Tokyo, part 1
Hello, Haneda Airport, nice to meet you :)
Anyway... after a very long flight (yes, complaining about long flights is kind of a first world problem) it was nice to finally get out of the plane. Compared to Narita in 2018, Haneda seemed less intimidating.
Exchanged a bit of cash (in most cases, you can get by with credit/debit card just fine... but you still need cash), bought a Pasmo card,
exchanged voucher for Rail Pass (in fact they advise to use other offices - not the airport ones - unless you need to activate Rail Pass right away, which I didn't need), and off to the city.
Haneda Airport (when compared to Narita Airport) is a bit closer to the city, especially if you stay somewhere south-ish. And I think it has better public transport connections too (including monorail 😎). Finally, after some minor glitches on my part, I managed to check in to hotel, so all was good.
Walked around neighborhood, got some food, and slept like a log.
Other points which I may or may not describe in more details later:
- Daiba
- Statue of liberty
- Hamarikyu Gardens
Rainbow bridge
I was randomly browsing map of Tokyo, just to get ideas, and noticed a bridge at the edge of the Tokyo bay. Bridge photos seemed interesting, so I decided to go there and have a look. Well, it's a nice bridge indeed, but not exactly photo-friendly. It's fenced off for the most part, so there aren't many "picture-taking" places up there.
Yodobashi / Bic Camera
Don't let the names mislead you :) These mega-shops are not just about cameras. They're basically devil's creation... If you need to spend (waste / pass / whatever you call it) a couple of hours - they got you covered. But be warned, it might be harmful to your wallet.
3d cat in Shinjuku
Shinjuku Cross Vision or whatever the "official" name is. It's just cool, and you don't have to search for it either, cause if you're going to Shinjuku, chances are you'll see those screens right away.
Also, part of the "coolness" isn't in the screen (or cat animations) itself, but just the slight "absurdity" of it. Big meowing animated cat, doing cat things, and bunch of people looking at it in awe, possibly through their phone cameras 😀
Tokyo tower
Well, it was worth the visit, less crowded than a Skytree, and surroundings are also kind of interesting.
Public transport (metro / urban rail)
Rail transport in Tokyo is cool but somewhat difficult to navigate / fully understand. It's divided between multiple companies / line types (JR / metro / ...), stations with the same name (but different type) may have separate entrances/exits etc. Also this makes "day tickets" kind of pointless, cause they don't cover all the lines / types. On the bright side though, Google maps was mostly spot-on regarding routes / time-tables, so that helped massively.
Computer / kiosk interfaces
Seems like Japan has it's own specific "take" on UI/UX. I won't say it's necessarily bad, but it is different. Also, on couple of occasions, even though UI had (optional) English version, I couldn't find it myself.
Masks
Even back in 2018 it was not uncommon to see people in (protective) masks on the street. So, unsurprisingly, in 2023 you could notice masks a lot.
Better usability of Rail Pass compared to 2018
I couldn't do much with Rail Pass myself back in 2018 if I remember correctly - everything had to be done "manually" via JR customer service offices. Now I was able to book all tickets myself via ticket machines. There was still one occasion when I visited customer service (more on that later), but it was not directly related to Rail Pass.
Other impressions compared to 2018
- more tourists (not that there was any shortage of them in 2018)
- seems like rules regarding smoking are stricter now (?) - which is good, I saw less people smoking on the streets
After "decompressing" in Tokyo for a couple of days, it was time to continue the journey. So, off to Osaka.
Photos: Tokyo 2023 on Flickr
