While my time in Tokyo was cut short by an approaching typhoon and the need to get to Osaka to hunker down, it still left me just about a week in what is now a newly favourite city. Tokyo amazed me, and it is unlike any large city I have previously visited. It has so much energy, but none of the chaos of other world-class cities. It was everything I love about cities with virtually none of the frustrations that come along with cramming so many people in such a small space. In a word, Tokyo was my kind of perfect. The week there gave me a chance to do some big things I had planned – a playoff baseball game, an amazing sushi experience…. but also the time to see a number of interesting sights as I wandered aimlessly on many days.

On my first morning, shaking off a case of jetlag the likes of which I had never experienced before, I explored Shinjuku Gardens. A grey morning for most of my visit would turn into a torrential downpour as I was leaving the park, but it was the perfect tonic to get my feet under myself in Japan.

This sight alone reminded me I was somewhere very, very different than any of the places I had visited to this point in my life.

On this Sunday morning, there were a few events in the park including something celebrating environmental conservation. I have no idea who this mascot was, but it was very happy to take a picture with me, which as you can see, made me insanely happy.

On another overcast day of on and off drizzle, I headed out for some sushi with a couple of sights to take in en route. I was very excited to visit the statue of Hachikō outside Shibuya Station. As a dog lover, I am enamoured with the story of his loyalty to his person. After the death of his owner, every day for nine years Hachikō would venture to this train station to wait for his owner to return from work. Dogs are the best.

Just steps from Hachikō is Shibuya Crossing, the busiest intersection in the world. I crossed here a couple of times and was amazed I didn’t bump into anyone in the mad scramble.

On another morning in Tokyo, I headed out to teamLab Planets, a set of interactive and immersive art installations. I’m a sucker for art in this oeuvre and thoroughly enjoyed a couple of hours wandering through vastly different large scale installations.

This one below was a giant mirrored room, filled with warm water that you walked through. Displayed on the surface of the water were images of fish and other sea life that were projected by way of an algorithm that reacted to those in the space. The art we saw was unique as it was created in real time by our collective presence and movement through this room.

In a similar vein, another mirrored room featured rotating projections of flowers and plant life. I sat on the floor as most of the others did too, and watched the 360 degree projections swirl around and though us.

Something I was very interested in experiencing was to see Tokyo from height to get a sense of how large it was. On a clear day, I visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and ascended to its observatory. The views over Tokyo were mesmerizing. I’ve been to some very large cities, but have never seen a city like this that goes on past the horizon in all directions.

Obviously on a visit to Japan, I was excited to see a few shrines. On a peaceful early morning I made my way to Meiji Jingu. Arriving before the crowds, I had the place mostly to myself. It was here that I started to fall in love with torii (gates) that are the demarkation into the sacred at the entrance to Shinto shrines. This gate at Meiji Jingu was my favourite of two weeks in Japan.

The hush over the shrine early in the early morning is something I was very glad to experience.

I took a seat on a bench and enjoyed the calm inside. While I am not a religious person, this place and moment felt spiritual to me in a way I can’t express adequately in words. It was tranquil. I felt I could hear the songs of the birds in a way I hadn’t before. Even the mundane sounds of peoples’ footsteps walking past created a feeling deep inside me.

For years, I knew that Tsukiji Market was a place I would visit when I eventually made it to Tokyo. Markets and grocery stores are places that fascinate me on my travels as a way to experience how people live their day to day lives. While Tsukiji plays host to a lot of tourists like me, it offered a wonderful slice of Japanese life and cuisine.

My plan for my morning visit was to procure my breakfast here, so I did a few laps of the alleyways before making my selections. The displays of fresh fish were really beautiful.

I narrowed down my breakfast choices to a few items after touring the market. At separate stalls I picked up (from left to right) octopus and squid, eel and a skewer of scallops. Eel was a first for me and was very tasty.

In hindsight, I wish I would have found a chef to take me on a tour of the market to buy some fish and fresh produce to make a meal. There were so many intriguing items I had never seen before.

It is really difficult to portray how much I enjoyed the week I spent in Tokyo. The food was outstanding. The religious sites were stunningly beautiful and peaceful. And the people were unfailingly polite and helpful to me. I smiled a lot on this vacation – from gaining confidence in navigating a very foreign place, to connecting with people with whom I did not share a language, and because Tokyo has a healthy sense of humour that I found endearing. This place is definitely on my must visit again list.