Tues, May 16th I left Albany NY for Japan! I flew from Albany International Airport to Washington DC. where I had a short layover and then boarded the plane for Tokyo. Flight consisted of a mix of napping, listening to music, and playing Tears of the Kingdom. On the flight, I sat next to a young woman traveling to Vietnam and we chatted a bit about our travel plans which was super cool. Finally, on May 17th 3:30 pm Japan time I landed in Haneda Airport!

Once in the airport I made my way through customs without much trouble and got my luggage. My hotel is located above the JR-East Shibuya station, so I got a Suica card and headed to the Keikyu line. I took the subway to Shinagawa station where I stopped for dinner! Shinagawa station had lots of places to eat and shop, and it was super cool to see all the food stalls. The ramen stall caught my eye and I paid using an electronic machine. I was given a ticket for my order and sat at the counter where they served me. (I was too hungry and forgot to take a picture of the food :/ ) Ramen was delicious, I believe it was tonkatsu broth.

Once I finished eating, I transferred to the JR line from Shinagawa station to Shibuya. At Shibuya station I met up with Esther and we made it to our hotel (I got a little lost but made my way there eventually).

Hotel has a pretty cool view of the city, though the picture does not do it justice. Once settling in at hotel, Esther and I went to 7/11 to grab som snacks and use the atm. I got a yummy green tea drink and a pancake snack for breakfast tomorrow. Tired from all the traveling, we showered and went to bed. Very excited to explore Shibuya in the days ahead!