A pre-covid vlog for Tokyo
1. Capsule Hotel
Japan is well known for its capsule hostels. And also the more spacious variant called the cabin hotels. It’s important to ensure that your hostel has lockers that fit suitcases as this was not the case at one I stayed at – Which had lockers the size of shoes only! Hostels can be reasonably safe but common sense dictates you watch out for your belongings at all times.
2. Festivals
Or rather parades seem to occur abundantly throughout Japan, there are several online timetables, best thing is to do a thorough web search, and be willing to use translate on Japanese website
3. Meiju Jingu
Is a Shinto Shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. It is a real retreat back to nature in the middle of the bustle of Tokyo. It has tons of culture/history and thing to read and see. And the odd wedding occurs here too. There are some small food shops and a gift store
4. Tempura
Battered fried goods…hmm…often lambasted as not being so good for you. Simply, there is just a lot less caloric guilt attached to a Pumpkin Tempura or an Okra Tempura – So I definitely indulged accordingly.
5. Lunchbox
Japan has some of the best lunchboxes – The shocking part is that many of these are on the small dingy shops on train platform and stations.
6. Sweet Snacks
Asia as a whole has a totally different sweet tooth. The flavours are very complex and deep. The Sweet potato or Sesame latte for example, so different to what we get in the west and in my opinion totally divine. Also, the red bean flavour is another great one which was not mentioned in the video
7. Sesame Café
Truly I have developed a love for Sesame. I will be going back each time I visit Tokyo that’s for sure – A huge selection of treats – It felt like I was in a adult version of a kids candy store
8. Chidoragafuchi Boats
Sadly, on the two times I have been to Tokyo I arrived on a Monday, when the boats are not available, the lake looks absolutely stunning and I can only imagine how fun boating on it would be.
9. Shinkjansen
There are a range of passes, that can make the Shinkansen very cheap – Foreigners can get big discounts on weekly passes. I took a weekly Business class pass and used this to explore the whole of southern Japan.
10. Travel out of Japan
There are so many great places to see in Japan, I was fortunate enough to go to a few Volcano’s, Ryokans (traditional Japanese style hotel) and see some incredible spots of nature and culture