The capital of Japan, a place where everyone dreams of going. It feels like a futuristic city, the people are a lot more serious and less happy compared to other cities in my opinion. Depending on your interests, you might spend more or less time in this city. My personal recommendation is that 2-3 days is plenty to see the main things. If you want to do something in particular, then you might spend a few more days. If you are coming from Kyoto then you will be able to experience the bullet train, take the HIKARI shinkansen. This is free if you have the JR Pass otherwise it will cost you ¥13,600. This gets you there in 2h40 mins.
If you are ever in the Ichigaya area, this café has some very appealing dishes worth tasting. They do various dishes and specials that change every time. The fascinating thing is they use coffee flour which changes the taste ever so slightly without having a coffee flavour. The bread, pastry and pizza were succulent, soft and delicious. They do breakfast, lunch as well as dinner.
Hours:
Monday – Sunday: 8AM – 10PM
Personal Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Average Cost: ¥1,500– ¥2,500 (£11 – £19) per person
Inside Tokyo station, on the bottom floor you can find “ramen street” which has many restaurants. Expect massive queues during peak time. This place does Okonomiyaki and they make it right in front of you at the counter. Very impressive to watch, portion is big, filling and delicious. You order at the machine before entering then sit and wait to be served.
Expect to pay between ¥1,200 - ¥1,700 per person.
SHINJUKU
If it’s a nice day then I suggest going to the Shinjuku National Garden, especially if you are there during cherry blossom season as it will be magnificent. The fee is only ¥500 to enter. There are various different kinds of gardens, English, French, Japanese… Great place to just chill out a little before exploring the city
An alleyway that leads to small restaurants mainly serving alcohol and snacks for a high price. I wouldn’t advise having your main meal here as it is very expensive for what you get. Some have tablets where you order everything with no conversation needed with the waiters, just keep ordering until your heart is content and have an empty wallet. Depending on which day you go, expect some entertainment nearby. This area has a very good nightlife atmosphere worth coming for. Once you are done you can go to the pub alley.
Pub alleyway is where most Japanese people go to have a good time and take it easy in these small pubs. There are many, a lot accept foreigners, some may not. Choose whichever one you fancy and enjoy a drink with some Japanese people. Most are willing to chat with you and generally have a good time.
Highly recommend after you had your meal to come here and check it out. The experience is unique and is a great place to meet new people or just try out different drinks.
Shinjuku is the main entertainment area in Tokyo so you will most likely end up here if you want to have a good time.
SHIBUYA
The well-known crossing in Tokyo, the busiest of all, the one that stops all traffic for thousands of people to cross. Even appearing in movies such as Fast and Furious and Lost in Translation.
Where is the best place to get a view for this?
Starbucks would be the best place to view it, however it is crazy busy. You have to get to the 2nd floor and find a seat if possible or just stand and watch. This will give you the view of the entire crossing. You can do a time lapse or just watch people crossing a road.
If you walk around the crossing area and go into the shopping mall MAGNET by SHIBUYA109, if you take the stairs, you will see some amazing art on the walls. That alone is worth going into this building, apart from the shopping and roaming around.
There is a view from the top for a fee with some restaurants and cafés at the top. Various shopping outlets, some VR and anime stores within. So, feel free to visit those as well.
Street full of cat cafes, come for the unique experience as long as you are not allergic/scared of cats. They charge for every 10 mins with a set fee per person when you enter. Some have unlimited drinks for you to have while you pet, play with the cats. Some also have massage chairs for you to just put your feet up or you can play some games/read books. A rough price would be ¥550 fee per person and ¥200 per 10 mins.
TAITO
The best area for Anime, Manga and Game stores. As soon as you exit the station, you will be flooded with tall buildings and huge billboards more than you can handle.
You can spend ages going to each store, arcades to see what there is and what it’s like. Most of them are very similar if not the same but worth going to at least 2-3 different ones.
Many of the buildings have at least 5-8 floors each one selling something different, usually indicated before entering.
I recommend you keep walking up towards Ueno stopping by the Ameya Yokocho Market. If you want some food, then stop by this area as you will find different cuisines as well as people selling various things.
After you stock up on your food needs, head further north towards Ueno Zoo. This place has so many animals so be ready to spend a few hours there if you are interested.
This zoo has over 2,600 animals such as polar bears, tigers, bats, crocodiles and much more. You will be walking around for ages in this place and can enjoy every moment looking at all these animals.
Fee to get in is only ¥600 and worth every penny. Especially if you have kids as I think they will enjoy it a lot more. Nonetheless, great place to chill and walk around digesting the meal you just had.
The following are some recommendations that I did not have time to try but are entirely based on your preferences and if you enjoy them or not.
Untested Recommendations
You might be asking yourself, why is this on here? Well for one reason and one reason only, you get a great view of the city from the FREE observation deck at the top of this building. Some say you can see Mt. Fuji from the top on a clear day.
This requires 3 months planning in advance as tickets are sold on the 1st of each month for entry 3 months later. If you are a fan of Studio Ghibli movies, then this is worth the visit. You can find more information on their website
This is one of those tourist trap restaurants that I have heard is good. You get a show, music and obviously robots. Don’t go for the food as it isn’t great, but the show is worth watching and you have to make a reservation in advance.
There is a Disneyland in Tokyo, if you are a fan then go visit it as it is supposed to be awesome. If you have kids, then potentially very worth it.
If you are a history fan wanting to see the palace, learn more about the imperial family or just want to walk around the area as the palace is not open to the public. Then feel free to go to the Chidoya area and have a walk around the large park that surrounds this palace, there are 2 tours per day with a maximum of 300 people each so either book in advance or get there early enough.
This area is what old Tokyo used to look like, a lot of temples, shrines. A few parks and museums. If you are interested in seeing it, worth a little trip otherwise visit other areas.
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