NYE escapade - 東京(1)

東京

Tokyo.

My first time.

This was pretty abrupt. Barely a week before the trip, a friend chatted me up. During the conversation, he mentioned he was going to Tokyo to join a friend's birthday celebration. And out of nowhere, he asked if I wanted to go along. I knew him for maybe 7 years, we have met a couple of times during a trip or two when they happened to concide. It was the first time he invited me. Well, of course, I wasn't suspecting anything unusual or whether he had any motive... my only thought was he wanted a companion for the trip. So I agreed. He said he was burning his air miles anyway, and he had accomodation sorted, so all I need was to come along.

Booked.

I flew to Haneda on Singapore Airlines and sat with two very polite Japanese women. It was a night flight, so I managed some sleep on the plane. I arrived on 31st December, it was early in the morning and the tourist information counter at the airport wasn't even opened yet. So no free wifi for the trip (I read they do give out free SIM card). I sorted out the bus ticket directly to the hotel, arrived there but couldn't check in, so I left my bags and went into the city for breakfast.

The weather was freezing but I loved it.

So my friend, Adam, was only arriving later that evening, I decided to hook up with a fellow Singaporean friend living in Tokyo to have a little tour. I met up with Stephanie, an ex-intern in my company before, Stephanie is half Chinese half Japanese, so having her around helped a lot! She took me to Jiyugaoka, a hippy area outside the city centre to see the "Little Venice", we chanced upon a good ramen place and some cool boutiques. We also ended up in a tiny cafe serving awesome cakes, and regretted we didn't eat more that afternoon! LOL. But I had to get back to the hotel for check-in and also probably heading out for more food that night.

So when I got back, Adam had arrived. He was with his friend, Sebastian, who was staying next door. I don't know why but Adam did not bring a winter coat (haha!), he was probably travelling too much he forgot it was THIS cold in Tokyo. Thanks to all the NYE sale, he found a really good bargain at GAP. After that, all of us went to this quaint Japanese restaurant for dinner. It seemed pretty authentic with lots of Japanese customers, we had to keep our shoes in lockers, kneel or sit around a small table for food. The whole place was a bit smoky though and I was sure we smelled after that!

I decided to pick what the locals would go for, Hoppy beer with intestinal skewers. The boys opted for safer options, pizza and some sausage-alike skewer! LOL. I didn't realise I could get high on Hoppy beer as they actually mixed it with shōchū. After that, I could feel the heat on my face and had to get some snack from the convenience store to dissolve my intoxication.

We didn't have the most exciting countdown for sure. I was there whatsapping with the guy who broke my heart before (wrong move!!!) and making myself a lovely bath, while the boys headed down to the lobby for some champagne. Goodbye 2014 and goodbye to that jerk.

I was staying at Hyatt Regency Tokyo that night, here's my review on Tripadvisor.