10 HOURS IN tokyo — LIFE WITH DANI

EAT WELL | TRAVEL OFTEN | KILL EM WITH KINDNESS

When I started looking at tickets to Bangkok, I found a flight on United Airlines that had a 10 hour layover in Tokyo. I figured it would be a great opportunity to get a glimpse of the city and see if I would want to visit for an extended time. I already knew I wanted to do a photo tour, so I pulled up my handy-dandy Airbnb app and found one in Asakusa which was convenient in terms of proximity to the airport.

On to the good stuff...

Tips for the long haul:

1. Take care of your flight attendants because they'll take care of you

Before I boarded my flight to Japan, I took my brother's advice and bought some treats for the flight crew and it made such a difference. The flight from San Francisco to Tokyo was 11 hours and the crew hooked your girl up with extra treats. When I landed at Haneda Airport in Japan, ♪just touch down inna di airport mmmmhm♪ I was ready to see what the city had to offer! I went through customs and immigration in a jiffy after receiving my 90 day visitor permit. Check out https://visalist.io to get all the information you need regarding visa requirements based on your nationality.

2. Getting camera ready & getting that schmoneyy

I changed my clothes and did my makeup in the bathroom #shameless and found a baggage storage location inside the airport for $6. This took care of both my carry-on and overnight bags. I thought the price was quite reasonable compared to the rates in Europe. I also changed $30 USD to Japanese Yen to pay for train tickets and food. You’ll probably need more for souvenirs but I already had a magnet my trifling ex gave me. *rolls eyes*

3. Research transportation beforehand

The cool thing about this airport is that there is a train station connected which alleviated time spent trying to figure out how to get there as well as dealing with the language barrier. I went to the ticket counter and purchased my tickets and was quickly on my way to start my adventure. The ride to the Asakusa was about 40 mins and the train was definitely the cleanest I’ve ridden on. No offense to my NYC crew!

4. Try the food

You can’t go to Japan and not have Ramen, right? Right! Luckily there was a quaint restaurant right around the corner from the train station. The ordering process was a little different; it was a vending machine type of set up where you selected what kind of ramen you wanted and then paid the machine. I took my seat and was served soon after. Oishī - Delicious!

5. Don’t be afraid to explore

I got to the meeting point a little early so I walked around for a bit to pass the time. Luckily the weather was great, it was about 68°F in May and there were a lot of stores for window shopping. Yasuhiro, the photographer was right on time and we were joined by two other guests from Canada. We stopped at the places listed below and were very surprised that we were able to visit so many sites in two hours. My favorite was the Sensoji Temple. It is one of Tokyo's most colorful and popular temples and was absolutely stunning and intricately designed. We went after sunset and captured some beautiful night photos.

Sites visited:

Azuma Bridge

Sumida River and Park

Asakusa Main Station

Tourist Center viewing deck

Kaminarimon Gate

Nakamise Street

Sensoji Temple

Hoppy Street

Depo-in Street

We ended our tour at Don Quijote Asakusa - a huge discount store and Yasuhiro was kind enough to walk with me to the train station. I got back to the airport with two hours to spare. I quickly collected my bags, changed my clothes and had enough time to grab some yakisoba for dinner. Om nom!

I spent a total of $75 during this layover which I think was definitely worth it. I enjoyed my 10 hours in Tokyo and I look forward to returning to explore more of the city and hopefully some others. Tokyo was extremely clean, the people were polite and my two meals were scrumptious. I would definitely recommend opting for a long layover if given the opportunity. You won’t regret it!

Here’s the link to the Airbnb tour:

https://abnb.me/1iHg8rvGzY. I received about 70 photos the next day via a Dropbox link.

Mata Ne...Journey with me!