After years of planning, research and waiting, I finally arrived into Tokyo Haneda airport on April 19th. I passed through the border with ease, the agent completely unphased by my scheduled 88 day stay. I was lucky enough to be greeted by my friend Masa as I came through arrivals, who got me set up with a travel pass and SIM card. Then, we were off into the labyrinth that is the Tokyo metro.

My first week in Japan was pretty non stop. I managed to pack it full of activities, some new, some I’ve done before, ranging from shopping in the packed streets of Harajuku to climbing mountains in Nikko National Park. In retrospect I should probably slow down a bit; with such a long stay I really need to pace myself, but you can hardly blame me for being enthusiastic and energetic after waiting so long to get here.

One obvious highlight was that I managed to time my arrival perfectly for attending Tokyo Rainbow Pride. Relatively unknown internationally and understated when compared with the equivalent festivals in Europe and the US, I was nevertheless super excited to see how the Japanese did it. I attended the fair in Yoyogi Park, getting photos with gogo boys and drag queens, saw unknown-to-me-but-popular-in-Japan performers sing and dance on stage and got chatting with various Tokyo locals. We headed to Shinjuku-Nichome on Saturday evening to party, which was super fun of course, even if I may have drank a bit too much. Yet again I was by far in the minority as a caucasian Brit, although the Japanese seemed less phased by this than the Thai did!

When I wasn’t hungover as hell, I did a bit of sightseeing around Tokyo. I was staying in Akasaka, so I was close to the Tokyo Tower, Shibuya and Harajuku. I went hunting for beautiful parks (found plenty), instagrammable spots I’ve seen online before and of course, the merchandise stores of my favourite gaming franchises. With Masa I visited the trendy Miyashita Park, full of young and fashionable people hanging out, and sang karaoke in Shibuya. Can’t believe I haven’t done that before in Japan!

After a hedonistic weekend partying and celebrating, I headed out of Tokyo on Monday morning to Nikko, a town north of the city in the mountains, and gateway to Nikko National Park. As well as possessing abundant natural beauty, there are also expansive temple complexes here, preserved as part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was the perfect place to come to for a detox and escape the hubbub of Tokyo. I spent a day hiking to the summit of Mount Hangetsu, getting incredible views of Lake Chuzenji and Mount Nantai. While traipsing alone through the forest I encountered a Tanuki! (a Japanese raccoon dog). I could hardly believe it. I spent the next day recovering by visiting a flower park a short train journey away. Getting around by public transport is so straightforward here, even with my rudimentary Japanese – although Google maps takes out a lot of the heavy lifting.

I had achieved so much in just one week; crossing off many attractions and activities from my list already. Next, I’m heading back to Tokyo to spend more time with friends and experience more of that big city culture. The countryside is lovely and all, but I couldn’t help but feel fomo after leaving the city! Only time will tell if I keep up this pace of rushing about, or if I let myself relax into a more laid-back routine. Stick with me to find out!