13- Tokyo layover experience: 19 hours in Japan

How did we end up there?

As I mentioned in my previous article, we left home in BC, Canada to spend some time in Vietnam during the shoulder season at home, when our village feels almost like a ghost town.

We intentionally chose a flight with a long layover in Tokyo– about 19 hours.

By the time we landed we were dead tired. The flight was long and we barely got the chance to stretch our legs and our backs the entire time. So we really needed to lie down and get some sleep!

Our hotel room was so tiny but it had all we needed. The space was so thoughtfully designed that despite the size, we felt comfortable and even impressed.

The excursion

Jet lag or excitement or maybe both woke us up at 4 AM. We tried to fall back asleep, but failed, so hit by excitement, we headed out at 5.

It was a chilly and windy morning. We walked in the half-asleep neighborhood. We met many young boys and girls who probably were just getting back home after partying. We also met some bikers hurrying somewhere and some early risers heading somewhere. It was a Saturday so I cannot say if they were going to work with certainty.

Why many around me want to go to Japan and how it affected me

I haven't been to Japan and I know that during the past years it has been a hot destination, at least in North America. Everyone around me's first favourite destination has been Japan, with no exception. And I don't know why.

Since many people are talking about it I got curious too. I wanted to know why it is becoming a hot destination even though apparently the Japanese locals are not happy about the increased tourism in their country and are looking at tourists as an unpleasant nuisance.

It might sound ridiculous but I don't mind sharing it. For me the interest in having this layover in Tokyo was first because everyone around me dreamed of going there or had already been there, and second because I have heard that Japanese are so respectful at least to themselves (not necessarily very happy with the tourists).

Anyway the decision has been made and now we are in Tokyo. Now it was 5 am and even though my brain was about 30% off, I wanted to use the remaining 10 hours to discover some facts about Japanese culture by myself.

Some extra notes

1. I am sure that some people have different experiences, more or less welcoming. Maybe the area we were staying in was not representative of Tokyo as a whole. It might reflect just one type of local community, with its own social dynamics and background.

2. When we arrived from my -5°C city to Tokyo’s 20°C daytime temperature, I did not have any clothes appropriate for that temperature. So I purchased some clothes from a Japanese chain shop and I ended up getting some Japanese-style clothes. Also I think my eye shape looks slightly Japanese so maybe I didn't stand out that much.

3. Gab, my partner, is a cute white blue-eyed man who tends to attract attention. So maybe his presence beside me would make a difference ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyhow, these are all speculations. I am not sure about any of my hypotheses. I am just happy to weave some mental stories for myself.

Last words

I loved my experience. I know, however, that I experienced Tokyo, as a tourist who had nothing to do, except eat and drink and forget about the life challenges for one day and not as a Japenese fellow who was biking hurriedly in that cold chilly morning to get to the work, or running in the street to catch the metro to get to the work on time, or not from the point of view of a Japanese fellow who had their ramen in 7 minutes just to rush to work soon after and spend that beautiful sunny day in the enclosed office.

I know my experience was not representative of the real Tokyo and maybe poetic. But I prefer keeping it as it is. I know that down the way, it would lead to this article that filled me with joy as I wrote it 🙂

Talk later.