| Date | Friday, March 13th & Saturday March 14th |
| Days in Japan | Day 10 & 11 |
| Location | Oshiage & Shibuya, Tokyo |
| Hotel | |
| Steps Walked | 13,097 + 7,784 |
| Daily Objective | |
| Daily Tip | |
Friday finally rolled back around and that meant for a great opportunity to get out and explore some happening areas of Tokyo. I opted to save the evening adventures for Saturday as I hadn’t really had any downtime since getting into Tokyo. I decided to use Friday to relax, run some errands and just watch some anime. I chose to kick things off with some laundry and spent most of the morning at the hotel in search of a coin laundry somewhere in the area. I finally located one just a few blocks away, and although it was raining a little, the hotel had umbrellas for guests to use.
I loaded up my bag with pretty much every article of clothing I’d brought (this was my first time doing laundry in Japan) and continued down the street. I found myself at the laundry spot which was pretty standard and had a bunch of large machines for use. Unfortunately, there were no English instructions and it appeared there was a kiosk of sorts that you needed to access to get the laundry started. I quickly sent some photos over to Rui for a breakdown of the instructions.
I scrambled around the room experimenting with several combinations while in wait for her reply. Luckily, she was relatively quick and laid out what all the buttons meant and which to hit. At this point I was much less resourceful with my Google Translate which has a camera option for reading Japanese (I recommend it!). I was able to get the laundry going and just before heading to the local 7-Eleven for some lunch, it started snowing! It’s somewhat rare for it to snow in Tokyo so it was quite a sight even for the locals.
It was pretty slushy but I decided to make haste to the local store so I could get some food and eat before my laundry finished. I grabbed a sandwich and some onigiri from the store after realizing how hungry I actually was (it was my first meal of the day). I was able to finish the food outside the store and get back to the laundry with just enough time to complete some quick Japanese studies. I had my flashcards with me so I had decided to study from the laundry instead of returning to my hotel. Once my laundry finished, I made my way quickly back to my hotel just as the rain/snow was beginning to let up.
I folded up my clothes and packed my bag once again as I’d soon be moving my HQ. The day moved quickly as I relaxed in my dark and cold room. By evening, I hadn’t really found anything that particularly caught my eye while searching google maps for a dinner destination. I did locate a few potential spots and decided that I’d walk past them to see if there were many patrons and if the inside was appealing. I headed out and after discovering that several of the places were actually closed (despite showing open on Google maps), I decided on a local ramen shop. Ramen is a common choice in Japan during cold or rainy days. Little did I know at the time but I actually walked into the wrong entrance and ended up in the shop right next to the ramen spot. The place I’d wandered into had a bar-like counter (common in Japan) and some seating in the back. There were 2 ladies working, one being the server and one being the chef. They greeted me and pointed me to a seat at the counter near 2 other patrons who had seemed to be enjoying their post-work meal and drinks. I let fate take the wheel once again and checked the menu to see which kind of place I’d ended up at. I quickly utilized my little Japanese to order up a beer and realized that while they had an English menu of sorts, neither women spoke much English. While glancing over the menu I concluded that this Izakaya specialized in udon. I had learned about soba, ramen, and udon differences during my trip to Nikko with Rui and knew it was quite like ramen and pretty delicious. I also discovered that this place wasn’t considered an Izakaya but instead was a Sisimaru which was probably why it didn’t show up in my searches… According to their menu definition; it’s a place geared towards women being able to dine alone in a safe environment without any harassment from men patrons – which I was learning was pretty common in Japan.
The menu also had some cool Japanese tips and common phrases. Along with the phrases it also had this side menu that had all the ingredients they use in their food. If you were allergic to something, you could just point to the item on the menu and they’d know to not include it in your dish without needing to converse in the same language. The warm and somewhat surprising greeting was beginning to make sense as the staff were probably curious as to how I had stumbled upon this place. I ordered up some food and while waiting, a new younger women had entered and made her way to the seat near mine. Apparently this new customer was a bit of a regular as she was warmly welcomed by the server and encouraged to practice her English with me. The women had now noticed my Japanese notecards and after a broken conversation, the server and new patron had discovered some details about me and my trip. This was about the same time my food came out and it surpassed my expectations.
The ladies decided to give me a chance to enjoy the meal without prying any further. The noodles were amazing as I dipped them in the sauce and enjoyed them to the fullest. After completing my meal and ordering up my third beer, the server brought me some flyer-looking news articles. As it happens, these particular articles were written in Japanese but were primarily written in basic Hiragana and Katakana (Japan’s main alphabet) which I had been studying at that time. She gave me 3 different articles to take with me to help me practice my reading. Before I could even give proper thanks she also approached me with a small box.
With the assistance of explaining the box from the other patron, I found out that a food critic had visited this place and had gifted them with some small soy-sauce plates featuring the critic’s logo. I assumed they were given these plates to use in their shop but it appeared that they had decided to just gift them to certain customers. I once again was very appreciative and before I could give thanks for both new items, the other owner presented me with a dessert. I hadn’t really indulge in the wild world of desserts in Japan yet but the dessert looked mouthwatering.
By the time I finished the dessert I was feeling pretty full and grateful for this overall experience. I exchanged a bit more conversation with the women and before I could take my leave, they yet again provided me with another smaller appealing dessert.
The first thought that crossed my mind was the story of Hansel and Gretel and I was beginning to feel like these women were trying to fatten me up. I quickly laughed off the idea and finished my second complementary dessert. I was now ready to take my leave with a huge smile on my face. I made my way back to the hotel and was ready for an awesome night of rest before making my way to Shibuya the following evening.
SHIBUYA!
