Ochen Priyatna

Bought my tickets to Tokyo earlier in March and I waited for the longest time for this trip to finally happen! Boarded Thai airways for a rather comfortable 6-7 hours flight from SG-BKK, BKK-TOKYO Narita airport. Weeks before this trip I was already tracking the temperature in Tokyo and it was relatively warm (24-29) so I didn't pack too much for cold weather as well. However, our first day coincided with Typhoon Talim passing through Japan and there was strong winds and rain the whole day. Temperatures also fell to 19 degrees at night which was freezing cold for any regular human being but an extremely enjoyable temperature for me


From Tokyo Narita airport to our accomodations in Shibuya, we took the regular train through Uedo before arriving at Shibuya station. The Tokyo subway is extremely connected and complicated, but thankfully Googlemaps has the latest updates and schedules and is an extremely convenient way of finding the shortest route. Japan being Japan, the train schedules are almost always accurate.



Arriving at Shibuya, we had to cross the famous Shibuya crossing to get to our accommodations. Over the days, we will cross this junction frequently and there were huge crowds EVERY SINGLE TIME. Tourists and locals alike. So I guess it was a good move to convert it into a massive multi-directional crossing altogether.

Our Airbnb accomodation was about 15 minutes walk from the Hachiko statue. Despite our terrible encounter with Airbnb hosts back in Paris, Airbnb was still preferred in Tokyo as hotels had extremely small rooms and were pricey. Our second accommodating in Tokyo was at Hotel Villa Fontaine Mitsukoshimae and the floor space was pathetic for 2 pax.

We were famished despite finishing both inflight meals onboard Thai airways. Our check-in was at 3pm so we were loitering around Shibuya central and I dropped my first Yen on these extremely photogenic fruit mille crepe cakes.


Most cafes in Japan have a policy whereby each patron had to consume one drink at least. Despite ordering one cake, we still needed to purchase one drink each and I got the refillable coffee. A few more cups of coffee later, my 700Yen coffee became rather affordable.

HARBS
Address: Japan, 〒150-8510 Tōkyō-to, Shibuya-ku, 渋谷区Shibuya, 2 Chome−2−21−1
Opening hours: 10AM-9PM
Nearest station: Shibuya


Since we had a bit more time to spare before we check-in our luggage, we decided to drop by JINS to make a pair of spectacles. JINS is similar to the OWNDAYS concept whereby spectacles are made almost instantly (45-60 min) and prices are hence kept low as well. The concept of low prices are only maintained in Japan though, as seen from the pricey options we have in OWNDAYS in Singapore. Perhaps it may be because OWNDAYS in Japan has other competitors such as JINS and ZOFF as well. Spent a good 30 minutes walking around the shop space of JINS to find the "perfect" pair of spectacles to avoid regret cost but eventually succumbed to a pair of home-wear pink plastic spectacles.


Thereafter, you may request for an eye check (inclusive) and depending on the type of glasses you want (plastic vs glass lenses, thick vs thin lens), there are options to top-up from the original cost of the spectacles. I got mine fuss-free and it cost 5000Yen (or roughly SG$60, tax-exclusive as I had tax-free) which is extremely affordable. The spectacles were also aesthetically-pleasing and extremely lightweight.


I was extremely pleased with the quality that I dropped by Zoff to grab another pair of spectacles. In my opinion, Zoff had a greater spread of trendy spectacles and quality was slightly better than JINS. The service at Zoff was lacking slightly but the quality of the spectacles (and case) was a great surprise. Spectacles from Zoff also priced at 5000 Yen.

JINS Shibuya
Address: Japan, 〒150-0042 東京都渋谷区Udagawachō, 31, 宇田川町31番1号
Opening hours: 11AM-9PM
Nearest station: Shibuya

Enough about Japan's amazing spectacles technology, we hopped over to another establishment Japan & Tokyo are known for - Ramen. Thanks to google maps, we were able to identify that there is an Ichiran just a stone's throw away from JINS. (Map details below)



Most of the Ichiran stores in Tokyo are underground and upon entry, you'd first be greeted not by a staff, but by an ordering vending machine. We did a watch-learn-do and followed exactly what the locals before us did. In addition, order chits were also provided to choose for a thicker/thinner soup base, less or more onions or meat. Just check out the amazing space-tracking technology right here


Like any other blog out there, yes, our Ichiran ramen was served from a window and we sat in booths. I wouldn't call this a life-changing experience but it was rather authentic in displaying 1. individualistic culture amongst modern Japanese with the presence of individual booths and 2. the fuss-free dining experience suited for the working class or students to have a quick meal. These characteristics were further enhanced in the remaining days when we dined at the Japanese fast food chains (Matsuya, Yoshinoya).


I'm using the pictures I've taken to recall what I've done on the first day and there is a strange break in terms of the imagery journal - I must have fell asleep when we headed back for a break. Blame my red-eye flight for that haha.

Ichiran Ramen Spain-Saka slope Shibuya
Address: Japan, 〒150-0042 Tōkyō-to, Shibuya-ku, Udagawachō, １３−７ コヤスワン
Opening hours: 24 hours!
Nearest station: Shibuya


Our Airbnb was between the Main Street and the street filled with dozens of love hotels. Despite so, the streets are still relatively safe before 10pm. There was a good amount of convenient stores around (family mart, 7-11, etc) and we found this gem while we were searching around on google maps for our dinner place.



The shop had 98% locals and everyone was ordering in Japanese. I blamed myself for not following through with my Japanese lessons and I was illiterate in front of the words-only menu and we could only rely on the random sprinkles of Kanji words to assist our comprehension. Also, our knowledge of basic types of yummy sushi also came into handy.


Sushi was yummy and it was our first taste of the fresh sashimi in Japan. Screw the thoughts of raw fish soaked in radiation because these slices of goodness were extremely tasty and melts in your mouth. Cool experience that would change my food options in Singapore forever - I seldom crave for sub-standard Japanese cuisine now haha

Sushi Daidokaya
Address: Japan, 〒150-0043 Tōkyō-to, Shibuya-ku, Dōgenzaka, 2 Chome−2−15−1 ノア道玄坂
Opening hours: 11AM-11PM
Nearest station: Shibuya



We decided to walk off the dinner calories by visiting the one-stop shop for souvenirs - Don Quixote. Have watched so many youtube videos about the wonder of this store and I was exhilarated that the Shibuya outlet was a MEGA one - 6 levels of wacky cool shit. Our buys for the day was small as we didn't want to carry all these shit to Hakone haha

Mega Don Quijote
Location: 28-6 Udagawachō, Shibuya-ku, Tōkyō-to 150-0042, Japan
Opening hours: 24 hours
Nearest station: Shibuya (Shibuya 109 exit)

And just like that, Day 1 in Tokyo ended and now I'm getting an idea of why this Tokyo trip felt so long - we did so much in a day?!?! and we were only getting started on this 8-day vacation in Tokyo...