Tokyo

In the past few years, Tokyo has become a popular destination for young travelers. The bright lights, never ending night life, and world famous restaurants have turned this place into every traveler’s dream. For me I was attracted to the unknown. I was attracted to the fact that when you look at a map, Japan is completely on the opposite side. The right side. I was living in Colorado. The left side. It is almost unfathomable to imagine what is on the other side of that map by just looking at it. 

Growing up I had a friend whose family was from Japan. Eating rice candies that stayed inside the wrapper was about the extent of experience with anything Japanese. As I grew older, I began to explore other cultures and truly immerse myself in the possibilities that travel could bring me. I slowly became obsessed with shows like “No Reservations” and “Parts Unknown”. I admired the way travel content creators like Anthony Bourdain could portray the feeling of a place through the camera. Other content creators would make their own spin on these shows and I was always jealous at the experiences they were having. But, the one thing I always noticed through watching hundreds of hours of travel content was… everybody went to Japan.

Which is why when I got the chance in the summer of 2023, I jumped on it immediately. 

Why?

There are a few different reasons why I decided to go to Japan. Yes. It’s much different than America and that was intriguing to me. But, there are hundreds of places around the world that are “much different than America”. Yes. The food is possibly the best in the world. Yes. Tokyo is the biggest city in the world. But, I ultimately decided to pull the trigger because I felt that it was safe. As a young traveler, I want to explore the uncomfortable and experience new cultures but as somebody who is learning to be independent, safety is always at the top of my mind. Going to Japan would be the farthest I have ever been away from home and to be honest, this scared me. For my first trip like this, I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t getting in over my head. I also had a few buddies that would be joining me on my adventure this time which made it feel safer as a group. 

Preparation

As a normal 23 year old would, preparation was minimal. I never think to start packing a few days before so it’s always a rush to get everything together that night. In terms of things to do in Japan, luckily I had a buddy who recently went a few months prior and I essentially re-used most of his itinerary as a starting point. In order to make it really interesting, we decided to also take a trip to the island of Okinawa. This decision was on a wim and really had no preparation going into that half of the trip either. As my flight approached, I couldn’t help feeling the nerves and anxiety that comes with diving into something unknown. For some reason, I just knew I had to. 

Arrival

Upon arrival at the airport we immediately caught a bus to the train station nearest our hotel. While this was an easy process, the bus ride filled me with excitement and curiosity. Trying to describe Tokyo as you arrive from Narita Airport would be doing it an injustice. It’s almost too big to conceptualize. I didn’t know where to look because I felt like I would miss something on the other side. I was genuinely overwhelmed. You can prepare all you want for a trip like this, but once you are on the ground in the middle of the biggest city on earth, all that preparation goes out the window.

How do you choose what to do?

In a city like this, you could spend your whole life living here and not see half of it. So how do you choose what to do in just 5 days? I found that putting pressure on yourself to see and do everything ultimately will make you disappointed in the end. Instead, I enjoy letting the adventure take you where it wants to. So other than the baseball tickets I bought a week before the trip, we decided to experience the city as it came to us. This meant immediately getting lost and getting lost again. I noticed quickly that the streets in Tokyo are meant to grab your attention. It’s like they are intentionally trying to get you lost. At home I would always pick a place to eat before I left the house. This way I give myself the best chance at having an enjoyable meal. Here the streets are lined with restaurants anywhere from 5-15 seats. Each and every one provides their own unique flavors. It was almost impossible to find a bad meal in this place. I can’t recommend enough letting go of that research you did weeks before your trip and letting your senses take over your choice. 

Baseball Game

The next morning we woke up to get to the other side of the city in order to attend a baseball game. I had gotten this idea from a travel content creator on Youtube a while back and thought it may be interesting to experience the new environment. Needless to say, the energy did not disappoint. We were there to cheer on the Tokyo Swallows. 

The first thing you notice at a Japanese baseball game is that the energy is high… the entire game. Each team has their own band that plays throughout the entire game. Not only do they play throughout the whole game, each individual player has their own chant that the fans have memorized when they come up to bat. It’s loud and it’s exciting. At an American Baseball game the atmosphere is half people interested in the game and half people who came for the social environment. Here, everybody is fully invested in cheering on the team. They even brought out mini umbrellas whenever somebody hit a homerun! Even though the team lost, the fans never stopped chanting or bringing the energy. If you like watching baseball or just like attending sports games in general, the Tokyo Swallows should be at the top of your list. 

Tsukiji Fish Market

While walking around Tokyo with no general direction may be the best way to truly experience the city, there are a few places like the Tsukiji Fish Market that every tourist has to visit. We heard about this place while talking to some other Americans at dinner one night and decided to take the train over the next morning. Like everything else in Tokyo, there’s alot going on at one time. Think of your standard farmer’s market with stalls of food but then smush them all together into small side streets and add in thousands of people. 

To come to a place like this and do it right, you have to have an adventurous palette. What’s on the menu? Things like eel liver, prawn waffles, and cow tongue. “When in Rome” right? (If you’re willing to power through the stomach ache that follows). We also dabbled into some wagyu beef skewers and frozen strawberries with sugar. This is the type of place to bring your appetite. It’s also known for having some of the most unique shopping in the city. Local vendors bringing their own creations to the stand, you are sure to find something to bring back home. Whatever you’re in the mood for, they have it. 

The Tsukiji Fish Market was by all means a summary of what Tokyo truly is. It’s hectic, it’s busy, it’s creative, and it’s beautiful. It’s unique. There’s no other place in the world like it. You will taste things that you will never taste again. You will smell smells you can’t explain. You won’t want to speak because you’re too busy trying to ingest what’s going on around you. Your eyes will light up like a little kid in a candy shop. It’s rare as an adult that something will turn your brain back to the innocence of a child’s. But, there’s simply no other way to experience something like this. 

Convenience Stores

There’s plenty of places that we visited that were on tourist lists and you can easily research these (Shibuya Crossing, Mt Fuji, Senso-Ji). I’m not here to reiterate that list. I think one of the coolest experiences that truly allowed me to step inside of the life of somebody living in Tokyo were the convenience stores. Places like 7/11. Each and every morning thousands of Tokyo residents walk into a local convenience store and grab something for breakfast on the go. This may sound foreign to somebody in the U.S. as food in these stores are generally avoided. But in Tokyo, the food is cheap and good. Like really good. 

As soon as we figured this out, it became a part of our daily routine. Walking over to the local convenience store to grab a quick bite of a handheld sushi roll called Onigiri. They have delicious choices like Spicy Mayo and Tuna or Salmon. After trying everything in that store, I would always keep coming back to these because they were cheap, efficient, and delicious. They will have your typical snack food and drinks as well in case that’s what you’re looking for.  But, If you’re looking to save money on meals, you almost can’t go wrong by eating at a convenience store in Japan.

Japan in General

I didn’t spend nearly enough time in Japan. I was there for a total of 11 days and I felt like I needed a month. Something changed inside of me as I was leaving this place. My thirst for adventure grew. There was a fire lit beneath me that still burns today. It’s filled with curiosity and wonderment about this world that I didn’t have before. This is a place that is so special it will change the way you perceive the world. It will leave you hungry for more. It will have you dying to come back. 

Japan has built a sense of community in the country that is lacking in America. There’s a feeling of togetherness in Tokyo. Somehow in the biggest city on earth, they have found a way to make it feel like one big organism. I’ve tried to incorporate some of this feeling back into my own life in the states. Treat others with respect and friendliness like I was treated in Japan. My trip has changed me for the better and I owe it all to taking that leap of faith into the unknown.