WHERE DO WE GO NEXT?: Japan Day 2: Tokyo Skytree (Pt. 2)

Part 2 of our Day 2 in Japan! After Nagoya Castle, we rushed to the hotel for check out (Thank you for the late check out!) and to catch a shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo. Bullet trains are as frequent as every 20 minutes or so and has two sections: reserved* and free seating. We opted for the reserved seating since we had a lot of luggages with us and we needed a sure place to keep them during the travel.

*Reserved seating from Nagoya to Shinagawa Station with only one stop at Shin Yokohama costs 11,090 Yen.

We bought food at a convenience store within the station so that we could eat lunch on the train. I was so happy with what we got! My father got a huge bento box while my mom and I got tuna onigiri. We also tried mochi with a frozen strawberry in the middle. So much foodgasm! The trip was less than 2 hours long and the ride was very smooth and convenient.

~~Why don't we have these convenient modes of transportation in the Philippines???? :(~~

We went down at Shinagawa station because it's only a short walk from our hotel. During peak hours this huge corridor is just a sea of men in suits on their way home from work. It was a pretty amazing experience to be stuck in the middle of it all.

After getting a bit lost looking for the free shuttle (we ended walking uphill with all our luggage all the way there) we finally go to our hotel. Here is the view from our room. We stayed at the Tokyo Marriott hotel, the newest Marriott hotel in Tokyo City which opened just last December. When we got to our room they gave us free macaroons and pastries so we ate…all of it, then headed off to Tokyo Skytree to make the most out of our day. Our legs turn to steel whenever we travel.

Shinagawa station on the left. View from a foot bridge.

Shinagawa to Tokyo Skytree* is approximately 30 minutes long since it's from one side of the city to another. It was dusk when we came so we were able to appreciate the structure and the Tokyo skyline in both daylight and night time. (I did this on purpose so yay for my itinerary making skills).

*The entrance fee to the 350th floor is 2,060 Yen for Adults.

Fun fact: The Tokyo Skytree is the tallest broadcasting tower in the world at a height of 634 meters! Japanese Engineering at its finest.

We were able to access multiple floors on the deck which had shops and cafes. We were pretty hungry so we went to the mall attached to the tower and looked for an authentic japanese experience. We were so close to eating at Saboten since it was the most familiar place we saw but then we passed by a Teppanyaki place which smelled amazing so we waited for a table.

We had to wait for almost an hour but it was worth it. We ordered salted octopus, yakisoba, original beef teppanyaki and okonimyaki. All of the dishes were excellent except for the yakisoba, which was just average. For dessert we had another matcha soft serve near the teppanyaki place which was also good, but the one in Nagoya castle was much better.