Intro to ramen, cherry blossoms, Giants madness and a bar where literally everyone knows your name

Despite being exhausted by the travel day and taking a good dose of melatonin, we were wide awake at about 5:30am on Sunday. What do you do when you can't sleep in Tokyo? Go for ramen! We went in search of Ichiran, the ramen shop that Michelle had recommended to us. After following Google Maps for about 15 minutes, we arrived at our destination (or what we thought was our destination). Turns out there was more than one ramen shop in the vicinity of where Google Maps sent us, and we walked right by Ichiran and into another place where we happily ordered items from the vending machine and slurped through our first bowl. Also, this would not be the last time we walked into the wrong restaurant by mistake. 

Yay, Ichiran! Only it totally wasn't Ichiran.

Ordering from a vending machine - Japanese efficiency at its best

After early morning noodles, we went to view the cherry blossoms at Yoyogi Park. The rain did not deter the crowds from coming to see the sakura, which did not disappoint (the pictures do not do it justice). The quiet, peaceful park was also a great escape from the bustling city, and we would find ourselves able to experience that a few more times during our week visit.

Next up was our first ride on the Tokyo metro. The metro system is extremely well planned, but it is also a bit daunting at first. There are 13 subway lines operated by two companies, plus 5 additional above ground lines within the city. The stations also stretch underground for numerous blocks and if you don't pick the right exit you will find yourself at street level trying to figure out where you are. Many of the stations lead right into a department store though, so I was never too disappointed when we did that by mistake!

We managed to navigate our way to the Tokyo Dome, home of the Yomiuri Giants. Tickets are sold out for Giants games months in advance, but we were lucky to have Michelle and her friend in Tokyo arrange tickets for us. This game was unlike any other sporting event we have been to, including the Arsenal match we went to in London in 2010. First, you are allowed to bring in your own food AND (alcoholic) drinks! Can you imagine that at a Canucks game? The trick is to stop at a 7-11 on the way to the game, where there is an unbelievable selection of Japanese prepared foods (sushi, tonkatsu, noodles just to name a few) and beverages. 7-11 in Asia is completely different from North America, meaning the food is actually edible and not just what you would eat on your way home from the bar when you have no other option. Then when you arrive at the game, the staff pour your store bought drinks into plastic cups for you and you're on your way. And not a big deal if you run out of provisions, because there is still delicious food available in the stadium, and the beer girls run up and down the stairs with mini kegs on their backs so that you can have the freshest beer right when you order it.  

There is a keg ON HER BACK.  

Second, Japanese baseball fans are amazing. They stand and cheer for the whole half of the inning that their team is at bat. We had no idea what they were saying but we cheered along with them nonetheless. After the game, the fans continue cheering and singing well after the teams have left the field. They were still going when we left the stadium about half an hour after the game.

We capped our night off with a visit to the Golden Gai - an area of Shinjuku where each bar fits only a handful of people. We had heard that some won't even entertain anyone but their regulars, but we managed to find a spot to squeeze ourselves into. The bar had 5 stools and once you are served your drinks, you sort of have to chat with the bartender because he has no one else who needs "tending"! Fortunately, our bartender was very interesting and spoke fairly fluent English, so awkward situation averted. 

In the Golden Gai looking for a bar that could take 5 (so basically an empty one).

This picture actually makes the bar look bigger than it was.

First full day in Tokyo was jam packed, and this would be our pace for most of the week!