According to the Mercer's Quality of Living City Ranking 2023, the city of Tokyo came in at #50th ,the third highest ranking city in Asia after Singapore at #29th and Yokohama at #47th. In 2022, Tokyo received 18,931,400 visitors, the 4th highest in the world behind Paris, Dubai and Madrid. Other than being one of the most vibrant city in the world, it is also a city of old and new, which makes it an interesting place of contrast. Tokyo is also one of the most populated city in the world, surpassing 37 million people in total. One of the best season to visit Japan is during the cherry blossom season. Being such a homogenous country - 99 percent of the population are ethnically Japanese - linked by more than 2,000 years of tradition and a affinity to the sakura tree. How many countries in the world can you name where the entire population gathers under a tree to celebrate it's blooms?
"Let me die
Underneath the blossoms
In the spring
Around the day
Of the full moon"
Saigyo 1118-1190
Day 1- Arrival at Haneda International and Tokyo
We flew direct from Kailua-Kona to Haneda International with Hawaiian Airlines.
This was an A330 liner that was fairly spacious. The lay flat chairs are just perfect for a long haul flight. The business class serves two meals; post take-off and pre-arrival. The Japanese menu was outstanding with pure delight to the taste bud.
The flight time took approximately 9 hours and 38, slightly ahead of schedule. By the time we cleared immigration and customs, it was past 10 p.m. We decided to catch a taxi to Shibuya where we will be staying for the entire trip. Traffic was light and the taxi driver sped all the way through the heart of Tokyo. We barely managed to snap a non-streaky picture of Tokyo Tower!
We were completed knackered by the time we got to our room and finished unpacking. It was time for a good rest to start the day off early the next day.
Day 2 - Walking Shibuya, Car Rental, and Driving Around Tokyo
Our day started early with a breakfast that is included with our hotel room. The food was OK. Not stellar but sufficient for the morning fill that gets the body going.
It was good that it was not raining, as we took a walk to Shibuya to find our car rental. Even for a Sunday morning, it was pretty busy - or perhaps that was just our perspective since we hadn't been to a city that has more than 36 million people(!) We picked up our Toyota Varis and were quickly on our way.
From Shibuya we drove east to the Imperial Palace located in Chiyoda City. There were a lot of tourists visiting the grounds. Unfortunately, because spring is delayed, there were no blooms as yet and the greenery was more brown than green! From there we then drove south east to Tsukuji and saw a lot of tourists lining up outside the market. Then we crossed over to Daiba where we swung past the Rainbow Bridge, saw Gundam and the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. We then crossed under the waterway via a tunnel over to Gotanda in Shinagawa.
Here we stopped for lunch at a place called Super Sambal. Its a small counter only place, served by Shige-san, who is a Japanese national who spent several years in Singapore. The food was quite scrumptious even though it catered a bit to the Japanese palate.
On our way back we went past the Japan National DIET, and the Tokyo Skytree. One thing for certain is that Tokyo is BIG. We drove all around all day and although we saw a lot of the city were were only scratching the surface. Here is the link to the video.
Day 3 - Taking a Drive to Mount Fuji
Today we decided to take a drive out of Tokyo to visit the mountainous area at the foothills of Mount Fuji. The weather was forecasted to be cloudy with rain, so we knew that it would be a miracle if Mount Fuji showed itself. Our plan was to take the expressway west to the Fifth Station on Mount Fuji. Now getting out of Tokyo proved to be interesting in itself. We took a route that was a bit off the beaten path through the various narrow backstreets, ultimately getting stuck at a train cross for more than 30 minute as we watched commuter trains going by every 2-3 minutes!
When we finally made our way to the freeway, it was pretty smooth sailing. The crowded lanes gave way to well paced vehicles, and the sight of endless buildings gave way to hill shrouded in clouds. The Japanese country side is quite pretty even on a cloudy day. When we got to Mount Fuji, it was very foggy and damp. There was still a lot of snow on the ground, so much so that they closed the road at the First Stop. We drove up to the first stop and there were bus loads of tourists there.
We then made our way back down to Lake Kawaguchi to look for something to eat. Apparently, the area around the lake is a primary tourist spot in the summer. So for now we had a hard time finding a spot for lunch as most were closed. Ultimately, we found a ramen food truck serving tonkatsu and lobster broth ramen. As usual the tented sit down area was cramped and there was something in the air that was causing an allergic reaction(!) So we ate our two bowls of ramen pretty quickly.
We then made our way to Yakisaki Park which is on the southern shore of Lake Kawaguchi. This was a good spot to walk off some of our lunch as we made our way across the park to Rokkakudo a shrine that is normally an island when the water level is higher.
