The Capsule ‘Hostel’

My first night in Tokyo wasn't all that great. I wanted to stay in a ‘Capsule Hotel’ for the experience (and because it’s a lot cheaper too), but I’m not sure if this was the right choice. Let me tell you how it works:

After checking in, you need to take off your shoes (and put on slippers) and change into the designated pajamas provided by the hotel. This is because shoes carry dirt, and the dirty clothes of other people can stink up the room.
There isn’t enough space in your ‘capsule’ to store all your belongings, so you get a locker. You can take a tote bag and fill it with what you need. I ended up needing:
- Tablet
- Phone
- Charger
- Power bank
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Earplugs
- etc.
So basically my entire bag, except for my clothes.
I slept in a dorm with about 30 other beds, around 75% occupied. I had a curtain I could close and ample room, so that wasn’t a problem, but I disliked the lack of privacy and not having a proper place to wind down.
There was a lounge where you could get free sodas, alcohol (with a proposed limit of 5 drinks per person), and noodles or rice with toppings like corn, bamboo shoots, and furekake.
I think I’m a moderate sleeper, but the earplugs were a must. I kept hearing people coughing and gargling, and at 6 the metro starts, which wakes you up since the hotel is really close to the train station.
And I was one of the very few tourist there. That made me feel like I was intruding a bit, which made me uncomfortable.

The experience was interesting, to say the least, but I know I really need my sleep to function properly. And with the tight schedule (both here and when I go back to Seoul), I can’t really afford to lose much of it.

Senso-ji

My first stop was the Senso-ji complex. It has a big temple, a five-storied pagoda, and some smaller buildings to the side. I walked the grounds, admired the sights, and looked up some information about the temple on Wikipedia. It was a great start to this trip.

Overtourism

Overtourism

What really threw me off was how crowded it was. When a place becomes popular, it seems to attract a growing number of inconsiderate tourists—and that’s definitely happening here. People talk loudly, ignore signs, block paths, and pose for endless photos without awareness of their surroundings. It’s not everyone, of course, but the atmosphere changes when too many of them gather in one spot.

That becomes especially problematic in Japan, where social norms are strong and respect for shared spaces runs deep. Senso-ji isn’t just a tourist attraction—it’s a functioning Buddhist temple, still used by locals for prayer and rituals. Seeing people treat it like a photo backdrop rather than a sacred place feels off. The clash between those norms and careless behavior creates a kind of tension that’s hard to ignore.

Noticing this on my first place I visit, is not a good sign.

Ueno Park

I continued on to Ueno Park—a big open space in the middle of Tokyo with several nice museums. While walking to my first museum of the day, I came across a small temple inside the park. I decided to take a peek, and it was actually really nice.

Tokyo National Museum

My first museum was the Tokyo National Museum. I was hoping for some history (archaeological, cultural, and political) about Japan, but the main exhibit was quite disappointing actually. I thought this would be the starting museum for tourists to see the highlights, but it felt like I only got a whiff. And again, it was so busy that I had a hard time getting a good view of some of the major artworks.

I was hoping to see some of the famous woodblock prints—The Great Wave off Kanagawa especially. It was even printed on my ticket! So I skipped a few halls to get to the good stuff, but it wasn’t there. They had a temporary exhibition about fall colors and some other nice works, but none I recognized. The gift shop was full of references to those famous prints, yet none were on display. It felt a bit like false advertising—like visiting the Rijksmuseum and not finding any Dutch Masters!

They also had a beautiful exhibition of stone guardians from the Kohfukuji Temple in Nara. Sadly, photos weren’t allowed, but the displays were great! They mimicked the orientation of the statues in the actual temple, used ominous lighting, and included some interesting information.

After that, I got some takoyaki for lunch on the premises before continuing on.

The National Museum of Western Art

My next stop was the Western Art Museum. It was supposed to be quite small, so I thought it would be worth a quick visit. It took some time to get to the good stuff, but that didn’t last long. There were some nice Monets, a lot of Rodin, and a Picasso at the end. There were supposed to be some Van Goghs too, but I must’ve missed them. I was expecting a little more, but it was fine.

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

My next stop was the Tokyo Art Museum—or at least, that should’ve been it. When I got there, I looked around to see what they were exhibiting, and it didn’t seem all that interesting. Then I overheard another tourist asking a receptionist if they had any woodblock prints on display (as advertised), and she said no. He was even more shocked than me: “Even I have copies of those hanging in my house!" After hearing that, and having a mediocre experience in the last two museums, I did a 180 and headed for my next stop.

Tokyo Bonsai

Like any other self-respecting man, I enjoy bonsai. I like the cute little trees with their tiny leaves. I found that there was a small bonsai nursery along my path, so I headed there to have a look. I enjoyed this way more than I was expecting. It was just a small outdoor venue selling plants, and they happened to have a few really cool bonsai. I browsed the aisles and took plenty of pictures.

Akihabara

I spent the next six hours walking the streets of Akihabara. It’s the mecca of all things anime, manga, and video games—basically everything that God wouldn’t shine his light on. I’m not even all that into anime or manga, but I had a blast looking at the copious amounts of plastic figures that would only collect dust, the forests of wood pulp pressed into Japanese fiction, and the meticulously plastic-wrapped, overpriced Pokémon trading cards that you can’t even use to play the game anymore.

I took an elevator to the 5th floor of a building to visit a Magic: The Gathering store. Along the way, it stopped for a maid café, a video game–themed karaoke bar, and a very busy mahjong parlor. This place is completely nuts.

There were many times I was tempted to spend money, but I resisted the urge knowing I didn’t have much room in my bag to bring it all home. I spent way too much time in a secondhand K-pop store selling loose photo cards (where I learned that my collection is actually worth a pretty penny), concert merch, and signed memorabilia.

Rounding the day off

This day was really quite busy, but also really eventful! I saw some great sights, bought some cool souvenirs, and had some great food. There are so many dishes I want to try here that I don’t have the ‘hunger’ to waste on anything less.

I headed back to the capsule hotel and ended the day looking at my pictures and scrolling on my phone in my bunk. The capsule isn’t all that relaxing. I looked up some prices for other hotels. I’m not ready to give up yet, but it’s tempting.