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// Tokyo Travelogue
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title: "Tokyo Travelogue",
date: "July 17, 2025",
body: [

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I'm starting a thread here to record my travel experiences in Tokyo.

= Day 0

I bought a flight to Tokyo for July 4th. The reason for this day was simply because the tickets were the cheapest. Later, after landing in Tokyo, I found out the tickets were so cheap because of a rumor that a major earthquake would occur in Japan on July 5th. Now we know that this event did not happen, so it was a bargain.

Compared to traveling domestically, there are a few more things to bring:

- Passport
- Visa
- Data SIM card
- Foreign currency cash

Because domestic mobile phones do not support eSIM, it is more troublesome and a physical SIM card is necessary. Although it is said that the required card can be bought at the airport, to be safe, I bought a SoftBank data card in advance on Taobao. It can't make calls, only access the Internet, but it's enough.

I arrived at Narita Airport after 7:00 PM. I expected to get on the subway immediately, but in fact, there were some customs procedures. During the customs quarantine, there were very cute beagles sniffing my luggage, really very cute. I wanted to take a photo, but there was a sign saying "Photography Prohibited," so I had to give up.

According to my previous plan, I needed to buy a Suica transportation card at the airport. Unfortunately, by the time I came out, the JR store was closed, and I could only buy tickets with cash.

From Narita Airport to the city center, you take the "Keisei Line" to "Nippori" station and then transfer to other lines. I should have taken the "SkyLiner," but I did not anticipate the complexity of Tokyo's railway lines. Unlike domestic subways and light rails, Tokyo's urban commuter railways are often divided into "Limited Express," "Express," and "Local," similar to the "Z Direct," "K Fast," and slow trains that stop at every small station on domestic railways. At first, I got on a slow train. As I sat there, I realized something was wrong, so I got off at a small station and began to carefully study the logic of Tokyo's railway operation. It happened to be Friday night, and there were office workers and students all around me going out to revel on Friday night, very noisy. I was in a cold sweat studying how the line worked and whether I had taken the wrong train. This was also my most nervous moment.

Fortunately, I was right to get off, and the station where I got off happened to stop an "Express" train, so I successfully arrived at Nippori.

From Nippori, I could transfer to the JR line. The JR company is also the operator of the most commonly used transportation card in Tokyo, Suica. I bought a Suica card at an automatic ticket machine at the station. Then everything went smoothly.

It was after 11:00 PM when I came out of the railway station. Tokyo's public security is still very safe. Not far from the subway is a primary school, and there are many surveillance cameras nearby. Along the way, I saw very typical Japanese streets: many detached houses, narrow alleys, a bit like a village in the city, but very well-organized.

Special thanks to Brother P for his hospitality and providing free accommodation in Tokyo.

Because I was very tired from the journey, I went to sleep early. That's pretty much the beginning of the journey.

= Day 1

Today Brother P took me around Tokyo. The main area of activity was Ueno Park. At noon, I ate tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) near Brother P's workplace, then passed by a Pokemon vending machine and bought a Sprigatito (Nyahoja) keychain. Because the weather was hot, the first stop in the afternoon was the indoor Tokyo National Museum.

Although the Tokyo National Museum seems to be the largest national museum in Japan, the collection in the main exhibition hall does not seem very good. Except for the two powerful Vajra statues at the entrance, not much left an impression on me. However, the "Toyokan" (Asian Gallery) on the right side has many distinctive collections. Many Chinese cultural relics are collected here, and even ancient relics from Egypt and Mesopotamia. As for the origin of these cultural relics, they are basically dubious. The Japanese are very cunningly writing "Such and such expedition" in the source of cultural relics, without mentioning the fact of theft or even robbery of cultural relics. The missing heads of Buddhist statues in the Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi are collected here. I wonder if there is any possibility of them returning to their original places.

Unfortunately, the chain of my Sprigatito keychain broke at some point, and it was lost in the Tokyo National Museum. Only a photo remains, which is very regrettable.

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After coming out of the museum, I walked around Ueno Park and arrived at Shinobazu Pond, a small pond with many lotus flowers. This kind of small pond has almost no distinctive features; the small pond in the center of Kunming feels exactly the same as here.

