Tokyo Guide for Doing the Awesome

Getting Around

Airport to hotel & back:
The airport is stupid far from Tokyo. Do not take a taxi. Don’t take the subway until you’re used to it. Take one of these shuttle buses, instead. They go to most of the hotels.
https://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/line/detail/Narita-Shinjuku/

Maps and Stuff
It is VERY important to have a phone with working Google Maps. Tokyo is a stupid MESS for directions. Check with your carrier before you go. Most US phones work in Japan now, and an eSIM or your carrier’s international plan is usually the easiest fix. If yours doesn’t work, you can rent a phone there, and they’ll deliver it to your hotel. Shop around because prices vary. You’ll use a lot of data and need to bring a plug-in battery extender. You NEED Google Maps and the directions it will give you. You will run out of battery. If you rent a phone, make goddamn sure you specify that the phone must be in ENGLISH. When I went, I spent about $100 for 10 days on a rental and was happy I did.

It’s a good thing that Japan LOVES posting signs in English. It makes it much easier to get around.

Subways and Train Stations

There are 3 major train and subway companies in Tokyo (Tokyo Metro, Toei and JR), and you’ll need to use them all. Some people recommend getting the “JR Pass”, but that’s only one company, so don’t fall for that bullshit.

Purchase a reloadable railcard (a Suica or Pasmo card, or Welcome Suica on an iPhone) and put a buncha money on it. You can usually get your money back when you leave, but not on a tourist Welcome Suica, so don’t overload one. You will use the hell out of it, and you don’t want to be screwing around with figuring out how much your individual fares are.

Here’s how to get around on the Trains:

1. Look up your route on Google Maps, and walk to the train station. Google Maps will walk you to the station and tell you what trains to take and when to get off.
2. Find your train by… first following signs to the train line (company). Some of the stations are HUGE. Just follow the signs.
3. The individual routes are named after the last stop. Follow signs for the route your phone tells you to take. Sometimes, the signs will also designate major stops like Shinjuku or Tokyo Station.

If in doubt, find an official. Smile and point to the name on your phone. Say “hai!” a lot and shrug your shoulders. There isn’t much English spoken, but everyone is super helpful if you try to be nice.

Express trains are WAY faster. If Google suggests one, take that, even if you have to wait a bit.

Getting Cash Money

ATMs that work with US cards are scarce if you don’t know what you’re doing. The easiest and best places to get money are 7/11’s, which are all over the place (oh, thank heaven!). A reliable place to get money in Kyoto is the post office ATM near Kyoto Station (7/11’s work there too).

If you want something, pointing and saying “Hai!” works for almost everything, including food. Also, almost everyone understands “no Japanese”, especially if you look embarrassed. They are super nice.

When you pay at stores, they will slide out a tray for you to place money. Do not hand it directly to the cashier.

Dining Out

The best food can usually be found at train stations and big malls. Seriously. Everyone goes through them, so they set up yummy food. Japanese “food courts” are just groupings of kick-ass restaurants.

Restaurants in Japan are generally of much higher baseline quality than in the US, including the 7-11 and Family Mart (like 7-11). Seriously, Family Mart is famous for their fried chicken. For something quick, the convenience stores will make you ashamed of America.

When you are dining out, you must call the waiter over by saying ‘excuse me’: “sumimasen” (pronounced soo-mee-mah-sen, said quickly) If you don’t, no one will come to assist you. Also, there is no tipping in Japan, and the sales tax is already baked into the prices.

Cool Stuff to Do In Tokyo

Donkatsu (with CHEESE INSIDE)
The first thing I ate was donkatsu with CHEESE INSIDE. Yes, that is a thing, and yes, you want it.

A couple things about Japanese restaurants: You have to call the waiter over to order, or they will never come. Also, when you pay, you bring the check to the register. They won’t pick up the money. There, you’re learning already.

Harajuku
Awesome shops, some crazy dressed people, famous for crepe stands.
To get there, search for Takeshita Street, and start at the beginning.

