Where do I even begin to talk about Tokyo? The fact that it's the
world's biggest metropolis doesn't even begin to describe what a giant of a city it is. There is SO much to do, almost
TOO much to do. Every neighborhood of Tokyo, every city within a city, every corner and alleyway, there is something to stimulate the senses. For my entire Japan trip, I had every detail planned down to the last minute, but I left all 5 days in Tokyo blank because I didn't even know where to begin! It really is a place you just have to get lost in.
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| Sometimes you have no choice but to get lost, from the world's busiest train station in Shinjuku to "the scramble" - the world's busiest intersection here at Shibuya crossing |
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| There were times when I just wanted to wind down and get away from all the madness. Finding a bit of peace amongst the chaos is easy to do at one of Tokyo's many lush parks and sanctuaries |
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| Schoolchildren of Japan are completely adorable. They go on field trips not to ride roller coasters but to learn about the community and, for example, plant rice in the park! |
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| If you're a foodie, Tokyo is the place to be. Japan has more Michelin stars than any other country (meaning it has the most best restaurants in the world) and Tokyo is a shining example of this! A great place to come for cheap eats is a conveyer belt sushi restaurant, where the chef prepares fresh sushi right in the middle and places each one on this rotating table. |
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| I don't even like sushi, and I can eat this like there's no tomorrow |
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| If you like fashion, Tokyo has it all too! From very high end designer to...this. My friend took this picture in Harajuku...scenes like these are common daily occurrences. |
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| Famous Shibuya 109, a shopping megaplex tower with more crazy looking people in one day than you'll see in your whole life elsewhere. I didn't come here to shop because I was totally broke! I came to see all the wild looking store clerks dressed to the nines in full Dolly Parton-esque hair, makeup, costume....everyone was literally a size triple 0 with 10 inch stilletoes walking around looking like human sized Barbie Dolls. Japanese women are not the most beautiful necessarily, but they certainly are the most interesting to look at! |
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| Cameras are not allowed inside, so just imagine this times infinity |
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| Another store full of costumes in Electric Town! Did I just die and go to heaven or what? |
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| We had to go all out in Tokyo and visit a maid cafe. Cameras were not allowed inside and they definitely don't allow you to take pictures of them so I had to sneak one! |
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| Imagine the cutest most pre-teen girl that fits all the stereotypes, put her in a maid uniform, and have her entertain guests in an overpriced cafe and this is basically what it was like. |
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| We asked our maid, "So what's your name?" She replied in the most high pitched cute voice, "Bunny!" We asked, "How old are you?" She said, "Foreverrrr 16!! ^.^ <3 XOXO" |
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| Our team name was Team Maid-O, and they wrote this on a bunch of stickers that we all put on. When we wanted to order, we had to put up paws to our cheeks and say, "Nyah! Nyah!" like a cat LOL. Every time they brought out our food, we had to learn a cheer that consisted of many cute hand motions and high-pitched chants with lots of clapping and giggling and making silly faces. |
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| We continue the themed-restaurants schedule and went to The Lock Up, a prison restaurant! |
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| OK, this place was scary as all hell. We came there not knowing what to expect and had to go through a really long walkway under this building that consisted of many things jumping out and scaring the shit out of us in complete darkness. Usually you go to a restaurant and you see a hostess who gets you seated, but we saw no one for 10 minutes, just walking through this pitch black passageway....were we even in the right place!? |
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| It was seriously scarier than all the haunted mansions and stuff I've been to in the US during Halloween and such. America, learn how to make scary shit from the Japanese! |
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| This thing jumped at us and was slamming on the cage like mad when we turned the corner!! I had a friggin heart attack. |
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| OK seriously, where is everyone? Who works here!? After sitting down on this chair for like 2 minutes, a waitress in a prisoner's uniform jumped out from behind the black curtains and scared the fuck out of me with her loud "IRASHAIMASEEEEE!!!" ("welcome" in Japanese) She then proceeded to handcuff me (I kid you not) and led our party to a prison cell with the bars and benches looking very realistic and locked us in! LOL, it was totally surreal like the Twilight Zone |
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| What we could see from our prison cell lol. OK, so as soon as we opened up our menu, all the lights cut out. The Japanese girls in the cell adjacent from us started screaming like turkeys, and that made me scream too! Lights started flashing and out came a parade of ghosts and dudes in hockey masks and robes with knives and weapons!! I WAS LIKE WHAT THE FUCK!? They were beating on our jail bars and reaching in trying to grab us and everyone in the restaurant started screaming and shouting profanities. This was NOT a restaurant, it was sit down experience in a crazy house. I never thought we'd get our food because who the hell cares about eating if they go to an establishment like this!? |
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| Finally we ordered drinks! I mean, "DRINKS" .....more like a chemistry set! |
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| I was having way too much fun mixing our cocktails! |
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| SO COOL. This would never happen in America. Someone would die of a heart attack and some pregnant woman would have a miscarriage and the whole place would be shut down before it even opened. I know I keep saying it, but serially, ONLY IN JAPAN. |
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| The food was actually quite good and spicy! They were meant to look all creepy and gross lol. |
So yeah,
that happened.
The next day, we went to see Kabuki! I was very
very excited about this.
There were 5 things on my must-do list for the complete Japan tourist experience: eat matsuzaka beef, see a sumo match, go to a cherry blossom viewing, find a real geisha, and watch a kabuki performance! And finally I got to do all of them!
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| Wow, kabuki is indescribable. Fuck all the flashy lights and smoke screen and razzle dazzle of Broadway and modern performances. This is an ancient art that relies only on pure performanceship. Every tiny minute detail can be appreciated, and they were so dramatic and precise in all of their movements! The makeup and costumes were very elaborate and god knows how expensive. These are showmans in the truest sense of the word! They really brought forward the meaning of the avant-garde and bizarre dance drama. |
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| Even the child actors were amazing! They have more talent in their pinky finger than any Hollywood actor in his whole body! |
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| Super bad ass! Japanese people are alllll about the details...such intricate performance! |
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| The next day we took a side trip from Tokyo out to Hakone, a picturesque little lake town with views of Mt Fuji |
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| We went on a cruise in a pirate ship! |
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| So pretty! |
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| I took like a million pics of this ship lol |
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| Floating torii! |
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| Such a beautiful day! |
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| Our lift to the top of a volcanic mountain/lake thing. The views were spectacular! |
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| Udon noodles for lunch |
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| Grilled fish Japanese style...om nom! |
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| Last night in Tokyo :( |
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| Sooooo gorgeous. What a city! |
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| We went all the way to the top of Roppongi tower to see an art exhibit and, of course, get the best night view of downtown Tokyo! |
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| Ahhhh I die. So when can I come live here? |
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| Tokyo is just endless. The art exhibit was phenomenal too. My god, Japanese artists are so imaginative and talented...most of the displays were such mind fucks lol. You really don't get this in the US! |
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| Super sad I had to leave! |
I know I sound like a broken record, but Japan has been one of the the best experiences of my entire life. I met so many cool people and did so many memorable things. When I got home, the first thing I did was call American Airlines to see if I could delay my flight home, and even looked into how to get a Japanese citizenship lol! I literally couldn't sleep for like 30 hours afterwards because there was so much on my mind. That's totally crazy but I promise I'm not the only person that this has happened to! I know countless stories of people who went to Japan to work for a few months and ended up staying forever. It just does that to you! So be careful if you ever go visit Japan, you might end up like a crazy person too!
