It is our last night here in Tokyo. Tokyo treated me well. I did more shopping and aimless walking around than I like but I can't be ungrateful for my ability to travel and experience another culture others only see through third party mediums. With that being said I'll rate it as a 6 on a 1-10 scale 1 being "I'd rather have Chris Brown beat me into oblivion while he sings all his high notes" & 10 being "OMG Florence & The Machine and Adele are singing a duet while I sip on my all inclusive drink next to the heated pool somewhere on a tropical island near the equator."
Here are my tips on traveling to and within Tokyo:
Fly into Haneda airport if you can help it. It is closer than Narita and a hell of a lot easier to get into Tokyo from.
If you fly into Narita, take the Narita express!!!! It is like an express MetroNorth. A cab from Narita to Tokyo is about $225 (¥22,500). That's big honcho money I didn't have. If not, look into the Airport Limousine (their version of Greyhound) for ¥3,000 (~$30) you will be at Tokyo Station (their Penn Station) in about an hour and a half.
Buy your Suica pass in advance. This is your all access pass to their metro system. By the way, they have the CLEANEST and most ORGANIZED metro system. People line up to wait for the train and don't push to get on. They simply wait for the next train. (Who would think right?!)
Wear comfortable footwear. Tokyo is like circumnavigating Herald Square, Times Square and Union Square 1,000 times a day for however long you are in the city. You will have lunch, visit a museum and before you know it it is 8pm your lower back is aflame and your feet have died on you. I have never seen so many Uniqlos in my life by the way. They are like clothing bodegas out here. One big one on the street and mini locations within the train stations.
Get out of the city!!! There are tons of information kiosks to visit and schedule a trip to Mt. Fuji or the countryside for a one day getaway. I DEEPLY regret not doing this. I'm exhausted. I was with a group and deciding on activities was a pain in my ass. I just said "I don't care" & went with the flow.
Visit their local museums, animal cafés and parks. Tokyo takes great pride in providing great customer service and tourism experiences. If you visit the local Cat Café they will make sure you have everything you need for the ultimate experience. Including a face mask upon entry and a lint roller upon exit.
Try the food! I was much more limited in this because of my shellfish allergy (which they use in damn near everything), so my experience was a lot of beef noodle stir fry dishes. I didn't even have authentic sushi because they didn't wash their hands after handling shrimp NOR did they rinse the counter. So I just played it safe. If you do not have food allergies, do not be like me. Try as many different foods as you can muster & there will be lots.
Tokyo loves Italian food and Crepes. I saw more pizza shops here than in my own neighborhood in Harlem. There is also a crepe stand every 100ft or so. . . No lie.
Disney is not really Disney. I just need to put that out there for my hardcore Disney fans. It IS Disney Land and Disney Sea but it is owned by Oriental Land Co. not the Disney corporation and you can tell IMMEDIATELY. It is all in the details or lack thereof. They don't sell same day park hoppers. They don't sell tickets online. They don't have unlimited fast passes. So you NEED to get there by 7am to not only buy your tickets but once the park opens RUN to the rides that have fast passes and get those bad boys before they run out & they will. Their main character at Disney Sea is a naval Teddy Bear named Duffy for crying out loud. They didn't even have a Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney Sea!!!! Or a Lilo & Stitch surfing ride either! They dropped the ball on Tokyo it was very disappointing.
I'm drafting my complaint letter to Disney now.
Walk on the left side of the sidewalk, stairs and escalators. They drive on the opposite side so please make sure you look both ways before stepping foot into the pavement. I almost lost my life the first day looking one way and not the other.
When it is crowded in the train, people lean on one another. That's cool.
Burping, sneezing and blowing your nose in public are thought to be disgusting. Try to avoid it. Although I was sick here and blew my nose constantly because no one really cares anyway right?
If you can exchange money before you arrive definitely do so.
Invest in an international phone plan for your time here.
Don't tip service staff they earn a living wage so it might be seen as an insult.
Take lots of pictures.
Get all your souvenirs from Daiso, you'll thank me later.
Try to have a great time. I don't know if I will make a return trip. I feel like a lot of my time was wasted waiting for people to make decisions about activities then following them when said activity was over and walking around with no objective (the fucking worst thing to do ever!). Soooooo if you're with a group and know where you are all staying. Google map the shit out of any local attraction, the route to get there and plan your days accordingly. I missed out on a lot I wanted to do so if I decide to visit again the next time I come here will probably just be with my boo & a detailed itinerary.
Hope this answers all the "How was Tokyo?!" questions I'm going to hear when I get back.
-NC 💋
P.S. Next stop is Jamaica and I can almost cry because how dare I take a trip that doesn't include a pool!
