Solo travelling gives you a lot of freedom to explore new places at your own pace. If everything goes well during your trip, you miss out sharing the fun with other people. Although you can always make new friends who can share their experiences, or perhaps a good time with you. Realistically, things don’t always go as planned. It is in those moments where having some company helps. At least you could talk to someone while facing unexpected circumstances. Overall, I enjoy both solo and group travelling, keeping in mind the balance between freedom and support. The second part of this story shows a couple of examples where travel company would’ve been handy. I wrap it up with more travel tips based on my positive and negative experiences.

Third day: drinking beer at Asahi HQ, Tokyo Skytree, and a night stay at a capsule hotel.

I had planned to wake up early as the next day was expected to be sunny (the only clear day during my trip). After check-out and breakfast, I headed to my capsule hotel to drop my luggage and explore the surrounding area. It was a good time to take my camera out and capture more and better pictures without the rain. I checked the map and figured I could cover most of the places by foot. This day ended up being the day I walked the most (around 28k steps).

The first place on my list was Asahi HQ. One of my friends in Hong Kong told me to go to the top floor and have a beer while enjoying the view. I arrived at around 11:00 am. and did exactly as he told me. By the time I left, I saw many people seated outside the top floor bar. Luckily, I went there earlier. People like drinking Asahi and beer overall, but not many drink before noon. I felt like I had a competitive advantage (i.e., being able to drink beer in the morning). I took a few pictures both on my way to the HQ as well as from the top floor. I would have had a couple more beers if I’d had company. So, I decided to leave and go to my next destination.

I thoroughly enjoyed my stroll towards Tokyo Skytree. The bright day helped a lot with picture taking as I did not have to spend too much time every time I stopped for a shot. I enjoyed walking through Sumida City streets, taking a turn at every corner where I saw an interesting sight: shops, restaurants, rickshaw drivers, vending machines, among others. Once I arrived at Skytree, I realised I could’ve saved a lot of time if I had purchased my admission tickets online. I decided to queue. The other option was to book online for the next day, but I had plans to explore other areas. So, I waited for around 90 minutes before I finally got to ticket machine. There were tickets for 6:30 pm. admission time onwards, and it was around 3:00 pm. There were hundreds of people behind so I didn’t think much and purchased the earliest ticket available.

It was a good time to take a break for lunch and buy a couple of camera accessories. There was a bus that would take me door-to-door between my location and the mall where the camera shop was located (Kinsichō station). I hadn’t taken any bus yet, so I waited for the next one and checked if they accept coins. I had a few after taking several train rides with single trip tickets. The bus came at the time it was scheduled (according to Maps). I slotted a few coins adding up to ¥200, and I got ¥20 back. The price was also shown in Maps. Once I reached my destination, I bought the items I needed and had Japanese curry for lunch. I finished earlier than expected, so I went back to my capsule hotel to check-in (I’d only dropped my luggage earlier).

I returned to Tokyo Skytree at around 7:00 pm., 30 minutes later than my ticket time. That didn’t matter because the admission time announced at the entrance is only used for reference, as you still have to queue to get to the main lift that will take you up to the 360° city view platforms¹. I ended up waiting around 90 minutes. As it turns out, the queue for ticket purchase is shared with the admission queue, and they only split towards the end. Once I passed the ticket machines, I waited around 45 minutes more to get to the first lift. If I remember correctly, there were 4 lifts operating that evening. They fit around 20 people at a time. The wait feels longer because you can see a screen showing the lift’s position while it moves people up and down. When I finally made it to the lift, my overall level excitement had decreased as my legs felt very tired due to the long wait. I wasn’t very impressed about how quick it gets up to the first platform at 350 metres. I was more focused on equalising (clearing my ears) to handle the changes in pressure as we went up.

One of the items I had bought at the camera shop was a rubber cover that goes around the lens which helps taking pictures through glass, avoiding reflection. I realised I couldn’t really use it as the distance between the surrounding fence and the glass is longer than anybody’s arm’s length. I had to fight for a spot to take a picture, as everyone stood close to the perimeter. The deck was good for a selfie, or a group picture, but not very good for what I wanted: a panoramic shot of the city. There are metallic bars covering the view, which must have a good reason to exist (seismic, design, etc.). I went up to the next level, Tembo Galleria (450 metres high), hoping to have a better view, or less people, but nothing much changed, except the fact that I had to queue again to take the second lift. I did a quick lap, took a few shots, and decided to leave as fast as I could. I spent around 4-5 hours at Tokyo Skytree in total and didn’t feel I got much out of it.

I reached my capsule hotel at around 9:30 pm. I was tired and hungry, but felt I had to do more as the next day was my last full day in town. I was told I should check out Akihabara for its arcades and other geeky stuff. One of the branches of Marugame Seimen² (recommended udon restaurant) is also located at Akihabara station, so I decided to have dinner there and then explore. Most of the shops were closing, especially after I finished my meal. I saw a big sign advertising a maid cafe at a random building, so I went for it. I had a couple of drinks, watched the show, and took a picture with one of the entertainers. I was charged ¥880 for it, worth it?.

