mostlyobvious

Japan Notes

32 min read

Some notes aimed at first-timers visiting Tokyo and Japan. This started as a notebook I kept as I started visiting Japan a fair bit (I first visited in 2010 and then spent a few months a year for a few years, and now have been living in Japan since 2020).

Japan (and Tokyo/Kyoto specifically) is of course one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, so there’s no shortage of travel guides, so I won’t try to be comprehensive, just cover a few more practical “pro” tips I’ve picked up along the way.

General Tips

  • As of October 11 2022 Japan has fully re-opened to tourists after locking down for the COVID-19 Pandemic (April 2020). Rules are basically the same as pre-pandemic: travel visas are not required for passport holders from many countries (including the US), testing before entry is generally not required, vaccine requirements are no long in effect: https://www.japan.travel/en/practical-coronavirus-information/government-measures/
  • In 2023 there are still a fair amount of people masking (for lots of reasons). It’s worth carrying one around.
  • Japan is one of the (if not the) safest places in the world. Crime rates are super low, and people are polite and rule-abiding. While you could get unlucky, generally if you are respectful/easy-going, you will probably have a good time, and on average you will probably be pleasantly surprised by the level of customer service and personal interactions you’ll have (people will be friendlier outside of Tokyo).
  • The JPY is relatively weak vs the historical norm (~150 JPYUSD). It’s been fluctuating, so I’d recommend checking current exchange rates when it’s relevant. There’s been some inflation (unheard of in Japan the past 25 years) due to global conditions but it’s still relatively mild (10-20%) vs many other parts of the world, and this is on a JPY-basis, so on a dollar-basis everything is on steep discount.
  • Also, despite some common assumptions, Japan has been pretty affordable in general (since as mentioned, inflation virtually stopped for the past few decades). Food, hotel, transit are all comparatively cheaper (by up to 50%+) than LA/SF/NY prices. Certain hard goods like JP cameras, headphones and other electronics might also be significantly cheaper and are generally available tax free (10%) for travelers (at specific shops and with your Passport (actual physical Passport required, they staple receipts into your pages) - if you’re planning on doing a lot of shopping you should carry around your Passport - note w/ Japan’s low crime rate, this typically shouldn’t be a problem).
  • Get mobile data as soon as possible (see Mobile/Internet section for more info) - life will be much easier with Google Maps and Google Translate.
    • Google Translate works so well now that it’s probably not worth using anything else. The only other translation app I’d recommend is Pocket Talk - it has a dead simple UI, but also requires a data connection (the latest version of Android now has a similar translation service built in). ChatGPT 3.5 (free version) is also pretty good at Japanese, and you can ask for it to output in English, Romaji (phonetic), and Kanji/Katakana.
    • Caching the Google Translate JP language pack and offline Google Maps before you arrive is recommended.
    • Although it uses more data, if you’re looking for a specific building, switching to the satellite baselayer can often be helpful in maps. Discussing how Japenese addresses work is a bit involved, but the important thing to know is that it’s not linear.
  • Most ATMs work w/ international networks now.
    • There’s 7/11 and other ATMs when you arrive in NRT. Go there first to get cash. While contactless and card payments are widely used, cash is still used a lot and quite useful in Japan.
    • Always use ATMs for what you need vs money exchangers unless you want to eat several percent in exchange rates. Always withdraw in JPY if the ATM offers their own exchange rate (not common outside of maybe the airport, but always a ripoff).
    • In the past, some ATMs were closed at night for … reasons, but now things are fine.
    • Discover is cross-compatible w/ JCB and Union Pay rails and is actually somewhat useful in Asia, but all places that take cards take Visa/Mastercard and almost all places accept Amex as well.
    • If you travel a lot, Charles Schwab is awesome since they refund all ATM fees (including international fees) at the end of the month.
  • You can get by in Tokyo with minimal Japanese.
