Tokyo Station & Akihabara

After our short and super sweet visit to Kyoto & Nara, we resumed our adventure in Tokyo. On our first day back, we decided to explore the Tokyo Station & Akihabara area, two very iconic places in Tokyo. Also, it was Andy’s birthday!

Tokyo Imperial Palace

We started our day by taking the infamous Yamanote Line to Tokyo Station. This station itself is a landmark that I wanted to see, but unfortunately, a significant part of it was under construction. This wasn’t too big of a deal if it wasn’t for the fact that we’re terrible at directions and all of the detour signs made us lost for a while.

Back in Kyoto

Kyoto International Manga Museum

After we checked out of our Airbnb, Andy and I made our way towards the Kyoto International Manga Museum. On the way, we got to take a nice walk in the city parts of Kyoto. We stopped at a Doutor for some breakfast, which consisted of some nice hot tea and some small sandwiches. We’ve always wanted to get something from Doutor since we saw them everywhere in Japan. Funny enough, Doutor is a lot like Tim Hortons in Canada. They sold similar items and of course, they’re everywhere.

Exploring Nara

Writing about my day in Nara is actually really hard for me, because it was honestly one of the best days of my life. And I’m sad that it’s over.

Heijo-kyo

Since our Airbnb was in Kyoto, we actually had to take the train to Nara that morning. It took a quick hour and we got to Nara at around 10 AM. From the train station, we followed the signs on the sidewalk and walked for about 15 minutes to get to Heijo-kyo, Japan’s capital city during the Nara period in the 700s.

Visiting Kyoto

Taking the Shinkansen

Jan 4. Early morning at around 8 AM, we left to take the train from Tokyo to Kyoto. We had decided that we were going to take the Shinkansen, an extremely fast bullet train which made a 6-hour drive into a ride that was a little over 2 hours. Taking the Shinkansen was a really pleasant experience. It was really comfy with spacious seating. You also get to pass by a lot of nice sights. But since it was so comfy, I fell asleep for a good part of my ride.

Shibuya, Yoyogi, Harajuku, & Roppongi

Waking Up in a New City

Jan 3. Waking up in Tokyo for the first time was such a shock. I half expected it to be a dream. It couldn’t be real, that I was in Tokyo. A feeling of excitement rushed over me as I pulled my curtains and looked out at an unrecognizable view. There was an entirely new city in front of me, calling to me to explore all that it had to offer.

Traveling to Tokyo

The First Day in the New Year

Jan 1. Midnight, the new year had begun and my flight to Tokyo that morning drew near. I’d like to say that I was really excited, but I was mostly scared. I’ve never lived in a country so foreign on my own. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know the language and I wasn’t familiar with the culture. There was just too much to be unsure about. Still, I knew that my move was inevitable, so I pushed my fear aside, and spent the rest of the morning planning for my grand adventure ahead.