The final leg of my trip. I took another bullet train, this time to Tokyo. The bullet trains are a must-do when visiting Japan, so clean, so efficient. In fact, everything is in Japan! There was no pushing or shoving to get on or off the trains (the opposite of the London underground in rush hour). All passengers formed an orderly queue to let the passengers disembark the train first, before calmly boarding the train. The conductors, dressed so smartly in navy uniforms, bowed as they entered each carriage. It was quite the experience. Once I had arrived in Tokyo, I met with my uncles again and we went out for drinks in a local bar.
The next day was Easter Sunday, so we had Easter brunch on the roof of my uncle's apartment building. The views were incredible. The sun was out and the sky was blue. We headed out through Ueno Park which was beautiful. As it was the weekend and the sun was out too, there were lots of people laying out in the park having picnics. We walked to the Tokyo National Museum, Meiji Shrine, the Senso-ji temple and also ended up on Japan's oldest rollercoaster!
The following day we continued to explore Tokyo. We headed towards the vibrant district of Harajuku. Takeshita street is probably one of the most well known in the Harajuku area. Takeshita street is a short pedestrian road lined with independent and unique shops. Most of them sell fashion items or candy. Make your way to the Totti Candy Factory for the most insane multi-coloured, multi-flavoured candyfloss!!!
In the afternoon we continued with all things bizarre and wonderful by visiting the 'robot restaurant' (in Shinjuku). Wow. Where do I begin? Whilst you can choose to eat at the robot restaurant it is more of a pop-culture performance with robots, dancers and lasers. It was completely odd but if you go with a light heart (or maybe after a few drinks...) you might find yourself having a good time! If you are going to pay the robots a visit, make sure to have a good hunt online for the best ticket price (there were lots of deals once I got looking!).
My final evening in Japan was spend wondering the Golden Gai which is made up of 6 tiny streets (not big enough for cars!) lined with around 200 teeny tiny bars. Some of the bars you had to pay an entrance fee for although these tended to offer better deals on the drinks. We had a good walk around until we found one we liked the look of (and that we could all fit in more importantly!). It was decorated with American rock and roll memorabilia and could only fit around 8 or 9 people in so it was cozy!
I wish I had more time to spend in Japan, like I said, I completely fell in love with it. I will be back!
