Take a look at this picture. This is a picture of the Yamanote line in Tokyo. It has 29 stations (as shown), but unlike this picture the line does not go in a perfect circle sadly. This is the line that I hiked last night with 14 other friends. Although I kinda lost my voice, now have a runny nose, and my right leg still hurts a bit, it was always one of my goals to try and walk the Yamanote in Tokyo, and I'm glad I was able to do it with some amazing people.
Okay, to be honest last night is a bit of a blur. The whole hike took about 11 hours. The starting point was Takadanobaba, the closet Yamanote station to Waseada. Everyone gathered there at six and was ready to go! My backpack held a change of clothes (which I didn't use), an umbrella (which I did use), money (which I used too much), and my camera. There were about 14 people in all (one person joined half way though so 15 technically). Everyone I knew/was friends with except these two other girls studying abroad at Waseda (who like didn't talk to or try to talk to the whole time lol). Anyway after eating a light snack (technically didn't have dinner that night but snacked a lot along the way), we headed of to our next stop Shin-Okubo. We were there within no time (the two stations are pretty close) and kept going at a pretty decent pace. Next we arrived at the crowded hub of Shinjuku where we got a few stares (it's weird to see a group of people wearing sports clothes walking around the ever fashionable Tokyo haha). We also took a side trip to a Coldstone there since one of our friends was working that night (and it was on the 8th floor which we decided it would be fun to take the stairs. It wasn't fun).
We hit those two stations pretty fast, which lead me to believe the night wouldn't be that bad. But the night was still early. Yoyogi and Harajuku didn't take too long to get to either. But at that point it started to rain a bit, and I was starting to space out a bit since I needed to eat more and since I was pretty tired from the start (haven't been able to sleep very well lately). But we took a break at Harajuku which was nice. The walk to Shibuya and Ebisu wasn't took bad from what I remember either. Legs were starting to get a little uncomfortable by then, but completely bearable. Saw a lot of cool shops and stores on the way too! So many places I want to check out before I leave!!
Meguro, Gotanda, and Osaki, are all kind of a blur haha. Was starting to get more tired and legs were starting to get a bit more sore. At Osaki though one of our friends met up with us and bought us ice cream!! So nice! The walk from Osaki to Shinagawa was at that point the longest walk between stations, but it felt good to actually have had walked that far! Tamachi, Hamamatsucho, Shimbashi, and Yurakucho are also kinda a blur. I mean, I was pretty tired at that point, so I just focused on nothing (maybe?), but I talked to a lot of people along the way which was fun. And I had never really been to those areas before, so it was nice to finally see them! Shimbashi and Yurakucho are famous for being drinking spots for salarymen which is true. So many drunk salarymen (and I would be lying if I said we didn't stumble across some vomit... >_<)
Tokyo was about the halfway point. We finally made it halfway! As it started to get later, less and less people were around (although Legs were pretty tired at this point (the area behind my right knee was a bit sore and still is lol). It was tough to get up after sitting down to rest, but to head forward was the only way to go! At Kanda we were finally joined by another friend who made it just before the trains stopped running. Kanda, Akihabara, and Okamachi were a bit rough I think, but around Ueno and Uguisudani (which was a really funny area since were we walked was filled with love hotels) I started to gain some more energy! As we started to get to Nippori and Nishi-Nippori, however, the weight of the night was finally setting in. Our goal of reaching Takadanobaba seemed so far away. Unlike the first stations we went to which were pretty close together, the stations on the north side of the line were pretty separated (at least they felt that way). Tabata, Komagome, and Sugamo, are all kinda a blur too. At around 2 I started to look at the time more, and if felt like it took forever for an hour to pass. But as we were starting to get closer to Ikebukuro, the end was finally in sight!
At Otsuka the sun started to rise, and I saw some of the most beautiful skies I have ever seen. It felt great to finally get to Ikebukuro!! Takadanobaba was only two stations away! But the walk from Ikebukuro to Takadanobaba was probably the roughest. At that point I wasn't even sleepy anymore, but my legs were pretty stiff. We took a nice break at Meijiro, before heading back to Takadanobaba, our starting point. When we reached the rotary at Baba I felt pretty accomplished (although my feelings of being tired at that point outweighed any other feelings at that point haha). We had finished around 5:30 in the morning! We had actually walked the whole Yamanote line!!! Most of us went out to eat breakfast together (where most of us were falling alseep on the table), and having to walk after sitting down for a half hour was pretty painful (and stairs oh god stairs). But I made it home in once piece (even though I felt and probably looked pretty gross haha), took a shower and soaked in the bath for a bit, and slept for like 9 hours until 4:30pm. Ate some diner and now I'm resting and will probably go to bed soon since I will be heading to Yokohama tomorrow for more walking....lol.
Although the hike was incredibly exhausting, and my legs are still a bit sore, I'm so glad I actually walked the whole Yamanote line. I got to see a lot of Tokyo and got a lot of exercise. And I was able to do it with some great friends! 10hrs 51mins, 23.78mi (38.21km), 1,516 calories, and 52,059 steps. Yamanote line hike accomplished!!!!!!!!!!
