Japan - Day 1 🇯🇵

After a comfortable flight 🔗, we landed on time at Tokyo Narita Airport, fresh and ready for our week in Japan. Immigration and baggage claim were fairly quick.

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We headed to the JR East Travel Service Center and exchanged our vouchers for the actual Japan Rail Pass 🔗 after showing them our passports and visas. We used it right away and booked tickets on the Narita Express 10 at 9:45 AM, reaching Tokyo at 10:44 AM.

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We exited Tokyo Station from the Yaesu side and walked to the Pearl Hotel Yaesu. We chose this place because it was close to Tokyo Central Station, which made commuting easy. As with every place we visited in Japan, we were going to be out all day and just needed a place to sleep at night, so it didn’t have to be fancy. When we arrived in the morning, it was too early for check-in, so we left our bags at the front desk and headed out for a day in Tokyo.

We had planned out what we wanted to cover since we only had a day, and we were also going to meet an old friend of mine who is now based in Tokyo. We walked back to Tokyo Station, met her near the Yaesu entrance/exit, and walked across to the Marunouchi plaza to see the red brick building facade on the western (Marunouchi entrance/exit) side of the station, which reminded me of the Amsterdam Centraal Station building. This was in stark contrast to the very modern and urban architecture on the eastern (Yaesu entrance/exit) side.

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We then walked back into the station and bought the Common One-Day Ticket for Tokyo Metro & Toei Subway for the two of us.

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We took the Marunouchi Line from Tokyo Station to Ginza to see the high fashion center of the city with upscale shops and restaurants. We walked around and saw the Sukiyabashi crossing, the Nissan crossing, and the Wako Department Store.

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Next, we took the Asakusa Line from Higashi-Ginza to Asakusa to visit the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center. This building has a free observation deck and cafe on the 7th floor with great views of Sensō-ji and Tokyo Skytree.

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After spending some time there, we headed to Sensō-ji, Tokyo’s oldest temple. We entered from the Kaminarimon Gate with its magnificent 3.9-meter-tall lantern and then walked through the Nakamise-dōri Shopping Street through the Hōzōmon Gate to the main temple.

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We stopped at Fuji Soba for a quick meal. We had to order using a machine with pictures and prices, which was a new experience for us. After making the payment, a little slip was printed out, which we handed to the staff; they prepared our food and brought it to our table.

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After that, we took in more views of the Asahi Beer Headquarters Building and the Tokyo Skytree from Azuma Bridge.

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We then took the Asakusa Line from Asakusa to Daimon and then the Oedo Line from Asakusa to Akabanebashi. We stepped out of the station to see the Tokyo Tower. It was getting dark, so we saw the lights coming on.

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After that, we took the Oedo Line from Akabanebashi to Tochōmae to visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. There is free access to the observation decks in the north and south towers of the main building, and both offer slightly different views. Today, the North Tower Observation Deck was open, and we got to see great views of Tokyo all lit up at night. I’m sure the views during the day would have been nice as well.

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We took the Marunouchi Line from Nishi-Shinjuku to Tokyo Station and headed to Tokyo Ramen Street, with ramen shops that showcase the best of Tokyo Ramen. We settled in at Soranoiro Nippon for dinner.

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After dinner, we bid my friend goodbye; we would see her again on our last day in Japan before flying out. We walked back to the hotel after a great day in Tokyo! We picked up our bags and got our room. As expected, the room was not very big—just a bed, a dresser, and space to walk around it. The bathroom was compact but had everything that was needed. We didn’t have any trouble walking there even late at night, and it was less than ten minutes from the Yaesu Central Entrance of Tokyo Central Station.