For the winter holidays Jon and I traveled to Osaka and Tokyo! We spent spent a day in Osaka, flew out to Tokyo, spent 4 days there, and then returned to spend another day in Osaka. Although it was a bit complicated and frustrating at times, we somehow managed to successfully navigate the trains, subway, buses, and planes to see all kinds of cool places!
Day 1 in Osaka
Our first day in Osaka was spent at Universal Studios Japan! Our favorite part of which was Harry Potter World, of course. It doesn’t have the Diagon Alley section like the one in Florida does, but it was still amazing. And it was interesting to hear Japanese dubs over the character’s original voices. While at Harry Potter World, we stopped into Ollivander’s during one of the interactive shows, and I got chosen to receive a wand! I felt like my 12-year-old self again, who waited for her Hogwarts letter haha. I was so giddy.
But this trip was particularly special in another way – because, unknowingly, we went almost exactly a year after Jon proposed to me at the Harry Potter World in Florida. It was basically the one-year anniversary of our engagement, which made the trip even more meaningful for the two of us.
That night, we didn’t book a hotel because our flight was very early and we got back very late, so it was too expensive to pay for a hotel to sleep in for only a few hours. So we resorted to one of Japan’s unconventional overnight methods – an internet café. For a relatively cheap price, you can sleep in a private cubby with a squishy mat floor and a computer, and you also have access to a manga library, food, drinks, and showers if you desire. It’s not the most comfortable or private of accommodations, but if you’re trying to save money or only trying to grab a few hours of sleep, then it’s an option you can look into. And it’s an interesting experience for sure.
Typical internet café room
Day 2 in Tokyo
The next day, we flew out to Tokyo via Peach Airlines (which was much cheaper compared with other airlines, as long as you can put up with the inconvenience of them only flying out of major cities). This was my second time to Tokyo, but my first time actually getting to experience it! Although we spent the first couple of hours trying to navigate the GIANT Tokyo Station in our attempt to find a luggage locker to store our giant suitcase. Pro Tip: If you’re traveling around Japan, it might be in your best interest to travel with a couple of smaller suitcases rather than one big one, because storage at stations and on trains and such are much more accommodating to the former. But, luckily, almost all of the stations in Tokyo offer luggage lockers and cloak rooms to store your luggage for the day, so you don’t have to drag it around. But New Year’s Eve was extremely busy, so it was tricky to find available ones.
But once we tackled that initial problem, we went to Tokyo Tower to get some scenic views of the city. It was a beautiful sight and made us realize just how huge Tokyo really is. There was also a glass floor window that we stood on, which was mildly frightening. And from the tower we could baaaarely see Mt. Fuji in the far distance, although not clearly enough to truly appreciate its beauty. I was a bit disappointed by that, but maybe next time we can actually go to Mt. Fuji itself!
A view of Tokyo from Tokyo Tower. Mt. Fuji is in the veeery far distance in the center, but it’s difficult to see.
After we had our fill of that, we hopped on a train over to Shibuya, one of Tokyo’s most famous areas known for its fashion and nightlife. It was amazing to see all of the flashy lights and signs, and just the sheer amount of humanity.
Shibuya, Tokyo
To celebrate New Year’s Eve, we met up with an ALT friend of mine who also happened to be visiting Tokyo, and went to a small but charming bar on the outskirts of Shibuya called Miki’s. 10/10 would recommend. The staff were really friendly and spoke great English, and it was a small but nice crowd of Japanese people and foreigners. We drank a lot, ate a lot, and played games until midnight. After that, we all walked to the neighborhood shrine to participate in 初詣 (はつもうで) hatsumoude, which is the first Shinto shrine visit of the New Year. Most people visit on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd of January. People make wishes for the New Year and buy お守り (おまもり) omamori, which are charms or amulets that offer protection and good luck in general or in specific areas of life, such as health or academics. They also return old omamori to the shrine to be burned.
