No, haha I am not going to live there but just visiting. Intially we had planned that we would go visit in 2020 but then shit hit the fan and the whole world trapped in a pandemic. Further down the line the invasion of Ukraine made flying to Japan from Europe much more difficult, as it wasn’t the first time Russians had shot an commercial airplane from the sky.
After a complete shit year of 2025, suffering from a burnout I wanted to do something for me and I told my husband as soon as I was able to score tickets to a Blythe event in Tokyo, I would be going to visit.
Luckily for me getting tickets to Be Summit wasn’t that difficult. Flights and a hotel were a bit more difficult. October is a very popular month to travel to Japan and I was going solo this time. Another difficulty arose when I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in December and I cannot live without my CPAP-device. Normally as a solo traveller I do not mind sharing a dorm with other women but my device needs a safe spot and I cannot keep packing it up and sticking it in a locker for over two weeks while I am out and about.
So the quest for an affordable single room was on. The flight was not that hard as I chose to not fly with KLM. Everytime I have flown with KLM the past 10 years, shit happened and they cancelled atleast one flight on me, making me spend extra money on extra nights in hotels or missing a night in a hotel because my flight was delayed. So here is to you KLM, fuck you. Royal Dutch Airlines my ass, Royal pain in the ass more like it.
Found a hotel in Ikebukuro, the part of Tokyo I was aiming for. Shibuya was too busy and Ueno was to expensive for a solo traveller.
I have been to Ikebukuro 20 years ago but I was in the middle of a messy break up, forced to travel with my ex and I hardly remember anything from that trip. I’ve completely blocked out that part of my life. So my 2026 trip is also an attempt at making newer and happier memories. Fun fact: after finding about the existente of Blythes and ball jointed dolls in Japan, I started to collect them and have been a collector for 20 years. 🙂
Why did I chose Ikebukuro? Well it was closer on the way to Nakano where my event will be, there is a direct Limosine bus from Narita and it has a bit of both new and retro vibes feeling. Sunshine City is a class place to shop and have fun. While it is far away from the other attractions, I have 14 days to sightsee. Which will be hopefully plently enough time.
I do plan to take a few day trips from Tokyo, to Yokohama and Kamakura. I want to see the Snoopy Museum, Kewpie Museum and the newly renovated Edo Museum (I saw this one 20 years ago). Furthermore a visit to Tower Records and Malto is a must as I have a few CD’s I am looking for.
I might change my itinerary depending on the weather and ticket availability but I am really looking forward to returning. A bit scary travelling by myself that far, last time was to the US years ago.