Finally, Monday! My day off! :) Running a quaint cafe (Little Merlion) in the suburbs means that my work days and rest days are a little different from that of a usual week. Mondays are basically the start of my “weekend” and I love it because the streets are usually less crowded, especially if you avoid the typical weekday peak rush hours.
Today’s Off-day destination: Downtown Shibuya!
Most visitors to Tokyo will stay within the city's 23-ward metropolitan area (about the size of Singapore) for all the regular shopping and sightseeing that the city offers. Officially, the Tokyo administrative district covers an area 3 times of Singapore, with much of the area outside of the metropolitan district mountainous & forested. For Tokyo-ites, these forested areas offer a convenient location for day-hikes & climbs, away from the hustle-and-bustle of the concrete jungle.
On one my off days, I took the opportunity to visit one of the mountains in western Tokyo, Mt. Mitake ( 御岳⼭/Mitake-san), in the Okutama area.
I moved to Tokyo in August of 2019, slightly over two years ago. It took a couple of months before I finally managed to settle down and get used to life here. I was fresh out of university, in a new city, ready to tackle the 9 -5 working life on weekdays and explore Tokyo on the weekends. With Tokyo being ranked one of the top travel destinations for Singaporeans, moving here might seem like a dream to many. However, a few mere months into my new life, the pandemic struck and brought all my plans to a halt.
Now, 1.5 years into the pandemic, Tokyo has overcome four states of emergencies (and the Olympics!), and is easing into a new normal of its own. It was finally time to resume the plans I’d put on hold. I called up my boyfriend, who was originally from the Northern region of Japan and had only moved to the Kanto region a couple of years ago, and we put together a one-day plan to become tourists in our (not so) new home.
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, people in Japan have embraced the “new normal” by avoiding the three C’s (confined spaces, crowded places and close contact settings) as a general country-wide anti-infection guideline. Many people have turned to outdoor recreation to escape the pandemic such as hiking,camping,outdoor saunas and BBQ. My family is one of them, as we have been going camping almost every week.
This week, however, we have decided to stay in the city as the weather got chilly since it’s almost winter. We still wanted t o enjoy going outdoors like we always do, and decided to go to Wild Magic in Toyosu, an outdoor stylish park where we could have a barbeque! And the best part? We didn’t have to bring anything! All food and equipment are provided for!