Tokyo, Japan
Where do I begin?
Ever since I was little, it has been my dream to go to Japan — and this summer, I was finally able to make that dream come true. However, I wasn’t expecting it to happen SO soon.
I was very thankful and excited to receive a creative marketing internship for the summer, and live in the heart of Shibuya, Tokyo. I absolutely love to travel, so being able to go to my DREAM country and pursue my passion was something I never thought to be possible.
In addition to that, my boyfriend of almost 4 years was able to come live with me. Having similar interests, there’s no one else I could’ve imagined doing this with! Besides that, who doesn’t love a super fun traveling partner?
After a LOT of planning, the month of May seemed to have come quick. I packed my bags and was on my way!
SHIBUYA, TOKYO - MY HOME AWAY FROM HOME
As many of you may know, Tokyo is a [very] large city which is made up of a bunch of districts. During my stay, Shibuya was home to me. The studio apartment was located about a 5 minute walk between the lively, fun and busy part of Shibuya AND quiet and calm in the opposite direction. It was also about a 20 minute walk from my work which was super convenient! Although the bus stop was down the street, most days I chose to walk and enjoy the scenery. This usually consisted of grabbing an iced coffee in the morning, putting my favorite playlist on and scoping out all of the cool places.
Within the first week, I started becoming more familiar with the area and walking the streets pretty well (meaning I didn’t have to open Google Maps… as much). It was easier to explore the restaurants, cafés, stores and everything in between. After awhile, I truly felt like a local.
GOOD EATS
Okay, I’m just going to be honest here and say I totally splurged this summer [& I don’t regret any of it!]. There were so many good restaurants, food stands, cafés and more. I could go on and on about all of the delicious food I ate, but I’m just going to share some of my favorites!
Flipper’s Pancakes
These were simply the best pancakes I’ve ever consumed in my whole entire life. So dreamy & fluffy!!!
Genki Sushi
This was my go-to place for sushi. Genki is a conveyor belt sushi restaurant that stays open until 3 a.m. They serve a variety of delicious sushi at such a cheap price! The tuna sashimi [pictured above] was ¥150, which equals roughly $1.50 in US dollars.
Ichiran Ramen
Ichiran is Tokyo’s most popular ramen place and was definitely my favorite place to eat. It was located about a 5 minute walk from my apartment and stayed open 24 hours. You can’t beat a traditional ramen restaurant in the heart of Tokyo!
The Little Bakery Tokyo
This bakery was so cute and had a lot of vintage detail inside. It was a good stop for snacks like pastries, bread, teas and coffee. They even had individually sliced pieces of pizza which gave me a little taste of home. The Little Bakery Tokyo was perfect for my picnic necessities!
Reissue Coffee Shop
Reissue was such a cool experience! They create 2D and 3D latte art, and can create basically any character you want as long as you have a photo.
Characters photographed : Totoro, Sailor Moon
Okay, enough food and beverage. Let’s talk places.
Japan is a HUGE country and aside from Tokyo, there are several other places (like Kyoto and Hiroshima) that I wanted to visit. However, Tokyo itself has a lot to offer so I wanted to take time and explore it as much as I could and save the other places for next time. There will be a next time, i promise.
During my stay, I got to do a lot of fun things. Waaaay too many to fit in a blog post, but I’m going to share some of my favorites below!
TeamLab Digital Art Museum
Akihabara
Yoyogi Park
Ghibli Museum
Pokemon Cafe
To see more photos and content, check out my Instagram handle @victoriacvitale or click the icon below!
Overall, Tokyo has been nothing short of a dream. I was able to experience a completely different culture, meet so many forever-friends, and most importantly I was able to learn and grow every day. Not just with work and my projects, but myself. I explored my creativity and put myself out of my comfort zone and I couldn’t have asked for a better time.
I love you, Japan. Be back soon ~
Thanks for reading!
XoXo
Victoria