Planning trips takes a lot of time and research. In a place as dense with options as Tokyo it can get overwhelming and certainly time taking. Coming up I’ll go over my travels in Tokyo but before this let me give you some tips for you to fully enjoy your trip.
Accommodation
In Tokyo the most recommended spot for one to stay is in the centre of the hustle-bustle , around Shinjuku or Shibuya and while the hotels are great, I don’t think that should be the de facto choice. The city is filled with places to explore, and the positioning of Shinjuku and Shibuya makes them a little too far to the farther reaches of the city, such as Senso-ji and Disney. While the upscale and neon cities are great for immersion in Tokyo it does get a little overwhelming at times.
Of course, where one is staying is highly dependent on what they are doing. If you want to do some luxury shopping stay closer to Ginza, for tech gizmo shopping or anime gaming stay around Asakusa for easier access. It will make the exploration process more streamlined. I personally stayed in two different places in Tokyo namely Ginza where we did most of our duty-free shopping and for visiting the Palace and the more eastern parts of Tokyo and then Hamamatsucho when we wanted more access to central and western parts of Tokyo. Switching hotels in a city is really helpful and I do recommend it especially if you fly in and out of Tokyo while exploring the rest of Japan in between.
Travel
To explore Tokyo properly, it is important to optimize your transportation within the city. The best way to do this affordably is to get the Subway pass where with a one time purchase you can take full advantage of the subway for 1-3 days. But this pass only works on the Japan metro lines, and not the green Yamanote line. The circular Yamanote line is covered by the JR pass. Also, for times when you don’t have a pass take the taxis, they are a little pricey but for 3-4 people groups it is not that much more expensive.
When buying your passes, you can check for bundled offers. A lot of the passes come bundled with other tickets such as Skyliner passes from the airport or tickets to various attractions.
For travel beyond Tokyo, the JR pass is not very economical anymore since they raised the cost. But there are various calculators available on the internet, which can help you decide if it works for you, especially, if you are doing a lot of Shinkansen journeys. The Shinkansen bullet trains, famous throughout the world are really an experience and with some booked tickets you can take full advantage of the fast and timely system.
Food
Try the food. I think that’s all I have to say. Japanese food is one of the most diverse and interesting cuisines in the world ranging from hearty ramens and stew to cool and refreshing Sushi. While I as much as anyone love to stick to what I know it is important to immerse yourself in the world of food where you are. Apart from trying local delicacies, one of my favourite things to do is try food I know as seen from that country’s lens, some general options are Italian food and McDonalds. Also, for Japan, convenience stores are great for food. While we visited fine dining places like Ginza steak house and a cool Ramen place, we mixed it up with several meals from 7-11 and Lawsons and the range of choices there is extensive and delicious. Plus, try the random things, in this pick there is me eating pickled octopus at Tsukiji Market, it was kind of chewy. Needless to say, if you are planning meals in fine dining venues, make reservations well in advance.
Shopping
Tokyo is a huge shopping destination but a lot of the shops tourist frequent are designed to confuse, overwhelm. A shop that is foremost in this field is Mega Don Quijote which I have heard locals avoid. Of course, visiting one is almost a necessary part for a Tokyo trip, but it is really easy to get sidetracked and end up wasting time. The easiest way to navigate this is knowing what you want to get. For some stores like Yodobashi and BIC Camera there exist websites that include stock availabilty meaning you can fully plan your trip there beforehand.
Sometimes the best shop to pick is one that is specialized to what you want such as Sekaido for stationary, Ishibashi for Music (or the Fender Experience store for guitars). Another must do are the flagship stores such as 9-floors of Uniqlo, four separate buildings of Seiko or some of the funkiest looking luxury store I have ever seen.
Lastly, if you want to buy something new that is big purchase like a new laptop, phone or in my case a multi-effects pedal for guitar find the best place to get one and do an internet search to shortlist some options) you will buy. Also Japan has tax refund options at some store especially big box ones, just remember to carry your passport with you, you can generally ask when you enter and when you fly out try to pack the more expensive purchase in your carry-on. This allows you to show them to the customs officials if you are asked.
Experiences
In general Tokyo is filled with fun things to do. From spotting Godzilla to watching sports, it is packed full of trip highlights. Be sure to check out Tokyo Skytree and the Tokyo Tower. You can climb either one of them for an aerial view of Tokyo. At Tokyo Tower there is a spot down some steps to a parking spot to click the best pictures of the tower which is popular enough to be on maps so do go but beware there is almost always a queue.
Japan also has an interesting history and there are many places in Tokyo to appreciate this. I personally went to a Samurai Museum in Taito close to Asakusa which was really fun. They give some armour to wear and teach you to throw ninja stars above and beyond the explaining the history. If wearing traditional clothing, is you is something you want there are many Kimono rental an while we did this in Kyoto, I’m sure finding one in Tokyo would not be difficult.
Another thing to check out is Sumo wrestling which has six tournaments over the year and more information is available here.
TeamLabs
TeamLabs was honestly one of the highlights of our trip, and I fully recommend it to anyone going to Japan. There are a couple of options, TeamLabs Borderless and TeamLabs Planets. I chose to visit Borderless mostly to not have to wade through water pools at Planets. TeamLabs Borderless features a lot of lighting displays and interactive arts where you will be joined by many wandering creatures and we all had a lot of fun. I will be putting out a short blog on my experience here as well. TeamLabs Planets on the other hand is a more physical and immersive experience featuring water features and undulating floors. Each is appropriately cool but Borderless has more variation in it’s displays, is bigger and has the scope to spend more time.
Take this information and use it for your trip planning for Tokyo to make it more streamlined and efficient and keep an eye out for some more blog outlining my experiences in Tokyo.
