Day 48 – Part 2 – Tokyo, JAPAN

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As lightning pierced the night sky in the distance as the plane approached Japan we were expecting a rough landing in Tokyo. However as we got closer, all we could see were lights from the city which seemed to go one forever, regardless of the direction the plane turned. This is one massive city.

We touch downed at Narita International Airport which thankfully had clear skies. At the airport we were disappointed after we went through immigration as they don’t stamp the passport, but just give a small piece of paper.

We bought a data only SIM card as it’s the only type available to tourists, unless you want to hire a phone which is expensive and has to be returned to the same airport. Also we were super lucky to get there at 8:50pm as all the shops were closed by 9pm. There was a vending machine with SIM cards available, but we were glad to deal with an actual human.

The ATM was also different. First we thought it was a scanner or something, but as they had the word bank printed on the sign-age we hoped for the best. The screens are almost flat facing up instead of vertical screens that I’ve used elsewhere.

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Using Google Maps again we were able to get to our accommodation Japanize Guesthouse in Chuo Ward Tokyo, using two trains from the airport. The process is super easy and every train was on time. Google Maps gives pricing, times and platform numbers which made the process a breeze. Since we didn’t have the JR pass too, we were able to take the cheapest option instead of being limited to the JR lines. There was a 5-10 minute walk from the station to the guesthouse. Just a note, Google will assume you have the Metro Card which is called an IC Card, which we didn’t have so we were charged a tiny bit more.

At Japanize Guesthouse we found that the place had a bar on the ground level, a common room on level 2, and then our rooms were on level 4. We were exhausted and had to first take off our shoes and then walk four levels up (there is no elevator) to our bunk bed. This was the smallest space we have stayed in since our holiday, probably in my entire life. On level 5 there was a rooftop terrace, so I went to check it out expecting amazing Tokyo views. I was a disappointing however as we were on the smallest building in the area, so from the roof top all I could see was the walls of the taller buildings surrounding the Guesthouse (DOH)

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Everything feels smaller than in Sri Lanka and Thailand, from the showers to the slippers, but we are excited to explore the city tomorrow. The toilets are super complicated and it took a while to work our where the flush button was. I decided not to try out the other buttons for now.