Tokyo!

Making the most of a three day weekend we took our first trip to Tokyo! We finished work, met at Shin-Osaka and took the shinkansen (bullet train) straight to Tokyo. It was a pretty surreal experience: travelling in our suits straight from work and arriving in Tokyo two and a half hours later. We arrived super late to our hotel (which was surprisingly super fancy), had a drink at the bar overlooking the metropolis at night and then to bed before our day of exploration...

Our plan was to walk around as many different districts as possible. Our hotel was in Shiodome, so we walked through Ginza admiring the beautiful glamourous shops and buildings... something that Osaka does not have... until we crossed over Nihonbashi Bridge. The bridge had these cool Asian style dragons!

Then... to Akihabara! Famous for electronic shops, video games and maid cafes. It was a really fun area! Incredibly 'Japan' and of course Jonny loved it.

Checking out some Japanese language video games...

And Jonny tried to win me and Eevee, with no success!

We then visited a shrine dedicated to Confucius...

And afterwards went to the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park. The buildings that made up the museum were beautiful! And it housed some incredible Japanese pieces.

The evening was my favourite part of the day - but we didn't take many pictures! Tokyo really comes alive at night. 

We met with the lovely Toshi, who we contacted over Couchsurfing. He brought some friends and showed us around Shibuya! We went to a super modern sushi bar where you order what you want from a screen, and somehow it appears in front of you without the need for waiters (I think by magnets perhaps?). Afterwards, we went to a tiny street full of traditional looking bars which could fit about 8 people in each bar - they were tiny!! We sat all night drinking sake and talking - but it was a truly phenomenal night. Something that could never happen without the knowledge of a local. We didn't take many pictures, but the memory will stay!

Day 2 will come soon!!