Japan 2018: Shibuya & Ichiran Ramen (Ft. Uniqlo Flagship @ Ginza)
Day 1
This was my first trip where I had to travel 10+ hours on the plane AND it was my first solo trip - what a combo, right? Trust me, I tried asking people if they wanted to go with my but I planned the trip one month prior, so it was a pretty short notice.
Though after traveling alone, I would LOVE to do it again. If you want to know more about my experience traveling solo to Japan (or I guess solo in general) let me know!
So the first day I was there, I decided to take it chill and mainly explore one area. To be honest, I had no trouble sleeping my whole trip… so I could have went hard. Nonetheless, my first destination was to the famous Shibuya Crossing where literally hundreds of people cross the street at once. I went at around 10:30AM (this was a Monday) and it wasn’t too busy.
Right across from the station there is a Starbucks where I decided to go to get a better view (sorry for the landscape view!)
My first meal of the day was of course, the famous Ichiran Ramen! It’s a bit of an experience especially as someone coming from Canada… since you order from a vending machine and the only person you interact with is the person who seats you. After that, it’s all you!
Thankfully the machines have pictures AND English, as I know some of the vending machines only have Japanese, so it was easy to order - all you do is put the money in and press buttons of things you want to eat and BAM tickets come out. Remember to push the button for your change!
Once you have your tickets and you’ve been seated, the server will hand you a sheet of paper. This just lets you pick a few options for your ramen, including: how strong you want the soup flavour to be, how much green onions and how well you like the noodles to be cooked, just to name a few. Then, you can go ahead and press the call button and can place your tickets and the sheet of paper near it. The staff will then come take the paper and tickets and being to prepare your food - again, you won’t actually be interacting with them.
Now if you want water or anything, you can just serve yourself!
And here comes the food!! I ordered the ramen, soft-boiled egg and I think you call them wood ear mushrooms?
10/10 would recommend you try this place. Yummy and not crazy expensive or anything.
Remember, no tipping in Japan! So don’t try to tip your server or leave cash on the table - you’ll most probably just end up inconveniencing them as they will have no idea why you left money and may chase after you to give it back. So don’t (:
Last but not least (and not much to say here) the Flagship Uniqlo store in Ginza. It was HUGE! 12 floors (yes TWELVE floors) of Uniqlo goodness.
There you have it, my first full day in Japan! If you have any questions or comments, leave it down below (or wherever you can)
Cheers, bye.
Thomas