Definitely visit the famous Harajuku area, which has neat shops and counter culture. It usually isn’t as crowded as this picture here but you might consider not going at peak times on the weekend.

The Baby Doll look, also disturbingly called the “Lolita” look, is a pretty big subculture in Tokyo, kind of like Goth was here in the 90s. This store, Baby, The Stars Shine Bright, is the center of it all.

This store is heavily featured in the movie “Kamikaze Girls”, which is awesome. Look up the trailer for a glimpse.

You can walk to Shibuya from Harajuku. It’s a good way to see the city.

Shibuya
Very fashionable area. Really cool. Cool during the day. AMAZING at night. Here’s some stuff to do there.

• People watching at Shibuya Crossing (massive crosswalk). Sit at Starbucks, or hang out on the street.
• Tokyu Hands (now just called Hands, and the Shibuya store closes in November 2026): Interesting and cool housewares. Winnie recommended.
• Loft (it used to be Seibu Loft): Kind of like Hands. Really cool.
• Shibuya 109: Nine Floors of trashy-fancy style and girls. Must see to believe.
• Golden Gai bar neighborhood: tiny bars wiki
• Walk around love hotel area! Or visit one, you sly dog. TOTALLY worth the experience.

Koedo Kawagoe
Neighborhood bordering Tokyo. Architecture made to look like it’s from the Edo era, and very interesting strip of shops leading up to it. Very worth seeing. The walk out there from the train station is also super fun.

Those fish hanging over the street are koinobori, or carp streamers. They put them up around Children’s Day in early May.

Tsukiji Fish Market
This is where Tokyo used to get its fish. The wholesale market and tuna auction moved to Toyosu in 2018, but the Tsukiji outer market with all the food stalls is still going. It’s pretty amazing. It’s WAY better early in the morning (the stalls open around 5am). Go in the first couple of days when your body will want to be up early, anyway. If you get the chance, watch this on Netflix or Amazon first: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Take a Walking Tour of Tokyo
I recommend taking a walking tour. I took one in the Asakusa area. We went to a temple, took a riverboat ride, visited the Origami Museum and saw the Emperor’s Palace.

On day two, we took a city tour. We walked, took a boat, and rode the subway.

This is our tour guide. She carried a very embarrassing flag and we followed her like tourists. I could have died.

I went on a walking tour that went to the following places. If you can’t find one, maybe you can re-create the tour on your own. Everything is worth seeing.

• Asakusa Shrine: Most Famous Shrine in Tokyo
• Boat down the river that crosses Tokyo
• Hama Rikyu Gardens (The Shogun’s Park) Nice little park that used to be the Shogun’s Garden. Don’t miss the matcha and sweets all day at the old Shogun’s teahouse.
• Origami Museum
• The Emperor’s Palace (well, you only get to see the outside. The emperor is kind like that.)
• Check out the Ritzy Ginza area, the Fancy Armani Gucci area. It’s interesting to look at the classy rich people. Walk around and check out the Hakuhinkan toy park: one of the world’s largest toy shops, and full of Japanese weirdness.

Akihabara (Electronic Area) – Go at night for best effect.

• Go to Yodobashi Camera, the biggest electronics store in the world. Seriously. Don’t miss this. It’s pretty amazing. Please get me the $500 rice cooker.
• French Maid Cafes: where you’re waited on by girls in sexy maid outfits who flirt and laugh with you, in a very Japanese way. You’ll see maids handing out fliers. This is what sexually repressed Japanese boys do. It’s a theme hostess bar.
• Make sure you go to Volks Hobby Shop for weird models of all kinds of stuff.

Roppongi Bars:
3 or 4 block area with lots of clubs, bars, and gaijin acting badly. It wasn’t my cup of tea, and although it’s not shady by any means compared to the US, it feels shady for Tokyo.

Tokyo National Museum:
Visit the Honkan (main building) for all the Buddhas you can shake a stick at and samurai armor. It’s in Ueno Koen Park.