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The University of Tokyo campus is nearby, so I also went to take a look and took a few photos in front of the gate of the famous Yasuda Auditorium. The buildings on the University of Tokyo campus are very distinctive, all in Victorian style, not inferior for filming fantasy movies.

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In the evening, after having a meal of curry near the University of Tokyo, I went to Akihabara. Although it is a "holy land for ACG," since I am not very much into ACG now, I didn't feel much. I visited several anime-themed shopping malls. They felt very, very similar to the ACG shopping malls by the West Lake. I feel that the ACG commercial ecology by the West Lake should have been established with Akihabara as a reference. Japan's right-wing politics seems to be on the rise recently. There were right-wing politicians giving speeches on the street, and quite a few people were cheering and applauding. Finally, I bought two manga in Akihabara: the first volume of "Berserk" and the first volume of "Delicious in Dungeon" for my collection.

There are many gambling shops in Akihabara. I went to a slot machine and Pachinko shop to take a look and watched young Japanese people gambling. I felt they were just mechanically pressing buttons there, just like white mice in a Skinner box. Their mental state was very worrying. Some slot machines even used "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" themes as backgrounds. As a fan of Madoka, I was very unhappy.

That's how the day went.

= Day 2

From this day on, it was my solo exploration of Tokyo.

The first stop of the day was Shibuya. Shibuya is actually a large commercial street. If you are a shopping enthusiast, you will probably be very happy. However, I am not actually very interested in shopping, so I just walked around.

Coming out of Shibuya Station is the famous "Hachiko Statue." Many people queue here to take photos with the dog statue. Many people also take photos of the diagonal pedestrian crossing here.

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The shopping malls here often have a whole building for one brand. Both IKEA and MUJI are like this. But there is not much to say. While visiting IKEA, I had lunch in the IKEA restaurant and then bought a Hello Kitty fridge magnet at MUJI.

In the afternoon, I went to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. This kind of park is a bit like the Summer Palace or Yuyuantan. But even on Sunday, there were not many people, so I could relax and lie on the large lawn staring at the sky. Shinkai Makoto's movie "The Garden of Words" was also filmed here, but I haven't actually seen this movie, so I don't quite understand. However, the scenery is indeed very good. In addition, a famous staircase in the movie "Your Name" is also nearby, but I was too tired from visiting Shinjuku Gyoen, so I didn't go.

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On the way back in the evening, I passed Shibuya again, thinking of going to the SkyTree there to watch the sunset. But tickets were sold out long ago, so I couldn't make it. Then I went to the Pokemon Center there, thinking of buying another Sprigatito keychain. As it turns out, I couldn't buy one; the Sprigatito keychain was sold out because it was too popular, which was very regrettable.

Because I was tired and hungry, I didn't have much of an appetite for fine food, so I just made do with McDonald's, filled my stomach, and went back.

That's how the second day went.

= Day 3

The schedule for this day was to go to Kamakura. Kamakura is to the south of Tokyo, further than Yokohama. However, because of Tokyo's convenient commuter system and the fact that the place where I lived was also near the southern boundary of Tokyo, it only took about an hour and a half to get there.

Arriving at the JR Kamakura station, I could buy a ticket for the sightseeing tram "Enoden," which was 800 yen. I could take the tram as many times as I wanted during the day. The tram started from Kamakura. At first, the scenery was unremarkable, just ordinary Japanese streets. But suddenly, the tram drove to the seaside, and it was suddenly enlightened. My first stop was "Shichirigahama." There is a very nice beach here, which is said to be the location for many animations. It is said that Mt. Fuji can be seen over the sea when the weather is good, but on that day, the air humidity was high and visibility was not good, so I couldn't actually see it.

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The second stop was "Kamakura-Kōkō-Mae." There is a railroad crossing facing the sea here. Because it is a place that appeared in "Slam Dunk," many people take photos here. The sea, the railway, and the tram indeed have a unique charm. No wonder in some years, influencer attractions claiming to be "Small Kamakura" were all over China.

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The third stop was "Enoshima." There is a small mountain on the island with many historical sites such as shrines. But because I am not very familiar with Japanese history, I am not very interested in this attraction. There are many snacks on both sides of the mountain road, mainly seafood.

