Day 9: Tokyo Again – The Final Chapter of Our Japan Journey
After spending a peaceful last evening by the Kamo River, watching the water flow under the night sky, our hearts felt a little heavy. The sound of the river was so calming, and the scenery—unreal. But then, our sleeper bus to Tokyo arrived, and reality hit. It was time to say goodbye to Kyoto. As I stepped onto the bus, I whispered a little prayer, “Inshaa Allah, I’ll come back here with my husband someday.”
The ride back to Tokyo wasn’t as comfy as I’d hoped. I didn’t sleep well at all, maybe it was the mix of excitement, sadness, or just the bumpy road. But soon, morning arrived, and so did we back in Shinjuku Station, Tokyo. Our final day in Japan had begun. First stop: Yamazaki bakery for a quick breakfast. I grabbed a protein milkshake and tuna mayo onigiri, simple, but so satisfying. We then used our travel passes to head to Ginza Station, where we dropped off our luggage in the coin lockers. Why Ginza? Because we were planning to take the Low-Cost Bus from there to Narita Airport later that night.
With bags stored and time ticking, we hopped on a bus to teamLab Planets, one of the top attractions in Tokyo. We got there early, a little too early actually, so we stopped by Lawson to snack on coleslaw, strawberry milk, and crispy squid(don’t judge, it was surprisingly good together!). Once inside teamLab, we were transported to another world. There were rooms filled with water, interactive plants, and galaxies of light and mirrors, I honestly forgot half the names of the exhibitions because I was so mesmerized. It felt like walking through a dream.
After teamLab, it was lunchtime. We went back to Grill Hunter at Shinjuku Station. I’d been craving it ever since our last visit. And yes, it was just as delicious as I remembered. With full bellies and happy hearts, we decided to take a short trip to Kamakura via the Enoden Line. Sadly, we arrived a bit late and couldn’t enjoy the full Kamakura experience. But we still managed to catch the sunset, see the famous train crossing, and visit a super cute bookstore where I picked up a book and a matching bookmark to remember the moment. Here’s where the chaos started.
We rushed back to Shinjuku, then to Ginza, planning to catch the Low-Cost Bus to Narita Airport—only to realize we had missed the last bus at 4 PM. 😭 So, we quickly made a new plan: take the train from Tokyo Station. Easy, right? Well… We accidentally stopped at Narita City, not Narita Airport. Classic tourist mistake. Cue the panic! We had to take another train just to get to the actual airport. By the time we arrived at Terminal 3, it was midnight, and we were exhausted. And guess what? Terminal 3 was really far from where the train dropped us off. We walked. A lot. With luggage. In the middle of the night.
We ended the night with a Lawson dinner—instant ramen and boiled eggs, sitting on airport chairs, surrounded by other sleepy travelers. We managed to take a short nap before the check-in counter opened. after checked in, I decided to spend all of my Yen to have tempuras and soup. As I sat there, sipping warm soup from a bowl, I felt a mix of emotions. Gratitude, sadness, and peace.
This trip gave me so much: new experiences, new places, and new feelings I hadn’t felt in a long time. Japan was everything I dreamed of and more. The people, the culture, the beauty in every little thing.
I silently made another dua (prayer):
“Ya Allah, let me come back here with my husband and my family. Let them see the beauty I saw. Let them feel what I felt.”
Next stop: back to Taipei.
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