Hotels in Tokyo
Our credit card rewards points really came in handy in Tokyo because the hotels are expensive! We stayed 4 nights at the Hyatt Centric in Ginza and 2 nights at the Park Hyatt in Shinjuku all on points which saved us a significant amount of money. Zach promised to write a post with a break down of our costs savings with credit card rewards so keep bugging him for the details ?
Hyatt Centric
The Hyatt Centric in Ginza was by far one of my favorite hotels of the trip which may be surprising because it didn't even have a pool! There were so many little touches that made this hotel exceptional. It has a really hip vibe and relaxed atmosphere. The common area had nice long tables for working and blogging. The staff at the hotel were super nice and had great local recommendations for food. The room itself was not very big (~375 sq feet) but it seemed much bigger because the space was very well utilized and very functional. The shower was one of Zach’s favorite aspects of the hotel along with the bidet :) My favorite part of the hotel was that they provided comfy PJ’s and tasty SNACKS! Seriously, Japanese snacks are my favorite snacks in the world. If you are ever in Japan you can easily get them at a local 7-Eleven. The Hyatt Centric is located in Ginza which is pretty boujee and if you are into high end fashion there are tons of designer stores in the neighborhood.
SNACKS! @ Hyatt Centric in Ginza
Park Hyatt Tokyo
The Park Hyatt Tokyo was featured in the movie Lost in Translation and is super boujee. When you walk in nothing is marked so it was a bit of a mystery of how to find the lobby. We rode an elevator to the 40th floor or so and meandered through multiple hallways before coming across the check-in. Our room was on the 44th floor and had a fabulous view of Tokyo. We really got to see what a sprawling city Tokyo is.
The view from our hotel room looked out at Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Jingu shrine (left side)
My favorite part of the hotel was the lap swimming pool that was on the 47th floor of the hotel. The Park Hyatt is in Shinjuku which is a super fun gamer-esk part of Tokyo.
Cherishing the last swim of our trip at the Park Hyatt
Mitsui Garden Hotel- Jingujien Tokyo Premier
We had one night in Tokyo where we couldn’t use hotel points so rather than staying at the Park Hyatt for ~$1000 a night we decided to move to the Mitsui Garden Hotel. This hotel was right across the street from the Japan National Stadium where some of the Olympic events took place in 2021. The room itself was just okay but the restaurant in the lobby had a wonderful 4 course lunch which was delicious.
Exploring Tokyo
Ramen Tour
We took a Ramen Tour through 5AM Ramen and highly recommend it if you ever visit Tokyo. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Not only was it tasty, but we also got to learn the history and evolution of ramen. The tour started in Shibuya near the infamous Shibuya Scramble Crossing which is one of the busiest intersections in the world. We took a short jaunt to our first stop, Samurai Noodle Co.
The Shibuya Scramble!
Our tour guide gave us a history lesson of ramen which dates back hundreds of years. At our first location we tasted the classic ramen flavors Shoyu (soy sauce), Shio (salt), and Miso (Fermented Soy Beans). Shio Ramen was definitely my favorite.
Next we headed to Ramen Nagi which has more contemporary flavors and has locations in other parts of Tokyo including Shinjuku. This was away from the hustle and bustle of the main area of Shibuya so our tour guide explained a bit about the ordering process for ramen. There is usually a machine outside of ramen shops where you place your order before coming into the shop. One tip that he offered us was that if the board does not include English, order the ramen in the top left which is where the house special usually is located.
At Ramen Nagi we got to experience Ramen Fusion and were offered flavors including pork back fat, pesto, BBQ and squid ink. My favorite at this location was the pork back fat and Zach was a fan of the squid ink.
Enjoying pork back fat (left) and pesto (right) ramen at Ramen Nagi
We took a short train ride to another neighborhood, Ebisu. The Tokyo subway system is amazing and you can efficiently get to pretty much anywhere you need to go in Tokyo. We highly recommend getting a Suica Card for the subway to get around. A fun fact that our tour guide shared with us along the way is that each train station has their own “jingle” which plays as you arrive at the station. I never knew that so we had fun listening to all of the different jingles during our stay.
