a spaceship in the future
The best way to describe Tokyo would be "it's like a spaceship from the future." Heated toilet seats in train stations, conveyor belt sushi, and robots galore. Everything is automated and despite Tokyo being the most populated city in the world it is sparklingly clean. My traveling partner was the one who suggested Tokyo and I'm so glad she did. To this day it is my favorite place I've ever visited. The people, the food, and hella karaoke.
Resources
Kindle App: Lonely Planet Tokyo; Free
Currency Exchange
Currency App: I use Currency Plus
Located in the airport. Take US cash with you (assuming you are from the US) but there is an ATM if you need it.
Wifi
You can rent a WiFi router. You can pick up and return them at the airport. I have Verizon and paid $10 / day for unlimited data, talk, and text (my plan in the states).
Where to stay
Kichijoji: west side of Tokyo; similar to Brooklyn, NY. Blue collar younger crowd. Low-key, “live like a local” kind of vibe. Named "Tokyo's most desirable neighborhood to live in."
Harmonica-Yokocho: marketplace / shopping / local vendors / food
Inokashira Park: temples, zoo, paddleboats. Great for walking around and relaxing.
Tons of little hole-in-the-wall dives. Beware there may be a cover, 500-1,000 yen usually ($5-$10).
Asakusa: east side of Tokyo; more tourist-driven and commercialized. Several temples, Tokyo Tower, lots of places to shop and eat. Sensoji Temple is a must-see.
Asakusa Station: AMAZING ramen place here. I don't know the name. It's in the lower level of the train station. Look for the crunchy pile of veggies on top. You really can't go wrong with any of the food here.
Samurai Kart: Dress up as a cartoon character and ride a go-kart around Tokyo with a local tour guide. You can find deals online. I paid $45 for an hour. Several stops for photoshoots and lots of sightseeing, including Tokyo Tower.
I was very happy we decided to split our accommodations between these two areas. We did a lot of exploring all over during the day, but it was great waking up and starting our days in two very different neighborhoods.
Where to go
Everywhere! No, but really… we had less than 36 hours there and were moving the entire time. Realistically, Tokyo is huge, but you can definitely squeeze in a ton if you stay on your toes!
Shinjuku: the “Times Square” of Tokyo: LOTS of neon, shopping, eating, partying. Very commercial. Not to be missed!
Goldengai: 280+ tiny dive bars (5 seats or so!) Located within a couple city blocks, in Tokyo's “Bohemian Quarter”.
Robot Restaurant: somewhat of a tourist trap but looked really cool. I chose go-karts as my tourist gig, I highly recommend one or the other. Neon lights, animated robots, etc. $ 80 / person. Make a reservation.
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden: considered to be one of Tokyo's best parks. Cherry blossom season runs from late March to early April.
KARAOKE! You can't miss them. They are everywhere. Rent a private booth, order beers via room service.
Shibuya Station: sees an average of 2.4 million passengers each day.
Shibuya Crossing: the busiest intersection in the world. It is an experience!
Uobei Shibuya Dogenzaka: Order sushi from your own personal iPad and watch it come out on a track and stop right in front of you. It was the future, man!
Palette Town / Odaiba
teamLab Planets Tokyo; planets.teamlab.art/Tokyo a digital art museum. Check out the Borderless exhibition.
Observatory Sphere
Ferris Wheel
Oedo-Onsen Monogatari: Japanese bathhouse
National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation
Mega Web: Toyota's theme park
Bridge of Dreams
Ueno
Ueno Park
Ueno Toshogu Shrine
Ueno Zoo
Benzaiten Temple
Kan'ei-ji: Temple built in 1625
Ueno Izayaka-machi: a cluster of buzzing restaurants
Roppongi: Late night bars and clubs. "Seedy" ... by Japanese standards. Skyscrapers. Mori garden. We didn't make it here, but I totally would have checked it out if we had more time.
Toyosu Fish Market: recently replaced the famous Tsukiji Market. Think of Pike's Place in Seattle… but better.
What To Eat/Drink
Everything. I did not have a single bad meal in Tokyo.
Taiyaki: Japanese fish-shaped cake commonly filled with custard or red bean paste.
Sushi: See above. (Uobei)
Waygu beef
Tempura anything.
Horse tartar. Seriously. It was delicious.
Suntory Highballs… in a can.
Ramen. Especially at train stations. Seriously, the broth tasted like it had been simmering in that pot for a hundred years.
Fluffy Japanese pancakes. They STEAM them.
Honey Toast. Crazy toast.
Warm corn soup from a vending machine
Green tea Pocky
Sake flights
Green tea soft serve (near Asakusa Temple)
Family Mart: a local convenience store chain. You'll see them everywhere. Amazing selection of snacks and you can get booze to-go… highballs in a can, sake, Japanese whiskey mini-bottles, etc.
Note: Token vending machines are common in restaurants. Check to see how much the menu item (s) you want cost. Put your Japanese yen, ex: 700 yen into the slot and press the button for 700 yen. Get a coin / ticket to hand to cook. This is to eliminate the handling of money when the chefs are preparing food. Beer is around 400 yen ($4 USD)… same gig.
SMOKING
Be careful where you smoke. A lot of places in Tokyo have smoking bans. Look around to find a designated smoking area. Large ashtrays are usually present with misfits hovering around. JK, sort of.
A lot of bars and businesses allow you to smoke inside. Including coffeeshops! Smoking is bad, but I thought this was cool. 😉
Tipping
Don't do it. You can ask if they accept tips, but for the most part, they do not.
I assume this is why some bars have covers, to cover tip for the bartender, but I am not sure.
Airports
1) Haneda Airport: south Tokyo - we flew in here.
2) Narita Airport: northeast Tokyo - and flew out here. We had to take the KEISEI Skyliner to get from Asakusa to Narita. Beware it takes about 45 minutes and only leaves once or so an hour. Plan ahead! We made it within a minute of departing. One-way fare is between 2,470 yen and 3,000 yen depending on what station you are traveling from.
Trains
There are two passes you will need for getting around.
Tokyo Metro: We bought a 36-hour pass.
JR (Japanese Railway): We did not buy passes for this, but maybe should have. Instead, we asked a train station attendant for help each time to figure out how much $$ we needed to spend to get to where we wanted to go. Say you want to go from A to B, it costs 120 yen. But from A to C is 150 yen. If you try to exit at C with the 120 yen ticket it will prompt you to enter more money. This was fairly easy for us to figure out by the 2nd or 3rd time.
Make sure you use the correct ticket. The machine ate one of ours when we used the wrong one.
Don't be nervous. Tons of people will help you.
Check train times, especially when out late. Some stop running at 1 AM.
Etc.
We cheaped out on our flights back from Japan to Hawaii and then eventually Portland. I am very glad I saved some yen for this because we were charged for baggage fees (overweight bags) on both flights from Tokyo to Osaka and then to Honolulu. $35 or so each time. You can pay USD if needed. Just a heads up, I wish I had checked this when booking, I would have bought WAY more booze to bring back.
I'm missing a ton I'm sure. If you have any other questions, please reach me through email or check out my Instagram page! You can also find a ton more photos of my trip riiiiiiight here.
Kanpai!