Tokyo, capital of the country and the world’s most populous metropolis. It offers seemingly unlimited choices of shopping, entertainment, culture and dining to its visitors.

We planned our trip last Dec to celebrate new year. We wanted to be the first one to welcome the year 2018, as sun rises first in this country followed by other countries.

The country is so vibrant, organised, technologically so forward, that you really enjoy the different colours offered by the city.

We stayed here for 3 nights and the most interesting part about our stay was the famous Godzilla. The theme/subject on which so many Hollywood movies are made was the symbol of our hotel. And the iconic figure was just awesome.

Coming to the sightseeing part, Day 1 & 3 were spent in seeing nearby cities Mt Fuji, Hakone and Nikko respectively. We used to explore Tokyo streets at night. So, technically we were left with only Day 2 for full day city tour from a tourist point of view. So here’s the itinerary for the day. We got ready early and went at the assigned meeting point from  where more people joined in and thereafter we all left in a bus. The tour was divided in two parts morning tour and afternoon tour.

Our first stop was Tokyo Tower, which was inspired by Eiffel Tower. The observatory deck gave the best view of the entire city. Similar to Tokyo Tower, another monument Tokyo Sky Tree was built, which is currently the highest tower in the world.

The next stop was Meiji Shrine.It is one of the most visited Shinto Shrine. On the first three days of the new year, it is visited by more than 3 million people. It is also a very popular wedding place for the couples.

And the final stop before lunch was  Imperial Palace (only for Photo stop). It is the main residence of the Imperial family. The entire landscape is very beautiful. It felt so good sitting in this area.

We didn’t continue further with the afternoon tour as our child was not feeling well. The missed spots include  Hama Rikyu Garden, Sumida River Cruise, Asakusa Temple and Nakamise Street which i am sure would have been great.

Other than this i really wanted to see Sumo Wrestlers fight which was currently closed. Hope to catch up all missed spots in our next visit.

The most exciting and best thing of the city was the new year eve which we celebrated at the Shibuya square. It is one of the most busiest square. Entire area was filled with people, that nobody was allowed to cross the road on the eve. It was so exciting to be on the roads of a foreign country at midnight celebrating New Year with the special countdown. The best thing i liked, is the country is so safe even at night, nobody cares what you are wearing, no eyes on you, everyone is just enjoying. That made the celebration even more enjoyable.

The last day of our tour and the first day of the year was spent shopping in Shinjuku. And in the second half, we bid goodbye to the beautiful country for boarding our flight.

Japan is a beautiful country and it should definitely be in bucket list of every tourist.