This time the water level was pretty low, so we could walk out to the island. Still no view of Fuji-san... But there was a good view of the Lake Kawaguchi Great Bridge. I guess mother nature is just telling us that we have to return once more.
From here we took a drive around the lake. Here we saw many Onsen and hotels. Some were modern while others more traditional. It must be pretty busy during the peak time. We also drove up a nearby hill to see the Mount Fuji viewing deck - a small wooden structure off the road with a view to the valley. Still no Fuji-san, but instead a rather ominous sign about bears in the area!
To cap off the day we made our way back to Tokyo and drove around the city looking a an ideal spot for taking a night view of Tokyo City. Of course, 3 places come to mind: 1) Tokyo Skytree, 2) Tokyo Tower, and 3) Rainbow Bridge. As we scouted the three locations, we found that things don't light up well till after 10pm, and that it was hard to take a landscape shot of these night monuments. We finally settled in for the Rainbow Bridge, as there is an adjacent park from which night shots can be taken without being disturbed by more than 1000 people(!)
Apparently, the park is called Daiba Park and it houses two gun batteries and a historical memorial monument. There are pines along the edges of the square park that made for interesting views at night.
Before sunset, we visited Odaiba Beach which is across from the park and fronting Aqua City. Here we could see Aqua City and the Rainbow Bridge with Minato City in the background.
In the end, we managed to capture a few night shots of Aqua City and Rainbow Bridge. Good for a foggy night out!
Day 4 - Lazy Rainy and more Malaysian Food!
The forecast and actual weather for the day was indeed pretty heavy rain and fog. So we decided to stay in watching the rain go by.
We wanted to go the TeamLab today but they were sold out at both locations through April! In any case, we ordered UberEats from a nearby Malaysian restaurant called Malay Asian Cuisine. We tried their Nasi Lemak, Roti Canai and Beef Rendang. It was all so yummy...
The rain did not let up at all and Tokyo was under thunderstorm and gale warning. So for dinner, we ordered UberEats from Hainan Jifan. This time we had to work for our dinner as we had to get cash from the 7-eleven down the street and the UberEats delivery guy could not find the hotel entrance. So it was pretty good exercise from walking at least twice around the block in the rain nonetheless! The food itself was just ok. The taste was mediocre, and could have been better if the meat was not so dry and the sauces were more authentic.
Day 5 - Hiking at Fuji Hakone Izu National Park
Today was the first day with clear skies over Tokyo since we arrived. This was a perfect day to go for a hike. We looked and planned to do one which would afford us with a head-on view of Mt. Fuji-san and was off the beaten path to avoid as many tourists as possible. We found one in Shizuoka - the Mount Echizen - Jurigi Kogen- in the Fuji Hakone Izu National Park.
On our way to Shizuoka, we were stuck in really heavy and bad traffic. What was supposed to take just 1 hour 53 minutes ended up being about 3 hours. So instead of starting our hike at about 10:30am we started at 12:30pm instead. Along the way we did manage to catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji standing against the clear sky! Taunting us!
For those with bad knees, this is one hike to avoid. It goes up quite steeply at first with the help of man-made wooden steps, passing through some transmission towers before it plateaued out on a small patch with a lookout point. For us, there were no views of Fuji-san as thick heavy clouds rolled in as we arrived to obscure much of the mountain.
After the steps, the trail gets progressively steeper and narrower, with some rock scrambling and heavily rutted sections. It gets quite muddy at times and there were still remnants of unmelted snow and ice as we proceeded higher in elevation. Soon the weather turned for the worse, the cold wind also picked up speed and hit us side ways as we made our way to the summit point. It took us approximately 2 hours ascending to the summit. Unfortunately, the thick clouds shrouded the summit views; if it was a clear day we would have seen the township of Fuji with its long coastline and mountains in the distance. We took our customary photo of ourselves posing in front of the official summit signage and without much hesitation, we hastily made our way back down.
It took us just about an hour to return to the car, and to see that the sunny day has now turned into a dark cloudy day - with Fuji-san now fully covered.
See video of the hike here.
On our way back we drove north through Yamanakako and Fujiyoshida to get to the E20 Expressway. Just by luck we happened to pass by a public park with a nice stand of cherry blossoms. These were the early blooming Kawazu variety with the Yoshino not yet in bloom. Magnificent!
Day 6 - Malaysian Food Day!
