Therapeutic Solo Travel Experience - Tokyo (Part 2)

Travel Dates: January 4-8, 2024 Continuing from my previous mention of the first two days of my solo trip in Tokyo, let me share my experiences from days 3 to 5 🤝 Day 3: Shibuya District + Shibuya Sky + Harajuku + Shibuya Yokocho Although it was a solo trip, I do have friends in Tokyo 😂. So, I met up with a friend in Harajuku to catch up. But before that, Shibuya, being one of the most urbanized areas, felt like Hong Kong's Causeway Bay with its dense population and skyscrapers 🪖. I had pre-booked a ticket to Shibuya Sky, so I went up alone to the top for a panoramic view of Shibuya. The ticket cost was about $120 HKD. After buying some souvenirs, I met my friend from Finland in Harajuku. We strolled around, reminisced about our time in Finland, and later went to a bar in Shibuya Yokocho to chill (btw, in Japan, izakayas usually require you to order a main dish before you can order sides/drinks). Day 4: Shinjuku Gyoen + Kabukicho Ichibangai + DiskUnion + Isomaru Suisan I woke up at 11 AM and headed straight to Shinjuku for some food and shopping. I randomly picked a ramen shop and had a large bowl of ramen. Honestly, any ramen shop in Japan serves delicious ramen, whether it's soup-based or dipping noodles! My first stop was Shinjuku Gyoen, a vast park with different wild plants in each season. There’s a large open area, almost the size of two football fields, where people can camp and picnic. I saw many families playing frisbee. Midway through, I discovered two tea houses in the park. I bought some matcha sweets and red bean tea, sat on a bench, and enjoyed the serene environment of trees and plains amidst the bustling Shinjuku. After wandering around Shinjuku aimlessly, I stumbled upon Disk Union, a store selling music albums and vinyl records. As a big fan of vinyl records and Japanese 80s-90s city pop, I had to buy albums from Anri and Tatsuro Yamashita 🫡🫡. Finally, I had a seafood-filled dinner at Isomaru Suisan, including grilled crab shell with crab meat and roe, seafood fried rice, and a sashimi platter 🤞🏻. Day 5: Yoshiwara + Shinjuku Nabezo Sukiyaki + Narita Airport✈️ On the last day, after checking out, I felt content and had no specific places to visit. Out of curiosity, I walked five minutes north of my hotel to Yoshiwara. I had read online about the tragic lives of female workers in Yoshiwara's history and the complex issues behind such businesses. I decided to visit Yoshiwara Shrine for a bit of reflection 🙂↕️. Later, I went back to Shinjuku to try my luck at a claw machine. Midway, I stumbled upon a self-service sukiyaki restaurant and ordered a standard sukiyaki set with a self-service salad bar and drink station. The highlight was the unlimited rice! The meal cost 1600 Yen. The staff, knowing I was a solo traveler, were very attentive and even chatted with me about my impressions of Japan 🙌🏻. I would definitely visit again; such a friendly restaurant 👍🏻. Finally, I returned to the hotel to pick up my luggage, took the subway to Narita Airport, and concluded my solo trip to Tokyo 🔚