For my second day in Tokyo I wanted to go somewhere other than Asakusa and Shibuya. The beds at the Khaosan Ryokan were comfortable, however, they were also the first beds I’d slept in during my trip which didn’t have a privacy curtain, so I had a more traditional hostel experience of people waking me by accident. Some people in the room had gone out both nights and had woken me up at early hours of the morning; the usual hostel experience. Both times they had invited me but I had declined.
I woke on my third day in Tokyo feeling, for the first time since I had arrived, like socialising. Everyone else in my room had gone to Tsukuji Markets early so I was left to my own devices. After a quick Google search, I decided to take the train to Tokyo station and see the Imperial Gardens; from the pictures it looked beautiful and I was interested in seeing downtown Tokyo.
I hopped on the train and headed down. The ride into the station was very comfortable, it was mid-morning so I had very much missed the crowds. Once again, when I came out of Tokyo station, I was greeted by a sea of people moving in different directions. Tokyo station has a huge number of restaurants and stores, as well as many enticing signs. One sign, in particular, said “Character Street”, so naturally I followed it. Turns out the sign led to heaven, yes actual heaven. This ‘street’ was actually just a string of stores but all the stores were Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Gudatama, Snoopy, etc. Character Street was a wonderland of nostalgia.
Once I emerged from the buzzing underground I found that the actual streets of Tokyo didn’t make much of an impression. There were people in suits heading off to meetings, lunch, or wherever, but apart from there were only a few tourists. The streets were eerily quiet and nobody seemed to be smiling. Overall, it felt a bit gloomy.
I soldiered on, loosely following my Google Maps directions until I came to the Imperial Gardens entrance. The garden is surrounded by a high wall but you can still see buildings and treetops peaking over, the lush trees inside clashing with the concrete jungle. Inside the walls, however, is a new world, separate from the business realm of downtown Tokyo. You can follow paths lined with bushes and huge trees that lead to a big field with people having picnics and hanging about.
The area has history too; there’s an old turrent that you can still walk up.
While I was there I spent some time in the park. There were families and friends everywhere, their bubbles of conversations floating around me. While I couldn’t understand what they were saying, I enjoyed making up conversations. Maybe this couple was talking about their wedding, these girls were talking about their night out and that baby was speaking baby gibberish about blue skies and clouds (it looked like it was three months old).
After some time had passed I decided to check out the ruins. While I was walking up and enjoying the view I couldn’t help but notice a man who also seemed to be on his own. I was taking selfies when he approached and asked if I wanted him to take it for me, always a welcome offer! After I thanked him and we awkwardly walked away.
Since coming to Japan I had been surrounded by people with the exclusion of Tokyo. I wanted to make a friend in Tokyo, and it seemed like he did too. Even after the photo taking we were standing quite close to each other, so I took a gamble and asked how his trip was going. After a while, our conversation was taking off and we naturally started to walk and talk about our adventures in Japan.
His name was Peter, he was from England and he was so tall that I kept getting hit with the full force of the sun in my eyes whenever I looked up at him. He had been in Japan for a couple of weeks travelling with a friend. Most days they had gone out together but he said she was a little lazy, sometimes preferring to stay inside. She knew a fair amount of Japanese and had taught him how to ask for a photo, at least he thought she had. Whenever he asked people he kept receiving funny looks until one day someone corrected him; turns out he had been asking if he could take photos of people.
After we had strolled around the garden I asked if he had any plans for the evening. He didn’t, so I invited him to come to Harajuku with me. He said yes, although I wondered later if he regretted his choice. For years I was kawaii; I often would dress in all pink, including my hair, and had the best accessories including fake donut necklaces, bows and tiny jars with tiny candies inside.
Still to this day that kawaii lifestyle lives inside of me and Harajuku drove me crazy. By this point in my travels I was wary about how much money I spent, I could buy everything I saw in Japan, so Harajuku for me was mostly window shopping. Our first stop when we came out of the station was Condomania, a little store visible to all. We thought it would be something else but no, Condomania sells a variety of condoms, including Rilakuma and flavoured ones.
After that we went walking up the main street of Harajuku, looking at stores like KiddyLand and the Souvenir shop. KiddyLand was my favourite and I wished I could buy everything inside, especially the shark merchandise. Peter bought a variety of quality and interesting souvenirs for his friends and family from the Souvenir Shop, while I bought a few postcards.
We stopped at a Takoyaki store called Gundaco that I’ve only seen in Tokyo. The takoyaki from here is different to most others I’ve tasted as the outside is crunchy and the inside still gooey. I also bought a taiyaki, a pastry filled with red bean in the shape of a fish, which must have been deep fried because it was crispy. That store is my favourite for takoyaki and taiyaki, both of which make great, cheap snacks.
Afterwards, I invited Peter to meet up with my friend Megan. I met Megan that year in Melbourne through a mutual friend and we bonded over our love of Japan. We were meeting in Shibuya, and after consulting Google Maps, we decided to take the 30-minute walk over the train. Once we had met up with Megan we took to the streets to find a place to drink.
At one point Megan read “ビ－ル” on a sign, getting a round of applause from Peter and me, who were absolutely awestruck. We settled down in a HUB Pub, basically a foreign friendly pub, and ordered some edamame while we chatted. As the drinks poured Megan told us about another bar called 300 Coins, so we ambled over and they thankfully had seats for us.
At the time I didn’t realise how special it was to find 300 Coins not only open but also not fully occupied, however, I still greatly appreciated it. 300 Coins is a dive bar that sells drinks for….300 yen. We started making our way through the menu, then Jeven from Kyoto, who was also in Tokyo, joined us and we continued making the drinks flow. The music was great, the lighting was dark, and the bartender was sassy and fun. We didn’t want to leave.
So we stayed until the last drinks were called and we had to pay our tab. We were worried but it was incredibly cheap, less than 3000yen each. Not bad for how drunk we were and how long we had been there. Once we were outside Peter saw how late it was and dashed off, he had a flight the next day and needed to catch his train. Jeven, Megan and I wandered off to search for a karaoke booth.
The first karaoke place wanted to charge us 3000+ yen, which we weren’t interested in paying. We decided to check our last train and were shocked to see it was leaving in 20 minutes. Megan explained that trains in Tokyo stop before midnight. Jeven and I cursed this weirdly early closing time, said goodbye and ran off (Megan had ridden her bike in). Jeven and I slipped through the crowds and towards the gates, successfully following the signs which indicated our track number.
Panting and a bit sweaty, we found our track number. Somehow, in our state, we had managed to find our way in the Shibuya maze.
A Hungry Girl In Japan 