Day 1 – Tokyo
We left Friday afternoon, arriving to Haneda Airport in Tokyo at around 4:00pm. The flight was great: 12 hours in the new DeltaOne Suites, decent movie options, exceptional food (Jon & Vinny’s meatball, McConnell’s Ice Cream, and plenty of wine). Half an ambien part way through the flight allowed us a few hours of sleep, so we weren’t like zombies when we got in. Customs and Immigration was a breeze and in no time we were out of the terminal. There are lots options on how to get from the airport to the downtown area, but given our volume of luggage (packing for cold-weather Tokyo and warm-weather Singapore) we thought it best to taxi it in (~$50).
We are staying at the Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho (part of the Marriott family). Like many Tokyo hotels, it’s situated on top of a normal high-rise office building. The reception is on the top floor with sweeping views of the city and Tokyo Tower, along with an epic two story bar serving amazing cocktails along with impressive city views. Our room also overlooked the city and Tokyo Tower. Beautiful room all around and much more spacious than expected, given Tokyo’s density.
We grabbed a drink and couple of pieces of sushi to tide us over and then headed out to one of the main drags, Sotobori-dori Avenue, which is dotted with lots of office buildings, retail and restaurant chains. Just one block off is where the locals go, and we headed there to get some highly-recommended ramen at Akasaka Ittenbari. The place was packed with locals and expats and there was a decent sized line, so we knew it’d be good. An expat from San Francisco told us the ramen was great, but a lot of locals also go for the fried rice/dumpling combo…..do we did one of each: spicy ramen (big bowl), fried rice (small) and 6 fried dumplings. Amazing all around, but we could barely finish it….all for only ~$30, including beer!
From there, we walked around the corner to on the top bars in Tokyo, per one of our favorite travel magazine – Conde Nast Traveler. The bar, Code Name Mixology Akasaka, is part of a large cocktail consortium with six bars around the city. This location had a very speak-easy vibe, with mixologists in button shirts, ties and vests and bar backs in button shirts, ties and aprons. This could easily have been in New York or London. Great vibes all around. The staff spoke enough English to help us through the menu and we were not disappointed: Green Tea Mezcal Fizz, Mex-Japon No. 1 with three spices, Wasabi Gin & Tonin, and The Voyage (bourbon, Gin, Campari, Shouchu). Not for the casual drinker, but all were delicious.
After that we were off to bed. 12 hour flight behind us, we made it out until 9:30pm. Hopefully we can sleep for at least 6 or 7 hours and start our first full day in Tokyo!