By our 5th busy day in Tokyo, I was super tired (and a little grumpy) – I was thankful that we took it easy each morning and didn’t try to put in a full 12hr each day! Our agenda for the day: Harajuku, Meji Shrine, and Yoyogi Park.
On Monday, we , made it out of the house around 12:30 and headed straight to the Harajuku area to see the Meji Shrine. It was a decent shrine, but kind of a let-down after the things I saw in Kyoto. We walked around the grounds quite a bit, enjoyed the gardens, and had a quick pop in to Yoyogi Park before we realizing we desperately needed food!
Sake Barrels
Back towards the Harajuku subway stop, we grabbed a quick bite and a snack (chocolate croissants-thank you Kylee) before heading back to the park. We thought about doing some shopping in Harajuku (it is super-famous for it) but it was an absolute madhouse – neither one of us was in the mood for that shit (NOPE!). We walked around the park a bit and enjoyed the peaceful scenery. It was really nice to see so many people out enjoying the weather and such a diverse group of people too!
We did catch a really cool performance by some 1950s Rockabilly Dancers and I was able to take a bit of video. *I’m a newbie with video, so please bear that in mind!*
Afterwards, we headed to Shinjuku to check out the area and grab dinner. The place was absolute sensory overload – I’m really glad we decided to stay someplace a bit more quiet!
We grabbed a few (expensive) pints at an Irish pub and set off to find Gachi–the absolute BEST food we’ve had so far – Kudos to my Daegu crew for the recommendation.
After dinner, we headed home to rest our achy feet (we put in another 8mi walking that day) and mentally prepare for our next adventure: Odaiba and Tokyo Tower!
*Check out my first few days in Tokyo: Asakusa & Akihabara / Asakusa & Shibuya / Ueno Park and Tokyo Zoo / Tokyo Skytree and Asakusa Tanabata Festival!
Yeah I also dislike shopping in utter chaos. However, that food looks super yummy enough to make up for it! Can’t wait to hear about the Tokyo Tower 🙂
It’ll be out tomorrow! Can’t beat the good food 🙂
My husband lived in Japan for 3 years and really wants us to go back. It’s hard to imagine all of the lights and people!
I want to try Gachi it looks so good!!!! And I completely get it when you travel you always end up walking so much more than you expect because there’s so much to see 🙂
Yes – Gachi was the absolute best thing I ate that entire trip!! So glad we did walk that much – walked off all the food we ate haha 🙂
Fantastic – saving this for our trip to Tokyo in January! There just seems like SO much to see and do there in this city that I know we will run out of time very quickly, we already can’t see everything we had hoped to. Sigh! Just means we’ll have to come back another year…
The city is so very big, it will be difficult to fit everything in!! What area of town will you be staying in?
I only spent a few hours on a layover in Tokyo and it left me wanting more! Gotta go back to Japan one day – thanks for this post!
Thanks for reading! Tokyo is a fantastic city – hope you can make it back someday 🙂
that video was funny, i bet it was so surreal coming across that haha!
It really was! The best part is that it was a family-type outing, there were kids getting involved too 🙂
It sounds like Tokyo is pretty overwhelming! No wonder I’m intimidated by the prospects of traveling in Japan 😛
There was a moment where I thought I’d be spending the whole time alone – that definitely scared me. But, after being there the first day by myself, I realized that it really was ok. If you do choose to go to Japan, I recommend Kyoto/Osaka – much less daunting for your first try 🙂
I’ve only been to Japan for work several years ago. Already had a ticket to Tokyo last year but had to call it off because I got sick. Now, this post makes me want to be in Japan even more. Will wait for your next posts! 🙂
Thanks for reading – hopefully you can make it!! So sorry your last trip was cancelled 🙁 – I’ve been fortunate enough to visit a couple times and it never disappoints!
I love the surreal beauty of the parks and temples in Japan. Japan is a place where spirituality and Technology blend seamlessly. The food also looks awesome.
The food is amazing!! I love the temples and gardens in Japan as well ^^ Thanks for reading!
I’ve never been to Japan, but hope to make it there someday. I’ve been avidly reading this whole series for ideas to put on my bucket list. I actually LOVE shopping in chaos, so Harajuku sounds amazing.
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for reading 🙂 YES!! Harajuku and Shibuya will be right up your alley then 🙂
I love Tokyo! Now I miss it because of your article.
Thank you for reading 🙂
Great post, never been to Tokyo and cant wait to get out there. This post has me wetting my lips 🙂
Thanks for reading – there’s so much to see and do, I know you’ll have an amazing time 🙂
I loved my time visiting Japan and since I’m a city girl I enjoyed the controlled chaos of Tokyo. And like you I had super achy feet every night I returned to my hostel.
Yes! So glad I wore the most comfy shoes I owned – would have been murder otherwise 🙂 Glad you enjoyed your visit – controlled chaos is the perfect description! Thanks for reading ^^
Tokyo is a world of wanderlust. You are so lucky to be spending all these days there. I would totally do the shopping and get very familiar with the cuisine. That dish looks awesome, especially the perfect eggs! Have fun.
Thank you for reading! I definitely felt very fortunate to have the time (and the budget) to spend 10 days there – I was able to do pretty much everything I wanted and ate ‘almost’ everything I wanted!
I have been here! It’s a really pretty place isn’t it? On Sundays you can catch the girls and boys who dress up as anime characters and hang out on the pathways nearby. It’s super cool!
Very cool! We didn’t have any luck on the Sunday we went, but still had a lovely day in the park 🙂