This is our first visit to Tokyo! It’s a quick trip – five days – and it’s also Spring, so we hope to catch the ‘Sakura’ (Cherry Blossoms) while they’re in full bloom.🌸🤞
In addition to cherry blossom viewing though, we are keen to see how we manage negotiating the train system, the language barrier and the centuries old traditional culture, upon which this exciting and beautiful country is based. If we survive, let alone succeed, we will plan a longer trip back to explore all of Japan for another spectacle – ‘Koyo’ (Autumn Colour). 🍁🍂
It’s the perfect plan – to be in Tokyo just when the Sakura is expected to bloom. It’s exciting, but as our departure time draws near, we hear reports of cherry trees blooming early and a lot of rain is forecast prior to our arrival. We wonder if we’ll see any blossoms after all.
I’ve quickly learnt some basic Japanese on Duolingo, and have researched and read everything there is to know and do in Tokyo. I’ve narrowed down our options and hope to visit a different area of the city each day. I have a list of sights to see and things to do in each place, and all going well, we’ll take each day as it comes, and pick our sightseeing path accordingly.🤞
It’s raining on the night we land at Narita Airport after a surprisingly easy 8.5hr flight. We have only cabin bags as luggage (a packing challenge in itself), and we’re hoping to sail through Tokyo’s largest airport without any fuss, jump straight onto a train and cruise into our hotel!
It is a great idea in theory, and if not for the endlessly long lines at immigration, we would have been breezing through as planned.
But this is the new normal in plane travel in a post Covid world, so we join the queue, and shuffle forward, slowly, one step at a time. When the airport formalities are finally done, we make our way to the Keisei Skyliner counter where we trade in our pre-purchased online Klook vouchers for pre-seated train tickets, and climb aboard the sleek and impressive Keisei Skyliner Express to Ueno.
The train is on time (of course), and at 160kmh, takes only 40 mins to reach Keisei Ueno Station, 79km away. We hail a taxi outside the station, and drive for all of two minutes to our accommodation at the Centurion Hotel Ueno.
By now it is 10.30 at night, and we are very keen to get into our room. The hotel is lovely, and exactly as it looked on booking.com. Our room is a comfortable King on the 9th floor, with a big marshmallow bed next to the window, looking out over the streets of Ueno. We drop our bags, climb into bed, and with a sense of excitement for the days to come, drift off to sleep.
Day 1 – Ueno Park & Dinner in Chiba
After reports of heavy rain all day yesterday, we resign ourselves to the possibility, that this morning, all the cherry blossoms will be stripped from the trees 😲
But this morning, as the sun fights its way through the clouds, and we make our way to Ueno Park, (just a 4min walk from our hotel), we see that the cherry blossoms are still well and truly attached, much to our relief! And it is indeed a beautiful sight 🌸
Ueno ‘Kōen’ or Ueno Park is well known for being one of Tokyo’s hot ‘Hanami’ spots, with its profusion of cherry trees, grassy picnic spots and wide avenues for strolling under the blossoms. The Hanami parties are already well under way when we arrive around 10am, and we wander the park, taking in this delightful sight.
The ‘Hanami Party’ originated in the Nara period (710-794) when the Japanese aristocrats held tea parties under the plum and cherry trees, talking, writing poetry, or drinking wine, while watching the cherry blossom petals fall gently through the air 🌸
Nowadays, Hanami is a national festival, and is one of the oldest traditions in Japan.
To ‘Hanami’ like a local, all you need is a blue tarp, a picnic basket filled with food, snacks, sweets, beer, sake, tea etc, a bunch of friends to party with, and a cherry tree in full bloom to sit under 🌸
There are a few rules to remember though: respect the delicate Sakura trees, don’t hurt the roots or pick the blossoms, don’t occupy prime Hanami Spots for too long, and don’t be too loud or make a fool of yourself 🤭 lol lol
And if you stay on into the evening, and can still see clearly through the sake haze, you’ll have a beautiful ‘yozakura’ (night Sakura viewing) 🏮🌸🏮🌸🏮🌸 乾杯. 乾 🥂 Kanpai! 🌸
Ueno is also known as the cultural heart of Tokyo, with the city’s highest concentration of museums, most of which are in and around Ueno Park.
