After 26 days of walking the Shikoku 88 pilgrimage, we got on a bullet train and went straight into Tokyo at the peak of cherry blossom season.

This is Part 1 — our first two days in the city. The Imperial Palace gardens in the last light, Ueno Park on a Saturday, a shop where I genuinely could not find the exit, and the Meguro River after dark, which is the one I'd go back for.

We had just finished 64 temples across three prefectures. I thought a city would feel like too much after all that walking. It didn't.

⏱ CHAPTERS
02:00  Leaving Shikoku
03:00  Shinkansen to Tokyo
05:00  APA Hotel Roppongi Six
06:00  Imperial Palace gardens
10:00  DAY 2 — Ueno Park
13:00  Don Quijote
15:00  Nakameguro after dark

📍 WHERE WE WENT
Kokyo Gaien — Imperial Palace outer gardens
Ueno Park — Tokyo's busiest hanami spot
Don Quijote — discount chain, open late, chaotic
Nakameguro / Meguro River — lanterns along the water, best after sunset

🏨 WHERE WE STAYED
APA Hotel Roppongi Six. Small rooms, clean, well located for the train. Nothing fancy, and we didn't need fancy.
https://www.roomertravel.com/creator/...
https://www.expedia.ca/shop/trips-plot

💡 WHAT WE LEARNED
Ueno in the middle of the day is a crowd. Nakameguro at night is a different experience entirely — go when the lanterns come on.

▶️ PART 2 — Days 3 and 4, including the best sakura we saw anywhere in Tokyo

🚶 THE WHOLE SHIKOKU 88 WALK — 26 days, 64 temples
Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage: The Full Jou...

We go back in May 2027 to finish the last 24 temples. Subscribe if you want to be there for it.

#Tokyo #CherryBlossom #Sakura #Japan #JapanTravel #Nakameguro #UenoPark #Shikoku88 #TokyoTravel #HanamiSeason  #donquijote