Tokyo Spring

raspberri

A solo trip to Tokyo for a few of my favorite things: #sakura, #ramen, #strawberry

solo

2nd visit

map

itinerary

highlights

gallery

Chiyoda City, Meguro City, Minato City, 千代田区

Day 1 Itinerary

Places visited: Chidorigafuchi - Tsukemen Tsujita - The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho - Meguro River - Ise Sueyoshi

Chidorigafuchi

Chidorigafuchi is a popular spot during Sakura season. It’s a lush green walkway along the moat of Imperial Palace with 400+ cherry trees in full blossom during the peak season . The cherry trees are planted on the slanted river bank slopes with "weeping" branches extending out towards the river ... very very pretty.

How to get there - I got off at Kudanshita Station and walked south till a bit past chidori cemetery. Alternatively, get off Hanzomon Station and walk northward along the river.

Ramen Lunch @ Tsukemen Tsujita

Tsujita ramen shop near Lidabashi Station. There was a short line at 120pm but the wait was only 5 mins. Love these ramen vending machines!

The Prince Gallery Tokyo

The Prince Gallery hotel is located on the top floors (30-36F ) of Kioi Tower, part of the commercial complex Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho. 1-4F are Kioi Terrace with a few restaurants including a 24hr cafe called Famima. You can get coffee and breakfast food at some of the restaurants (opens at 8am on week days) if you get bored with the hotel breakfast buffet. There is also a direct connection to Nagatacho Station on 2F.

The room was nice and modern. The lounging area in front of the huge window was my favorite hangout spot.

Meguro River

Meguro River is another popular spot for Sakura viewing. The most happening section along the river is from Naka-Meguro station to Sugekari Park. I got off at the Meguro station and it was a long walk until I reached the section with food vendors along the sides ... you can basically have a dinner by sampling food from those street vendors. Berry-infused champaign is a popular drink on this occasion so you will find many vendors for that. It was so so crowded in that section though ... the whole crowd came to a stall at one point and I couldn't move at all.

Despite the crowd, it was my favorite Sakura experience. The cherry trees were in beautiful full blossoms. Colorful traditional paper lanterns along the river and the bridges lit up the whole area. On some narrow parts of the river, the branches from the two sides met in the middle and created a flower ceiling for the river.

Ise Sueyoshi

A very intimate Kaiseki experience (highly rated on TripAdvisor) but I thought the food was just ok.

Japanese Strawberries

Love Japanese strawberries ... they look so perfect and taste wonderfully

Chiyoda City, 千代田区

Day 2 Itinerary

Places visited: The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho - Hotel New Otani Tokyo Garden Tower - Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho - The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho - Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho

The Prince Gallery Tokyo

Had the plan to visit Mt Fuji / Hakone but fell sick last night so decided to take it easy. Spent most of the day hanging out in the hotel and it’s surrounding area.