Previous Trip Notes:
A Long Weekend in Tokyo – Part 2: Days 1-2 & Grand Hyatt Tokyo
A Long Weekend in Tokyo – Part 1: Trip Set-Up & ANA First Class
We arrived at the Park Hyatt in the early afternoon. The day had started at 3:30am when we woke up to visit the famous fish auctions. As we were only staying for one night, I was again hoping for an upgrade, but alas received just a standard room. The hotel was lovely, and the room was nice – a bit larger than the one we received at the Grand Hyatt:
Park Hyatt Tokyo – Standard Room
Park Hyatt Tokyo – Standard Room View
Park Hyatt Tokyo – Standard Room
Park Hyatt Tokyo – Standard Room
Park Hyatt Tokyo – Standard Room
Park Hyatt Tokyo – Standard Room
Park Hyatt Tokyo – Standard Room
Park Hyatt Tokyo – Standard Room
Park Hyatt Tokyo – Standard Room
Park Hyatt Tokyo – Standard Room
Park Hyatt Tokyo – Standard Room
We dropped off our bags and decided to head out to Fūunji to get some famous Ramen. It was about a 10-15 minute walk, and finally the sun came out and rain stopped. When we arrived, the line was out the door. There were about 12 seats in the restaurant, and you had to purchase your order from a vending machine at the entrance. You then snaked through the tiny restaurant until a seat opened up. The restaurant was no larger that the hotel room, and all of the food was prepared right in front of you. It was like watching magicians. You could tell that this was their passion, and they were excellent at what they did. The Ramen came, and was certainly worth the wait:
Ramen – Fūunji, Tokyo
We walked back to the hotel and explored it a little bit:
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
We hit up the Globalist happy hour which had free drinks and canapes in the lobby, overlooking the city:
Park Hyatt Globalist Happy Hour – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Globalist Happy Hour – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Globalist Happy Hour – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Globalist Happy Hour – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Globalist Happy Hour – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Globalist Happy Hour – Tokyo, Japan
The view was stunning and the lobby buzzing with activity. After a couple drinks, we headed out to the Golden Gai district in Shinjuku. These bars could hold between 4-20 people each, and was a really cool experience:
Golden Gai District – Tokyo, Japan
Golden Gai District – Tokyo, Japan
Golden Gai District – Tokyo, Japan
Golden Gai District – Tokyo, Japan
Golden Gai District – Tokyo, Japan
Golden Gai District – Tokyo, Japan
After bar-hopping in the rain, we headed back to the Park Hyatt for a dinner full of Wagyu steaks at the famed New York bar at the Park Hyatt. The views on the 52nd floor were similarly stunning to the lobby bar:
New York Bar, Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
New York Bar, Park Hyatt – Tokyo, Japan
The food was consistent with our experience during the rest of our trip: very good, but not great. One thing to note is that Tokyo is expensive. Like the. Most. Expensive. City. I’ve. Visited. More than the Maldives, New York, Dubai. The comparisons aren’t even close. At all of the restaurants we ventured to, we were lucky to get out spending $200 per person. A couple of the places were much higher than that. Of course places like the dumpling bar and pizza place were far cheaper – and in fact were the culinary highlights of the trip. The others were purely experiential. In the 1-2 months leading up to our trips, we tried to secure reservations at some of the many Michelin Star restaurants that Tokyo offers, but that just wasn’t enough time to get in. We tried the AMEX Platinum reservation line, which unfortunately couldn’t help out either. That is not to say that we were disappointed in any of the restaurants. Food was good. Service impeccable. And experience well worth the fee. But you should know going in that you aren’t getting out at any of these restaurants at any level cheaper than the most expensive restaurants in metropolitan cities around the world.
We retired after the dinner and woke up, shockingly, to a lot of food at the Park Hyatt buffet:
Park Hyatt Breakfast – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Breakfast – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Breakfast – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Breakfast – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Breakfast – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Breakfast – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Breakfast – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Breakfast – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Breakfast – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Breakfast – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Breakfast – Tokyo, Japan
Park Hyatt Breakfast – Tokyo, Japan
The view from breakfast was similarly wonderful:
View from Park Hyatt Tokyo Breakfast
For our last day, we decided to head to head around more of the city. We walked and took trains everywhere, which was fairly easy. Lots of pride was shown for their upcoming Olympic Games:
Tokyo, Japan
We headed to the Asakusa district to see the Senso-Ji temple, Orange Street, and do some souvenir shopping:
Tokyo Skytree View from Asakusa District, Tokyo
Asakusa Temple, Tokyo
Asakusa Temple, Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan – Asakusa District
Asakusa Temple, Tokyo
Asakusa Temple, Tokyo
Asakusa Temple, Senso-Ji, Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan – Asakusa District
Tokyo, Japan – Orange St. in Asakusa District
After a full morning and early afternoon in Asakusa, we went back to the hotel to pack up. We quickly checked out the gym and pool, as we heard the views were great from both facilities. The pool was under maintenance, but the gym view did not disappoint:
Parky Hyatt Tokyo – Gym
Parky Hyatt Tokyo – Gym View
Parky Hyatt Tokyo – Pool
We then headed out to get some final sushi near the Park Hyatt:
Stand-Up Sushi
Stand-Up Sushi
With a full stomach, we headed back to the airport, a mere 72 hours after we first arrived. It was a whirlwind trip. The weather was mostly terrible. Food was good but not great. But overall was a really great trip, and I’m really glad we were able to experience some of what Tokyo – and Japan – had to offer.
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