Some pleasures in Tokyo
Chatei Hatou - coffee as art Shibuya
Yelo/Amber - shave ice and hot dogs to kill for Roppongi
Yoshuku no Teppen Otoko Dojo - perfect izakaya Shibuya
Soul Stream - endless music on vinyl in small space Shinjuku
And yes, all conbini (convenience store) food is good.
themed cafes! cat cafes, maid cafes, and pop ups for shows you like, I found all of them a lot of fun! sometimes the pop ups are a little hard to figure out though cause the sites are in Japanese and they might not have English info anywhere, is my only warning.
It can be overwhelming to try to squeeze so much in at once which is why I like to go to the tried-and-true chains that have a bunch of different locations. Gindaco for Takoyaki, Curry House Coco Ichiban, Ichiran Ramen and Sushiro for conveyor belt sushi all give you great experiences and value
Excellent men’s wear and street musicians in shimokitazawa. The fish market at tsukiji isn’t what it once was but is still cool. And a lot of people will say Meiji Jingu and they’re right.
Super Potato in Akihabara (Dope video game store, don't buy anything)
Good food in Shin-Okubo, Japan's Korean town
Ikebukro is a cool area with a good mix of everything
Coco Ichibanya is a very good chain Tonkatsu that serves
Kabukicho in Shinjuku is literally Kamurcho from the Yakuza games.
Cool massive toy stores : Kiddy Land on Ometesando Street (the whole street is fun); Hakuhinkan Toy Park in Ginza.
Also if you can actually get tickets, the Ghibli Museum in western Tokyo is worth seeing and while in western Tokyo, also shop at Nakano Broadway
For books, the Daikanyama T-Site is one of the best bookstores I've ever visited and for records, visit Tower Records (yes, they still exist there) and Disk Union. For plastic replica food and interesting kitchenware, go to Kappanbashi neighborhood on the east side
Ok so this is going to sound crazy, but hear me out. My friend just went to Japan for work. He said that the egg salad sandwich from 7-Eleven is AMAZING! Apparently people from all over the world will come off the plane and rush to get one. Let me know if you give it a go!
Or if you wanna feel like Sekiro, any major castle, e.g., Himeji.
Presumably, you'll be in a major city, which means if you plan it right, you could visit these two and Hiroshima in one day and then return to Osaka/Kyoto comfortably.
Maybe I'm late for this but,
Important/classic arcade spots with a great variety of games new, old, and obscure:
-Taito Hey! (Akihabara)
-Mikado (Takadanobaba)
A (long) visit to Nakano Broadway is always nice, to shop for nerd merch, games, books, etc.
- Food in an izakaya on Memory Lane (Piss Alley haha)
- Bars in the Golden Gai
- Senso-Ji Temple
- Akihabara: Mandarake, Super Potato
- TeamLab Borderless
- Pepper Parlor robot café
I've got a post here about how we spent five days there!
One recommendation I have is cafe Eorzea. Got a great atmosphere for both Final Fantasy XIV fans and non fans! (Haven't been there myself but seen a few vids about it!)
I love that they built a theme park next to the Tokyo Dome. They did noise analysis, but didn't account for the screaming kids on the rides, so they reinforced the windows in the neighborhood...
Definitely go get lost one day. Hop on the yamanote line or any of the subway lines and hop off when the spirit strikes you. Walk around. Pop into random shops/bars/cafes. You’ll never be too far from a subway station, so don’t worry. You’re guaranteed to find some magic.
i almost missed Torch Torch, if I'd taken the elevator instead of the escalator i would have never known it was there! glad I missed that elevator lmao
Shibuya Parco for shopping - not just all the nerd stuff on the 6th floor but tons of great shops from 1F up and some neat restaurants in the basement.
Videogame tourism guides will all point you to Super Potato in Akihabara, but Beep is the real hidden treasure.
