Impressions of Tokyo: Interview with Shane Reustle

We chat with Shane Reustle, a nomadic backpacker in Tokyo. He’s the first interviewee of our Impressions on Tokyo series where we explore the experiences and attraction of temporary visitors to the world’s biggest and most effervescent metropolis.

Tokyo night lights — Photo by Shane Reustle

A few sentences about yourself please.

I’m a backpacker who has been traveling around Asia since 2014. I’ve spent a good portion of the past year building a software consultancy, which I’m running remotely. My goal is to spend the next few years making my way around the world without flying.

First time or have you been to Tokyo before?

I was first in Tokyo a few months ago. Japan was definitely on my list of countries to visit, but I never really gave it much thought. Once I ended up here while traveling with my little sister a few months ago, I fell in love with it and knew I had to come back.

Get Tickets To the Samurai Restaurant in Shinjuku (Up to 30% Off)

Experience one of the craziest, most colorful places in Tokyo — the all-new Samurai Restaurant, from the creators of the Robot Restaurant. Get your tickets and sit back for a wild show of lasers, lights, samurai, dancers and other uniquely Japanese weirdness.

Click here for details

How long is your trip?

I’ve been on the road for just shy of a year now, and the past 3 months have been in Tokyo.

Where do you live normally?

Before this trip, I was based in New York City for a few years, which I miss dearly. Now I’m pretty deep into the nomad lifestyle.

Tell us about an interesting moment or experience on this trip.

During my first few weeks here, everyone was telling me about this magical store that sold everything I would ever need for dirt cheap. “Go to the Donkey Hotel”, they said, “they’re everywhere!” I kept my eye out, but didn’t have any luck spotting them. I also couldn’t find anything online about them, is this a joke? It all made sense when a local friend took me to a big store in Shinjuku and showed me around. I had finally found the Donkey Hotel (Don Quixote).

Did anything about Tokyo particularly surprise you?

I expected it to be this clean, this organized, this polite, and this friendly, but I did not expect it to be this cheap. Everyone talks about how expensive Tokyo and Japan in general is, but you can totally be a cheapo here if you have some self control.

What did you find most challenging during your trip?

I had to do the 1.5+ hour post-midnight walk of exhaustion from Shibuya back to my place in Nakano Sakaue more times than I had hoped. The insanely expensive taxis on top of the trains stopping at midnight made for a difficult time getting anywhere after midnight. I had a bicycle, but that took a bit of planning ahead if I wanted it to be there and ready for the trek home.