Entrance to Shuuichi Ramen
We arrived in Ebisu and headed to Shuuichi Ramen. Our tour guide gave us a lesson on what makes ramen, ramen. The ingredients are quite simple: broth, noodles and toppings. The noodles are made with Kansui, an alkaline mineral water that is rich in sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate. It is the special ingredient that distinguishes ramen noodles and gives it their yellowy hue as well as a firm texture. Another fun aspect of ramen is that even though the basic ingredients are simple, there is room for many variations which is why ramen is so simple but very exciting!
At this stop we experienced one of those variations which is curry flavored broth which was delicious! Curry ramen is a bit hard to find so if you are looking for a good spot, definitely try Shuuichi.
Curry Ramen, yum!
The Ramen tour was definitely one of the most memorable food tours on our trip. We got to taste and learn all about ramen and met some cool people who were also traveling to different cities around the world. If you like learning, eating and interacting with new people this is a great tour to take.
Apollo Whiskey Bar in Ginza
We stumbled upon the Apollo Bar in the basement of the building one evening and it was one of the highlights of our trip. It was a small cozy space and the bartender made us feel very welcomed.
We got to taste Japanese highballs. The bartender meticulously made both of our drinks under this cool spotlight. He made super awesome diamond cut ice cubes for each one of our drinks. We also got snacks with our drinks. This bar definitely highlighted how restaurant and bar owners in Japan take pride in perfecting their skills to offer the best experience for their customers.
Izakaya
An Izakaya is a traditional place to eat in Japan and it is where they serve a variety of dishes. These are usually more casual spots to go for a beer and lunch/dinner. We went to an Izakaya in Ginza in this cool spot under the train station.
Entrance to the Izakaya in Ginza
We had some fun ordering because they did not have an English menu. We used google translate and ordered something called Bandits? We think it was a bad translation and was probably fried chicken but we are still not entirely sure. It was tasty though!
Our Izakaya meal including "Bandits"
TeamLab
TeamLab is an immersive art experience that was recommended to us by numerous people. Personally, I would only recommend it if you have a ton of time in Tokyo and you can’t find anything else to do (which is very rare!). The exhibit was pretty cool but the hoards of people trying to get the perfect IG shot or TikTok video definitely put a damper on the experience.
Girl working on her IG post. She was literally doing that pose for 15 minutes
We took a couple of photos but the pics don't really capture the essence of the exhibit. It was disappointing to see so many people wasting time on their phones instead of immersing themselves into the experience. Again, this is just my personal opinion and if you love getting a good pic for IG it is definitely the place to go!
Trying to capture cool pics but the exhibit was way better looking in person. We waded through water with images of swimming fish! (bottom)
Bongen Coffee
I adored the coffee scene in Chiang Mai and would go back there in a heartbeat to get another latte from Ristr8to but I have to admit, my favorite coffee drink of the trip was at Bongen Coffee in Ginza. The coffee shop is small and has a lovely traditional Japanese design which featured a Bonsai tree. The owner carefully makes every single drink and we are certain he spent years perfecting his craft. There is always a long line for drinks and we waited about 1 hour which was well worth it. We also got a tasty Japanese snack to go along with our coffee :)
Cherry Blossoms and Gardens
We visited Tokyo a bit before the official start of Cherry Blossom season but we got to see quite a few trees in bloom. We took a lovely walk along the Kanda River which is lined with Cherry Blossoms.
Kanda river walk lined with Cherry Blossom Trees
We also went to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden which had a number of Cherry Blossom trees as well as many other beautiful trees and plants.
Walking through the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in the last few hours of our time in Tokyo
There are also a ton of smaller parks with beautiful gardens throughout Tokyo which are a nice way to take a break from the busyness of the city.
Walking Until Your Day Becomes Interesting
One of my favorite things to do in large cities is to spend time strolling around without a plan and seeing what you stumble across. Some fun things we came across by doing this was a fun baseball bar and a boy band that did a popup set on the street.
We also came across a famous part of Shinjuku called Golden Guy which has a ton of tiny bars that seat about 10 people total. These are intended to create a small intimate area to socialize with other travelers.
Strolling through Golden Guy
And of course, if you get hungry on your walk then stop at a 7-Eleven for SNACKS!
Tokyo is probably one of the coolest cities we have ever visited and although we have visited the city twice we feel like we only scratched the surface of what the city has to offer. We were so sad to leave Tokyo not only because the city is amazing but also because this was the last stop on our trip ?. Thank you so much for following us on our journey and maybe next time we can convince a few more of you to join us ?.
Our first view of the US (SF) in over 3 months!
