Day 5: Tokyo

Today’s focus is Shibuya, the downtown of Tokyo! It’s a full day of events from 10 AM to 10 PM.

We skipped breakfast and went directly to Shibuya for Udon noodles.

The world busiest crosswalk truly lived up its name; there were about few thousand people crossing at the Shibuya crossing with us once the lights turned green.

The Udon noodle restaurant is on the 13th floor of one of the tallest buildings in Shibuya, and it has a great view! Even though we arrived early, there was already a line. By the time it was our turn, it seemed all the windows seats had been taken. So I asked the hostess if there was any still available. She hesitated and said if we can finish our meal within an hour, there was a reserved table available. I said yes.

Oh boy, we got the beat table in the house! It was a private corner room with an amazing view of the Shibuya area. It never hurts to just ask, right? As we were admiring the view, our food, which consisted three huge bowls of noodles with many toppings arrived, and they were so delicious! We haven’t had any bad meals for Japan yet!

After lunch, we headed to the rooftop observation deck called “Shibuya sky”. Seriously, you wouldn’t be able to imagine how big Tokyo is until you see it from high up. The sprawling metropolis stretching to the horizon in all directions, further than what your eyes can see. Being the largest city in the world, Tokyo impressed me in so many ways! Their subway system is so efficient that we never have to wait for more than three minutes; their city is so clean that we only saw one piece of garbage the entire time we were here, even though there’s never any garbage cans on the street; the people are so polite that I rarely see anyone raising their voice. What a city!

Slowly, we strolled towards Yoyogi park, a large park that’s right by Shibuya, just like how Central Park is in the middle of Manhattan. Immediately, all the urban chaos had faded away, and the ancient trees towering above us, providing much needed shade against the noon sun. We sat on our park bench for a long time, resting our feet and admiring the scenery, trying not to fall asleep in this quiet and calm oasis. Eventually, we got up, and walked towards Menji shrine that’s right by the park, but stopped for ice cream along the way.

As night started to fall, the lights lit up all around us, we found ourselves back in Shibuya. There were so many people bustling around still, some trying to get home, some were resting on a rooftop park, sipping Starbucks coffee, some were having dinner with their friends in a long stretch of food stalls specializing cuisines from different parts of the country. I don’t think this city can be more perfect, but it continued to impress me with all its details.

By 9:30 pm, we were riding an elevator towards the top of Tokyo Tower. I was already at awe seeing the city from Shibuya Sky, but the night scene on top of Tokyo Tower, which is one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo, brought the awe to even higher level. So many lights, millions and millions of them, sparked against the nightly sky, and the moonlight paled in its brightness. It was absolutely magnificent!

By the time we got back to our hotel, I have walked over 22,000 steps for today! Fortunately my injured ankle didn’t bother me too much anymore, otherwise this wouldn’t have been possible.En savoir plus