24 Hours in Tokyo!!

5pm: We arrived early Friday evening at the Hotel Mets Shibuya, which happens to be inside of Shibuya Station! Shibuya is the most “bustly” part of one of the most bustling cities in the world, and on our way out, we wanted to be in the center of the action. But staying inside the station itself was another level altogether, the lobby of our hotel just yards away from the ticket entrance to the Narita (Airport) express. We actually recommend this place if you're pressed for time in Toyko, not fussed about how your room looks, and want to pop out to the center of Shibuya multiple times, while being on a street that's tucked away, near a convenience store, and not that chaotic.

7pm: At night, we launched into Shibuya Scramble Crossing, thus known because the intersection is so long and so crowded that one actually has to line up on the side of the street she's on, queuing for a chance to make it to the other side within the time of just one traffic light! I found this extremely exciting and we scrambled back and forth before meeting our friends Asuka and Taishi for dinner.

8pm: Our meal was at Tofu Cuisine Sorano, a treehouse-like eatery with a floor made of stones interlaced with a small indoor stream in which koi fish went about their business as we enjoyed our meal.

9am: We started the next morning cruising around Harajuku, winding between high fashion brand outlets and tucked-away cafes between trendy stores (Rag & Bone’s coffee shop, for example). 

10am: We made our way up to the perfect place to re-live our youth, Takeshita Street—the “teenager street” of Tokyo. Bubble waffles, spiralled potatoes on sticks, cotton candy, and crepes seemed to overflow into the streets, alternating with fashion options that I guess (?) are popular with teens these days? Well past my teens, I nevertheless found something suitable to buy, indulging in puppy socks and Nutella crepes under street lamps wafting Japanese pop hits down the street in synchronicity.

Udai grabbed a falafel wrap from this doner kebab place that actually seems to be quite an institution. Your wrap will come with chopsticks.

12pm: From here, it was off to a more age-appropriate place: Meiji-jingu, one of the most venerated shrines in Japan, and the site of some Shinto weddings in the city. We got to see three such processions as we wandered the grounds, under majestic trees and a pleasant early-fall breeze.

2pm: In the afternoon, we retreated to the Tomigaya area for some sit-down time at Cafe Rostro, a classic Japanese coffee shop that makes cups of coffee according to the drinker’s taste preferences. Udai’s nutty, bold, less-sour cup was comprised of three bean varieties, ground by hand, and meticulously poured through a filter. My iced fruit tea was left to steep in a cocktail shaker that was laid down in a bed of ice for 20 minutes, and then rapidly rotated until the inside chilled to an ideal temperature.

3pm: I grabbed pho for a late lunch at Dadaï Thai, a combo Thai/Vietnamese/Chinese spot in Miyashita Park. 

5pm: We then walked back to Hotel Mets and walked literally outside our 3rd floor lobby onto the Narita Express back to the airport!

また近いうちにお会いしましょう！