Some typical omamori
I’ll explain a little bit more about the New Year in Japan. It’s called お正月 (おしょうがつ) oshougatsu. I explained in my previous post that Christmas in Japan is like date night for couples, while in American it’s a religious and family holiday. Well, the New Year is also opposite. In America, it’s a party holiday to spend with friends, while in Japan, it’s a spiritual holiday to be spent with family. Some customs of the New Year include sending New Year’s Day postcards, nengajyou (年賀状 – ねんがじょう), to friends and family, similar to sending Christmas cards in the U.S. Also, people will give money to children, known as おとしだま otoshidama. There are certain types of food that are traditionally eaten on the Japanese New Year, such as 餅 (もち), or rice cakes. They’re really good, and one of my co-workers was kind of enough to make me some. There’s also お節料理 (おせちりょうり) osechi-rouyri, which are a variety of dishes that can vary depending on the region. Finally, what I think is the most interesting custom is the bell ringing. On December 31st at midnight, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times to represent the 108 sins in Buddhism, and to get rid of the 108 worldly desires that’s believed to be in every Japanese citizen.
It was such a fascinating and unique experience to get to take part in some of these Japanese New Year traditions and learn about the importance of them and the meaning behind them. The New Year is a fresh start and a clean slate for people all over the world, but every culture has a different way of welcoming in the New Year and celebrating it. As they say in Japan, 明けましておめでとうございます！(akemashite-omedetougozaimasu). Happy New Year, everyone!
Day 3 in Tokyo
We started out the third day of our trip by visiting the famous Meiji Shrine, which is dedicated to the spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shouken. This shrine has gotten a few million visitors during the first few days of the New Year in the past, and that number was probably consistent this year as well, because it was PACKED. It took us quite a long time to get into the shrine, and at one point we happened to be standing next to a guy from Indiana, so that was quite a coincidence.
Meiji Shrine
When we finally made it into the shrine itself, we made a prayer for the New Year. There’s a certain correct way to make wishes/prayers at Japanese shrines, and I’ll explain the way I’ve been taught (if the way I’ve been taught is correct…). First of all, before you enter the shrine, you should wash your hands to purify yourself. You pick up the wooden ladle with your right hand, pour some water into your left hand, then switch and pour some water into your right hand to rinse them. Then, pour some more water into your left hand and drink it (to purify yourself both inside and outside I suppose?). Then, tip the ladle toward yourself so that the rest of the water streams down the handle and onto the ground. Be careful not to let any of the “dirty” water fall back into the basin.
Hand-washing at a shrine
Once you’re all purified, you can proceed to the praying part. As I’ve been taught, you first throw in a coin as an offering, and it’s supposedly good luck to thrown in a 5 yen coin. Then you bow twice, clap your hands twice, hold the pose and make your wish/prayer. Then you bow again and exit. However, this method and order seems to differ sometimes depending on the shrine, because some have ropes and bells that you can ring. But you get the general idea.
After Meiji Shrine, which is right off of Harajuku Station, we went and explored some of Harajuku. It’s a district in Shibuya that’s known as a center of youth culture and fashion. We found a number of unique little shops, and also a ridiculous number of crêpe shops. Crêpes are super popular in Japan, but for real, we found at least like 7 of these shops on the same street. There were 3 on one corner. The demand in that area must be insane. We later went back to central Shibuya to find a bar, and on the way stopped to do some purikura, which is basically a photo booth that makes you look super cute and flawless.
Day 4 in Tokyo
This day of our trip was really special because we got the opportunity to have a really rare experience – we entered the grounds of the Imperial Palace and saw the Emperor give a speech! This only happens twice a year, so we were very lucky to be able to see it. My Japanese isn’t quite good enough to understand his speech, but everyone else seemed pretty excited when he was done, so it must’ve been a good one. And we got some free Japanese flags to wave around, so that was a plus.
The Emperor of Japan giving a speech at the Imperial Palace
Next, we headed over to Akihabara, a district that’s nicknamed Akihabara Electric Town, because of its many shops selling electronics, video games, anime, manga and such. It’s an otaku’s paradise, and even if you’re not an otaku, it’s pretty interesting just to walk around and look at everything.
