KatelynMarch 18, 2023 – March 27, 2023
Where We Stayed: Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay
Trip Highlights:
- Tokyo DisneySea
- Cherry Blossoms
- First time in Asia
- Shinjuku Night Tour
Favorite Restaurants:
- 711 & Lawsons
- Samurai Ramen
Spring in Japan! We booked plane tickets on a whim a year prior, unsure at the time if the country would even be open to foreign tourists by March 2023. But, luckily for us, tourists were allowed back into Japan in the fall, and our spring break trip to Japan was a go.
Travel to Japan
We met up in Chicago one day before our flight. Shannon flew in from Philadelphia, and Sam and I drove down from Milwaukee. After a night at a hotel, we met up with Isabel to help her finish moving out of her Chicago apartment, as she was studying abroad in Tokyo following our week together.
A few highlights from our 13 hour flight to Tokyo
- Flying in ANA’s “The Room” business class and their massive comfy seats
- Managing to sleep for 5 of the 13 total hours
- Sam’s late night ramen on the plane in the dark
Vernal Equinox Day
Our first day in Japan was a Japanese national holiday: Vernal Equinox Day. On this day, many have off of work and school and are encouraged to spend time outside enjoying nature. We spent the day exploring the area near our hotel and adjusting to the dramatic time zone change.
Highlights:
- Traveling to a nearby grocery store to get a haul of Japanese foods, which we all shared at the hotel
- Visiting the park across the street from the hotel to enjoy nature with the Japanese families who were out celebrating the holiday
- Stopping by our first Japanese vending machines and 711 (a unique experience in Japan)
- Ending the night with drinks under blankets at our hotel’s rooftop bar
Tokyo Disneyland
We spent one full day at Tokyo Disneyland. This park is largely a replica of the traditional Disney “castle park” with many of the same rides as what is available in Disneyland and Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, though with a Japanese twist. A few favorite memories include:
- Riding the very high-tech Beauty and the Beast ride for the first time
- Experiencing some classic Disney rides being spoken in Japanese
- Buying fun souvenirs, such as Shannon and I’s matching dalmatian glasses and my Oswald the Lucky rabbit ears
- Shannon’s Duffy sweatshirt and ensuing jet-lag induced chaos
- Fun food! See below.
Tokyo Disneyland’s food was one of the most exciting parts of the day. While I couldn’t eat all of the treats, I was able to tell the gluten-eaters which fun snacks the park is particularly known for.
Tokyo DisneySea
Of the Japan Disney parks, we were most excited to visit Tokyo DisneySea. This park is completely unique to Japan and largely considered one of the best theme parks in the world. It was an unfortunately rainy day this day, which cancelled the night time show, but we were able to see most of the rest of the park.
This is also the home to Duffy, the Disney bear, who is featured in many of our photos. Duffy is unique to the Asia Disney parks (he didn’t take off in the U.S. as much as in Asia) and is supposed to be a teddy bear that Minnie made for Mickey that has come to life. This is his home park, so nearly everyone, from visitors to locals had some sort of Duffy merchandise on them here.
Meiji Shrine
Our first stop within central Tokyo. The Meiji Shrine is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. It was completed in 1920, 8 years after the emperor’s passing, but was rebuilt after it was destroyed in WWII.
Shibuya & Ramen
Our lunch stop was in Shibuya at a ramen shop known for having gluten free traditional ramen as an option. Super delicious.
It began to rain as we explored the Shibuya area, including the Shibuya Scramble, the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. We visited a few shops and eventually made our way to Harajuku and its famous Takeshita street, known for Kawaii and other cute shopping and food.
Senso-Ji Temple
The following day began at Senso-Ji temple, a Buddhist temple, and Tokyo’s oldest established temple. The original temple was completed in 645, but was also destroyed during WWII, and therefore rebuilt in 1950. Leading up to the temple is a historic shopping street where we shopped for traditional Japanese goods. There was also a small snack area, where we tried a few classic Japanese street food dishes.
Sushi & Akihabara
For lunch we wandered away from the temple and stopped at a hole-in-the-wall sushi restaurant. This was clearly not a shop regularly visited by tourists, as no one spoke English. We sat at a counter and shared a large plate of miscellaneous sushi, with Isabel translating where she could with her limited Japanese. Definitely the best quality sushi I’ve ever had, and a very unique experience overall.
We then wandered around Akihabara, an area of Tokyo famous for electronics, anime, and pop-culture.
Revolving Sushi
We took a late start the following day, beginning with a late lunch at Kura revolving sushi, a chain we have visited in the U.S. but originated in Japan. Here, sushi travels around on a conveyor belt and you grab the dishes off the belt that you want to eat.
Shinjuku Night Tour
We then took a guided walking tour of the Shinjuku area at night. Our guide told us stories about nighttime culture in Shinjuku and Tokyo as a whole, helping us to better understand Japanese culture and get an idea of how locals enjoy their nights out.
Pokemon Store & Sofia University
Our final full day began with a quick stop at the Pokemon store within Tokyo station, where Isabel and I got a couple of souvenirs. We then traveled to Sofia University, where Isabel would be studying abroad the following semester.
Cherry Blossoms
We ended our day at Shinjuku Gyoen National Park seeing the famous Japanese cherry blossoms in bloom. I guarantee the pictures do not do this experience justice!
Traveling home was long and we were very excited to be back in our beds at the end of it. Sam and I flew from Tokyo to Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C., where we had 4+ hours to wait before our final flight to Chicago. By the time we made it to our beds in Milwaukee, we’d been awake for almost 30 hours and definitely ready to crash after an exciting trip.
