MY JAPAN TRIP: PART ONE

 MY JAPAN TRIP: PART ONE

Hello dear readers!

Welcome back to my Travel Blog - a website which has been abandoned for over a year. But guess what?

I am back (as you can obviously read this); and this time I have another place that I want to tell you about - Japan.

Indeed, I visited Japan this year, and explored 6 of its famous cities. This blog will be divided into 3 parts. I hope you have a good read.

So, to give you an overview, I went in June (which was NOT the cherry blossom season unfortunately), and unlike last time where I was all on my own on the Europe trip, this time I went with my mom. We had booked our trip through a tours and travel company. It was a week's stay.

 

Our first stop was Japan's capital city Tokyo!

I fell in love with Tokyo. What an amazing city! Tall buildings, beautiful scenery, bustling with life, and so very clean. On our very first day when we landed in Tokyo, it was almost 11 AM (JST) or so. A bright and beautiful day, the blue sky shining up above us and surprisingly, it was a little hot. Even at the airport I couldn’t guess that the outside temperature would be so warm. I also happened to bump into a friend of mine from college. We had coincidentally planned an international trip to Japan at the same time. Although the only difference being, as me and my mom had decided to go with a tours and travel company, during the entire trip, we had a personal bus with a driver with our group who would take us anywhere we wanted. And our first stop in the city was a very famous temple known as the Asakusa Sensoji Temple.

The typical Japanese architecture that I had always seen in movies and shows was right in front of me. Needless to say I was mesmerized. There, we also had authentic Matcha coffee. And that is where I learnt one fact about Japan that might shock you - there are no dustbins anywhere in the country. Yes! You read that right. We tried to find a dustbin to throw our trash in but our tour guide told us that the Japanese people don't throw garbage in the trash can. Instead they put it inside a plastic bag, go home, and then dispose of it. Hence the absence of trash cans on the streets. So in case any one of my readers plans to go to Japan, they must carry their own plastic bags for the waste materials. 

After the temple we visited another famous place that my movie blog readers might recognize. The very famous Shibuya crossing!

The entire time I was in this place, only one song was continuously going on in my mind - Six Days by DJ Shadow. To all the ones who don’t have a clue of what I am talking about - Shibuya crossing is a very famous spot in Tokyo which was featured in the Hollywood movie, Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift. I don’t know the exact statistics but at least millions of people use that crossing every single day. It was like Tokyo’s very own Times Square! This was probably one of my most favourite spots in the entire trip.

After that, we went to a place that was probably the most extra-ordinary and exotic location I have ever seen in my entire life. Team Labs Planet. 

To give you an overview, Team Labs Planet is sort of a museum, although it doesn’t contain any historical artefacts. Rather, it felt like a futuristic museum that had incorporated 3D life-like models and spaces. It was visually and auditorially appealing. I felt like I had entered a whole different dimension. It is kind of difficult to explain what the museum was like, but think of it like this, it’s a space that is filled with dark rooms, bright neon lights and fashionably weird architecture. I don’t think I will ever forget Team Labs Planet. Truly an experience like never before.  

After that we went to the Statue of Liberty. Yes, you read that right. The Statue of Liberty of Japan!

And the view from that place was absolutely breathtaking. Probably one of the best views of Tokyo. I could see the entire cityscape, the rainbow bridge, the Sumida river, etc. And just behind it, there was a mall where we went for dinner. All in all, the first day in Tokyo was an absolute blast. So many interesting things, so many beautiful places, absolutely unforgettable. Another thing that I must add is, the hotel experience in Japan was unlike anything I had ever seen. They provided us with night clothes! And that too traditional Japanese clothes. Both me, and my mom were absolutely stunned. 

The next day was rather uneventful. We took a trip to a town called Hakone. It was covered with beautiful mountain ranges and a river ran through it. The place was supposedly known for its hot springs. But that was not the reason why we were there. We had actually come to see Mount Fuji. The iconic peak of Japan. And the reason why that day was uneventful was because it was a cloudy day! 

We took a short boat ride to the base of a ropeway cable car entrance. From there on we took a cable car and went atop a mountain. It was really beautiful. Because of the hot springs and sulphur deposits, it gave me a Western movie kind of a vibe, because the ground looked like an American desert. Nevertheless we couldn’t see Mount Fuji due to the clouds, so we took a short tour of the place and then decided to come back to Tokyo. 

At night is when the real fun began. I had been bugging my mom that I wanted to go and see the Tokyo tower at night. Thus, when we returned back to our hotel in the evening, we decided to roam around the city on our own. 

We first located the nearest metro station and then took a metro to the famous Shibuya crossing once again. I had to see it and experience it at nighttime. 

Then, we took another metro and went to the Tokyo tower. It was MAGNIFICENT! Gleaming brightly in the night sky. I felt like I was back in Paris. After gawking at the structure for a while, we decided to head back and end the day.

The next day I was very excited. The reason was that we were gonna go to Tokyo Sky Tree. The tallest tower in Japan!

But first we decided to visit a famous garden known as Shinjuku garden. It was filled with Japanese zen architecture and was really soothing. I also saw a building from the trees that looked like the Empire State Building. Here is a photo

Next, finally, we went to the infamous Tokyo Sky Tree. As soon as we reached the top floor, my jaw dropped. It was majestic! I could see the entire city of Tokyo, sprawled out below me, like a mini architecture designed for a child to play with. It may not have been better than my Eiffel Tower experience (if you know you know), but it was certainly bigger than Paris. Or at least it looked like that. 

After that, it was time to say goodbye to Tokyo. What an amazing city. Well balanced and clean, it has everything you want. A river, city life, greenery, nature, technology. It is the perfect city to live in. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay there forever. It was magical. And as one of my friends said, “You don’t understand their language, but you never feel like a stranger”