Like almost anyone who has been there, I miss Japan.
I miss planning my annual trips, looking up itineraries, finding places to eat, and most of all the anticipation that comes with it all.
So I decided to just take a look back at what makes this place so special, and take a trip down memory lane, until the next time we get to go on vacation, I’ll just have to come back here to relive some memories.
- I like the majestic temples:
2. Weird and hilarious things I find ever so often. I remember telling myself to get this to ward off nightmare clients.
3. THE FOOD this was really cheap too, like 30 bucks or so and it came with a live musical performance.
4. That time I went to Fukushima. It was a humbling and frankly surreal experience to actually go into the affected areas.
I met the people whose lives were affected, heard their stories and saw the streets they used to call home completely destroyed.
They spoke of whole neighbourhoods and homes that disappeared, there’s nothing left there now but a field of grass.
One of the stories that really moved me was about this school:
On that fateful day when the alarms first sounded, the teachers led the students out of the school by foot into the mountains. The protocol at the time for earthquakes was pretty much to stay put, but the proximity to the coast prompted the teachers to seek higher ground instead.
It worked, and all the children were saved from the tsunami, and when the power plant eventually did it’s thing, they were in a better position to evacuate the area.
But not their parents, who were mostly at home or at work, many of them became orphans in a single morning and most of them will never return to their hometown.
There are many other stories that were shared with me, but perhaps i’ll share them in a separate post cuz i don’t want this list to be too depressing.
5. This toilet that makes me feel like i’m taking a piss on top of the world
6. The city streets in Tokyo, there’s always something happening and interesting to look at. It can get very crowded, but it’s never as frustrating as dealing with pedestrians in Singapore because these people actually have spacial awareness and walk at a decent pace.
7. These really quiet streets you can dodge into once you get too tired of the hustle and bustle of the city.
8. Fuji-Q Highland Park. If you’re a thrill seeker and you love your roller coasters, the question you should be asking yourself when you visit Japan isn’t “Disneyland, Disneysea or Universal Studios?” – It’s actually HOW THE FUCK DO I GET TO FUJI-Q. Because it can be in a pain in the ass to buy the tickets online.
But once you’re there you’ll get to ride 4 amazing coasters, some of which have held world records.
I suggest making full use of the single rider queues if you want to take full advantage of your time here even if you go as a group.
This place is a good distance from Tokyo and missing your bus back is NOT FUN.
There’s also a haunted house in there where people fucking chase you around, and some fun gimmicky stuff like Evangalion world and Naruto’s hidden leaf village.
You’ll also wanna take regular breaks, I don’t get shaken up my coaster easily, but a couple of these put the fear of god back into me and I seriously needed to sit down and take a break from time to time.
With all that said and done – I’d do it all over again.
9. My meal at Ryuzu and other “NON-JAPANESE FOOD”.
At slightly more than $100SGD for lunch, Ryuzu is actully super good value as far as 2 star Michelin joints go.
There are plenty of courses and i was actually full by the time i got to my mains, mostly because the bread was so fucking good I had multiple servings.
You might be wondering why you would spend a bomb on non-Japanese food in Japan, and I’m here to tell you that you should SERIOUSLY consider doing that.
Japan’s excellent produce are fucking food building blocks for any cuisine, and they always have their own spin on it anyway.
You’re missing out on A LOT of bombass food if all you eat is Japanese food.
The French fine dining scene here rivals what you can actually get in France, and holy shit the pizza here is amazing.
10. Teamlab stuff + friends you meet when travelling alone
Hostels are great for solo travellers because you actually get to meet other people and hang out.
I hate sharing my room so I typically go for a private room whenever possible, but I do hang out in common areas.
It’s a really nice feeling when you return back to your hostel after a hard day of sightseeing plop yourself down on the couch and just start sharing your experiences with people sitting around.
Things often escalate to karaoke too so pick a hostel near some good bars!
When my friends first suggested I should go to that Teamlab stuff, I was very skeptical.
I thought it would just be a place to get those quintessential IG shots, but it was really much more than that.
It’s a super fun interactive art gallery and i’m seriously with what they have achieved.
I’ve never seen so many people interacting with art pieces and having so much fun.
Some of the exhibits gave me some new perspectives, and showed me how even light manipulation could be something truly wonderful.
I highly recommend it for both a unique experience and your IG shots.
Annnnnd that’s all for Tokyo for now, there’s actually a ton of stuff i didn’t include because I only took IG stories and I DIDN”T FUCKING ARCHIVE THEM LIKE A DUMBASS so I have no pics.
But it’s ok because I actually went on another trip to Japan this year before the lockdown so I’ll share that stuff in another article.
Hope you enjoyed reading my shit and don’t forget that you can get 20% off your next trip on Scoot with my code “NICKISKEWL20”.
Just kidding i’m not really sponsored, don’t do it. k bye
The Millennial Geek 