It is an eclectic mix of nature, art, history, food and shopping, and has an array of train stations on hand to take you anywhere else in Tokyo you might want to go 🚄 🚉 🚆 (something we are keen to learn to negotiate 😅)
We see giant sculptures sitting comfortably beside peak hour commuter crossings, vibrant highrise dwarfing a labyrinth of ramshackle lanes, and grand old museums looking regally out over rows and rows of delicately blooming cherry trees 🌸
As we walk, we see kimono clad women scurrying past tourists dressed to the nines, looking for that insta-worthy ‘Sakura’ moment, teachers leading sweet little kids on excursion along petal strewn paths, and a growing line of patient animal lovers waiting for the Ueno Zoo gates to open 🐼
Ueno it seems, is a place of comfortable contradictions, and the perfect place for Tokyo newbies like us, to find our feet. Its definitely ticking all the boxes so far. ✔️
We enjoy coffee and breakfast buns at Starbucks in the park, while watching the passing parade of tourists, geishas and locals, then make our way to the National Museum of Nature and Science, also located within the park.
Our mission is to see the real Hachikō, Japan’s canine Hero who is also imortalised in bronze at Shibuya Station.
It is a fascinating museum, set in a grand old building, showcasing the rich and varied wildlife of Japan, a myriad of historical displays and edgy modern day technology. But on the second floor in a most unassuming case, with other stuffed animals, is Hachikō.
My reason for visiting is to see Tokyo’s loyal and much loved ‘Shiba Inu’ in the ‘flesh’, before visiting his memorial statue later in the week.
Mission accomplished, we wind our way back to the streets of downtown Ueno to explore further and find lunch. We discover the maze of lanes that are Ameyokochō, the bustling market area south of Ueno station.
The name dates back to the post war era and means ‘Candy Seller’s Alley’, but today, its many stalls offer everything from teas, fish, jewellery, souvenirs and homewares, tucked in between cafes and yakitori bars. It is easy to get caught up in the vibrant energy of this place and lose your direction in its warren of streets and stalls.
We don’t linger too long though, as this evening we are catching up with friends in Chiba, an area just outside greater Tokyo.
It is a wonderful reunion after 22 long years, and we enjoy strolling the Sakura-lined canals and visiting a local Shinto Shrine before dining with the family at a traditional Japanese restaurant.
We eat, drink and laugh, enclosed in an intimate, cosy and warm room, behind rice paper screens, overlooking a serene, idyllic Japanese garden discreetly lit for beauty, peace and quiet contemplation.
It is the perfect ending to our very first day in Tokyo 💗
Day 2 – Tokyo Station, Imperial Palace Gardens & MOMAT
After a decent night’s sleep we awake at 9am and find the streets below filled with a succession of bobbing umbrellas ☂️ It is overcast with a sluggish atmosphere, so we decide to reassess our plans for the day and take it slow.
Hungry for breakfast, we wander down the rain soaked street and find the Blue Leaf Internet Cafe, where we loiter over coffee and panini for as long as we reasonably can. ☕
Our agenda for today is to explore the Imperial Palace Gardens, but rather than wander in the wet, we decide to head to downtown Tokyo in search of a lunch spot where we can wait out the weather.
We take the JR Yamanote Line from Ueno Station, just five minutes to Tokyo Station and find the perfect place to take shelter, the Shin Marunouchi Building, or ‘Maru Biru’ as it is affectionately known by the locals. It’s a sleek, 36 storey skyscraper with bragging rights to having the best outlook over the 1914 red brick, Amsterdam-inspired Tokyo Station building directly opposite.
On its 7th floor we find a cosy little restaurant called Soba Kichi, and decide to sit out the relentless drizzle over beer and wine while slurping on a tasty soba noodle bowl or two 🍜
The strategy works! By the time we’ve slurped our last noodle, the rain has stopped. So with full and satisfied bellies, we escalator back down to the ground floor and finally head off to explore the magestic Imperial Palace Gardens to burn off the excess lunchtime noodle calories.
After just a three minute walk, we reach the ‘Ote Mon‘ (entrance gate) to the Imperial Palace’s East Gardens, and realise how convenient and easily accessible everything is in Tokyo!
The Imperial Palace, home to Japan’s Emperor since 1868, sits in the grounds of the original Edo Castle, built by Tokogawa Ieyasu in 1497.
Over the centuries soaring stone battlements have been erected and a moat added for good measure, then gradually a garden and park precinct of epic proportions evolved, and has spread in all directions to protect and complement it 🌳
Nowadays, the palace is out of bounds to the public, but the parks and gardens are free and available for everyone to explore.
