KONNICHIWA TOKYO!

My first impressions of the big, bustling city that is Tokyo.

There is a driver waiting for me at the airport holding a sign with my name on it. My flight is a red eye from Melbourne and, thankfully, I was able to sleep for most of the flight. It is another hour and a half from Narita into Tokyo. We speed along the main highways. They crisscross around the city, bridges built on top of bridges on top of buildings. It is like Sim City on steroids. 

My hotel is in Shinjuku, my driver takes me straight there. I am nervous about getting lost, I have no internet and am unable to access the hotel wifi till I check in later that day. I find my way to the Shinjuku train station and manage, despite my incredibly limited Japanese, to get a SIM card for my phone. Thank goodness I did too, even with Google Maps I was absolutely hopeless at navigating the sprawling mass that is Tokyo. 

There is a local shrine around the corner from my hotel. I spend some time there my first evening in Tokyo, watching the crowds lining up to pray. There are 

already blossoms blooming in the trees surrounding the shrine, despite it being the height of Winter in Japan. I eat ramen with fried tempura batter from a brightly lit store in Shinjuku for dinner, and think about how it is going to be a LONG trip if this is all there is to eat. But don't worry, the food gets better.