    • In general, just try to be polite, my most useful word is sumimasen (means: please, excuse me, and sorry). My conversations usually go ‘sumimasen, do you speak english’ :) everyone says ‘no’ or ‘a little’ (choto) but in Tokyo I haven’t found basic communications to be too bad and everyone’s super nice and tries to be helpful. Google Translate will help w/ the rest.
    • The second most useful phrase is daijoubu which means “OK” (ok-desu works as well) or “all right” but can basically mean Yes or No depending on inflection or context
    • Hai means yes, and is often used
    • The formal way of saying thank you is “arigatō gozaimasu” but it can be shortened to arigato or you can go even more informal and say domo. (domo can also be used as a greeting)
    • Onegeishimas(u) is “please” and you can add it to basically any phrase
    • There are lots of English loan words, but one pronunciation quirk to keep in mind is that Japanese syllables always end with a vowel. If you say “hotel” in English, it literally registers as “ho-te” to Japanese speakers and they will often not understand you, but if you say “ho-te-lu” (the actual loan word for hotel), they’ll understand. If in doubt, add a long U sound (oo) to the end of words if you’re just guessing for a loan word that ends with a consonant…
  • Ordering food is usually pretty simple since there are plastic food models and photos of everything. Also the machines aren’t too hard to order from when those are there. Otherwise, showing a picture of what you want (taking a picture of the model, or using a Tabelog/Google Maps/4SQ pic, works pretty well) and saying hitotsu (“one of [this]”) or kore (“this”)
    • Some places, noodle shops most commonly, have ticket dispensers at the front which may not have pictures. Google Translate’s camera translation is very useful for this.
  • Japan is pretty much the safest country in the world. The one hard and fast rule is to always just ignore all touts and you should be fine. Often these are Nigerian (more annoying because they follow you and keep bugging you if you seem Gaijin/to understand English)/Yakuza (polite and oftentimes will point you to where you want to go) guys, or sometimes cute girls (although usually they’re just handing out flyers and free tissues, which is fine). Here’s a summary video on how bad it can get (also the police basically won’t do anything, even if you’re a native speaker with video evidence). Also, if you don’t know where you’re going, avoid hidden back-alley/high-floor upstairs bars. Also, in big cities, there are no such things as free drinks unless a friend is actually buying you a drink, so err, just don’t do it.
  • Everyone uses LINE for chat, a lot of Insta/FB as well
    • You may not be able to add some Japanese residents on LINE due to LINE’s security features; you can still add them via QR code
  • Claritin, Zyrtec etc is prescription-only, bring your own if you have allergies (February-April is Sugi (Japanese Cedar), also Sakura season gets pretty crazy, and in the fall there’s a lot of grass pollen).
  • Use konbinis (convenience stores) for their trash bins (sometimes outside, sometimes indoors), there aren’t really any elsewhere… (this turns out is an after-effect of the sarin incidents in the 2000s). Most Japanese end up carrying their trash with them all day until they get home.
    • Some malls and train stations have started adding trashbins back in. Most trash is “burnable” (eg, if it’s not clearly a PET bottle or can or glass, then it’s burnable).
  • Almost every mall and konbini has public bathrooms available free for use. The former are usually much nicer/cleaner. There are also usually facilities in parks and some other areas, although those are also usually less nice. Train stations in Tokyo always have bathrooms inside the pay area, although quality of those vary and they can be busy, so I wouldn’t go out of my way to prioritize those if you’re looking for something to use.
  • Personal pro-tip: if you’re here during winter, you can use the vending machines as ¥100 hand warmer dispensers (the red items are hot). Only get the metal cans (vs plastic bottles) if you have pockets/gloves - they’re really hot! Vending machines are also the best way to get rid of spare change. In the winter, they sell corn soup in the can. If it’s not sold out, definitely give it a try (personally, I’m a big fan).

Transit

The easiest way to get around to most places is by train. Google Maps works incredibly well in Japan (wayfinding, directions, transit), and I’d recommend using that for getting around. You can use offline maps to pre-download areas, but if you have good data, one thing I can also recommend that might make finding locations easier is to switch to the satellite view (this will use a lot of bandwidth so if you’re on metered Internet be careful).

