Thursday, 16 June 2016

Day trip to Tokyo?!

The day after Nara, my family and I had booked the shinkansen to Tokyo. but a lot happened, and we ended up doing a day trip to Tokyo from Kyoto!!

We bought some adorable Konpeito candy for the train, and off we went! We also saw Fuji San on the way there, lucky! It was a tiring day, and although I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, it turns out a Tokyo day trip is indeed possible...

So, here are the places we decided to go, and my tips on how to get the best out of Tokyo in only a day:

Places we went:

Shibuya: Hachiko, scramble crossing and 109

Meiji Jingu

Harajuku (and crepes)

Dinner at Tokyo station

Train home

If We had had more time....

Akihabara

Sensouji/ Asakusa

Shinjuku metropolitan building/ Tokyo Tower

Tips for doing Tokyo in a day:

Don't try and do everything, it will be exhausting and downright impossible. I really wanted to show my sister Harajuku, and so we stuck around the Shibuya/ Harajuku area
The Yamanote line is your best friend! It's JR, so people who have a JR pass can ride for free, and it's a circle so pretty easy to navigate.
Prioritise one or two places only depending on your interests: Obviously if everyone had been a crazy anime fan, we'd have gone to Akiba, but as my parents aren't interested and it's also pretty guy- orientated, we gave it a miss.
If you're going by Hikari, book the train a few days in advance. With Nozomi, you can just book on the day unless there is a national holiday
Make sure to take breaks! I speak from experience when I have spent whole days without eating proper food...
If you're actually going to shop in Harajuku, I wouldn't recommend going on a weekend- Takeshita Dori gets so busy! Try going there on a weekday, but some shops like Nadia open late morning to 12pm so don't bother getting there super early. Also, get off Takeshita dori and check out other streets like Harajuku, and the backstreets. It instantly gets less crowded.
Have fun! You're in one of the world's coolest cities <3