Tokyo Travel Journal

Photography: Lois Vega
Words: Arabella Peterson

No city is quite as beguiling, exciting and paradoxical as Tokyo. An spellbinding balance of
old-world tradition and neon contemporaneity ; you can bathe in a black salt onsen, take a
rowboat onto the tranquil Inokashira Pond, drive a mario kart through the bustling streets of
Shibuya and dance with cyborgs — all in the span of 24 hours.
It’s also a city that’s perfect for exploring with a companion, so allow my friend Lois and I to
take you on our adventure in Tokyo through the lens of her camera.

Lois at the TeamLab exhibition. This one is truly worth the hype, there are huge crowds but
we were blown away by how immersive and unique all the light installations were.

If it’s edible, you can probably get it from a vending machine.

On our first night in the city, we went micro-bar hopping down Nonbei Yokocho or
“Drunkards Alley”. Despite being just 100m from the swarming Shibuya Crossing, one of the
most populated areas in Tokyo, the alley is surprisingly quiet. These bars host about 5
people and this particular one fermented its own flavoured vodka including apricot,
strawberry, pineapple and coffee.

At our Airbnb, getting ready to go out. We stayed in the little suburb of Yoga in the Setagaya
district.

The Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku felt like a cross between the games room at your local
club and what I imagine the inside of an actual poker machine looks like. It felt gaudy and
dated (in the best way) yet futuristic, albeit slightly dystopian.

There’s a Japanese proverb that goes something like, “We’re fools whether we dance or not,
so we might as well dance.” This sentiment is especially relevant at The Robot Restaurant.

I never thought I was missing out on watching a battle between evil robots and giant earthly
spirits until we saw this show.

Being understated in the waiting room…

The lambent streets of Shinjuku. This was taken at Omoide Yokocho or “Memory Alley”, but
more commonly referred to as Piss Alley. It has some of the best street food and bars in the
area.

The Yayoi Kusama Museum was such a dream. The gallery was smaller than we
anticipated, but it chronicles her career as well as the different mediums and themes she
works with beautifully.

Escaping the fast pace of the city in Yamanashi. The Fuji Shibazakura flower festival was a
few weeks off being in full bloom when we visited, but the magenta fields against the
backdrop of the mountain range was still so stunning.

After the flower festival, we went strawberry picking at an organic farm and both ended up
with belly aches. Worth it.

Pre beer and sushi. I finished reading the book Ikigai (highly recommend) just before arriving
in Japan. It was beautiful to see this concept echoed through the city in people’s passion and
commitment to what they do. This chef at this sushi restaurant had clearly found his Ikigai in
his practice.