After coming down the mountain, it was almost 3:00 or 4:00 PM, so I decided to return to Kamakura to look around. The streets of Kamakura are a bit like commercial ancient towns in China, with many shops for tourists, very lively. The center of Kamakura is a shrine: Tsurugaoka Hachimangū, located in Yukinoshita. It is said that this shrine was originally in Yuigahama, two tram stops away, and was later moved here by Minamoto no Yoritomo. Japan uses the Gregorian calendar to celebrate Tanabata, so the shrine was holding a "Tanabata Festival," and you could see miko (shrine maidens) in red and white clothes making preparations.

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By the time I finished visiting, it was almost dark, so I turned back and returned to Tokyo.

= Day 5

I skipped the fourth day. I originally planned to go to Lake Kawaguchi to see Mt. Fuji on the fourth day, but after checking the weather forecast and live cameras, I found that Mt. Fuji had been covered by clouds for the last few days, so I was very listless and stayed in the room for a day to rest.

The first stop on the fifth day was Senso-ji Temple. The temple buildings have Japanese characteristics. I drew an omikuji (fortune slip) at Senso-ji. Unfortunately, it was a "Kyo" (bad fortune) slip. The general idea was that personal relationships were not handled well, flowers bloomed very late, and there were ghosts coming to steal money. Then I tied the slip to the nearby rack and left in low spirits.

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The second stop was Ginza, which is a bit like Wangfujing or Nanjing Road. There are many luxury-looking shops that I didn't dare to enter. At the intersection of Ginza, there is that building from the recently popular animation "Train to the End of the World." The Imperial Palace is also near Ginza, but I couldn't get in because I didn't have a reservation. This should be the most central area of Tokyo, but there are often homeless people and beggars sleeping in the grass, which was a bit surprising.

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The third stop was Tokyo Tower. Looking at Tokyo Tower from a distance, I didn't feel much, just that the red color was quite good-looking. However, the visual effect looking up from the foot of the tower was good. Buying a ticket can take you to the top of the tower, from which you can overlook Tokyo Bay. Tokyo, Kawasaki, Yokohama, and Yokosuka can all be seen from the top of the tower. The scenery is very good.

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By the time I came down from Tokyo Tower, it was almost dark. That was the fifth day.

= Day 6

The destination of this day was Yokosuka, which was also the place where the US military landed after the Japanese surrendered in World War II. Now it serves as a naval port for the US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The headquarters of the US Seventh Fleet is also here.

After arriving at Yokosuka Station by the JR Yokosuka Line, you can see a seaside park upon coming out, which is also an excellent place to overlook the naval port. Unfortunately, when I went, there were no aircraft carriers in the port, but there was a US Navy "Zumwalt"-class destroyer. The appearance was very sci-fi, designed for electromagnetic stealth. However, according to some military fans, the performance of this warship is actually not very good. On the other side of the port were "small boats" of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. These were warships with a more traditional appearance, with tall masts.

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Walking along the park, you can reach a shopping mall. In the mall, you can buy tickets for a "warship cruise," and then take a cruise boat at the dock at the back door of the mall for a close-up visit to the warships in the port. A round trip around the port takes about 45 minutes. There is a narrator on the boat who will explain every ship in the port. Unfortunately, my Japanese level is too poor. I could only understand a few katakana English words that popped up occasionally and didn't know what he was saying at all.

Coming out of the mall and walking east along the road, you can see the street view of Yokosuka. There are shops everywhere with American flags, and almost all the signs are in English, probably to serve the US military personnel serving at the base here. At the end, you can reach "Mikasa Park," where the flagship "Mikasa" of the Japanese Combined Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War is docked. Here you can feel a very obvious right-wing color: there is a statue of the then Japanese Admiral Togo Heihachiro in the park, as well as the slogan "The fate of the Empire rests on this battle." As a witness to history, I think the ship is worth a look. However, there are many Japanese right-wing patriotic education facilities inside. The Russo-Japanese War was also packaged by them as a war for the "liberation of Asian peoples," which made me feel very uncomfortable. I suppose the character "Mikasa" in "Attack on Titan" comes from this warship.

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This is the last piece of the Tokyo travelogue. On Friday, I just walked around Ikebukuro. There was nothing interesting to write about, so that's it.

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