So far we have tried 3 of the top 5 Malaysian Restaurants in Tokyo. Malay Asian Cuisine, Chillibali, and Hainan Jee Fan. Though I would add Super Sambal to the list! Today we are going to try one in Minato called Penang...
Penang Restaurant in Minato takes the cake for being the smallest in terms of sitting space. The place is set up like a traditional Japanese eatery and it might very well be a Japanese restaurant before Penang took over the space. When we got there at the top of lunch hour, the place was packed with only one small table at the corner. We tried the Hokkien Prawn Mee and it also seemed like everyone ordered that as well. The soup was a tad spicy, which reminded me of the ones back in my old home town of Penang. The Hainan Chicken rice was alright. Nothing to sing praises of.
After lunch, we drove to the Tokyo Big Sight convention center to see what's happening with the latest Formula E event that schedule to run this coming Saturday. The place was pretty deserted, except for a crew setting up the course way along one street. Goes to show that Formula-E is still not a crowd grabber. Somewhat disappointing for a budding sport.
We continued our exploration around the lochs and made our way across the Tokyo Wan Aqua Line - a 15.1 km submerged 2x2 lane tunnels and bridge that connects Ukishima, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki (south Tokyo City) to Nakajima, Kisarazu (a suburb of Chiba). It was built at a cost of 1.44 trillion Yen or 9.6 billion USD, and is officially called Umihotaru. When we travelled across the tunnel there was heavy traffic. Wouldn't want to get stuck in the middle of it!
Once across the landscape changed from the highly industrialized to open farming suburbs. Soon there were rolling hills and winding narrow roads. It was nice being out in the countryside away from the hustle and bustle of the city. As we travelled up the mountain to a lookout called Daifukuyama Observatory.
Unfortunately, the observatory platform was closed due to damage, but the drive there passed stands of trees, stairs and a Torii Gate. It got cooler as we went higher up the mountain and there was even some ice patches in the forest along the way. It looked like a really pleasant place for a hike.
Having had some "forest bathing" it was time for us to head back to the city for more Malaysian food! So we made our way back to Ginza to dine at a place called Rasa Malaysia; which apparently has been open for over 15 years(!) and has been visited by the ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir.
Ginza is a hip and happening place. Its where business folks tend to hang out after work, or where the more wealthy Tokyoites shop. This restaurant is in the heart of Ginza. It is located on the 5th floor, so one can peer down at other restaurants across the narrow street.
The food was indeed Malaysian but we were not too sure about it being authentic (sorry Dr. Mahathir!) We ordered Beef Rendang, Ayam Goreng Berempah and Garlic Sprouts. All were tasty, but somehow lacked the "street" flavors.
After dinner it started to drizzle. We snapped a few quick shots of Ginza and headed back to Shibuya.
We drove through the Shibuya Scramble and the streets around the area. Although raining, there were still many folks roaming the streets.
Day 7 - Crazy Wind, Rain and Sunshine...
The weather forecast for today called for heavy rain and gale force winds throughout the morning. And if Guy Hagi's cousin is a better forecaster, it is said to clear up by 2pm giving way to sunny skies! So we took our chances. We drove out at about 11:30am with intent to arrive at our hiking spot by just about after 2pm barring any traffic accidents along the way. It would be just in time for sunshine! Since our hike was in the Chiba Prefecture, we had to drive around Tokyo Bay past the city of Chiba since the Aqua Line was closed due to gale-force winds in the bay. The drive was mostly on the highway though there were some portions off the beaten path to avoid traffic. These non-highway drives are interesting as we get to see what regular urban and suburban Japanese life is like.
As forecasted, the rain stopped at about 2pm! Amazingly accurate weather forecast as the skies turned blue and the sun started to shine! All in time as we arrived at our destination, parked and headed onto the trail. This is a hike to the top of Nokogiri Mountain located in Hama-Kanaya.
We decided to do the hard steep route straight up the mountain. This is called the Kano-Hureai-no Course. It certainly did not disappoint as we headed straight up the ridge with the help of endless stairs!
Up and up we went and then it got really interesting. We could see the large cut outs of the mountain. With huge gaping holes and sheer cliff faces. It's a wonder how the Bosho stone was mined and even more interestingly how it was carried down mostly by women to the port. There were many sections to see including one with a giant carving of Goddess of Mercy (Hyaku-shaku Kannon) . So this hike had great nature and lots to see.
Towards the top we stopped at the summit observation point. Here all that stair climbing was rewarded with a perfect view of Tokyo Bay, Izu Peninsula, Hota and Hama-Kanaya towns.
