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Tokyo — Return

May 9 (arrive evening) to May 12 (depart for Narita)

At a glance

Hotel: Royal Park Hotel Iconic Tokyo Shiodome (Tower View room, floors 26-38F, Tokyo Tower visible) · booking details Transport: Fly in from Sapporo (JL510 CTS→HND), depart from Narita (CX6323 NRT) Pace: Light-touch. Dennison knows Tokyo well and will freelance. Ryan does calm activities. Don't over-plan.

Quick reference​

  • May 9 evening: Arrive Haneda, transit to Shiodome, light dinner
  • May 10: TBD — Hama-rikyu Gardens (Ryan) / Dennison freelances
  • May 10 dinner: TBD — Ginza or Shimbashi area
  • May 11: TBD — teamLab Borderless or Ginza architecture / Akihabara (Dennison)
  • May 11 dinner: TBD — final Japan dinner
  • May 12: Depart for Narita — CX6323

Day 1 — May 9 (Sat): Arrive from Sapporo​

You've been travelling all day (Sapporo checkout → airport → flight → Haneda → hotel). Check in and decompress.

The room

Economy Double Tower View — compact (20m²) but the elevation is the draw. Tokyo Tower and the city skyline from 26F+. At night, the view is spectacular. Pour a drink from the konbini, turn off the lights, and watch the city.

Dinner — keep it easy​

Walk to Shimbashi (3 min) — the station area has hundreds of small restaurants. Yakitori places under the train tracks, ramen shops, izakayas. Or grab konbini and eat in the room with the view.

Day 2 — May 10 (Sun): Calm Day​

Morning/Afternoon — split​

Hama-rikyu Gardens — 5 min walk from the hotel. Edo-era tidal garden with a tea house on an island in the pond. ¥300 entry. Calm, spacious, uncrowded (especially on a Sunday morning before tour groups).

The Nakajima-no-Ochaya tea house serves matcha + wagashi (¥1,000) on the pond. Architecturally interesting setting — the tea house is on a small island connected by a wisteria-covered bridge, with the Shiodome skyscrapers as a backdrop. The old/new contrast is striking.

Allow 60-90 min for the garden + tea.

Then: walk north through Tsukiji Outer Market (10 min walk from the garden). The wholesale market moved to Toyosu, but the outer market remains — tamagoyaki, grilled seafood skewers, fresh uni. Calmer than Hakodate's morning market because it's spread out over streets rather than packed into one hall. Go late morning when the early rush has passed.

Afternoon — rest​

Hotel room, lobby, or explore Shiodome/Ginza at a slow pace.

Ginza is a 10 min walk from the hotel — high-end shopping streets with flagship stores designed by Pritzker Prize architects. Even if you don't shop, the building facades are a modern architecture tour:

  • Ginza Six (GSIX) — Yoshio Taniguchi design, massive atrium with art installations
  • Mikimoto — Toyo Ito
  • De Beers — Jun Aoki
  • Nicolas G. Hayek Center (Swatch) — Shigeru Ban, glass facade with moving timber louvres
Ryan — Ginza architecture walk

This is a self-guided modern architecture walk through a high-end shopping district. Low crowds (it's spacious), visually interesting, zero obligation to enter any shop. The Dentsu Building by Jean Nouvel is right next to the hotel as a starting point.

Dinner​

Ginza or Shimbashi area — hundreds of options. Dennison picks, or revisit a format Ryan liked earlier in the trip (Ichiran if the comfort-zone factor is still appealing, or try a new gyukatsu/tonkatsu spot).

Day 3 — May 11 (Sun): Last Full Day​

Morning — pick one​

teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills — immersive digital art museum. ~¥3,800/person. Book timed tickets in advance (sells out).

Access: 6 min walk from Roppongi-Itchome Station (Namboku Line), or taxi from Shiodome (~10 min).

Ryan — sensory assessment

teamLab is dark rooms with projected digital art — no crowds pushing through narrow spaces, but the visuals are intense and immersive. The rooms are spacious and you move at your own pace. If the visual intensity feels like too much, you can step to the calmer water/garden rooms. It's a controlled environment, not a chaotic one.

Afternoon — final Tokyo time​

Akihabara if not done yesterday. Or last-minute shopping: Don Quijote (Shibuya), Tokyu Hands, Loft. Japanese Kit-Kats and snacks for home.

Final Japan dinner​

Make it memorable. Options:

  • Omakase sushi — Ginza has world-class sushi counters. Dennison can book. Counter sushi is the calm, focused, chef-in-front-of-you format Ryan liked.
  • Gyukatsu Motomura (Yurakucho) — if you didn't do it on Day 1 of the trip, circle back
  • Ichiran — full circle. The trip started and ends with cubicle ramen. There's something satisfying about that.

May 12 — Departure​

Narita departure — allow extra time

CX6323 departs from Narita (NRT), not Haneda. Narita is further — allow 3+ hours from hotel to gate. Check-out, travel, immigration, terminal navigation.

OptionRouteTimeCost
Toei Asakusa LineShimbashi → Narita (through-service, no transfer)~100 min~¥1,300
Narita Express (N'EX)Shimbashi → Tokyo Stn → Narita~90 min~¥3,250
Limousine BusDirect from Shiodome area~2 hrs~¥3,200
Easiest option

Toei Asakusa Line from Shimbashi — through-service to Narita via Keisei Access Express. No transfer, cheapest, station is 3 min walk from the hotel. Just tap Suica and go.

Previous: Sapporo (May 5-8)

Practical notes​

Key reminders
  • Light-touch planning. Dennison knows Tokyo. Ryan has calm options near the hotel. Don't over-schedule.
  • No meals included. But the Shimbashi/Ginza area has enormous dining density — you won't struggle.
  • Konbini: 7-Eleven in the Shiodome complex, multiple options at Shimbashi Station.
  • Narita, not Haneda: Your departure is from NRT. The Toei Asakusa Line from Shimbashi is the easiest route.
  • teamLab tickets: Book in advance if going — timed entry, sells out.
  • Souvenir shopping: Last chance for Japanese snacks, Kit-Kats, etc. Don Quijote, Tokyu Hands, or just the airport.
  • Tokyo Tower at night: Visible from your room. Free nightly entertainment.
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