After a few days in Osaka and Kyoto, we made our way to Tokyo by Shinkansen. It’s my favourite way to travel. No fuss: no travelling to the airport, no waiting around in the airport, no worrying about liquids and having to strip for security. Just get to the train station early enough to get your tickets since there’s a queue for that and be at the platform a few minutes before and board your train. Simple as that. If only we had bullet trains in the UK! We booked our seats (the side with two seats D and E) that had the Mount Fuji view and once again we got lucky to see Mount Fuji. This time with snow on the top! The first time I saw Mount Fuji, it looked naked, no snow because it was so hot! Here’s a comparison between the two:
My husband’s idea was to go to Tokyo for a week towards the beginning of the trip to give the cherry blossoms in Kyushu more time to bloom so we have the best chance of seeing more coverage.
Getting Our Bearings in Shinjuku
The first thing we did when we got to Tokyo after storing our bags at our accommodation was going to Shinjuku to get some lunch and do some shopping at Suruga-ya and other shops in the Marui Annex. Shinjuku is where we started our trip in Japan in 2024 so it brought back a lot of memories walking around here.
Using Google Maps my husband decided on NEOShinjuku Atsushi, a vegan cyberpunk bar/restaurant. We got dan dan noodles, egg rolls, and dumplings. I also had a vegan pudding. Food was great and I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant.
At night Shinjuku really comes alive and the city lights are beautiful as always. There was a cherry blossom tree that had already started blooming so I got a picture of that beautifully illuminated by the city lights!
For dinner we went to one of our favourites, Ain Soph, which is fully vegan. Eoin loves the pancakes from there so he got pancakes as his meal with some karaage on the side. I had a vegan chicken bowl.
Shibuya, Harajuku, and Tokyo Tower
I think the best way to efficiently see Tokyo is to dedicate a day to exploring each neighbourhood you want to explore and think carefully about which ones are best connected by train if you want to see more than one in a day. That’s what I recommend for anyone going to London as well. Since we were a bit tired and didn’t want to spend too long on the train, we decided to do Shibuya, Harajuku, and Tokyo Tower.
We walked around Meiji Jingu, went to a fabric store, where I found some Mary Quant fabric (can’t wait to make this into some accessories!), and then we went to the Pokemon Centre (didn’t buy anything this time) before going to one of our favourite vegan spots for lunch, Vegan Izakaya Masaka, which is in the basement of Shibuya Parco, same building as the Pokemon Centre/Nintendo Store. Considering the location, the prices are great. As always we love the vegan karaage and fried mushrooms. Restaurant was a bit understaffed when we went there, but food was great as we remembered it. This is one of those places where you’ll think of the food long after your visit!
From there, we went to Hie Shrine in Akasaka and then to the gardens near the Imperial Palace, a lovely place to walk around. I was somehow expecting more torii gates at the shrine, but it was nice to walk around there and not too crowded, although I’m guessing it’s because there’s maintenance being done there when I was visiting.
For dinner we went to Tsuminaki Mapo Tofu. Excellent meal. It’s an all vegan restaurant and ranked as Top 10 in Tokyo on Happy Cow!
To cap off the day we went to Tokyo Tower. Last time we came here we didn’t go up it, but this time we decided to, but we didn’t go all the way to the top since we didn’t find the higher priced ticket to be worth it for us. Because it’s sakura season they had decorations and lighting up there for that. The lighting on the outside was pink to celebrate the season, which looked really cool in pictures! Really cool to get views of the city at night. Doing touristy things is pretty fun.
Ikebukuro and Asakusa
Because it was raining we decided to go somewhere with a lot of shopping. Eoin was interested in checking out Ikebukuro because there’s a lot of shopping there, particularly around anime, especially anime that is more geared towards women. It’s quite a busy, crowded area so we didn’t spend too much time there. I did buy a couple of classic rock pins, one Beatles and one Who one at this big gachapon place, that was awesome! Also the local mascot of the area is an owl and that’s cool.
We went to a big shopping centre Sunshine City to escape the rain and it was really crowded, especially at the Pokemon Centre, where there was an enormous queue, which frankly I didn’t find worth it. There was a soft Sylveon plushie I really wanted, but I didn’t buy one because I had other things I wanted more. There was a cafe too but there were queues for everything and I was getting overwhelmed and hungry, and when I’m hungry I get more anxious. Since I wanted to go to Asakusa, we had to take the bus and it took a good bit of the but at least we didn’t have to change buses.