Other Akiba recs depend on what you're into... Radio Kaikan is a trip if you have time to go floor-by-floor. Yellow Submarine Mint on 6th floor has a decent board game selection but Yellow Submarine RPG at the end of the strip has more.
Also check out the Warhammer Cafe, one of 3 (?) in the world.
Ramen Nagi (ShInjuku) for if you crave something late night (open 24 hours) Niboshi ramen feels rare outside Japan.
Also if you're willing to reach outwards Udon Chikaramaru is one of the only places in Tokyo for the notoriously jawbreaking Yoshidano Udon https://maps.app.goo.gl/qDSbHwrkfXpbv41E7
Give yourself plenty of time to see the museums around Ueno! We got caught up in seeing a lot of sights when we went, and could only walk through some of the exhibits before close
I gotchu.
Check out teamLab Borderless. It's an interactive digital art museum that uses the entire interior of the building as a canvas for various pieces. I've never experienced anything quite like it.
10/10, would get lost in there again.
Comments
Chatei Hatou - coffee as art Shibuya
Yelo/Amber - shave ice and hot dogs to kill for Roppongi
Yoshuku no Teppen Otoko Dojo - perfect izakaya Shibuya
Soul Stream - endless music on vinyl in small space Shinjuku
And yes, all conbini (convenience store) food is good.
And you will fall in love with Japanese toilets.
Good food in Shin-Okubo, Japan's Korean town
Ikebukro is a cool area with a good mix of everything
Coco Ichibanya is a very good chain Tonkatsu that serves
Kabukicho in Shinjuku is literally Kamurcho from the Yakuza games.
Great way to explore is Street Kart, dress as a cartoon character and see the city while driving a go-kart
I invested in them in 2001 and they are still thriving!
Shibuya, Yoyogi, Harajuku, Omote-Sando... All wonderful places...
I loved #YoyogiPark and the #Meijijingu and the area around the Imperial Palace and #Ginza were great.
Also if you can actually get tickets, the Ghibli Museum in western Tokyo is worth seeing and while in western Tokyo, also shop at Nakano Broadway
Or if you wanna feel like Sekiro, any major castle, e.g., Himeji.
Presumably, you'll be in a major city, which means if you plan it right, you could visit these two and Hiroshima in one day and then return to Osaka/Kyoto comfortably.
Glory to trains.
Important/classic arcade spots with a great variety of games new, old, and obscure:
-Taito Hey! (Akihabara)
-Mikado (Takadanobaba)
A (long) visit to Nakano Broadway is always nice, to shop for nerd merch, games, books, etc.
Happy to mail/DM you with other things to do!
- Food in an izakaya on Memory Lane (Piss Alley haha)
- Bars in the Golden Gai
- Senso-Ji Temple
- Akihabara: Mandarake, Super Potato
- TeamLab Borderless
- Pepper Parlor robot café
I've got a post here about how we spent five days there!
https://anorcadianabroad.com/2024/06/09/five-days-in-the-bright-lights-of-tokyo/
Mt. Takao was a great chill reprieve from the bustle of the city, you can take a tram up there.
Everyone's Cafe at Ueno Park - we were there 3 weeks ago. The food was delicious and service superb. Try the matcha cake...
Videogame tourism guides will all point you to Super Potato in Akihabara, but Beep is the real hidden treasure.
Also check out the Warhammer Cafe, one of 3 (?) in the world.
Go to Nagoya Castle
and visit also Kyoto
Also if you're willing to reach outwards Udon Chikaramaru is one of the only places in Tokyo for the notoriously jawbreaking Yoshidano Udon
https://maps.app.goo.gl/qDSbHwrkfXpbv41E7
Check out teamLab Borderless. It's an interactive digital art museum that uses the entire interior of the building as a canvas for various pieces. I've never experienced anything quite like it.
10/10, would get lost in there again.
Also, if you feel the need to go somewhere tall the tokyo metropolitan gov building has a free observation deck.