We are finally wandering under blue sky and fluffy clouds, and enjoy a pleasant, rambling walk over bridges, and under cherry blossoms, past flowering Camelia bushes and Hanami parties, as we make our way through the park to MOMAT, The Museum of Modern Art Tokyo (just outside the Palace grounds) for a much needed cultural fix.
Here we are treated to an eclectic collection of artworks from the Tokogawa period right up to the present day, in a sleek and contemporary, open plan space over four floors.
There are three main highlights here for me:
1 – the ‘Room with a View’ on the 4th floor, where one can sit quietly and gaze out over the Imperial Palace grounds with the towering Tokyo skyline looming behind 👀
2 – my very first viewing of a Yayoi Kusama artwork in the flesh – ‘Revelation From Heaven’, painted in 1989. A visually flickering series of almost flourescent red and yellow dots and flames stretched over three canvases 🔴
3 – And lastly, Eri Takayanagi‘s ‘How To Fold A T-Shirt’. A neatly, indeed beautifully folded white tee in a simple display case on a plinth, the tidiness of which Marie Kondo would be proud! 👕
After exploring all four floors, our creative hunger sated, and with aching feet, we wind our way back to the city streets to find Otemachi Subway Station, buried somewhere beneath the concrete highrise jungle above, and jump on the first train home to Ueno, a well-earned rest and a hearty dinner on the menu👌
Instead of Japanese tonight, we decide to break the rules, and drink beer at an English pub followed by dinner at Sairaien Chinese Restaurant, 😂🍺🍜 where their English menu is a godsend, as I seem to have completely forgotten most of my Duolingo Japanese words and phrases! They even have a Marlborough Sav Blanc on the menu, which works nicely with my prawn spring rolls and dumplings 👌
And so ends our second happy day in Tokyo ✔️
Day 3 – Asakusa, Hamarikyu-en & Tokyo Bay
First stop: Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa ⛩️
We are late rising again this morning (I think it’s called exhaustion 🤭), so by the time we arrive at Asakusa station and head for the temple, there is already a sea of wall to wall humanity surging through the gate!
All we can do is snap a photo of me submerged within the throng, under the giant lantern 🏮at Kaminari-mon, hand held up like a drowning soul, then find a hole in the heaving mass and fall into step, the wave of people washing us past the rows and rows of souvenir shops along Nakamise-dōri, leading towards the temple.
Like body boarders, we pop out on the shores of the temple steps, coughing and spluttering, not from seawater, but from plumes of smoke and burning incense sticks permeating the air 💨
We watch as worshipers waft the smoke towards themselves, while others purchase their fortunes on pieces of paper. If the fortune is bad, the paper is folded up and tied onto wires near the shrine, in the hope that their luck will change🤞
There are kimonos everywhere, rickshaws circling and phones and cameras snapping at every sumptuous, sensational sight ✨
This is Tokyo on steroids, and we are right in the middle of it! An amazing moment, not for the faint of heart, and not to be missed 🥰
Afterwards, we wander back to the temple gates and our attention turns to the next ‘must do’ item on our Asakusa area list….
Asahi Brewery, Asakusa
After such an intense immersion into high octane Japanese tourism at Sensō-ji, we feel the need for a calming draught. And where better to taste a -2.2° cold, crisp ale than at Asahi Brewery HQ, also known as the Superdry Hall.
This imposing, Philippe Starck-designed crystal-cut building is a stand out, from its golden flame sculpture, (lovingly referred to as the golden turd), to its impressive architectural impersonation of a frothy glass of beer 🍺
It is almost enough just to admire it from the outside, but we want more than just that. We’ve done Sensō-ji and survived! We want more than just a building and a beer!
We want views as well…and food 🍕
Cue in Asahi Sky Room, enclosed in the ‘froth’ of the Asahi office tower’s 22nd floor, and we are transported into ‘hoppy’ heaven where the views over Tokyo are to die for!
We order beers and pizza, and sit in awe, gazing out over the incredible sight before us. From every window we see Tokyo, its streets, rivers, buildings, boats and billboards below us.
We are high enough to see it all, but not too high to miss the detail 👌
It is the best beer I think we’ve ever had 🍻
Next stop: Hama-rikyu Gardens for some well-earned green time 🌳
But first a sardine sandwich must be ‘eaten’ as we cram ourselves into a tin can that is the train from Asakusa to Shimbashi Station in Tokyo Bay.
We had hoped to catch the Tokyo Water Taxi there, but lingered too long over our Asahis, and missed the last ferry by 10 mins! 🍻
From Shimbashi Station it is a brisk 19 min walk to Hama-Rikyu, once the gardens and duck hunting grounds of the Tokugawa Shoguns in the 17th Century.
