What can I even say about Tokyo...it's just something else entirely. I loved Roppongi, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya...I often travel alone and I enjoy big, crazy cities because it's easy to wander around by yourself without feeling like you need to find someone else to hang out with. Essentially you can be alone without being lonely. Once I figured out the trains, I was good to go. Trains in Japan are shockingly easy, even if you can't read kanji. In fact, I'm still blown away by the fact that I went all the way from my apartment in Osaka to my hotel in Tokyo just by getting on one train after another for about four hours total. It was pretty simple. The Shinkansen is a pretty nice ride, like an airplane, but with a humane and decent amount of legroom and no turbulence.
I sort of feel like I failed in the way of photography on this trip...to be honest it just wasn't the first thing on my mind, or even the second or third for that matter. I went to Tokyo so I could know what it was like to be in Tokyo, I just wanted to see it all for myself, and it definitely has a much different feel from Osaka. I was forewarned that people in Tokyo would be less friendly to foreigners than those in Osaka, but I did not find that to be the case at all. I met some really kind people, and also had some encounters with some very strange people. Strange people pop up in any big city, I suppose.
I ate horse meat sashimi (basashi...not my idea, but I'm down to try anything once), devoured twenty pieces of sushi from one of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo (Sukiyabashi Jiro in Roppongi), lounged in the bar featured in Lost in Translation (the Peak Lounge, on the 41st floor of the Park Hyatt Shinjuku), shopped in Harajuku (saw the girls Gwen Stefani was talking about), and stayed out all night in Roppongi. I returned to Osaka totally exhausted, but happy about my adventures. Also, notably, when I arrived in Osaka again yesterday afternoon, for the first time ever I found myself calling it "home". Perhaps that's what the insanity of Tokyo can do to a person. It makes another place "home" by comparison. Much as I love traveling solo, I do have my moments in big cities when I just want my own room, my own bed, my own little kitchen.
All in all, I love Tokyo, but at the same time, it's good to be back. Next time I go, I'll get some nighttime pictures. Tokyo at night is breathtaking.
I sort of feel like I failed in the way of photography on this trip...to be honest it just wasn't the first thing on my mind, or even the second or third for that matter. I went to Tokyo so I could know what it was like to be in Tokyo, I just wanted to see it all for myself, and it definitely has a much different feel from Osaka. I was forewarned that people in Tokyo would be less friendly to foreigners than those in Osaka, but I did not find that to be the case at all. I met some really kind people, and also had some encounters with some very strange people. Strange people pop up in any big city, I suppose.
I ate horse meat sashimi (basashi...not my idea, but I'm down to try anything once), devoured twenty pieces of sushi from one of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo (Sukiyabashi Jiro in Roppongi), lounged in the bar featured in Lost in Translation (the Peak Lounge, on the 41st floor of the Park Hyatt Shinjuku), shopped in Harajuku (saw the girls Gwen Stefani was talking about), and stayed out all night in Roppongi. I returned to Osaka totally exhausted, but happy about my adventures. Also, notably, when I arrived in Osaka again yesterday afternoon, for the first time ever I found myself calling it "home". Perhaps that's what the insanity of Tokyo can do to a person. It makes another place "home" by comparison. Much as I love traveling solo, I do have my moments in big cities when I just want my own room, my own bed, my own little kitchen.
All in all, I love Tokyo, but at the same time, it's good to be back. Next time I go, I'll get some nighttime pictures. Tokyo at night is breathtaking.
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