I have to apologise that in this post, there were very few pictures captured for a few reasons: 1) I didn’t think there was anything particularly worth taking pictures of, 2) I was so engrossed that I forgot to take pictures, 3) I was so hungry that I forgot to take pictures of any food and 4) I think the big city vibe was tiring me out.

Day 3

I thought that I would go and explore an out of the way area called Shimo-Kitazawa which is suppose to be a cool hip area. I had actually found this area whilst googling beforehand but my guide on the Shibuya tour also mentioned it. There are winding streets of vintage stores and cafes. I ducked into a few but there was nothing special that caught my eye. I found a Vietnamese Banh Mi place to have lunch and was happy at having a break from Japanese food.

It’s a change of pace from the touristy areas and many vintage stores if you are in the mood to search and take it easy.

Afterwards, I headed to Shinjuku to explore (I am laughing as I write this knowing how tired I was already). As you may already infere, I didn’t get much exploring done and found a cafe to sit and read for an hour instead.

For dinner, it was time to finally try Ichiran Ramen. It’s a famous chain around Japan and is known for it’s great ramen but also that it’s very void of social interaction. You are served your meal through this bamboo type screen from the staff and you’re sitting in your own cubicle with wooden panels on either side. You do have to queue but the line moves quickly.

It’s so famous, you can find Ichiran Ramen kits around town if you want to take some home with you.

Day 4

This morning was spent on a walking tour in the Tsukiji Outer Seafood market. This seafood market was previously home to the famous fish auction and wholesale market but they have now moved elsewhere so this existing market is purely for tourists and locals. Our guide took us around pointing out good places to eat at and brought us to the cool Tsukiji Peppers Cafe where I got to try their home made hot pepper cola. It was so good and interesting!

All I managed to capture was this blurry photo of some of the enormous prawns and oysters for sale. I have not seen any as big as the ones at the market! I was so hungry by the tour’s end. I ended up trying a wagyu skewer (it tastes as good as it sounds!), one fresh oyster and some raw fish. I can report, that all of this was incredibly fresh and worth it. By 2pm, a lot of the stalls were closing so I would advise you come early so you can look around and for some places, wait in line to eat some fresh seafood.

Every since coming to Japan, I have found that my stomach has been a bottomless pit and by every meal time, I was already ravenous. What I had for lunch barely tied me over so I went back to my favourite dessert place I found yesterday for some sweets. I then headed back to my hotel area for an early dinner.

Day 5

This was my last full day in Tokyo. Not going to lie, I was exhausted by this point and spent the morning taking it super slow and just hanging out in my hotel room as well as going back to buy something for family.

In the afternoon, I met with a friend and we went to explore Korea Town at Shin-Ōkubo station (yes, I know I just left Korea but it was nice!) and to a cafe. We spent the afternoon chatting and walking around before going nearby to a shabu shabu restaurant (Japanese hotpot).

This post concludes my time in Tokyo. Are there any other favourite places that you’ve been to in Tokyo and would recommend? Let me know!

Check out my previous post for Day 1 and 2 in Tokyo here.