Akihabara Electric Town
Another thing that Akihabara has a lot of is maid cafés, in which waitresses dress up in cute maid costumes and cater to a mostly male clientele. It’s not as weird or creepy as it sounds, I promise. We went to one, and while it was entirely men there, the maids are really cute and friendly, and they drew pictures and wrote a “Happy New Year” message on our food. Japan also has a lot of animal cafés – dog, owl, reptile, you name it – although they’re most famous for their cat cafés. Being a cat lover, there was no way I was leaving Tokyo without going to one. The one we went to was called Cat Cafe MoCHA, and we payed for 30 min of kitty play time. There was a really big, relaxing room with sofas, cat toys, cat trees, and more, and you can sip coffee and pet and play with cats for the amount of time that you paid for. It’s really soothing, and I didn’t realize just how badly I miss having pets around. If you ever go to Japan, you should definitely give it a try!
Lastly, we traveled to the top of the relatively new Tokyo Skytree to get a breathtaking night view of the city. It’s 634 meters tall, which is twice the height of the Eiffel Tower, and it’s also the tallest broadcasting tower in the world. A bit pricey, but worth every penny, in my opinion.The pictures just don’t do it justice. Thousands of lights dotted the darkness as far as the eye could see. Tokyo is truly an amazing city.
Day 5 in Tokyo
Our last day in Tokyo! We decided to spend it in Shinjuku, another area that’s known for its nightlife. There’s a small area within Shinjuku known as Golden Gai, which I went to last time I was in Tokyo. It’s a complex network of narrow alleys in which over 200 tiny micro-bars, clubs, and food shops are crammed. We didn’t get to stop in this time, unfortunately, but I’d definitely recommend bar-hopping there. We mainly walked around and explored, because there’s a lot of interesting shops and signs to see.
Shinjuku, Tokyo
One of these interesting sights is the big Godzilla figure that’s on top of the Toho Cinema. At certain times the speakers around the theater emit intimidating roaring noises and thrilling music while Godzilla blows steam out of his mouth. Definitely taken by surprise.
Oh no, Godzilla!
Sadly, we had to leave, and flew back to Osaka that night. We booked a couple of capsules in a capsule hotel, because we wanted to experience yet another one of Japan’s unique overnight stay options. I was worried they might feel claustrophobic, but they’re actually decently spacious. There’s room to sit up and move around, and there’s a tiny TV, charging port, and air conditioning unit inside each capsule. I wouldn’t recommend it for staying numerous nights in a row, but for one night, it’s definitely a unique experience.
While I’m talking about unique hotels in Japan, I can’t avoid mentioning love hotels. They’re exactly what they sound like. One can choose to stay overnight, or to stay for a short time, like an hour or two. I bring it up because you can find streets filled with these kinds of hotels in areas of Tokyo such as Shibuya and Shinjuku. They’re kind of funny to look at, because they usually have bright, gaudy fronts and really silly names, like Hotel Diamond. They stick out like a sore thumb. But I should point out that love hotels aren’t only used for their most obvious purpose. They’ve started to become popular among travelers who want to save money or who didn’t make a reservation at a regular hotel, and they’re also used by married couples whose parents live with them, and who need to get away for a bit. Anyways, it’s kind of fun to walk around and look at them.
Day 6 in Osaka
The final day of our trip! We started off by going to Osaka Castle, a really beautiful place with lots of history. Inside you can see lots of historical armor, documents, and artifacts. It’s a tough little castle, as it’s had 3 different run-ins with fire/lighting/explosions throughout its history, but it’s been taken care of and repaired well.
We ended our trip by going to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, which is one of the largest public aquariums in the world. It contains numerous exhibits depicting various forests, islands, bays, reefs, oceans, etc. of the world. It’s a fantastic and well-kept aquarium, and we got to see all kinds of interesting ocean life, like whale sharks and giant, scary-looking crabs.
Afterwards, it was time to leave the big, bustling cities for the peace and quiet of my little country town. I definitely miss the fun, excitement, and convenience of those big cities, but they also made me realize how much I appreciate the safety and calmness of Chizu. Until next time, Tokyo!
Stranger in a Strange Land 