We love Tokyo! From the second we touched down at the airport to boarding the train to leave, we were in love with this city! We had a list of things to get done at the airport, and accomplished it easily and quickly despite some tiring and frustrating travel days beforehand. Everything is pretty effortless to do here. After making it to the hotel on the metro, we walked around the corner to an Izakaya (bar style restaurant) for dinner and then went to sleep.
Two weeks of train tickets, reserved in advance:
We were expecting a loud, hectic and busy city, but were surprised at every turn. Tokyo is clean, quiet, orderly and calm. Despite the high population density, we never felt overwhelmed and constantly commented on how quiet and relaxed everything was. We never felt like we needed a ‘break’ from the city, but there were plenty of breaks anyways!
Shibuya Crossing was very quiet, despite how it looks:
We metroed to Rikugien Gardens to stroll around. It was easy to forget we were in the middle of the biggest city on earth! 
We had matcha tea at a teahouse in the gardens and Ramen for lunch around the corner. 
This was our first (of many) experiences with vending machine ordering. You buy your meal ticket (literally) from a vending machine near the entrance to the restaurant, before heading in to slurp down some ramen. Sometimes there’s english/pictures, sometimes it’s just a lottery based on the button you press. Exciting and amazingly delicious!
A main theme for us in Japan is food. We’re eating Ramen basically every day and trying out new foods at almost every meal. The food is surprisingly affordable, and available 24/7 everywhere from the ubiquitous 7-eleven to Izakayas.
While in Tokyo, we spent a lot of time walking around and just soaking in the city. There’s so much to do, we could easily spend weeks here as tourists. We hit up the Tsukiji Fish Market on a rainy day (just before its planned move to a new location in October), saw a 300 year old tree at the Hamarikyu Gardens, ate tons of noodles, explored underground shopping malls and got Dumpling’s in what we called “Little America”.
Tsukiji fish market stall, selling tons of dried fish products:
Barrels of sake from local breweries hoping for a prosperous year, at the Meiji shrine:
Of course there’s an amusement park in the middle of the city complete with big rides. It’s open -you pay per ride, not for an entrance ticket- so we just stumbled upon it.
300 year old pine at Hamarikyu Gardens :
Hamarikyu Gardens isn’t a ‘strolling’ garden, like Rikugien, but it’s unique with several reconstructed historic buildings: 
The metro is really easy to navigate (easier than some metros in English-speaking countries that we’ve used). We used it to get everywhere from the Shibuya intersection crossing, to gardens, Shinjuko area, Yakitori Alley and Golden Gai. We were incredibly busy, but never felt burnt out due to the friendliness of everyone and ease of everything. The Japanese people are the friendliest and most helpful of anywhere we’ve been.
The famous Shibuya crossing from another perspective.
An izakaya we ate at near Yakitori alley and Golden Gai. They’re alleyways crammed full with people and bars (but still orderly, of course!). So many of Tokyo’s restaurants and bars are tiny, seating only a handful of people each.
Highlights of Tokyo:
- Walking through random sections of the city. We haven’t exactly gotten lost yet, but we’re trying
- Public transportation is so great, efficient and reliable
- Japanese Gardens (we’ve only been to Rikugien and Hamarikyu, but they’ve exceeded expectations!)
Bringing back many wonderful memories !
I can only imagine!