Japan 2026: 16 Hours on Planes & Exploring Tokyo

Time to start the recaps of the Japan trip. I’ll try to keep these readable, but I also really want to jot down my memories. I recently realized this blog has been around for 19 years, which is genuinely hard to believe, so if nothing else I appreciate it for the journaling. And I’d like to do these recaps proper.

August 28 & 29: Jacksonville to Atlanta to Tokyo

My Friday morning started early. I had a 7:00 AM flight to catch from Jacksonville to Atlanta, and K.C. was kind enough to drop me off at the airport. After stressing for weeks over what to pack for nine days in Japan, I had whittled things down to a backpack and a small carry-on roller bag. It was now or never.

The first flight was non-eventful. No sooner than we took off did we set down, and after a brief hour and a half layover I found myself on the second flight, Atlanta to Haneda. This was a long haul. I’d leave Friday afternoon in the US and arrive in Tokyo on Saturday afternoon, which is what a 14-hour flight combined with a 13-hour time difference does. Fortunately I had nobody sitting in the middle seat of my three-seat row, which was clutch. I messed around on in-flight WiFi while we were still over the continental United States, and watched movies over the Pacific. First Deadpool & Wolverine, then Michael. It’s crazy how villainous they made Joe Jackson out to be. I guess if the glove fits…

We eventually landed at Haneda International Airport, where a customs line greeted our plane’s worth of passengers. They were serious about mosquitoes and travelers coming in from Africa. But with my Japan Web pre-registration squared away, it was relatively painless to get through.

Now What?

I decided to take the train from Haneda to Shibuya, where my hotel was. I’m generally familiar with train systems from my time in New York, DC, and Philly, so the concept wasn’t foreign to me. I just needed to get my Suica IC card, an all-purpose rechargeable payment card you can use for transit and a bunch of other things, hit an ATM for some paper yen, and grab something to drink. The vending machines made all of it easy, even with Godzilla looking over my shoulder the whole time.

The train ride itself was uneventful. I took the monorail to Hamamatsucho, then hopped on the JR Yamanote Line to Shibuya. The second train was considerably more crowded than the first, but the signage was good and most of it was also in English, as were the train announcements. I was nervous, but for no real reason.

Arriving at Shibuya Station was a different story. Multiple hallways, multiple corridors, and the whole place was under construction with signage that wasn’t quite as clear as the trains. I eventually figured it out and made my exit, and that’s when I had my first real Tokyo experience.

Walking out of that station felt like stepping into an amplified Times Square. Tall buildings, massive billboards, people moving everywhere at once. They call that particular intersection Shibuya Scramble Crossing, and you understand why immediately. My hotel, the Tokyu REI, was only a few blocks away, and with some Google Maps help I found it and checked in roughly a day and a half after my journey began. The room was small and clean, the beds were comfortable, and the Japanese toilets were something else entirely. Let’s just say I took full advantage of that feature…

Matt & the Konbini

It was early evening by then, and my travel partners Matt and Anthony were also arriving that day. Matt got there first. Anthony was delayed a few hours due to some plane trouble in Dallas. Matt and I met up in the lobby and decided to get food, but we were both indecisive and ended up at the Family Mart “konbini” (convenience store) on our block instead of a proper restaurant.

Convenience stores in Japan are another level entirely, so don’t picture roller dogs here. (Even though I love a good roller dog!) There are three major chains: 7-Eleven, Lawson, and Family Mart, and all of them are a genuine step above anything you’d expect from a US convenience store. I grabbed an onigiri, a sandwich, and what I think was a green tea. The drink had Shohei Ohtani on the label, much like every other billboard in Japan.

After eating, we were both pretty gassed from travel, but then we noticed there was a fishing store right across the street. How could we say no?

Johshuya

Johshuya is a fishing and outdoors chain with several locations across Japan. This particular one was underground, down a set of steps from street level, but it was absolutely packed with cool stuff, especially if you’re a gear person. Saltwater, bass, carp, spinning and baitcasting for trout, and plenty of rods and reels for species we don’t really target in the States. There wasn’t much in the way of fly fishing gear, but there were some tenkara and fixed-line rods and accessories.

We were also both thoroughly amused by a brand called Rooster Gear Market, for what should be obvious reasons. We didn’t buy anything because we knew we’d be back the next day once Anthony arrived, but Matt had already locked onto a giant carp rod, partially out of jest, but also with some intent.

Crossing the street we wandered past a skill crane arcade, which was its own kind of spectacle, and then Matt hit his wall and called it a night. I didn’t blame him at all. I was tempted too, but I wanted to stay up and make sure Anthony got in okay. He was due sometime between 8 and 9.

Anthony Arrives!

I was back in my room when the text from Anthony came through. It was around 8:30, so we met up in the lobby and took a different route from the one Matt and I had walked earlier, back toward the Shibuya Scramble and into the shopping, food, and music district beyond it.

We stopped into a 7-Eleven so Anthony could grab some cash and snacks, and evidently snag a dress shirt, a necktie, or a PG-13 girlie magazine if so inclined. When in Tokyo…

The rest of that night was a bit of a blur. We wandered streets and alleyways, looked in store windows, scoped out potential places to eat later, and encountered Don Quijote for the very first time. If you’re not familiar, it’s a sort of department store that sells pretty much everything, merchandised with the chaos of a Dollar Tree or Five Below on steroids, and it just plays its jingle on a continuous loop. Pure sensory overload in the best way. If you have ADHD, I’d suggest going in medicated.

After that my brain basically stopped functioning. Walking back to the hotel like a couple of zombies, Anthony and I were both in mild disbelief that we were actually here. And we still had another full day in Shibuya ahead of us, plus several days of fishing in Nikko after that. Time to sleep. 8AM on Sunday morning was coming fast.

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