Before traveling to Tokyo, I had all these expectations:
- I would see harajuku girls walking around the street.
- I would not be able to afford anything.
- I would see Hello Kitty plastered everywhere.
- Sushi/tempura/udon would rain down upon us like manna from heaven.
Honestly, I think we went to the wrong places. I thought it would be loud, wild and vibrant like what you see in the movies (pardon me, I know this sounds ignorant) but it turned out to be a lot more ordinary than I expected. It was just like any city, albeit a cleaner, more efficient and organized one. Hence, I didn’t feel as if I got the true Tokyo experience. Often, I found myself thinking “This is it? This is all Tokyo has to offer?” There were so many places we didn’t get to visit (Shibuya, for instance) that left me wanting more. I think it was the tour we chose, it was focused primarily on shopping and not so much on sightseeing. It’s okay. Perhaps one day I can go back.
However, I must say, the food was TERRIFIC. I have to give it to them, the Japanese love food and for good reason. My brother and I came prepared to chow down so we spent most of our time foodtripping.I have gained 5 pounds. No joke.
We left Manila early morning. Dad bought Economy Comfort seats so we could relax for the 3-hour flight. The food was decent. I like Delta’s mini-tv’s. I got to catch up on Suits (one of my favorite shows) and snooze a bit. Arrival at the airport made me nostalgic. I used to stop over at Narita a lot en route to New York. The difference is, now I get to step out of the airport.
Backstory — We joined a tour called Scenic Japan. The local travel agency was Rakso Travel. Their Japanese affiliate was Travelliance Global. I will blog my comments about the tour separately.
Scenes from the bus
First Stop – Toyota Megawebs! Since we are in the car industry, I was quite curious about this. I thought it would be really entertaining and informative (like an interactive museum). However, it turned out just to be a glorified showroom where you can see ALL of Toyota and Lexus’ vehicle lineup and even test drive some vehicles. It was interesting in a way because we rarely get to look at vehicles we don’t sell but more than that, there’s not much else.
The Famous 86 (Identical to the Subaru BRZ)
After walking around a bit, we lost interest and ventured towards the nearby mall – Venus Fort. While our companions hit the shops, we went searching for food. We were hungry.
Meal #1 in Tokyo – Udon. Maybe we were a combination of hungry and excited but I rank this as my best meal in the entire trip.
My food – Beef Udon. SO GOOD. SO SO SO GOOD. I could happily eat this forever. I’m not even that big of an Udon fan but I loved this. That’s how good it was.
Parents’ meal – Karaage Udon. They loved this as well. They liked that the chicken stayed crunchy, the broth wasn’t greasy and was really flavorful.
Brother got Cold Soba + Tempura meal. I was so busy eating my food I didn’t even bother with his. He finished it all though (not surprising) and rated it quite highly.
After Venus Fort, we head to another mall called Diver City. (Why are you taking us to so many malls?)
Right when we walked in, we saw a Hello Kitty Store (expectation #3, fulfilled) selling these cute H. Kitty pastries. They are like pancakes but filled with your choice of custard, chocolate or cream cheese. We bought these, twice. They were so cute my dad felt bad for eating them. But no lies, they were really good, not too sweet and great to munch on while walking around the mall. I had way too much though that I had a stomachache after. Might have been the H. Kitties waging a war in my digestive track.
DiverCity is also known for its life-size statue of Gundam. We aren’t aficionados but we were curious so we went to check it out. Holy cow. It’s big.
Most of our time in DiverCity was spent just passing the time, waiting for dinner. We walked around the shops, found cool things like these giant Pocky snacks and fish-shaped postcards. No joke. The Japanese think of the most random things.
Dinner was at an AMERICAN BUFFET. I was aghast. We DID NOT go to Tokyo just to eat American Food. There are no words for how poor a decision this was. Shame on you tour operator, how can you take us to an American Buffet? That’s just offensive. We’re in the mecca of legendary culinary dishes and you take us to an American Buffet?! Terrible. Just. Terrible. I was really annoyed. We were glad that we had udon at the Food Court otherwise we would have been livid at this crappy restaurant selection. Worse, they rushed us and only let us eat for an hour. We had to be back at the hotel by 8:30. Something about how the driver had to sleep to get up early the next day. This made me doubly grumpy. First American Buffet and then you tell me my driver is a diva. What the heck.
What I wish we had for dinner
Leaving the Mall, we saw a Rainbow Bridge..
Around 9pm, we finally check into the Metropolitan Hotel in Ikebukuro. Room 1921, pictured below. Don’t stay in room 1901. It’s so small. Not for the claustrophobic.
We’re all exhausted but dad, brother and I venture out in search of dessert and coffee. Brr. So cold.
We find a cute little cafe called Italian Tomato to have some cake.
After that, we called it a night. Stay tuned for Day 2.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
