I was lucky to never hit rush hour when visiting Japan. Shinjuku was however the first station I had to navigate after taking the train from the airport. After the long flight, knowing how big it was, and not knowing if I was going the right way, I was losing it. I was just trying to find a way up to the street level, so my GPS would work and I could get my bearings. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a panic attack, but that’s probably the closest I’ve been.

I was very thankful to find my Airbnb, and once I had an anchor point it was better.