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 e 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.
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 levels 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 full stores of Seiko are 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, do some internet search and shortlist your options. find the best place to get one and pick the one (or at least shortlist which one) you will buy. Also, after availing the VAT refund on these big-ticket items be sure to pack them in your check in baggage as you may need to show them to customs to prove you didn’t give them to someone locally.
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, is bigger and has the scope to spend more time.
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.
Food
Try the food. I think that’s all I have to say, look at me eating the octopus. 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. Needless to say, if you are planning meals in fine dining venues, make reservations well in advance.
History and Culture
Tokyo, or before that Edo, began in 1603 and from that time has gained a wonderful and interesting history. 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.
There are also multiple wonderful shrines in the city including the famous Senso-Ji and the 700,000 square metre forest of Meiji Jingu. Senso-Ji is the most visited religious site in the world and has a wonderful hall and 12-storey pagoda. There is also a short street leading up to the shrine where one can purchase foodstuffs and souvenirs. Meiji-Jingu is a shrine dedicated to the spirits of the Emperor Meiji and his wife, it has a large man-made forest and even aside from being a shrine it is a lovely place to relax and enjoy the peace of the trees.
Another thing to check out is Sumo wrestling which has six tournaments over the year and more information is available here.
In general Tokyo is filled with funs 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 the Tokyo Tower there is a really good viewing spot down some steps to a parking lot, the best way to spot it would be to simply find the queue.
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.
Leave a Reply