The Invisible Onion

A few months ago, I went on the trip of a lifetime to Tokyo, and I wanted to share my experience of autistic travel in Tokyo through my own lens.

Sensory Surprises In Tokyo

Stepping off of the plane, I was instantly greeted with my first kawaii (kawaii is Japanese for cute) sensory experience. I heard a melodic jingle that made me feel happy and I wanted to dance along to the tune. 

After trying to pinpoint the sound, one of the electric carts that transports people across the airport went past, playing the music. It was such a welcome surprise because usually those carts are quite loud and produce sounds that are overstimulating.

I began to notice other pleasant sounds across the city throughout my time in Tokyo. Lifts made melodic sounds when reaching your floor, compared to the “ping” noise that I’m used to hearing. Announcements in the airport, on public transport and even sounds played by reversing vehicles were much more welcome to my senses. 

Those different noises may seem like a small thing, but I’m usually easily overwhelmed by sounds in public places. I noticed that I had a calmer feeling when navigating my way through Tokyo because of it.

Getting Around Tokyo Without Overwhelm

I found the public transport really easy to navigate, although Shinjuku station was massive and could be confusing at times. 

Quiet Public Transport Culture

There are some unwritten cultural rules when on public transport. Most people travel in silence, so it’s best to keep talking to a minimum and be quiet and respectful. That was great for me because it reduced my overstimulation when travelling around. My dad was with us for some of our trip and he loves talking loudly so we had to explain to him how to conduct himself a little more respectfully. 

Sensory Relief From Fewer Smells and Noise

It’s best not to eat and drink in public whilst walking around or using public transport. It was quite refreshing not having strong smells wafting in my face constantly and there is no littering at all because of it. In fact, there were hardly any bins around in public places because it’s so uncommon to eat and drink whilst walking.

Creating a Calm Base Whilst Travelling in Tokyo

Choosing the Right Accommodation

I was quite picky with my accommodation and did pay more because of it. A lot of hotel rooms in Japan are much smaller than typical Western-style hotel rooms. I did a lot of research to find a room that had a little more space because I can get physically uncomfortable in my body in cramped spaces when on holiday. 

The Importance of Space and Rest

I need to have sufficient space to pack all of my things away and not have clutter strewn across the room. It helps me feel calmer and more able to rest and sleep in a new space.

Having a space where I feel safe and able to relax is really important to me. I need more rest and downtime than others when on holiday, so I do spend more time in my room chilling.

Making sure I picked a hotel that was located centrally but wasn’t in a super busy spot was crucial for me. I feel fatigue easily from walking so somewhere centrally located works best. Being in a quieter location helps me feel more regulated and I felt a sense of calm stepping into the area around the hotel when heading back from busy days out.

Now let’s run through some of my favourite places that I visited.

My Favourite Joyful Spots In Tokyo

I just had to go to Sanrio Puroland, the home of Hello Kitty and Sanrio characters. It’s an indoor amusement park located on the outskirts of Tokyo. I am a big Hello Kitty fan and even have her tattooed on my arm. Needless to say, I was VERY excited to visit. 

The place was bursting with cuteness and I loved exploring all the different areas. I got in a queue to go into Hello Kitty’s House and had no idea that I was actually queuing to meet Hello Kitty. Quite possibly one of the highlights of my life, I was buzzing with excitement and started crying after I met her. I couldn’t control myself in the shop and bought a giant bag filled with memorabilia. Luckily I had brought spare bags with me to fly back with!

As a fan of Disney, of course I visited Tokyo DisneySea. One of the two Disney parks in Tokyo and the only one of its kind in the world. I was on cloud nine all day, floating around, taking everything in.

The rides there are more focused on experience rather than being thrill-seeking rides, which suits me just fine because I can get scared on bigger rides. Tower of Terror was there but I sat that one out, whilst my friend and Egg (that’s my husband) went on it. I’ve been on it before at Disneyland Paris and was physically shaking after it, so I made the executive decision that it wasn’t for me this time.

Food Adventures In Tokyo (Even With Intolerances)

Having multiple food intolerances, I get quite anxious going to theme parks because there’s usually not much that I can eat but DisneySea had special allergen meals at most of their restaurants. At Vulcania Restaurant I even got one that had Mickey Mouse shaped rice.

And on the topic of food, I experienced some of the most delicious food that I have ever eaten in Tokyo. The Find Me Gluten Free app was super helpful for me to plan out where to eat. I had multiple delicious bowls of ramen, most of them with delectable fried chicken on the side. Ordering ramen through a machine at Shinbu Sakiya Ramen in Shibuya was super fun. 

I found Paricolle Kabukicho in Shinjuku City, such a cool restaurant in the basement of a building. We walked into the building and it looked nondescript and we were unsure we were in the right place. The restaurant was behind a dark, heavy door and when you opened it, there was an inviting, intimate cosy room inside. 

There was one person running it. He was serving tables, making drinks and making the food. It was pretty impressive. And they had Forrest Gump on repeat on the TV, which we thought was great. The food was outstanding and we went back to the restaurant another evening because we loved it so much.

I even found an incredible vegan bakery In Shinjuku City, Mabre Vegan, with lots of gluten free choices. The cakes in there were some of the best I’ve ever had. It’s so rare for me to be able to eat cake and I enjoyed every morsel of it!

TeamLab Borderless: A Magical and Intense Sensory Experience

One more location highlight I’d like to share is an immersive art experience that we went to called TeamLab Borderless. It’s a must for an incredible sensory experience. The exhibitions were awe-inspiring, colourful, magical and made me feel free. 

There was a room where you could draw a sea creature and it would appear on the wall. Obviously I made mine look like Panda (my cuddly toy) and loved watching him floating across the wall with all the sea creatures. I even had my Panda design made into a T-Shirt and I’m wearing my T-Shirt today whilst writing for some inspo.

The only negative I would say about TeamLab Borderless is that there were some very strong artificial smells in the rooms that made me feel unwell at times. I have a very sensitive sense of smell and it wasn’t ideal for me. Everyone else I was with loved the smells though, so don’t let that put you off.

The Reality of Fatigue and Recovery After Travel

There’s so much more that I could put into this post, but I feel like I’ve covered my favourite bits. I did have some lows on the trip. I was very fatigued and there were times where I just stayed in bed because I needed the extra rest. It took me about a month to recover completely from the holiday. The long flight time and busy, exciting schedule took its toll on me, but it was worth it for the incredible memories that I created.

I’ve shared some sensory coping tips for long-haul flights in another post. Check it out if you’re interested.

It’s been wonderful thinking back and reminiscing of my time in Tokyo and would highly recommend Tokyo as a sensory-friendly destination for autistic travel. Feeling the constant joy and awe every day was incredible.

Sensory Tips for Travelling in Tokyo

If you’re planning your own trip, here are a few sensory-friendly tips that helped me:

• Choose quieter, centrally located accommodation
• Plan downtime to manage fatigue
• Take advantage of Tokyo’s quieter public transport culture
• Be mindful of strong smells in immersive experiences
• Use apps like Find Me Gluten Free to reduce food anxiety
• And enjoy every minute of the amazing sensory experience

If This Resonated, You Might Also Like

• Autistic Overwhelm on Holiday: When Everything Built Up
  
• Long-Haul Flights as an Autistic Person: My Sensory Coping Tips
  
• Attending an Orchestral Concert as an Autistic Adult: Music, Movement and Masking
  

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Much love,

Rachael xx