Today it is a peaceful sanctuary running alongside Tokyo Bay, which obligingly supplies the water to fill its tidal seawater pond, Shioiri-no-ike 🦆
We wander through fields of flowers, past century old gnarled pines and twisting wisteria trellises, never out of sight of the highrise buildings standing sentinel on its perimeter 🏢
It is a pleasant, quiet, winding walk over bridges and under trellises to Nakajima-no-ochaya, one of four original teahouses built by the Shoguns, this one in 1707.
Here you can enjoy matcha (powdered green tea) and wagashi (Japanese confection).
But we are not partaking this time, only passing through 🍵
Our destination is Tokyo Bay itself, the beating heart of Tokyo’s maritime industry and access point to all destinations along its coastline 🚢
A 16 minute walk roadside, after leaving the park brings us to the Tokyo Bay Pier with its spectacular views of Rainbow Bridge arching across Tokyo Bay. We are too early to see the multi-coloured lights that give the bridge its name, so settle instead for a stroll along the waterfront before making our way to Shimbashi Station for our final train ride of the day, a 12 minute ride back along the Ginza Line to Ueno-Hirokoji Station.
Back in Ueno we find a cute little ramen shop, Tenjinyu, for dinner, order our food via a machine in the corner of the restaurant (with a little help from a staff member), and settle back with a beer and whisky sour, in celebration of another incredible day done in Tokyo. Cheers! 🍺
Day 4 – Shibuya, Harajuku & Shinjuku
Today we are catching up with our good friends Narumi and Nana for a day of touring, feasting, and fabulous fun 🍜🍺🎉
We start at Shibuya Station, where we meet them at the famous Shiba Inu statue of Hachiko, the loyal dog who waited patiently at the station everyday for his master to return from work, even years after his master had died 🐕
Obligatory photos taken, and my quest to see both the ‘real’ Hachiko and the bronze memorial one finalised, we head to Shibuya Crossing for some more pics, then upstairs in Mads building for an incredible bird’s eye view 👀
Harajuku
From Shibuya it is only a 15min walk to Harajuku’s Takeshita St, famous for Tokyo’s edgy, crazy fashion, although, we can’t see much of it over the pulsating, procession of people swarming down the street!
As we’d learnt at Sensōji Temple, just dive in and you will eventually pop out the other end, so we did….! 😅
Our reward for traversing busy Takeshita Street, was lunch, at delightful Jingumae Okonomiyaki Restaurant at the other end of the street 😋
After a short wait for a table, on a rustic deck complete with resident turtle, 🐢 Jingumae dishes us up three sensational Japanese pancakes – pork, prawn and potato, all with beautiful, delicate dancing bonito on the top 🐟
Delicious! We eat our okonomiyaki with gusto, and wash it down with icy cold Asahi beer and a Yuzu Sour 🍺
We laugh, chat and reminisce over our Okinomiyaki feast until sated and happy, then move on to our next destination – Meiji Jingu!
Meiji Jingu
Meiji Jingu is a beautiful shrine in Shibuya, dedicated to Emperor Meiji, who, during the Meiji Era (1868-1912), promoted friendship with foreign countries and developed a cultural richness, upon which modern Japan is based today.
175 acres of grounds surround this shrine, and with 100,000 trees and shrubs forming an immense forest buffer zone, it is a peaceful and calming walk into and away from the shrine.
We enter through a magnificent Torii (gate) crafted from silky, smooth Japanese Cypress, and follow the long path to the shrine like pilgrims on a wondrous journey.
It is lined by trees, lanterns, and rows of beautifully decorated Saki barrels, stacked one on top of the other, six barrels high. On the opposite side of the path rest crates and crates of timber barrels, holding French wines from the vineyards of Bourgougne in France.
They are offerings left here to be consecrated at the Meiji shrine, given in the spirit of world peace and amity. It is indeed an amazing sight!
We make our way to the Temizusha (font) where we wash our hands using water from spouts at the stone basin.
At the main shrine, we toss in a coin, bow twice, clap hands twice, and bow once again, ending the ceremony by making a wish ✨
We are keen to add to our memento books, cherished gifts from our good friend Kumi, so we head to the Goshuin shop to buy a commemorative stamp, the traditional seal, handwritten by the monks of Meiji Jingu.