I decided to call it a day. It’d been a long and exhausting one, but I did experienced quite a bit. It was time to go back and sleep in a capsule hotel, which I wanted to try since the first time I heard they were a thing, several months before going to Tokyo. It was clean, safe, and it had all I needed. It was also around 25% of the price I paid the previous night at a mid-tier hotel. Perhaps not a bad choice next time I’m in town.

Fourth day: Tokyo tower, Shinjuku, and Roppongi.

I woke up with the sound of a zip being undone slowly. One of my roommates at the capsule hotel (there were 6 cubicles in my room) was leaving very early and didn’t want to disturb the rest of us strangers. I could still hear him as he was trying to pack up slowly. I thought it’s much better to do/undo your zip as quick as you can, generating a shorter sound. Having a persistent sound was the reason why I woke up. I couldn’t sleep after, so I decided to pack up, shower, and leave.

I arrived back at my friend’s place by 8:30 am³, so I had time to pre-pack for my departure and have breakfast at a convenience store. I had corn soup and an egg sandwich before heading to Tokyo tower. It was a relieve to see less than 20 people queueing up for the “secret spot”, compared to my previous day experience at Skytree. I talked to a couple of strangers in front of me and agreed to take pictures of them with my camera if they took pictures for me. Win-win situation, highlighting one disadvantage of travelling solo: you can take as many pictures as you want with full freedom, but nothing much of you.

I headed back to Shibuya as I wanted to go to Shibuya Sky. There was a sign at the entrance saying there are no more tickets for that day. I quickly checked online and, at the time I was there, the earliest available ticket was 2 weeks later. It does seem to me that the waiting situation is not too bad compared to Tokyo Skytree, as there is less queueing involved. Having some free time, I decided to walk around Shibuya and go shopping.

That evening was the only one my friend, his wife and I could go out for dinner. They took me out to a all you can eat and drink restaurant. I had a couple of mega pints of highball and loads of food, mostly skewers. We met two comedians and their manager, who were seated next table. It was a very fun night, but it was just the start. My friends recommended me to go to Shinjuku before Roppongi, and they weren’t wrong about it.

I took my camera out one last time and headed to Golden Gai. On Maps, the area looks like a grid with seven sections, formed by alleys and filled with tiny bars. There are signs everywhere asking people to not make much noise outside, as the area is private and being monitored. I heard you cannot take pictures, but I saw another foreigner with his camera too. I took a few when there were no people in clear sight after having a drink at a random bar. The bartender was a young female and very friendly. Some Japanese men were drinking at the other end of the bar, and we exchanged a few words in Chinese. The vibes were great, but much better if you go with friends. I stayed around 1 hour and headed back home to drop my camera and go find more party-like vibes in Roppongi.

The first bar I checked was Geronimo. They have one in Hong Kong, famous for its different levels of shots. It was not happening when I arrived, so I asked the bartender where I could go. He told me to check Geronimo’s sister bar around the corner. When I arrived, a bunch of foreigners were topless holding their shirts like in a football stadium. I had seen two opposite types of vibes, and I needed something in between. I checked Google again and decided to check the best rated bars around. After walking around and checking a few, I arrived at Jumanji. There weren’t a lot of customers but the club vibes were good. I must say the reason why I stayed was the two female performers they had on the stage. It was a legit club, not a strip club or so, and they were the main attraction. I tipped both of them and we started talking. They asked me where I was from and when I told them, they called one of the bar managers, who was mixed Peruvian and Japanese. That was the signal for me to linger. We had a great chat, more drinks and fun until around 3:00 am, when I decided it was time to leave.

Return to Hong Kong: drawbacks of flying with a low-cost airline.

I woke up feeling I had made adequate use of my time in Tokyo. While there were some places unexplored, the city is huge. My friends had left to work, so this time it was only me with two pieces of luggage and a rucksack. I had plenty of time as my flight was at 3:00 pm., so I left earlier and walked to Shibuya station to take the Narita express to the airport.

Once I arrived at Narita airport, I ran towards the check-in counter, as I felt I was a bit late (around 90 minutes before my flight). I gave my passport to the operator and he said he couldn’t find my booking, so I pulled out my phone and showed him email proof. After a 10 minutes chat with his manager, they told me my booking had been changed to the following day.

Two days before, while I was exploring Tokyo Skytree area, I thought I should stay one more night in town, as my experience so far had been great, and I didn’t have any important plans back in Hong Kong. I contacted the airline via WhatsApp and we were about to complete the new booking, but the operator couldn’t call me as I was using travel SIM. She said she had to speak to me on the phone so I provide my credit card information. When I told her that I wasn’t in town (they should know as I had taken their flight to Tokyo), she sent me to the automated bot. I was annoyed because this usually happens when there’s no response, but there was less than a minute between her message and the bot’s message.

