I’m back! I’ve been chilling in Tokyo for a few days. I’ve been taking it nice and slow, not rushing about being a tourist, just wandering about and being laid back. Here’s the itinerary for the trip at the moment:
- Tokyo for about a week!
- Past Yuru Camp locations with a friend!
- Kofu
- Lake Motosu
- Hamamatsu
- Nara for a 3 day Techno camping festival thing
- 2 weeks for visiting Yuru Camp season 3 locations!
So if you’ve been following my blog for all the Yuru Camping stuff, you’re in luck. Tomorrow my friend Phil and I will head over to Kofu for the first bit. But for now, here’s what I’ve been up to so far.
Day 1
I managed to get some sleep on the 14 hour flight because my sleep schedule was pretty ruined, which set me up nicely to deal with the jetlag on arrival at 7am. On the approach into Haneda I snapped those stunning photo’s of Fuji on my phone! When I connected my phone to the local data services, I had the crushing news that my backpack had been lost and would likely be late. Before taking off the pilot mentioned that there were some issues with Heathrow’s baggage services, so I suspected it was something to do with that.
Anyway, there wasn’t much I could do except head over to my Hotel. I found a seven eleven to have a coffee and a sandwich, and recharged my trusty physical PASMO card I’ve had for a good 5 years or so by now. Then I hopped on the airport express monorail to take me into town. Always a good feeling to see the city and cruise above the buildings on the first day.
When I got to my hotel, I let them know that my bag would probably get delivered later that day, and they kindly allowed me to check in a little early. I spent a lot of time staying at the hotel worrying about my missing bag as I wasn’t getting any notifications. Until eventually, at around the early afternoon, I had a notification on my phone. I headed downstairs to the lobby and sure enough, there it was. My trusty blue backpack! Sigh of relief.
With all my worries squashed, I decided to head out for some dinner. Last year my sister and I had sushi multiple times at a conveyer place called Kura sushi. Very affordable and very friendly to people that might be intimidated by proper sushi places. I snapped this video on the way there.
And this picture on the way back.
I slept like a log.
Day 2
It was raining pretty hard. After waking up I headed to a Doutor (a big Japanese coffee shop chain) nearby for some breakfast and a coffee. I had a cafe latte and a croque monsieur.
After that, I decided it would be nice to try and find a spot to chill and take screenshots for my season 3 Yuru Camping later in the trip. I found another lil coffee spot, this time a little Tully’s next to a university campus. I snapped this vid on the way there. It was still raining pretty hard but it was a nice walk through the backstreets.
It was a great spot to just chill. There were only a couple people in there with me and it was nice and quiet. The rain against the window was really relaxing.
After a few hours, I decided it would be nice to pick up a proper bento box and eat it in a park or something. So I headed to Ueno station and got a nice fried chicken bento, and headed over to the park to try and find a spot. It was stiiiiill raining though.
I walked around for ages but couldn’t find a single spot sheltered enough to eat my meal in the park. I buckled and found a mcdonald’s near the station. I wanted to try some of the exclusive Japanese items, and ended up getting a shrimp burger.
Afterwards I headed back to the station closest to my hotel, and there was an esports gaming cafe right next to it. A new counter strike update had just dropped with a bunch of new maps, and I really wanted to check them out. The rates were super good too. 500 yen per hour! I spent the rest of the afternoon playing counter strike 🙂
Day 3
I overslept a little bit so I decided to find somewhere for a brunch. I found a nice looking cafe on google maps serving western style food and headed over there after getting up. The whole place consisted of about three two seater tables in what was basically the entrance corridor to a tiny flat. I ordered a spag bog with an extra egg and extra bacon. I got given chopsticks too so I decided to try eating spaghetti with them for the first time. Despite my skills being somewhat okay, I eventually ended up opting for the fork and spoon.
For dessert I ordered a chocolate cake brownie thing. It was yummy.
Afterwards I wanted to get some stuff for my upcoming camping activities, and decided to head to the big Alpen shop, a massive sports and outdoor department store.
On the way I passed through Kabukicho, and I noticed the streets were…oddly familiar. I realised I was in the area for the main map of Yakuza! For those that don’t know, Yakuza is a super cool Japanese RPG series. I recommend it if you like those sorts of games. I knew that the game was based on a real place, but I hadn’t really looked into it. And I hadn’t expected to just stumble across it like that. As soon as I realised, I instantly knew where I was. It was a weird feeling knowing the area, without having had been there before. Almost like deja-vu.
At the outdoor shop, I ended up getting a torch/light thing, and some gas for cooking/boiling water. I passed by a capsule toy place and stumbled across a Yuru Camp season 3 machine. I had to try my luck. I ended up getting one Ayano, and two (2) Ena’s. Boo. I kinda like Ayano though, since she has the same voice actor as Kumiko from Hibike Euphonium.
I headed back to my hotel afterwards.
I was planning on meeting Phil for a night out in the evening so I had some time to kill. I brought my steam deck to a nearby park and sat and played a game for an hour or two.
I also got a really cool looking Red Bull that turned out to be grapefruit flavour.
We met at Shibuya station and found a cool little Izakaya in a basement to have some drinks and something to eat. Of course I took an obligatory scramble crossing video.
Afterwards we headed to a house and techno club in Omote-Sando called VENT. A super cool night. They were playing more minimal and hypnotic techno so not my usual vibe, but it was still such a cool experience. It was my first time being in a Japanese crowd too, and they were brilliant. Everything about the place was super aesthetic. The architecture, lighting and sound were all top-notch. Unfortunately recording was strictly forbidden, but you can check out their website if you’re interested.
I missed the last train home since I left the event just after 3am, and ended up walking a few miles instead. On the way, I passed through Shinjuku again, and was surprised to find the place still alive and kicking at 4am, after the sun had risen.
I collapsed into my capsule at around 5am.
Day 4
I woke up the next day at around noon. For lunch I headed into Kabukucho again and found myself a curry spot. It was super tasty. I decided to have a bit of an off day since I was a little worn out from all the dancing the previous night, and spent the afternoon washing my clothes and sorting through more screenshots for Yuru Camp. In the evening, Phil and I decided to meet up again for a bite to eat and a drink, but this time in Kabukicho. We were both craving some ramen, so we found a really tasty spot for that. There was a big claw machine shop, and Phil spotted a Rin Shima that he reaaaaally wanted.
1500+ yen later and he didn’t get it 😦 We also had a round of Taiko at a nearby arcade. Super fun.
And we finally had a drink in a bar in golden gai, one of the spots you have to visit if you’re in the area. Tons of teeny tiny bars all packed into a teeny tiny district.
Phils last train was a little early around around 11ish, but we were happy to call it there since it was a Sunday.
Today
And that’s it so far! I’m writing this up at around noon on the fifth day. Since I spent a lot of money over the weekend I’m using today as an economy day. Only cheap food and no activities, only chilling. In about an hour I’ll be meeting up with a person who is studying anime tourism for her masters degree, and wants to interview me for her thesis. Super cool! I mainly write these blogs of myself but it’s always nice to get some appreciation.
The next time you’ll hear from me I’ll probably have some Yuru Camping to write about. I’m excited to visit Kofu tomorrow since last time I was there, everything was closed due to covid. Now I can finally have a parfait at the fruit park, relax in the hot spring with that beautiful view, and eat the fabled deep fried egg. See you later!
Tom's Blog 
I prefer laid back trips. Have fun!
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