So far, in these last two weeks since I came to Japan, I feel like I just keep getting underwhelmed by Japan. I was underwhelmed by Fukuoka, and then I was underwhelmed by Tokyo.
Yeah. I was underwhelmed by Tokyo. Tokyo, the land of colourful craziness and seas and mountains of people. Tokyo, the city that never sleeps. Tokyo, the place where all these American celebrities love to go because ka-ka-ka-kawaii.
But I felt none of that when I went to Tokyo… the only times I got super excited was when TVXQ happened and when we stumbled onto this cosplay/lolita shop in Harajuku and I was in cosplay heaven.
I already had kinda expected to not really see much of Tokyo, seeing as I was only there for three days, and the main reason for my trip was for TVXQ and for my friend’s 21st. But still. It was so underwhelming.
Maybe you’ll think that I was being harsh because my two friends and I were staying somewhere far away from all the action and stuff. And we were admittedly staying in a super ‘cozy’ hostel we found on AirBnB, but that hostel was super close to Shinjuku, one of the main stations of Tokyo, so it couldn’t be location. I don’t know. I just feel like Tokyo was just like Hong Kong, except they speak Japanese, and people are nicer and more polite and dress more colourful and eclectic.
Also, Tokyo sleeps so early. For Fukuoka, I expected it to sleep somewhat earlier, since the city is smaller. But when my friend and I went to walk around at night because we wanted to do something exciting, the last trains were still at midnight, and everyone was going home. And midnight is so early for a city to wind down when globally, Tokyo is somewhere that supposedly never sleeps.
Anyway. I still had a lot of fun, and it was still amazing. It just wasn’t as exciting and as different and OMGSH THIS IS SO GREAT as I thought it would be… I blame animu for bringing my hopes up SO HIGH that real life doesn’t cut it anymore.
STILL! Everyone! Come to Japan! Go to Tokyo! I promise it’s fun!! :D :D :D :D :D
Just don’t expect too much. Japan is weird, Japan is amazing, but in the end, it’s just another country. The people living in it are ultimately still human beings, and so yeah. Come. Fall in love with the place. But don’t fall in love with the idea of Japan.
diary of a dysaniac 
I didn’t like Tokyo the first time I went but now it never ceases to amaze me. Even when you think you know Asakusa you go back one year later and everything seems to have changed in the small streets and you get lost again ^^. It’s true people expect things from Tokyo like they expect all women in Paris to be so stylish but if you have a good guide you find places that are crazy… or you can find them by accident. Last year I found a giant godzilla, 100 doraemon statues, a train bar (that never opened never knew why), a rabbit café (that took me more than an hour to find but was so cute), an owl café (the nice girl from he shop nearby pointed it and we started talking about her cat she exchanged cat pics with my friend), a vampire café (that was not frightening at all but kind of cool) and lots of kawaii stuff…. 3 days is really short though you need to go again and go to Kyoto too.
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Yeah I think being in Tokyo for such a short time didn’t really let me explore all the back streets and discover Tokyo… I will definitely go back and have a look around properly! Also, I am so amazed at you finding 100 doraemon statues like what XD
But for sure, thank you for your advice, and I’ll definitely go to explore Tokyo and visit Kyoto properly!
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