JAPAN 2016 | DAY 1 | KABUKICHO
I’ve been very eager about this Japan trip for almost a year. Growing up, it has always been a dream to visit Japan because I was/am heavily involved with the anime and fashion culture. I was planning to come to Korea in April because my brother was going to have his first born child, but this time around, I decided to finally make a stop in Japan before the trip.
After much waiting, the time had finally come for me to embark on this new adventure to the place I wanted to visit most.
The trip started with a 5-hour layover in Korea. As I got to Korea, I had to the privilege to wait at the Korean Air Prestige Lounge because of my status with Delta (perks of being a consultant). I took the full benefit of freshening up in their wash rooms before I landed in Japan. One of the things I try to do when I travel to Asia is take a red-eye flight. That way, I can knock out in the plane at my regular sleep time and wake up when I land in the morning in Asia. That way I am able to avoid jet lag. Just a 2 cent I can give to someone who is traveling to Asia in terms of travel hack. While I was waiting in Incheon Airport, I got a message from my brother that his wife went into labor. I guess that was the most exciting part of the layover. After 5 hours of waiting, I boarded the plane to head to Narita.
The moment I landed in Japan, I got the news that my brother got a healthy new boy! They named him Ju Won, which means “One with God” in Korean. As excited as I was for my brother and his wife, I was in a bit of a pickle. I had to figure out where to stay for the night. Everything was literally spontaneous, which is very weird for me because I’m usually super organized and I have to have everything planned. But for this trip, I wanted to play it spontaneous. I was able to book an Airbnb last minute in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Now the only thing was, I had to figure out how to get there by 4:30PM to meet with the owner. It was 12:45PM when I landed. That sure sounds like a lot of time, but being a foreigner at a new country (and without knowing how to speak or understand the language), I was completely screwed. Luckily, I was able to understand little bits and pieces of people giving me instructions because I recognized the words from the animes I watch(ed). I didn’t know how the train worked, but I did find an express train that went straight to Shinjuku station from Narita. However, little did I know that it was one of the most expensive tickets and I could have been more cost-efficient. But in my mind, I didn’t care because it was already 3:20PM when I figured all this out and it took an hour to get to Shinjuku. Yes – I was lost and sweating bullets for almost 3 hours, walking back and forth with my suitcase around Narita.
The train station reminded me so much of Korea. After awhile, I started to get familiar with how the system worked. I made it to Shinjuku Station, Tokyo just in time to meet with the Airbnb owner.
The moment I checked into the studio, I immediately stripped naked and jumped into the showers. After washing up, I packed my bag and was ready to explore Shinjuku, especially Kabukicho. All I wanted to do was engulf myself in the culture. Immediately as I stepped into the streets, I fell in love with Tokyo. Everything I imagined Japan to be – the people, the streets, the culture – it was all correct. Kids in school uniforms, the way people interacted with each other, etc.. basically everything you saw in the animes, I saw in real life and it was so awesome. I just loved the feeling of being in the city. The bright buildings, busy cross streets, people’s fashion, etc – gah, I just loved it all.
Kabukicho was amazing. Except there was one part when I entered an alley way, where I was bombarded by hoards of men asking if I wanted to get a nice “sex” from “amazing Japanese high-quality lady.” I started to crack up and kindly declined but they were very persistent. I literally had to run away from them. But I guess it was part of their culture so it was pretty interesting to experience that (as creepy as it was).
I was waiting for Brian to land, because we were supposed to meet and share the Airbnb for the night. After exploring Shinjuku, I was pretty hungry so for my first meal in Japan, I decided to try one of my favorite dishes, Katsu-Don, at a restaurant next to the studio. It was the best Katsu-Don I had in my life.
After having dinner, I went back to studio, where I napped for a good 3 hours before Brian arrived. I woke up to Brian’s text saying that he landed. I quickly had to get ready and pick him up from the train station (Higashi-Shinjuku) that was next to the studio. As he came out of the exit, I was so glad to see someone from home in Japan. We went back to the studio to drop his luggage and we were on our way to a local Bboy jam/competition in Shibuya, where our good friend Tenpachi was judging for the night.
The jam started at 12:30AM. I repeat. 12:30AM. What kind of competition starts so late. Only in Japan (or maybe somewhere else in the world). That itself, was such a culture shock. Normally, jams back in the U.S would start in the late afternoon but this was the first competition I went to that started at midnight. Brian and I wanted to enter because it was a 2 vs 2 but we got there too late. It was so good to see our friend Tenpachi. Tenpachi used to live in LA with us during our UCLA days for couple years because he studied/worked abroad. It was such a delight to see him again after all these years in Japan. The competition was a great experience. Even though we were super tired, the energy that was vibing from the atmosphere carried us through the night. So much raw talent and originality – That’s Japanese bboy style to me.
Brian and I decided to head home around 4AM, after Tenpachi had his judge showcase (you can check it out here). The reason I am writing this post a day late is because, well, we ended coming back home at 5AM so I was way too tired to post. Japan is so far amazing. I’m so stoked for the upcoming days.
By the way, Japanese women are so kawaii.
