From my dorm at Waseda Hoshien, I frequently walked to the nearest station and board the train to get to downtown Shinjuku (1.9 miles), Ikebukuro (1.9 miles), Shibuya (3.8 miles) and Harajuku (3.2 miles). To see the Kita-ku fireworks festival, I traveled 4.3 miles north from my dorm. The day-trip to Kamakura was 44 miles from my dorm, or about one and a half hours outside of Tokyo by train.
From LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) to HND (Haneda Airport), I already travelled 5,472 miles. Counting the roundtrip travel to and from my dorm to the other cities, in total I had travelled around 5,589.2 miles by this point in time.
To get to my dorm from Haneda airport, I used a taxi, because carrying all my luggage (backpack, carry-on, plus two full-size suitcases) alone through the subway would be impossible. After settling into my dorm, I usually walked and used the subway trains for transportation.
I loved visiting Hasedera Temple in Kamakura. Each major temple or shrine has its own unique attraction to draw in visitors. My favorite was Hasedera Temple for its view of the residential neighborhood and beach below, its calming water fountains and its small cave of hundreds of mini deity sculptures.
