1 Month in Tokyo

Published on Aug. 1, 2013 by Matt van Vuuren

Tokyo has it all, delicious food, kind people, incredible shopping and ultra fun parties. It is the city of my dreams in the East.

Back again in my favorite city on the planet. Tokyo has become a third home base for me after Amsterdam & Toronto. It has been 4 years since I have been back so it was good seeing all my friends in Tokyo again.

My flight from Seoul was very relaxing, people on Japan AirLines (JAL) are as cilivized as it can get, other airliners can take some notes from JAL in terms of customer service. Upon arrival at Haneda I grabbed a cab towards downtown Roppongi but requested a detour over the Rainbow Bridge.

the famous giant spider at the foot of Roppongi Hills in Tokyo

I rented a sweet apartment in downtown Roppongi, the foreigner district of Tokyo, near Tokyo-Midtown. Roppongi by night turns into a wild nightlife district with many bars, restaurants and underground parties.

I tried to attend as many events as I possibly could without causing too much damage to my body. I literally slept 4 hours per night since I was still working for a Canadian company on the Eastern Timezone so my job was pretty much a night shift.

meeting up with my first Japanese friend (since 2006) + enjoying some epic Japanese curry

I met up with one of my first Japanese friends who I met before my first flight to Tokyo. We had some incredible food across the Tokyo Metropolis Building in Shinjuku. She helped me purchase a bunch of event tickets because the online purchase websites are all in Japanese and my reading skills have become rusty over the years.

One of my objectives was to attend a Kyary Pamyu Pamyu concert w/ Yasutaka Nakata. They make some of the best music productions in my opinion. I was lucky enough to see them live at Studio Coast (Ageha) in Shinkiba. Some of their songs include:PonPonPon, Tsukematsukeru, Candy Candy and the song used in my video: Ninjari Bang Bang.

Tokyo Tower by night from the Roppongi Hills observatory deck

Tokyo during night time is one of the most beautiful sites to view from an observatory deck. I always get quite emotional glanzing over the skyscrapers while taking in all the mesmerizing neon lights.

Places that I recommend in Roppongi are Roppongi Hills, Sukiyabashi Jiro, Club V2, Club New Lex, Gogo Curry, NAS Gym, Club Muse, Gonpachi, TGI Fridays but stay away from Club Feria (terrible club).

conveybelt meguro sushi on Omotesando dori

I went to Ginza for the first time during night time and I was very impressed with the neon lights and street decor. The Seiko building looks incredible by night.