First Time in Tokyo (2015)

After 5 months, we’ve finally reached Tokyo! Yipee to us! ^___^ I still have around 3 blog posts to share before I conclude my Japan Chronicles. So, this post is all about our first night in Tokyo arriving from Nagoya.

It was around 4:30 in the afternoon when my friends and I arrived at Tokyo’s Shinagawa Station. From there, we transferred to the JR Yamanote Line so we could reach Shin-Okubo where our hotel is located. Tokyo Plaza Hotel is just 3 minutes away from the station and it was so easy to find. I was silently thanking the universe we arrived safely in Tokyo without any hassles 🙂

I only realized Japan is huge when we were there. When you look at their railway and subway system operated by several companies, you will definitely think it is completely incomprehensible. But you won’t believe how they manage it efficiently on a daily basis. Trains are never late, if they are, it is only for a minute or two. SRSLY. Whoever designed this system must have a serious case of OCD. And for some reason, I find Tokyo Railway System easier to understand than in Osaka especially if you stay around the JR Yamanote Line. 

Anyhow, this was our room in Tokyo Plaza Hotel where we stayed for three nights. Crazy isn’t it? All their rooms are plastered with Kpop idols so if you are not a Kpop fan, you will find it very annoying. Haha. But in terms of service, I highly recommend it!

Like I mentioned, the hotel is just a short walk from Shin-Okubo station and it is very easy to find. When you see McDonald’s near the station, just cross the street and walk for about 3 minutes. There are plenty of restaurants and convenience stores in the neighbourhood. The room is very clean though a bit small. The room has basic essentials like TV, mini fridge and telephone. The only thing I did not like is that there is no elevator going up to the reception area. I was carrying a huge luggage at that time and I was really tired when we arrived. But all in all, we had a good stay and will definitely stay again when I come back to Tokyo.

At around 5:30 in the afternoon, we went out to explore Shibuya and to eat Ramen. It was rush hour and I could not believe I get to experience it on our first day in Tokyo! We were on the JR Yamanote Line going to Shibuya and every two minutes, more people are packed onto the trains like sardines. It was madness and fun at the same time! 

We existed Shibuya Station and we walked towards the direction of Shibuya Crossing, said to be the world’s busiest intersection. Buildings are filled with giant video screens, people coming from ALL directions at once, masses of business suited professionals zombieing their way and kawaii Japanese girls giving out flyers – all these gave me a ‘I am really in Tokyo!’ feels! Lol. It was truly an awesome sight! 

After an hour of walking around, we found a random Ramen house along Shibuya 109. We were welcomed by this odd vending machine. It turns out, most Ramen houses in Japan uses vending machines to take customers orders. You have to press a button with the picture of what you want (or think you are getting haha) which is a bit tricky because you actually don’t know what it is! Vending machines are written only in Japanese and some of them don’t even have pictures. Lucky us, it has pictures but there were no english description. 

So I just based my order on the pictures. I inserted my coins, pressed the button, and got my ticket which the staff took. After 10 minutes, our big badass bowls of Ramen arrived. My Ramen tasted really good I finished eating after 5 minutes! My friend Jett did not finish hers because it was too spicy. Sayang!

We decided to go back to the hotel before midnight. It was a really tiring day for us we slept as soon as we arrived in the hotel. I guess the Kim Hyun Joong pillows helped. Lol.