Tokyo First Impressions
Currently we’re in Tokyo. These are my initial impressions. It’s quiet in the city. Our Airbnb is the outer edge but there’s not a lot of chatter when you walk the streets, even when there’s a lot of people. I was told they don’t speak on the metro so I was expecting to hear a pin drop. It’s not quite like that. The train does still make a lot of noise but for the most part people are not talking. There are a few people whispering to each other but most people are sitting there silently on their phones Even with group of friends that come on.
Our first meal was karaage, we got two platters for less than $10. it came with some rice, pickled vegetables and a pasta salad. The chicken was pretty juicy. The rice could have used a little more of something, it was pretty much just plain white rice. For less than $10 you can’t beat it.
If you you have to go to Shinjuku station for any reason give yourself an extra 10-15 minutes. You’ll be glad you did so. I consider myself fairly good at navigating the metro system in big cities but woah this was in another realm. I’ve never been so confused trying to find my way out of a metro station and there were SO MANY PEOPLE. It was actually overwhelming particularly because we only had a few minutes before our food tour was going to start. It probably took us about 10 minutes to find our way out of there.
Fast forward to the metro around midnight. In the station everyone was talking and joking around. Once we got on the train it was relatively silent.
The bars are interesting at least in golden gai. Most are small spaces that fit 10 or less people. They’re much more intimate than what I’m used to. Some charge covers (approximately 1000 yen ($6.5)) and some don’t. We found one that didn’t charge a cover but drinks may have been a little more expensive. In our bar everyone was a foreigner, half the people were from the US and some were from London/australia. You got to talk to the people next to you and learn a little about them and kind of with the bartender, but she definitely had quite a few drinks. Every time there may have been a lull in conversation she would yell KANPAI “cheers” and we’d all do the same and if you didn’t have a drink it was time for more.
Also a lot of people ride bikes and I haven’t seen a single one locked up. I’ve never been in a city that doesn’t lock there bikes. That’s wild to me, but I guess that goes to show how safe it is.