Woke up still in awe of how the previous evening had unfolded. I showered up and put on some of my newly cleaned apparel. I was pretty excited to be heading to Shibuya again but this time wouldn’t have Rui to “hold my hand”. I was honestly excited for the opportunity to possibly meet some girls or new random friends. I decided to shoot some messages over to the soccer meetup organizer, Matthew, to see if he wanted to join me for a night of debauchery around town. Turns out he was already heading to some cave on a beach to party and rave to techno all night. He threw out an offer to join but I had my heart set on seeing more of Shibuya and checking out the newish shopping mall located right next to the station – known as the Shibuya Scramble. Matt did also mention trying Tinder or Bumble to meet some girls around Tokyo. I’ve never used Tinder and am not really looking for quick hookups, rather looking for fun company, so I ended up reactivating my inactive Bumble account that I once had. These apps do take some time to connect with people so it wasn’t going to give me much instant gratification but I figured I’d better start sooner than later. I also did some quick research into some other “dating/language exchange” apps in Japan but most had very little English speakers or tried to “text” me a confirmation and I didn’t have my US phone number sim card in so that wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
Anyhow, before taking my leave I decided I would grab a late lunch from LIFE and possibly checkout the “rooftop” bar that I had seen signs for. Before heading to the store I headed to the rooftop to checkout the bar which was supposedly open. I gave myself a quick facepalm as I realized it was a rooftop with a “metal bar”. The Japanese are always so literal that this was what they referred to as their rooftop bar. The roof did have some lounge chairs and tables so I decided to enjoy my lunch from there after visiting LIFE.
After finishing my lunch I was feeling good and ready for my evening adventure. I was now a little more familiar with the specific route that I needed to take to get to Shibuya so I headed straight towards the famous crossing and was able to locate the huge shopping mall which features 47 floors and boasts an amazing rooftop (although I didn’t visit it). I was probably wandering around the mall for over an hour just amazed by all the different shops and even bought myself a new screen protector for my cell phone. I was kind of proud of my ability to communicate with the cashier which involved a total of saying “yes” in Japanese twice. I was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed and hungry so I began my search for a fun Izakaya. I had no native assistance so this time around it would be more difficult to avoid the hot tourist traps and find a hidden gem. I walked the streets continuously using my phone to try and locate somewhere I could drink and eat in a fun atmosphere. After over an hour of anxiously and aimlessly retracing my steps with no success in locating my next destination, I’d pretty much given up on my hopes to finding a fun spot and sparking up a conversation with some locals. The idea of going to a “girl’s bar” still seemed like a weird experience and I wasn’t really looking for that. I ended up finding a cool little NY Steakhouse that looked to be lively in the photos and was located on the 5th floor of a building off the main streets. While it was an American styled bar, it looked like it could be fun, so I finally eased my nerves and made my way there. I was able to find the small corridor that housed the elevator but as it arrived, a handful of very red, and relatively tipsy Japanese locals walked out laughing and full of joy. I quickly assumed that they hadn’t come from the American bar so I walked over to the signs that list all the names of the business in the building. I was able to spot one that looked like it could be an Izakaya although written in all Japanese. I looked on my phone and it didn’t appear on my maps which is usually a good sign overall. I let out a little grin and proceeded up the elevator to the 6th floor. As I stepped out of the elevator I was quickly greeted with loud laughter, conversation, and a super packed Izakaya. I had found my gem! The hostess came over and I let her know that I was by myself which meant I’d be seated at the dining bar area. She posted me up on the very far corner, maybe because I was the only foreigner in the entire place and virus rumors were still mounting – creating a negative perception of foreigners. I was able to quickly notice that this place was known for its drinks as they served HUGE cocktail glasses that many patrons were consuming. They didn’t have an English menu but my server was able to speak a little English and after asking me some basic questions, I established that they had gyoza. It was an easy decision to order up one of those huge grapefruit cocktails and an abundance of gyoza.
The food and drinks that came out and were so amazing and delicious. Initially, I’d wanted to just get some food and drinks and then visit some bars, but I quickly decided I’d just stay at this place and enjoy everything it had to offer. The atmosphere was bumping and I couldn’t of been happier. The server even helped me download the restaurant app which allowed me to acquire a “point” in which if I get 3 “points” (visits), I would get free drink upgrades on my 4th visit.
Knowing I’d be back, this was a pretty nice offer and I didn’t mind collecting a fun Japanese restaurant app to show off to the other natives I’d eventually run into. After about 2 hours of consuming countless gyoza and a handful of these huge cocktails, I was content to make my way back to the station and to my hotel. As I walked towards the station I could see many ramping up for the night ahead but with all the walking and anxiety I’d already encountered throughout the evening, I was ready to call it a night. I did take a second to locate a few of the bars and clubs that Matthew had recommended earlier in the day for future reference.
The train wasn’t as full as it’d been the night Rui and I frantically raced to get on the last train, but still consisted of quite a few patrons calling it a night after an abundance of cocktails.
In Japan, if your work superior invites you out for drinks it’s very rude to decline. This means that many business men and women are dragged out to drink quite a lot even on weeknights.
Once I was back at my hotel I showered and then settled into the comfortable bed excited to meet up with Rui the following morning for breakfast at Shinjuku Station. She’d offered to help me find my way to my next stop which would be a fun little onsen in Hakone – a few hours train ride away. This would kickoff my first “tourist” portion of the trip. Up until now I’d stayed pretty close to Tokyo but now I’d be seeing some other coastal cities and spending 1-2 nights in each in order to see as much as I could. As much as I like my own space, I’d booked myself a hostel onsen in Hakone which was known for its large lake, historical volcanic activity, and views of Mt. Fuji.
