Tokyo (12 – 16 Dec. 2010)

It goes without saying that Tokyo is a big city. Nevertheless it still is shocking for someone like me to experience just how big it really is. Travelling around Tokyo by subway seems to be the best thing to do as a tourist. It is just too big to walk from the different districts in Tokyo, and difficult to orientate oneself. In many ways Tokyo really does not have a centre. It seems like each district is its own city. There is so much to see that even spending 4 days (the longest time I will be spending at any of the Japanese city) is just not long enough.

The subway is quite good and easy to use. However it is not a good idea to be there during rush-hour as I experienced on my last day. Never in my life have I been so squashed in a train. Luckily it was winter, because the high temperature and bad air in the train is enough to make one almost pass out from exhaustion.

Temperature has been mild, approximately 16 – 7 °C. Some days were rainy while other days were quite sunny. Similar kind of weather one would experience in Oslo during September to October.

The great thing about Tokyo is that there are all sort of different things to see if one has the time. Beautiful building, museums and temples can be found within walking distance from the subway. For those who really like shopping this is definitely the place to be. You can find almost anything here.

Japanese people are really friendly, and will go out of their way to help you if you are lost.

My biggest disappointment was that I didn’t get to see the bay area.

Fact of the day: According to the Japanese calendar we are entering into the year of the rabbit.