My Trip to Tokyo

Recently, I visited Japan and just came back and I already miss it. Besides reading, traveling is also a big passion of mine and the trip to Japan was one I was excited for for years. And after finally visiting three cities in Japan, I was taken back at how incredible Japan was.

The three cities I visited were Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka and every one of them was unique in its own experience. First stop was Tokyo and we were right next to Akihabara, the shopping hub of Tokyo. After a long flight, I was glad to finally check in and go to sleep. For me, I find it hard to sleep on flights and needed a full recharge. But the next day, I was up and about and ready to explore.

The first place we went to was Ueno Park and as a New Yorker who visits central park multiple times a year, I was in awe of this incredible park. To fully explore this part can take multiple days and it has a lot to offer. The scenery is breathtaking with a beautiful pond, temples and shrines, and a bunch of musuems. And there are food stalls all around so you can grab a bite or two.

The next major thing on my to-do list was Shibuya Crossing but first we went to Shinjuku Garden and Meiji Jingu Gaien. Seeing a Japanese garden in Japan was fun and it was interesting at how similiar it was to the Japanese Gardens I’ve been to in the United States. There was a lot of walking that day and we ended up walking all the way to Shibuya and while it wasn’t a let down, it didn’t live up to my expectations. Besides being crowded, there are a lot of shops and everything feels sped up and was a big contrast to the serene and peaceful start of of the day.

Our stay in Tokyo was for five days but felt like three because we lost a day because of the time difference and our flight landed late. And we had to leave for Kyoto in the morning of day five. But before leaving for Kyoto, I had reserved tickets for the The Making of Harry Potter in Tokyo and it surpassed all of my expectations. To get there, we had to take a train to Nerima station and walk to the park and as soon as you walk in the park, you see a couple of amazing statues that already let you know that you are in for a treat.

The Making of Harry Potter is a tour/theme park with amazing stuff from the movies. There are a lot of set pieces and a bunch of things to do but for the most part, you will be taking pictures of everything you see around you. The attention to detail and the size of the theme park made it an amazing experience and felt magical.

Besides exploring Tokyo, we also tried many different local restuarants (and a Mcdonald’s out of curiousity) and I was blown away at how incredible the dishes were. All of the dishes included fresh ingrediants and you can tell after one bite. That is something you don’t experience in the U.S. but it Japan, this is the normal. No matter where we went, the food was always fresh and it was pretty cheap. A meal would typically cost as around $10-$15 dollars and you can get even cheaper meals at the local 7-Eleven or the Lawson stores. They are everywhere and very convenient.

Just exploring Tokyo was amazing and I was already impressed and wondered what the other cities of Japan were like. With Kyoto as our next stop, I was thrown back at how different this city was and it became my favorite city as I looked back on my trip. I’ll post that adventure another day because there is a lot to cover.