Last night in Tokyo

We returned from Nikko to Tokyo for our last night in Japan. Our 14 days holiday in Japan went quite quickly. I guess it’s true what they say that time runs fast when you are having fun! The last evening was spent hunting for a new suitcase. I came to Japan with less than 8 kilos hand carry luggage and had now ran out of space because of the many snacks and stationeries. We decided to go to Shibuya, just like we did during our last night in Tokyo in 2018. I also wanted to get one of the most important Eki stamps from Shibuya station. This one has the paw print of Hachikō! Check out the reel of the day here.

The next morning, my husband went to the airport at 9 AM as he was flying to Helsinki through Bangkok. I stayed a few more hours just passing time walking in Asakusa before it was time to leave for Haneda airport. At the airport, I saw the most beautiful sunset. I cannot believe my eyes. The sun was setting by Mt Fuji. And no, I was not on the rooftop observation deck. I was coming out of the food court after dinner. I felt blessed! Check out the last reel here.

Some take aways from this holiday:

Good walking shoes are important. We were walking more than 10 kilometres each day. So imagine wearing bad shoes!
Registering online at Visit Japan Web for the QR codes for immigration and customs made entering Japan so much faster.
Having a Welcome Pasmo or any other IC cards was really useful when using public transport (although, not in Okinawa) and also paying for convenience store purchases.
It’s good to have cash as many places only take cash, like street food vendors and small local restaurants.
Having a pocket wifi all the time was very good because we really need to be connected to check on routes and locations. I highly recommend it and we only paid around 55 EUR for the entire 14 days.
Buy flight tickets early as prices tend to spike up.
Book accommodation that has free cancellation because there might be changes along the way.

I love how Japan is a great mixture of the old and the new. I love how Japan just has lots of amazing food. Even the convenience stores sell good snacks. I love how Japan has a very efficient and clean public transport. I love that Japan is very clean with clean toilets everywhere. I love that tap water is drinkable. I love that restaurant meals include drinking water. I’m not a fan of buying bottled water. I love their top range customer service. I love that there is no tipping as we are not use to that in Europe. I love that I can enjoy simple stuff like collecting Eki stamps, watching out for pretty manholes and playing Gachapons. I felt safe in Japan. There was no single moment when I felt that I was in a dangerous situation.

I can truly say that it was an amazing holiday. And if I can make another wish, I wish to visit Japan again! Bye for now, Japan. Until next time!

You can watch a flip through of my travel journal here!

All photos from my Japan posts are by Ari Vitikainen at https://www.arivitikainen.com