It is funny how we always seem to wander far away or make it a point to go to other places; searching for the greener pastures.
We would take the train, board the plane, drive the car just to make it to a place of fame.
We tend to always put other places at the top of the list, that we tend to overlook that place on which we actually step foot on.
That very place where we seek shelter; that backyard in our own homes.
In this case, it is that place where we stay.

Perhaps we find comfort in the fact that it is the very place we are staying and we come back to it every night at the end of the day.
Tired, hungry and simply, longing for that much needed warmth and rest after a long day outside.
We prioritize other places, since we know that we can explore that very place we stay anytime we want, but really, when is that anytime?

Often exhausted when we are back and with the cold weather (it was the freezing winter season during my trip), it was food and sleep when we touched ground in the hotel.

We put it off until almost the very last day, to explore that place where we stayed during the first part of our trip in Tokyo.

Buzzing with activity and dazzling night lights, the special ward of Tokyo; Shinjuku(新宿) is where we called our home for the prelude to our trip in the metropolitan city.

Home to the primary hub of the entire city's railway system, Shinjuku(新宿) is Tokyo's central ward and also known as the second center (fukutoshin- 副都心) in the city.
A largely populated area by territory, the reference to Shinjuku mainly encompasses the centralized area of the entertainment, business and shopping districts surrounding the Shinjuku Station.

The station is the central point of all the major rail lines; from the JR to the subways and even the private railway lines, making this the main interchange center and Shinjuku station is in fact, even the busiest railway station in the entire world.



More than 300,000 call the special ward of Shinjuku (新宿区 - Shinjuku-Kyu) home and there is no end to the things one can see and do right here in this district.

I couldn't have found a better place to stay, yet for the first few days, it was only the convenience stores, the railway station and the adorable Hello Kitty road barricades standing on the road which I saw in the district.




Of course we never forgot about exploring the place, and it was always on the itinerary; though it is always funny how we always seem to put the very place we stay towards the last few days.

No doubt it is a happening place; being that integral city in Tokyo as the area boasts of the infrastructures and facilities available for accessibility and convenience.
I could technically just stay here and get everything I want.
If I wanted to.

Huge departmental home grown stores like Takashimaya, Isetan, Mitsukoshi, Lumine and electronic or home specialty stores such as Yodobashi Camera and Tokyu Hands make their presences felt in the gargantuan buildings beaming in their lighted forms, beckoning to the shopaholics for their share of thrill in retail therapy.





That is not all; Shinjuku is also the proud host to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Center, the NTT Docomo Building, shrine, garden among the cluster of skyscraper buildings making up the eye spectacle of a landscape of the district.

There is just no end to what one can do in Shinjuku; shop, see, and of course eat and drink in the famed areas of Kabukicho and Golden Gai, are just to name a few.

So, of course, how could we ever forget you, our dear Shinjuku?












*Selected Shinjuku attractions visited will be highlighted in the next few posts*