Shinjuku Area
Holy Crap, my favorite. This is where I stayed, at the Shinjuku Hotel Sunroute Plaza. I could not have asked for a better location. Hotels are TINY but really upscale and reasonable.
Walk around Shinjuku at night. Millions of shops and restaurants with more flashing lights than you’ve ever seen. It will blow you away. Times Square would be shamed, AND it feels super safe (just like ALL of Japan). If you’re walking about and not overwhelmed with lights, you’re going the wrong way.

• Kabukichō: pink/red light district. Just walk around. It’s really neat.
• Don Quijote Store (the Shinjuku one): Weird Stuff.

Vending Machine that turns your face into a ninja (Plus, amazing view)
Location: Tokyo Metropolitan (Gov) Building, observation floor (left elevator), info – location

Isetan department store
Go downstairs for the awesome specialty food counters. You have to see this. Also, a great place to get gifts for people.

Criminology museum of Meiji University:
Really interesting museum. I thought it would be all about badass Yakuza and stuff. They should have called it the “Japan used to Torture the Shit out of Criminals in the Old Days” museum, because that’s what it was. “Won’t confess? How about we make you kneel down on your shins. Oh, we’ll put some triangular posts under your shins, first. Of course, you’re going to want a 200 pound rock on your thighs. That’s about right.” It’s in a college, so you get to see that, too. https://www.meiji.ac.jp/museum/.

Tokyo Sky Tree.
Huge tower for checking out the view. Go! Expensive (about 2,000 to 2,600 yen, cheaper if you book online). Totally worth it. Go on a weekday to avoid LONG lines. I went at 7:00, so I got to see the view in the light and dark.

Ghibli Museum
Supposed to be amazing if you’re into the Miyazaki films. It’s mostly 13-year-old Japanese girls and 45-year-old American anime nerds. Tickets are advance only (no walking up), so book as soon as they go on sale or you’re out of luck.

Clubbin!
There is one MEGA club that I would check out. It’s really cool, and WAY bigger than anything SF has to offer.

• Womb (this place is crazy) Map

Kyoto

During WWII the Allies made the specific choice NOT to bomb Kyoto because it’s the spiritual and emotional heart of the country and they feared Japan would never recover. I took the bullet train (Shinkansen) out, which was amazing on its own.

• Higashiyama & Geisha District in Gion (attach yourself to a tour group if you see one)
• Fushimi Inari Shrine. This was my favorite shrine. Amazing. Look it up. You will need two hours to walk around and be in awe. I went at dusk, which was perfect. I saw it in the day and the night when it was all lit up.
• Iwatayama Monkey Park: This was one of the highlights of my whole trip. I asked my hotel how to find it and ended up taking a taxi. Cost me about 20 bucks. I took the train back. I wrote up a story about it here.
• The Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion – didn’t go, hear it’s great)
• Ramen Neighborhood Inside Kyoto Main Train Station! – The Kyoto main station is relatively new and they put a TON of time and effort into designing it. The thing you must do is FIND THE RAMEN MINI NEIGHBORHOOD in the station! IT’S AMAZING. Go when you’re hungry, find something that looks good and just point. It’s on the 10th floor, and here’s a great blog post on how to find it!

Useful phrases in Japanese:

• Hai! (hi): The most important word. It means yes, but if you say Hai! while pointing at things, people know you want that.
• Sumimasen (soo-mee-mah-sen, said quickly): Excuse me. You need to say this to waiters to get them to come over, otherwise they’ll never come.
• Arigatou gozaimasu (ah-ree-gah-toh go-zah-ee-mahs): Thank you. You’ll hear it a bunch. They YELL it at you as you leave restaurants.
• Ohayou gozaimasu (oh-hah-yoh go-zah-ee-mahs): Good morning!
• Konnichiwa (kohn-nee-chee-wah): Good afternoon!

Seriously, learn to count to at least five. You will need this when you buy things. Pointing at things and saying “Hai! Ni!” translates loosely into “Please give me two of those, my good man”.

1. Ichi (ee-chee)
2. Ni (nee)
3. San (sahn)
4. Yon (yohn)
5. Go (goh)