Japan 2023 (Kanto region)
What would you do if you had one night in Japan (Tokyo)?
I had to think hard about this question as I touched down on the land of the rising sun after a long 12-hour flight from the US. I was only in Japan for one night as part of a layover flight - I was transiting in Japan on my flight from the USA to Singapore after attending the GitHub Universe 2023 conference in San Francisco. Due to my short time in Japan, I had to keep the things I wanted to do there to an absolute bare minimum. In the end, this was the list that I came up with:
1. Head over to Shibuya
2. Savour a tuna sashimi patty rice bowl for dinner
3. Buy Japanese souvenirs
Thankfully, my transit flight was at Haneda Airport - which I was familiar with, as I've been here in 2019. As far as I could tell, there weren't many changes to the decor of Haneda Airport. When I landed at Haneda Airport, I immediately walked as fast as possible towards the immigration counter - for I knew I only had a solid 5 to 6 hours in Japan. Thankfully, clearing the Japan immigration counter was a breeze, and before I knew it, I boarded the monorail and was heading toward Shibuya :)
Once I arrived at Shibuya station - I headed over to the famous Shibuya Crossing and walked several times. I then quickly proceeded to the Hachiko Dog statue before going to Sukiya - a budget-friendly restaurant chain in Japan. My main reason for coming here is that when I came to Japan in 2019 and tasted their tuna sashimi patty rice bowl, I was instantly hooked! There are Sukiya restaurants in Singapore - but they DO NOT sell the tuna sashimi patty rice bowl - so sad :(
After finishing dinner, I roamed along the streets of Shibuya - mostly just doing window shopping. Before I knew it, I had to rush back to the airport to catch my flight to Singapore.
I wanted to take a nice shower at the airport before flying back to SG. So I paid around 1500 JPY and took a nice hot shower at the Haneda Airport Shower Rooms. It's pretty clean and spacious enough for a nice hot shower.
My last 2 hours in Japan were mainly spent purchasing souvenirs for my family at the Duty-Free Shops at the airport. I bought a bunch of Japanese sweets, mochi, Senbei (prawn crackers), and many more. Unfortunately, I did not manage to take any photos of those Japanese souvenirs...
It might have been a short respite in Japan - but it was what I truly needed, especially after a long week in the USA attending the GitHub Universe tech conference. I needed some quality time alone to reflect on my thoughts, ideas, and experiences over the past week in the USA. Once again, thank you, GitHub Education, for sponsoring the wonderful trip to the USA, and it will be a memory forever etched in my heart ❤️
