7 days in Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto and my quest for the perfect signal
I landed at Haneda at 10 p.m., my brain mush after eleven hours in the air. The first real test of solo travel: getting out of the airport without panicking. And for that, I needed one thing above all — to be connected. Not in two hours, not after hunting for a closed SIM shop. Right now.
On the plane, I'd already scanned my eSIM QR code. The moment I set foot in the arrivals hall, my phone read « 5G ». Google Maps opened, the train to Shinjuku popped up, and I felt my shoulders drop. It sounds silly, but that little « connected » changes everything when you land alone on the far side of the world after dark.
« Travelling solo isn't about being cut off from others. It's about choosing who you stay connected to. »
Tokyo, the great head-spin
For the first three days, I let Tokyo wash over me. Shibuya and its crossing that looks like a giant piece of choreography. The alleys of Golden Gai, no wider than a hallway, where an old bartender poured me a whisky and told me — half in English, half in gestures — that he'd run his bar for forty years. We understood each other. I took his photo; he laughed.
I translated menus in real time with the camera, ordered ramen from ticket machines, and found my way back to the hostel at 1 a.m. without ever stressing. Here, data isn't a comfort. It's independence.
Kyoto, the counter-rhythm
Then Kyoto, and a different rhythm. The thousands of vermilion torii of Fushimi Inari at sunrise, almost alone. A little old lady I passed on a path who handed me a mandarin without a word. The bamboo of the Arashiyama forest clacking in the wind. I shared all of it live with my sister, 10,000 km away, as if she were walking beside me.
In the evening, in an onsen, I finally put the phone down. But it was my choice — not a missing signal bar deciding for me.
📶 Léa's tip
Activate your eSIM before you leave (at home, on wifi) and keep your physical SIM for your number. When you arrive, you're connected in 30 seconds, with no shop to hunt for. Just check that your phone is compatible — test your model here — and choose your plan on the Japan page.
What I take away
Seven days is short for Japan. But I came back with one simple idea: freedom on the road is something you prepare for. A good bag, a hazy mental map you're willing to let fill in… and a connection that never drops you when you need it. The rest — the encounters take care of that.
— Léa, somewhere between two trains.