22 April 2023

My husband and I arrived at Narita airport, Tokyo at 11.30pm after a 14-hour flight, full of excitement to be on Japanese soil ready to embark on our 2-week adventure! Before leaving the airport, we collected our pocket Wi-Fi device, a must when travelling around Japan because free Wi-Fi is hard to come across (a quick check tells me a device currently costs around £50 for 2 weeks’ rental). It supports up to four devices and ours always lasted a full day before needing a charge overnight. A quick glance of Tokyo’s twinkling skyline by night from the back of our taxi and we arrived at our hotel to a warm welcome. Our room was compact (as is the case with most Tokyo hotels) and you could barely call the bed a double but we were so happy to climb in and sleep. We woke up feeling excited, we couldn’t wait for our first glimpse of Tokyo in the daylight, but first we went for breakfast in a formal dining room with crisp white tablecloths and dined on fish and rice... when in Rome! Right next to our hotel was the Imperial Palace so we decided to head there first, it was surrounded by a huge moat and gardens. This is where we first saw cherry blossom in full bloom, it was like a sea of pink and white petals, so beautiful! We arrived in front of the palace to find a crowd gathered as though something were about to happen, not long after, a procession of vehicles and smart uniformed guards on horse-back escorted an elegant horse drawn carriage transporting the Emperor himself right past us! We proceeded to explore the palace then hired a boat to row around one of the palace moats framed by cherry blossom. The moat was sprinkled with white petals from the surrounding trees which seemed to glow in the spring sunshine, as I sat back and took it all in, I knew it was one of those moments I would never forget. After working up an appetite we visited one of the street food vendors to try a steamed chicken bun which was utterly delicious. A fluffy, air-like bun, with salty chicken filling. The afternoon was spent meandering through the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, home to traditional Japanese gardens and over 1,000 cherry trees making it a perfect place to visit during Sakura season. After exploring this tranquil paradise, it was back to the bustling metropolis and our next stop was Tokyo Tower. Everywhere you look there is something exciting happening, outside the tower we saw a wedding couple walking through the streets, being photographed, and seconds later a stream of go karts came flying past us - the drivers dressed in costumes from Mario Kart. We decided to add that to our long list of things to do in Tokyo but never ended up finding the time! It did look so fun though. After taking in the impressive skyline views from the top of Tokyo Tower, it was back to our hotel to freshen up before heading out for the evening. First stop was the Ginza district for a meal at the famous Gonpachi restaurant, it was here that movie director Quentin Tarantino was so inspired that he based the set of one of his famous “Kill Bill” fight scenes on the place. After dinner there was one place we knew we had to go… Roppongi! Roppongi is an upmarket area with Michelin star restaurants and art museums but there is also a thriving nightlife… especially on a Friday. After a long working week, the Japanese businessmen head here to blow off steam and end up in the karaoke bars and night clubs. We saw many of them staggering the streets and slumped on the pavement... On that note it was time to head back after a long and eventful first day!