Andrew Zhao

Waking up in Tokyo#

We woke up a little early again to get ready and get breakfast since we were planning to swap to another hotel for just a night due to some shenanigans that happened while booking. We got breakfast at the other hotel restaurant which was more of a sitdown restaurant instead of the usual buffet style.

I got some natto as well, since one of my subgoals was to get used to natto since I wanted to like it. This time around it was much more doable, which I think was because of the mustard I mixed in. Overall the meal was actually really nice, I really enjoyed having a wide variety of things to eat.

After we finished eating we dropped our stuff off at the new hotel, then took the train to Harajuku to meet up with Friend B and Friend C. We walked around the area, where some of the sakura trees were starting to bloom.

It was really nice accent to the streets while we were walking around!

Friend C wanted to check out the On shoe shop but once we got there we found out that the line to even get in was at least 80 minutes long, which we didn’t want to wait for. Instead we ended up walking through the Harajuku main street instead and doing a loop before ending up at a gyukatsu restaurant for lunch. Surprisingly the wait wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, with the line going down the stairs to the lower level where the restaurant was located, so we got seated pretty quickly!

The gyukatsu itself was pretty good, they lit a candle under a hot plate for us so that we could heat up our pieces before eating them. The staff was really friendly as well, which helped make the experience smooth sailing. We didn’t make the mistake of ordering too much food this time, however I did feel a little sick afterwards.

After eating we took a walk to Ginza to look around the area. We were mostly just taking in the sights, and after we got our fill we decided to go to the Meguro river to see if we could see any sakura trees blooming, since the bank of the river has a lot of trees lining it. Before heading out, we stopped by a Lawson to grab some drinks. It reminded me that I really needed to drink more, since my lips were dry and starting to crack.

We walked some of the way down the riverside, however it seemed like we were still a little too early as only a few trees had started blooming, most still had bare branches. That being said it was still a nice walk, and we hoped that coming back later during full bloom would have a better view.

After being a little disappointed by the lack of flowers, we figured it’d be a good chance to stop by Tokyo Tower since it wasn’t too far away. We walked over and got tickets to go up, and spent some time walking around the two floors.

I really like seeing the night view of the city cause of all the lights! This time I got a picture I really liked of the cars going up and down one of the main roads, with the tower itself being reflected in one of the nearby buildings.

Perhaps it was for the upcoming sakura season but there was a lightshow in the tower that came on while we were there, with animated flowers of various types being projected on the walls and windows, flowing in an imaginary wind.

After we got our fill we decided we may as well get dinner since it was getting late and we were getting hungry. We went to a small omurice restaurant in Shimbashi called Egg Bomb. It was pretty interesting since you order with a QR code like you would in America, but also the receipt has a barcode on it that you use to pay at the cashier machine by yourself as well.

After dinner we went to Shibuya to take a group selfie together in the crossing, then finished up by going to Mega Don Quixote to do some shopping. Apparently Don Quixote seals tax free items in a bag to take out of the country which is kind of inconvenient if you wanted to use the item immediately (e.g. nail clippers).

Friend J was feeling pretty tired so we split ways afterwards and went back to our hotels. My feet were burning since we walked over 25,000 steps, so I tried soaking them in hot water. Another friend told me that you actually should soak it in cold water to reduce inflammation and fatigue first, then following up with hot water to relax the muscles. I decided to keep that in mind for next time!

Thoughts#

Honestly we walked around a lot by my standards, since I normally walk 10,000 to 15,000 steps a day while traveling in Japan. I think I personally prefer taking the train around but it wasn’t all that bad walking around! We covered a lot of ground and hit a bunch of major spots, so it felt like a pretty successful day overall. It was fun hanging out as a group too! I always enjoy having different dynamics while traveling, especially cause I feel like you really get to know other people.

Day 6 Travel Numbers#

~.5 hour and ¥390 yen covered by JR Pass

JR Pass Value after Day 6#

Cost saved: ¥84,270

Time Travelled: ~21.5 hr

Not covered by JR Pass#

Cost: ¥2,620

Total Transportation Time#

Time Travelled: ~22.5 hr