Article content From go karting round the streets of downtown Tokyo to snow monkeys hanging out in the hot springs of Jigokudani, this is our journal from our April 2024 trip to Japan. (Note: If you are travelling to Japan for seven days or more, purchasing a JR Pass ahead of time is the way to go. The bullet trains are amazing and we also used the pass to get around Tokyo and on buses in other cities.
) We arrived just after 3 p.m. in Tokyo.
Once through the airport we headed to the Japan Rail (JR) ticket exchange to activate our JR Pass voucher (you can buy the vouchers ahead of time in Canada but have to activate them in Japan). Armed with our passes, we headed for the Narita Express, an express train that took us to Tokyo’s main station in less than 45 minutes. On the recommendation of our daughter, who visited Tokyo a few years ago, we’d signed up for the Official Street Go-Kart Tour.
Basically, you dress up in your choice of costume, from the racks provided, and led by a guide, drive around the streets of Tokyo in Go Karts that can hit 70km/hour. Our route took us over the famous Rainbow Bridge, past the Tokyo Tower and through downtown Tokyo, before heading back to base 2 hours later. Driving a Go Kart on the streets of Tokyo, surrounded by trucks, buses, taxis and cars, was quite the exhilarating experience.
After Go Karting, we took a train to the Kanda Myojin Shrine. This shrine dates back to 730, but the current series of buildings were built in 1934, following .
