Tokyo & Tini Bars & Halloween Madness

One of the biggest surprises of Tokyo and Japan in general is how "human scale" it is, compared to what I was expecting I guess. Although some of the buildings and intersections are big, the rest of the side streets, areas like the Tsukiji fish market and a lot of the hangout streets lined with cool bars and restaurants are all pretty tiny and adorable. It makes a place like Tokyo feel more homey and less daunting and grandiose than expected.

Here's a breakdown of Tokyo based on the neighborhoods we visited:

1. Shimokitazawa
   We stayed there. Once again, we somehow found the "Brooklyn". It's artsy, hipster and young, hella cool and a lot of tourists miss out on it because it's a bit far from the center but 100% worth checking out.
   

2. Shinjuku
   My favorite hangout area. Walking around in this neighborhood you really can't go wrong. There's so many cool things going on! One of my favorite spots is the "Golden Gai" a small strip of izakaya-style bars, tucked away in these cute narrow alleys behind the tall Shinjuku buildings.
   

3. Shibuya & Roppongi
   If you picture tall buildings with neon lights and crazy amounts of people rushing past a busy intersection, you're picturing Shibuya. There's a cool nightlife scene but it's a bit too hectic for me (from what I saw). I bunched Roppongi up with Shibuya because I feel like it has a similar vibe. Clubby and fun if you feel like going hard one night (we had a great time there the night before Halloween!).
   

4. Akihabara
   The weirdest of weird can be found in Akihabara. You name it, they went there, from 7-story porn shops to "maid cafés" where flirty teen waitresses act as servants to their gross middle-aged customers. It's your go-to place for anything video game-related, anime, manga, you get the picture.

Halloween
We managed to work "Halloween in Tokyo" into our plans which meant we had to come up with a cool costume. We thought about being the "konbini krew" which meant dressing up as the three main convenience stores (which pretty much equate to gods in Asia), this video pretty much sums it up. But after seeing so many WARNING! posters that showed the danger of selfie sticks, we couldn't resist. We went as "Selfie Stick Victims". I know people have actually been hurt and I don't mean to offend, but yeah, we had to.