Tokyo Days 1 & 2

On my first full day in Tokyo I went to Ginza with another girl from my hostel room. We checked out the paper and art supply store, Itoya, and the Imperial Palace. Many people run the three mile loop around the palace and consequently we saw a lot of runners.

Next, we checked out Shibuyaand its famous crosswalk. We spent time chatting in the Starbucks that overlooks the crosswalk and it was a nice evening.

Statue of Masashige

Nijubashi Bridge at Imperial Palace

Shibuya cross walk - Famous for always being incredibly packed. Interestingly there wasn't much traffic besides advertisement trucks.

Today I went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatory. I felt a little awkward going into the big government building because I didn't notice any other tourists going in, but once inside there were signs to direct people to the elevator. Before going up, security had to check my bag, and then I crammed into the elevator with some other tourists. The observatory is on the 45th floor. It was so high that my ears popped.

Next, I walked around Shinjuku...a lot...


The directions I got online were wrong, or I misread them or something. Regardless, Shin Okubo is not a short walk from Shinjuku, and I ended up walking around in circles until I asked a police man where to go. Eventually I made my way to the Korea Town of Tokyo and stopped for a kimchi chige lunch. It was so good, and everybody else in the restaurant was speaking Korean, so I'm pretty sure the food was legit.

I ended my day in Akihabara, the electronics district. The way I imagined Akihabara and the way it actually is are totally different. For some reason I didn't imagine it being so dingy and full of men. I swear I saw only five females on the streets while I was there, and all of them were with guys. I guess that's to be expected with the overload of "moe" and maid cafes going on there.

View from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatory

Lunch in Korea Town at Shin Okubo