With the magic of Tokyo Disneyland behind us, it was time to get a move on to the real Japan. Disneyland was a nice way to get our feet wet when we first got to Tokyo and helped us slowly acclimate to the culture. We had the advantage of a slow culture shock since many of the cast members there spoke English but that was all about to change. It was now time to test out our skill from the inconsistent learning we did between apps like Duolingo and Rosetta Stone and an audio book from Pimsleur. This would be the true test of international travel with a group who’s never traveled abroad before.

I knew from my own travels growing up that it was time to break out of my comfort zone and speak the native language. Japanese was definitely the hardest language I have attempted to learn and not having the rigid structure I had when I was learning French and ASL in school definitely made it harder to grasp. It is a beautiful language. One that I’d love to learn more of but there was not enough time to learn before this trip, so I had gotten down the most important key phrases. “Hello.” “Where is…?” “Thank you.” “Do you speak English?” Those are the most important phrases to know. Especially when traveling to a country you’ve never been to, in a language you’ve never spoken before. I’d like to say that the few phrases I knew were spoken properly because I never had anyone question what I was saying.That would backfire though because they would reply in only Japanese when they thought I could speak Japanese..

With our hotel in the rear view, it was time to figure out the path to get into the city and to find our Airbnb. We thought an Airbnb would allow us to have the best experience in Tokyo, being in a Japanese apartment smack in the middle of Shinjuku. Japan’s train system is both the most confusing and most impressive public transit system I’ve ever seen. It puts the subways of New York and London to shame. It was so amazingly convenient that we could use it to get anywhere we needed to. I found that with the right amount of gusto, you could become a pro at taking the train. Although the announcements and signs being primarily in Japanese did make it a bit challenging. Apple Maps was my best friend while trying to navigate the complexities of this train network and having my transit card on my phone available in Apple Pay meant I never worried about running out of money. Using Apple Maps gave me an easy to follow guide to the train system and got us from the Tokyo Disney Resort to our Airbnb as efficiently as possible, without missing any stops or connections. Our Airbnb host was also kind enough to send us directions with photos. They were just slightly outdated.

It was still too early to check into our accommodations so we got off the train a stop early and started to explore Shinjuku. After depositing our bags in a large enough locker, which we paid for with our transit cards (¥800), we found the station exit and got our first glimpse of the bustling city. We were instantly greeted with a busy sidewalk and tall buildings surrounded all around us.While trying to get our bearings we discovered our favorite Japanese clothing store UNIQLO and did a little duty free shopping. This store was several stories high and offered tax free shopping for tourists!

After shopping, we continued walking around Shinjuku and found a neat alleyway called Omoide Yokocho which included a long row of yakitori shops. We couldn’t help ourselves from the overwhelming heavenly smell and decided to stop in. This shop included one bar and a slim row of bar stools. I believe there were only 8-10 seats and if someone needed to get out, you would really need to squeeze into the bar top to let them through. We decided to order 6 yakitori skewers, plum wine, and beer. Everything was extremely tasty.

After our snack, we decided to continue exploring and walked to a pachinko casino nearby. I personally didn’t play but it was interesting seeing all of the machines that were anime themed. Inside the casino, there was a cafe that we decided to check out. In there I tried a delicious coffee. After enjoying the cafe and casino ambience, we walked along the street until we found a Don Quixote. It was crazy packed inside there and the aisles could only fit one person. This store was at least three levels and had a narrow staircase to go up and down.

Finally it was time to check in to our Airbnb. We gathered our bags from the lockers in the train station and made our way back to the train. We continued down the train just one stop before disembarking and making our way to our Airbnb. We utilized the PDF picture directions to the location of our Airbnb, which helped tremendously. The Airbnb was studio sized (small by American standards) and had just barely enough space for the four of us. The two double beds, small futon and coffee table took up just about all of the space of the living area. There was also a small kitchen and a small toilet room that was separate from the shower. We personally didn’t need a lavish accommodation because we would spend most of our trip outside exploring. All you really need is a place to shower and sleep.

After getting fully settled into our home for the next few days, it was time to go out and explore. Being that we were staying in Shinjuku, we thought it was time to go explore the area around us. This is after all why we chose to stay here. A short 15 minute stroll through the neighborhood we found our way back to the heart of Shinjuku where we had been earlier today. This was all completely by mistake and was just because we were trying to find a good place to get sushi. We stumbled upon a revolving sushi restaurant that featured small plates at only ¥160. Even though we live in Southern California with access to fresh fish, this was some of the best sushi we have ever had because the fish was even more fresh. This restaurant was named Oedo Shinjuku Nishiguchi Shop. I didn’t take any pictures in here because it was on the smaller side and intimate so it was hard to get my camera out. Also, I was starving and photos were the last thing on my mind.

Once we had enough sushi we took off in search of more food. Different food. We made our way across the street to Omoide Yokocho where we found a Gyoza restaurant. This restaurant was hidden up a very narrow staircase on the second or third floor of the building. Something interesting about Japan that we discovered, was that restaurants generally only served one type of food. If you wanted anything different you were forced to go find food elsewhere. This one only served Gyoza both steamed and fried, along with beer. There is no shortage of places to grab a drink in Japan.

Now that our bellies were satisfied, it was time to explore Shinjuku some more. We stumbled upon a Japanese arcade called Taito Station. We spent at least an hour in this 5 story tall arcade and spent more money than expected. Luckily after all of my effort, I was finally able towin a Hello Kitty plush for my wife that she had been eyeing since we got there. Taito Station makes it easy to spend loads of money since you can use your transit card.As long as you have enough money on your transit card, you can keep playing games and claw machines. They also made it extremely convenient by adding a transit card fare machine inside the arcade to reload if needed.

With our first full day of Tokyo behind us it was time to head back to our Airbnb and get some rest for tomorrow. Up next: Nikon Museum and Studio Ghibli Museum. Thanks for reading, until next time!