I arrived on an early morning flight in to Narita.
VA 682
- SIN
- 12:15am
- NRT
- 7:45am
- 48
- Gate
- 25A
- Seat
After security and waiting to pick up a WiFi Hotspot from the Post Office, the next stop was JR East to organise a Rail Pass, and to get into Shibuya.
On–board a JR Express to Shibuya, I got my first glimpse of Japan proper.
Exiting the station, I weaved through the labyrinthian-like tunnels to emerge at the Shibuya crossing outside the station.
I headed for the hotel to drop my luggage off. Check-in was still a number of hours away.
Shibuya Tobu Hotel
- 7 Jan
- Check in
- 15 Jan
- Check out
I grabbed a drink at a nearby Family Mart, and headed back towards the Shibuya Crossing.
After a quick pit-stop in which I figured out how to get my WiFi hot spot working, I found a well-rated Tonkatsu place.
Tonkatsu Maisen
- ¥¥
- Price
- Tonkatsu
- Restaurant
After lunch and a quick browse around the shops, I wandered around Shibuya, walking through parks, spotting some real-life Mario Karters, and slowly winding my way back to the hotel for check-in.
I checked in to my room, and decided to have a short nap. Some time later I awoke to find the sun had already set.
My first thought was I’d slept until late night, but due to the effect of Winter on sunset, it was only after 5.
I blearily emerged into beautiful Shibuya nightlife.
I walked back down the familiar path towards the Shibuya Crossing, the streets looking so different and alive at night.
After checking out the Shibuya Scramble, and now fancying a drink, I headed for a nearby whiskey place.
Grandfather’s
- ¥¥
- Price
- Whiskey
- Bar
It was quite something to hand over a ¥500 coin in exchange for a shot of whiskey.
After a couple of drinks, I made my way through Shibuya nightlife, heading for a highly recommended ramen place.
Kamukura Ramen
- ¥
- Price
- Ramen
- Bar
Ordering was handled by entering yen into a vending machine, which printed tickets that were exchanged inside. It was novel, quite convenient (language barrier aside), and efficient.
One cheap and cheerful ramen later, I headed home, picking up some random goodies from a local convenience store, and turned in for the night.