We ran out of time to get to the true summit of Nokogiri Mountain. We were probably about 300 meters away. But it was already 5:15pm and we didn't want to get stuck in the dark on this trail... So, we did a loop returning via the Shariki-michi Course. This section was not as steep and had many beautiful trees and a flowing stream.
In all, this was a great hike with all the interesting history, beautiful trees, water and sun. The lookout at the summit observatory was great! Here is the link to the hike video.
Before heading back, we went down to Hota to see the sunset. There were still a few fishing, braving the wind.
We then made our way back to Shibuya and had another great Malaysian meal from Layang Layang. A great way to end the day as we were both pretty tired... (from driving!)
Day 8 - Sakura Blooming? Many faces of Fuji-san
The forecast for today is calling for bright sunshine and clear skies all day! So we will definitely be able to see Fuji-san from sunrise to sunset. Oddly, it also called for heavy fog(?) Regardless, we decided to make our way to the foothills of Mount Fuji to take in the views that were missing a week ago.
As usual there were a couple of accidents on the expressway which made our drive out to Mount Fuji extra long. This time it was about two and a half hours. Once there we tried to get to the red pagoda where the famous picture of it was taken framed against Fuji-san with cherry blossoms in bloom. Well... no cherry blossoms this time and the part they left off the picture was the million other tourists trying to get to that spot! Alas, this was not for us, as we sped away from the crowd to Lake Kawaguchiko.
We returned to Yagizaki Park where it wasn't as crowded and walked back out to the shrine on the lake. Here we finally got the shot with Fuji-san displayed in full. Only thing missing were the cherry blossoms...
We then started our drive around the base of the mountain, going from Kawaguchiko, to Saiko, on to Shojiko, and past Motosu. We did not visit Yamanaka - as there were just too many people there. The drive was interesting in that there were many folks out for a drive too. Stopping at each lake to take pictures of themselves with their rented vehicles.
On the south side of Fuji-san we finally spotted a few cherry blossoms! It was at the
Murayamasengen Shrine. Here there were a few trees in full bloom, along with a 1000 year old pine tree.
Towards the southwest face of Fuji-san we looped back to Mount Echizen and retraced our steps around the southeast side of the mountain. With the sunlight fading, we caught one last shot of Fuji-san as the dense fog started to form at its base.
The drive back was along the Tomei Expressway, which took again about two plus hours due to heavy traffic caused by a few accidents along the way. To cap off the day we had to have some Malaysian food delivered via UberEats!
Day 9 - Last Day and Flight Back
Today we spent time lazing around the hotel and then did one last drive around the city. Sunday is a good day to drive as the roads were not as crazy and there were many luxury cars roaming about. Here is a video of the drive.
We also spent the late afternoon and sunset taking a few last shots of the Tokyo skyline from our hotel room. Had some nice color as the day ended - a far cry from the grey day when we landed!
Soon we were back at Haneda International Airport ready to board our flight.
The return flight took 7 hours due to a strong tail wind. Here is a video of the approach and landing into Ellison Onizuka International.
Final Observations of Tokyo and its surrounding areas:
Japanese cars are little boxes! These are very cute but can only be taken seriously in Japan. They are exactly right for the streets here.
Japanese people are small in stature! Which is why the streets are narrow and their spaces tight.
Although Japan streets and houses are mostly small, their parks are BIG! Nice open spaces filled with lots and lots of people...
For a big city that houses the largest population in any city on planet Earth, it is surprisingly clean and orderly. An amazing feat that is only possible due to Japanese culture.
The people are amazingly polite and respectful. Then again we don't know exactly what they are actually thinking, but the outward mannerism is as such.
Japanese love their cars... very clean and shiny, and they will actually rent a luxury car for an hour just to take pictures with it against Fuji-san.
We surprisingly found a good number of Malaysian restaurants in the city, and we couldn't find that many ramen stores. Though there were many Yakitori places just outside our hotel.
Distances are short but traffic is really bad - worse than NYC. We spent many hours stuck in traffic travelling short distances in and out of the heart of Tokyo. Its mostly moving but tends to add about an hour to any estimated time. There were also many traffic accidents - mostly involving bumper braking and motorcyclists. Overall Japanese drivers are good drivers who are very cautious and courteous.
Everyone is waiting for the Cherry Blossoms to bloom(!) We were probably just a week or two too early. The Japanese government is horrible at predicting when this would occur - having changed their forecast now 14 times over the last week. Yet their meteorological weather forecasts are spot on - no Guy Hagi here!
Getting to Japan and staying in a Shibuya hotel apartment is expensive. Food, gas and tolls were relatively cheap due to the current favorable US to Japan Yen exchange rate.