Long time no see!

Arriving in Tokyo was a two parted experience. My first thought when I left the airplane was: It's so cold! 
And yes, I felt the 30 degree drop from Phillipines to Tokyo. The cold air soaked me in as soon as I left the airplane. The second thought was: I am going to meet a good friend soon! Ruben and I are friends since we met in school. He decided to go to Tokyo for one year and I decided to go to Taiwan, so the decision was easy to visit Tokyo.

The city itself is a very busy, modern, weird, full, vibrant and traditional place at the same time. Nothing like Taipei or Manila. The buildings are large around the touristic parts but get lower as soon as you leave them. I immediately felt lost in the urban jungle. It was freezing in that time and although I got sick we went out every day to see the all the different facettes that Tokyo offers.

Another thing you should consider if you are going to visit Tokyo, is that it is super expensive. I spent the money for almost a month in Taipei for one week in Tokyo. Eating and especially the metro increase your costs. 
On the other hand every cent was worth it. It was good to see Ruben again. I was happy that I could sleep at his place and didn’t have to pay my own accommodation. Furthermore I was in the convenient situation of a personal guide, who showed me around the city, introduced me to a lot of nice people and knew the small gems of Tokyo.

Famous Shibuya crossing

Besides of Tokyo we also went to Yokohama, which is the second largest city in Japan as well as Kamakuro, a nice, small and fancy town close to Yokohama. The one day trip was totally worth it not only because to see more of Japan than only Tokyo but especially because we saw a traditional wedding ceremony. I heard of the weird music and special rules for these events, but to see them in real life is different. Everything seemed like a huge stage play. Beeing a spectator of this event, getting this type of insight into the Japanese culture was definitely a highlight!

Another highlight was Akihabara. We went there to see the cosplayers and manga shops and to visit a maid café, which was one of the weirdest experiences in my life. Maid cafés are actually a cute, fairytale version of a normal café, but put into HelloKitty style with female maid cosplayers as waitresses.

Fortunately we found a maid café, which still was quite normal. I also remember a chain called maidreamin, which is totally confusing. Their cafés are the ultimate experience of weirdness but also the most expensive. We actually wanted to see one of those, but they charge you for everything there, so we decided to go to another one, which was quite funny as well.
Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos, so you have to go and experience it by yourself.

While my stay I met a lot of Ruben’s friends and we decided to do some activities together, like Purikura, which is another weird Japanese thing. Purikura is basically just a picture of your friends and you in a photobox but the box adds effects and stuff afterwards. Just take a look by yourself and try to find me.

Summing up, my week in Japan was a great time with a lot of great people and tons of weird and confusing things! Definitely worth to check out if you have the time and money!

Next Stop: Malaysia.