It is a serene walk back through the quiet forest, past trees with wrapped trunks and sentinel-like lanterns lining the way.
We emerge, back in the city once more, feeling cleansed and ready for our next adventure – the 45th floor Observation Deck atop the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building…..! 😲
It’s not just the commanding views from the Observation Deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, on the 45th floor, 202 metres above ground level, that are impressive though.
Sitting in the centre of the restaurant area is a Yayoi Kusama-created grand piano, proudly wearing her signature black dot design on a canary yellow background. It stands out like a star (for me) as it is my second real life Yayoi artistic creation in a matter of two days!
The views over Tokyo are impressive and vast, and even include Mt Fuji, which we try to spy in the distance, but sadly can only just make out its outline beneath the haze.
Viewing over, we head to our last destination for the day – Shinjuku, to see what all the fuss is about!
Shinjuku
It’s a cool, retro, vintage, contemporary, traditional, gaudy area near Shibuya, and it literally zaps you with its electricity! ⚡
There is no comparison between the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building area we have just left, with its Gotham City-style buildings, and this frenetic, young, action packed Kabuki-cho scene.
Although we are here for a quick beer and taco-yaki, we can’t help but stand on the footpath and spin on our heels, trying to take it all in. The colourful buildings, the forward fashion, the global clothing stores, the eclectic restaurants and the iconic Golden Gai district🍺
Eating taco-yaki at the popular Gindaco eatery, gives us a perfect excuse to sit back and watch Shinjuku slide by! We devour the crisp, delicate taco yaki balls of deliciousness, hiding pieces of succulent squid at their centres, and are immediately fans 😋
Shinjuku is a place I can’t wait to return to, not just to drink in its awesome atmosphere, but to skull it! 🥂
After Taco yaki, we stroll through the Golden Gai district, but it is early, daylight, and nothing is open yet. The alleyways go on and on, and I imagine how exciting and magical it would be at night, with lights on and humanity giving movement and life to its bars and restaurants.
Unfortunately, we can’t linger in Golden Gai until dark, as we already have dinner sorted. Our final treat today is to experience Izakaya! 🍣
Irasshaimase! Yokoso! (Welcome!)
We have now entered the fascinating world of the Izakaya restaurant.
The Japanese word izakaya (居酒屋) literally meaning “stay-drink-place.”
And that’s exactly what we do!
We arrive at ‘Sennen No Utage’, drop our shoes into individual lockers, grab a table with bench seating in a sunken room, and settle in with our first of many beers over a very civilised 2 hour ‘limitless’ drink cover period!
It’s all about eating, drinking and being merry – Japanese style , and we embrace this not unfamiliar concept with gusto🍺🎉
Izakaya is an informal affair, and Narumi and Nana order dishes via tablet, one after another, in a slow rhythmical fashion, punctuated every so often with the call ‘biru kudasai’ when anyone’s glass is drained.
We pile our little torizara plates with the freshest seafood sashimi, grilled yakitori, warm, salty edamame, a pile of tasty vegetable and shrimp tempura, grilled chicken dipped in raw egg, a zesty onion, leek and shrimp salad and karage chicken 😋
A feast with friends! And the perfect end to an awesome day! ‘Gochisosama Deshita’ Narumi & Nana 🙏
Day 5 – Breakfast at the Zoo🐼
What more could you ask for on your last day in Tokyo, than to have brekky with a rhino and a panda?
Just a 4 minute walk from our hotel is Ueno Zoo, famed for its giant pandas (the first pair donated by China in 1972 as a good will gesture) and for being Japan’s oldest zoo, first established in the early 1880s.
Of course we want to see Pandas Shin Shin and Ri Ri, but on our arrival, the line up is already out the door, with a 70 min wait. Not how we envisage spending our last morning in Tokyo!
Instead, we opt for a fun animal themed breakfast in the restaurant opposite the rhino enclosure, and afterwards, wander the exhibits, until we come to the Panda Forest. Here the panda viewing wait is only 20mins, so we eagerly jump into the queue.
It is a pleasant wait, shuffling along the line through a lush bamboo grove, and at the end we are treated to a big, fluffy Shin Shin on full display, laid back, and happily chomping on her breakfast. Mission accomplished, we head for the exit, but instead, find ourselves drawn into the Vivarium, an enclosed area housing reptiles and amphibians, including a resident, 100 year old giant Galapagos Tortoise.
After exploring this interesting and exotic exhibit, we leave the Vivarium and find ourselves near the Ikenohata Gate exit, which takes us out to a most spectacular sight!
