First explorations in Ueno Park

After that somewhat nerve-wracking flight and a solid night’s sleep, I woke up feeling actually human again – rested, fed, and ready to venture out into Tokyo proper. Time to see what this city was all about.

My friend’s location in Ueno turned out to be pretty strategic. The neighborhood had plenty to explore on its own, and Asakusa was just a short trip away. Made sense to start with what was close and work my way out from there.

Tips & Tricks

But first, a practical matter needed handling: my entire wardrobe consisted of two pairs of underwear, one sweater, and one pair of pants from my carry-on. Shopping wasn’t optional at this point. The silver lining? Lufthansa would be reimbursing these emergency purchases, though I’d have to front the cash myself.

I asked Amber for recommendations on where to shop without breaking the bank – no point buying designer stuff on my own dime just to get reimbursed later. Her suggestion was perfect: there’s a Uniqlo right next to Ueno station, and they’d definitely have women’s clothing in European sizes. She also tipped me off about their Heattech and Airism shirt lines, which sounded pretty useful. Figured I might as well stock up on some decent basics while I was at it, since my shirt collection back home could use some help anyway.

That said, I wasn’t quite ready to dive headfirst into a fully Japanese shopping experience on day one. Uniqlo felt like a solid middle ground – Japanese brand, but familiar enough territory for a jet-lagged traveler still finding her bearings.

Amber also walked me through the metro basics. My Suica card was loaded and ready to go, and honestly, I didn’t expect navigating the system would be rocket science. How complicated could it be?

Let’s go!

So off I went toward the park, obligatory plastic bag for trash tucked into my daypack – because good luck finding a public bin in Tokyo. The park was close enough that taking the train seemed silly, and the weather was decent, so I decided to just walk. Google Maps got me there in about ten minutes, navigating through the organized chaos around the train station.

Even on that short stroll, I couldn’t help but notice how seriously Tokyo takes accessibility. Guide strips for the visually impaired were everywhere you looked, traffic lights had these acoustic signals that actually told you which direction was safe to cross, and the elevators at the station were – get this – actually working. Coming from Germany, where “accessible” sometimes feels more aspirational than actual, it was refreshing.

That said, I had to keep my wits about me. Left-hand traffic still messed with my instincts, and the cyclists here operate on what I can only describe as their own special set of physics. Managed to avoid becoming a statistic, though, so I’ll call that a win.

The park itself was still in its winter dormancy, but there was plenty to see regardless. I snapped a bunch of photos and took some mental notes, which I’ve gathered into a separate post:

Uniqlo – Shopping, Part 1

Okachimachi

Now it was time for some serious shopping. I headed toward the nearest Uniqlo branch in Okakimachi, and honestly, I wasn’t prepared for just how lively that area would be. The whole neighborhood was basically one giant flea market – the kind of place where you could knock out your entire souvenir list in one go if you wanted to. Street food stalls were set up everywhere, filling the air with all sorts of tempting smells, but I wasn’t hungry yet and really just wanted to get the clothing situation sorted.

Timing was everything here – I’d just gotten a notification that my luggage wouldn’t be arriving until Sunday at the earliest. So this wasn’t browsing for fun; I actually needed to stock up on basics.

Still, I’m only human. The atmosphere in that area was infectious, and I found myself getting pulled into shop after shop, mentally bookmarking places to come back to later. Sometimes the detour is half the fun, even when you’re on a mission.

Shopping Spree

When I finally made it to Uniqlo, I beelined straight for the women’s underwear section and loaded up on panties and shirts. Finding the right size was a bit of a gamble since everything was shrink-wrapped – no trying things on to be sure. But the material looked stretchy enough, and the few display models seemed about right, so I figured I’d roll the dice.

I also stumbled across Marimekko socks, which was completely unexpected. The price was reasonable enough that I grabbed a few pairs despite them being slightly too small. Apparently women’s socks in size 40 or above are something of a mythical creature in Japan. I also snagged a pair of decent-looking sports pants that would work fine as sleepwear. As for the dresses and regular pants? Yeah, most of those were way too small for my European frame, so I’d just have to make do with what I’d packed.

I left the store in good spirits, if a few thousand yen lighter. One bonus of being a tourist: when I’d cleared customs at the airport, they’d stamped my passport with a QR code for tax-free shopping at participating stores. The process was surprisingly straightforward – they gave me what looked like a little booklet of receipts, which I then proceeded to lose sometime later. So much for that refund.

Technically, I probably wasn’t supposed to wear the sealed clothing right away – that was one of the conditions for the tax-free purchase. But let’s be real: customs wasn’t going to hunt me down over a few pairs of underwear. I needed clean clothes, and I wasn’t about to walk around Tokyo in the same outfit for three more days on principle.