there are bowling alleys everywhere, but this place was awesome (could partially be explained by the 9% ABV seltzers from above). Everything from the ambiance, lights, music, and people, it all came together for a truly fun experience.
We ended our night with another drinking adjacent activity, batting cages...we were
confused too. Tokyo is known for having baseball and specifically batting cages very ingrained in culture and nightlife. We found our way to the Shinjuku Batting Center, which is open until 4 AM! The batting cages were set up almost like arcades; you started off by exchanging your cash for tokens. The cages were split up by ball speed, you picked which cage you wanted and inserted your tokens. While I was too nervous to make my way into any of the cages after multiple drinks that evening, Ashvin tried all the varying speeds and quickly learned that drinking does indeed impair motor functions.
Overall, even though we were only in Tokyo for a couple of days we truly feel we got to experience so much! We concluded the trip by deciding that we really wanted to come back to Japan and experience all the culture and beauty that the country has to offer.
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