Shinobazu Pond
‘Shinobazu no ike‘ sits at the south west corner of Ueno Park, and is a sight to behold as we exit the zoo and head for home.
This section of the pond is flanked by city streets and a cherry blossom covered walkway, while in its centre sits a small island temple, Benten-do, dedicated to the Goddess of good fortune, water and music 🌸
It is rumoured, that if you cross the bridge to the island with your lover, you are destined to part ways! Luckily for us, we are viewing it from a distance, over a pond dotted with a kaleidascope of bobbing and turning swan paddle boats 🦢
It is a delightful sight for us strolling by, as much as it is for the locals sitting under the trees during their lunch break, and for the resident cormorants watching on in wonder, as they dry their wings on the sidelines🦅
The paddlers are also enjoying it, as they swan around the pond in giant zig zags and circles, dipping and turning like experts, their leg and smile muscles aching with overuse 😊
On the other side of the pond is a lotus section, where in July/August, its surface is blanketed in a blaze of pretty pink lotus flowers. Although it is now a forest of sticks and spent, floating lotus roots, it is still an arresting sight.
As we wander back to our hotel to collect our luggage and head for the Skyliner Station and our journey back to Narita, we spy a dainty, rusty coloured Acer, quietly awaiting its turn to shine ✨
Its splash of autumnal amber set amidst the delicate pink cherry blossoms, is a subtle reminder that ‘koyo’ (Autumn colour), is just around the corner, 🍁 and we have to see that!
Sayonara Tokyo👋
This afternoon we are heading home after a full and action packed five days. We have had an amazing time here, and I think we have taken advantage of every available waking moment!
We have averaged 14,000 steps every day! 😅
We loved our 9th floor room at the Centurion Hotel Ueno, its central location, and especially the birds eye street views of the city below from our comfy marshmallow bed ☁️
Sadly, the hotel restaurant and bar were closed, possibly a casualty of Covid, but in reality it was a good thing, as it pushed us out the hotel doors and into the streets, making us explore the area further👌
We have ticked a lot off our list of things to see, and are definitely now comfortable finding our way around, and negotiating Tokyo’s extensive rail network.
Although I forgot most of the Japanese I’d learnt prior to leaving home, we found it relatively easy to understand and be understood, and if ever we looked just a little bit lost, a friendly passer by would suddenly appear and get us back on track 🙏
So what will we miss most about Tokyo?
- First and foremost I will miss its high tech toilet system, especially the very civilised warm toilet seats! 🚽
- Cute dogs feature as a very fond memory, as do cute robots, the abundance of beer, and the delicious, light as a feather, breads 🥖
- Did I mention the warm toilet seats? Not just warm, the toilets also operate automatically, flushing for you, opening for you and even playing sounds to disguise your own embarrassing ones!
- And, what can I say about Tokyo’s incredibly efficient rail system? Nothing really! I think it’s a well known fact that you can set your watch by it, (except of course when unfortunate antelope collisions happen)!
- Lastly, I will miss how safe Tokyo makes you feel, and most of all, the generous, gentle, patient and respectful Japanese people, especially our beautiful friends Kumi, Narumi and Nana 🥰
Needless to say, we will be back. We have a lot of empty pages in our Goshuin books to fill and some very beautiful Autumn leaves to admire 💗
またね 日本 🌸 Until next time Tokyo 🍁
Tips for a stress-free trip:
- Purchase your Keisei Skyliner tickets via KLOOK online before you leave home. Its cheaper than purchasing tickets at the airport Skyliner counter. On arrival, all you do is scan your voucher’s QR code at the ticket counter or at a ticket machine to exchange your voucher for a pre-seated train ticket. Easy!
- Register your flight details and entry info onto the Visit Japan Web site, for an easy, hassle free transition through customs.
- As soon as you arrive at your hotel or at the airport, purchase a Welcome SUICA Card, which is a top up card for visitors allowing you to travel anywhere in the Tokyo Metro rail system for a limited period of time. It is easily topped up with yen at a machine at any train station, and your card balance is shown every time you tap in or out on a journey.
- We had enough money left on our cards to buy our tickets for the return Keisei Skyliner trip back to Narita Airport, which was a bonus.
Read our To Do List of Sights and Attractions:
Handy Travel Guide Links*:
Lonely Planet Tokyo Travel Guide
Lonely Planet Japan Travel Guide
Lonely Planet Japanese Phrasebook & Dictionary
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Pixsell Travels 
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