For lunch we went to Vegan Cafe PQ’s. Unfortunately we couldn’t get our first choice items or dessert because they had a reservation or it must have been a busy day, so we had to order from the quick service menu and they kind of rushed us a bit, which is understandable. Still, that backup option was good. I had a vegan hamburger steak with focaccia and a salad. I also got a cute latte with 3D foam art. Wish I could try the cute curries where the rice looks like the moon the curry itself is colourful and looks like art. Maybe next time! One thing I loved about this place is that there is a selection of LGBT related books on the bookshelf. I read one of the books while I was waiting for my food.
Afterwards we walked to Senso-ji and we saw a couple of shrines along the way.
Around Senso-ji there is a market and a shopping arcade, plenty of street food, but keep in mind that it’s rude to walk and eat, so eat at the designated chairs or areas at the stall or stand and eat in an area that isn’t inconveniencing anyone. I got a vegan strawberry sandwich from Hatoya’s Vegan Fruit Sandwiches. So glad I could try this unique Japanese treat without compromising on animal rights. As well, we bought kimonos. There are some shops around here that have affordable kimonos, but keep in mind the obis may not be the best price, don’t be afraid to shop around for obis and string elsewhere if you don’t find something you like.
Once it was dinner time we went to a vegetarian restaurant called Injoy, which is known for its tea ceremonies. I got some vegan bibimbap and my husband got dan dan noodles. The tea was really nice and so were the plates! The server said the bowl my bibimbap came in was brand new.
Day Trip to Kamakura
Eoin and I wanted to go on a couple of day trips. Nikko was a bit too far, since it’s 3 hours on the train each way, but a bit closer is the seaside city of Kamakura. I personally love the seaside and ideally I’d love to live somewhere by the ocean. One of my favourite day trips from London is Brighton. One of my friends recommended Kamakura and we didn’t know too much going in besides it’s on the coast and there are some shrines and the big buddha statue.
We went to the Great Buddha statue and saw some cherry blossom trees! So beautiful! It was at this point that I finally was like bucket list item checked: cherry blossoms in Japan!
After that, we walked around the beach and to the area where on a clear day you’ll see Mount Fuji in the distance, and no dice, but it was still a beautiful day!
For lunch we went to Magokoro, which is right by the beach and you can see it from the restaurant. It’s a pescetarian restaurant with options for vegetarians and vegans clearly labelled. I got a vegan set meal and I had a hot chocolate.
We also went to the Kamakura Hasedera Temple. There’s quite a lot to see there and there’s a nice view of the ocean and the town.
After that, we walked across town to the Tsurugaoka Hachimangū, the most important Shinto shrine in Kamakura. There’s a street full of cherry blossoms right in front, but unfortunately only a few blooms when we were there. We didn’t spend much time here because we wanted to go see the sunset.
And here’s the sunset:
For dinner, we went to a restaurant near the train station with vegan options called Onari Yokocho. There, I had vegan sushi and noodles.
Overall, if you’re looking for a great day trip from Tokyo, Kamakura is a great choice!
Cherry Blossoms at Ueno Park
One of the top spots for viewing cherry blossoms is Ueno Park, which we didn’t visit on our first trip to Tokyo, I know, surprising! We spent the whole day there and walked around looking for cherry blossoms and checking out the pagoda and shrines in the park. We also went to an antiques market and I bought a couple of records, The Beatles’ Revolver and a vinyl of 1970s anime Rose of Versailles.
For lunch, we went to a vegetarian cafe called Guruatsu Vegetarian. We had a set meal and a muffin afterwards for dessert. For dinner, we went to vegan restaurant T’s Tantan, another great restaurant we went to last time.
On our final day, I went to an onsen in Shinjuku called Thermae-yu. It was raining, and with my hair texture, I hate the rain! It was incredibly relaxing. Not only are there warm baths, there’s also a sauna, gym, nap time area, massage rooms, and a restaurant/bar. For obvious reasons I have no pictures. When you check in, they give you a wristband that includes a locker room key and you collect your bathrobe and slippers at a nearby station. You pay once you leave. A great place to recharge.
Afterwards, when the day cleared up, we got lunch at Ain Soph and walked a bit around Harajuku and I got to see the Sanrio store there. I’m a big fan of Hello Kitty so I had to check it out. Our last meal in Tokyo was some vegan ramen.
Read my previous Japan travel blogs from my first trip to Japan: [Tokyo for Vegans] [Osaka for Vegans] [Kyoto for Vegans]
Until next time! Stay tuned for the blog posts about Hiroshima and Kyushu!
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