I received an email later on saying that I should call them to complete the payment, which I decided not to reply. I thought: why would I put any effort on this after spending 30 minutes or so on WhatsApp with poor customer service? The communication was intentionally cut by the operator, and I’m almost certain she didn’t follow the SOP⁴ guidelines. My thought was that no changes would be done unless I pay (what would you have thought?), so I left it there. In the end, what happened was that she deemed the new booking confirmed without payment. I was not sent an updated itinerary and my booking on their website was still showing the original flight date and time. However, according to the check-in counter operator’s manager, they cannot change what has already been updated by Customer Service. I stood firm with my argument and told him this situation was unacceptable. How can they blatantly close a transaction without payment, without notifying the customer, and without treating the customer fairly on their official WhatsApp channel?

Two hours later, I left the check-in counter with a boarding pass in hand. I had lost the original flight as they didn’t want to accept their mistake. They said they cannot change the booking (although the operator had done it in a similar way). Even though I presented the evidence, they declined my ask to book me with the next flight. There were two more flights that evening. I told them I’m ok to wait until the next flight for their mistake, but that I would not spend one more night in Tokyo. I would have had to go back to town, book a hotel, and return the next day. My patience was gone and I really wanted to go back home. After all the time wasted, I had to pay for the new booking the same night. I thought it was time to go home and deal with this later. In the end, I decided not to spend more time raising a formal complaint, as it will take a lot of effort and likely the same result (they are very stubborn!). I said to myself I would try to avoid flying with them again, before heading to a sushi restaurant to treat myself a nice and big meal to compensate for the bad experience.

I had plenty of time before my flight, but there was one last hurdle. I’d decided to buy a bottle of sparkling wine to my friends to thank them for their hospitality. As it occurred with other items I bought, they were tax exempted. One simply has to show their passport at the shop, and the tax amount will be deducted. The sales assistant at the wine shop, a Japanese lady, told me I could not consume the sparkling wine in Japan. I replied “sure” quickly, without thinking too much about it. While she was wrapping the bottle with several layers of foam and other protective plastic, I was thinking to take the bottle to Hong Kong instead, as I did not want to break any rules. When I reached home, I changed my mind and left the bottle in my friend’s fridge thinking I will tell customs I will pay taxes in cash at the airport.

As I didn’t know how long that process will take, and I had wasted a lot of time already and didn’t want to take more chances, I headed to the customs officer on duty, and showed him my passport. The sales assistant had also stapled the receipt to one of my passport pages. At this point you start to realise how much Japanese people follow the rules. I told him: “I’d like to settle this purchase’s tax in cash, as I have consumed the alcohol.” He looked at me and said something unclear to me, which I understood as: “It’s ok, just don’t do that again.”, and asked me for my receipt. I guess coming clean is much better to avoid any uncomfortable situations. I had cash handy ready to settle what I owed by law.

Final thoughts

I wrote much more than I expected compared to my previous posts. I wanted to be more detailed this time around so something very close to the full story in my mind can be shared. While some details were omitted, they are still in my memory and will be happy to share them with my friends and family. Having written a significant part of this adventure takes some of that burden off, as I can refer to this post later in case any captured detailed is forgotten.

I share below a few additional tips and ideas that could be helpful for your next adventure in Tokyo, although some of them could be applicable to other destinations:

• If you’re afraid or scared of using a Japanese toilet, try it. It can be a cultural shock, especially if you haven’t seen any in your life and are not used to the concept.
• If you go to Asahi HQ, go early. Ideally before noon to avoid crowds.
• Think twice before going to Tokyo Skytree. You’ll have to spend a lot of time there. It is an extremely popular destination.
• If you do decide to go, buy the tickets online. Surrounding areas are picturesque, so you might enjoy a nice walk before your admission time.
• Overall, tickets can be purchased in advance on the respective attraction’s websites (Skytree, Shibuya Sky, Tokyo tower, etc.). Some of them require a few weeks or months in advance (I did not check any museum, but heard that’s usually the case for those kind of attractions).
• You can also go without any plan and explore. It is good for learning, but it can be tiring as well. No risk no reward.
• If you go shopping, bring your passport with you and remind staff that you’d like to get a tax rebate. Sometimes you need to go to another location within the same mall to collect the money. Some other times, they will just deduct the tax amount at the point of sale.
• Tokyo is a big city. Try to stay in different places so you can explore the surrounding area. Staying in a capsule hotel can help saving some money. Hotels rooms are small anyways, and you might not be spending much time there (just need a place to sleep).
• Bring a power bank. You might already do it every time you travel, but you will definitely need it if you rely on Google to find locations or use it as translator.
• Be mentally prepared if you’re taking a low-cost airline flight. They aren’t flexible at all, and usually commit this kind of mistakes. Everything is chargeable for them.

1. Tembo Deck and Galleria, located at 350m and 450m, respectively: https://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/en/floor/. ↩︎
2. https://maps.app.goo.gl/JfwuiPe6u14rtsB66. Google rating of 3.1 at the time I visited. Low rating for some reason, but it was good. ↩︎
3. I’d been away for two nights exploring other parts of Tokyo. ↩︎
4. Standard Operating Procedures. ↩︎