If you’re in Japan for the first time, don’t be afraid to do more walking. Especially in the cities, there are so many unique neighborhoods and streets with varied and interesting architecture. In addition to being someof the cleanest and safest places in the world, Japanese cities definitely have a very unique vibe, so I highly recommend walking around as much as you can.

  • Tokyo uses a transit card: either the JR Suica (or Tokyo Metro Pasmo) card - they are interchangeable. In another city there may be a different card (with an “IC” in the name usually) - these days there are largely interchangable
  • Summer 2023 note: there has been a months long FeliCa NFC shortage that may still be ongoing. This blog post https://atadistance.net/2023/08/01/how-long-will-the-suica-card-shortage-last/ is a good summary, and that blog is probably a good place for general updates. Your best bet is if you’re a tourist, to either pick up a “Welcome Suica” at the airport or if you have an iPhone from the past several years, you can add an electronic Suica card from any global model (full details), which I’d highly recommend. (Most/all Android phones don’t support FeliCa due to licensing).
    • In any case you do really want Suica/Pasmo to make your transportation life much easier - otherwise you have to buy separate tickets for each subway line and it’s confusing/terrible. You should get a Suica card even if you have a JR Travel Pass since the latter doesn’t work for most Tokyo subways.
    • In Tokyo there are many different companies (at the airport, JR and Keio for example) that run each subway line. These are ticketed separately if you don’t use an IC card.
    • The Suica card can pay for subways and most buses across Japan now. All IC cards are basically interoperable across the country although some remote area buses that are still cash only. In some far-flung prefectures you might be able to use the Suica, but not recharge it. You can recharge your card at any JR terminal/service desk (or at most konbinis). You can cash out your balance when you leave (or use it w/ vending machines or konbinis so there’s no reason not to always have it charged up). Balances don’t expire however so you could just leave it for next time.
    • There’s an added wrinkle that for the past year or so, most foreign Visa cards can’t recharge Suica via Apple/Google Pay (terrible, I know).
    • If you have multiple devices (like a phone and watch), you will need a separate card for each device. Balances last 10 years so in practice, it’s nbd if you’re going to be in Japan long term.
  • Most things run very close to schedule (for long distance trains, practically always on time, Shinkansen almost always to the minute. Don’t be late).
  • Stations can be confusing. While exits are almost always numbered (A1, etc) some larger stations (I’m looking at you Shinjuku) can have multiple exits that have overlapping numbers. When in doubt, try to get above ground as soon as possible to get a GPS fix and figure out what your compass directions are.
  • Unlike western maps that tend to always point North, Japanese maps are almost always oriented by the direction that you’re pointing when looking at the map. Be sure to look at the legend to see which way North is if you’re not used to this, otherwise you will end up walking in completely the wrong direction.
  • The Skyliner is a super fast way to get to Tokyo Station from Narita Airport and what I recommend. You may want to consider the Narita Express if you need to get to the west side (Shinjuku, Shibuya) and don’t want to transfer, but the Skyliner to Yamanote will probably be faster/cheaper anyway (if you have a long wait or need to use the regular/local Sky Express train, then maybe consider the NEX). The ticket counters at Narita will be able to speak English and will get you sorted with the proper combination of seat and gate exit ticket. Personally, especially depending on where you’re staying in Tokyo, I might highly recommend looking at Haneda airport (which is much closer to town) than Narita.
  • If you’re traveling outside of Tokyo, consider getting a JR Travel Pass. As of 2024 it’s had some price hikes, so it’s… probably not worth it. It used to be an amazing deal though. I always paid the premium for the “green” (upgraded class) tickets (less about the slight luxury upgrade and more about having much more flexible seating options, especially if you do last minute ticket booking). Depending on the time of year, trains can get sold out. On that topic, try to avoid taking the busiest subway lines during rush hour, you will get squished.
    • The JR Pass can also be used specifically for JR line subways in Tokyo (Yamanote and Chiyoda are probably the most commonly useful), but have your Suica ready - most of the most convenient subway lines are not JR.
  • Buses can be a lot more confusing than the subways, try to confirm where you are going if you can, or enjoy the adventure. Buses also get snarled in traffic, so are a lot less dependable, time-wise. Prices can be more expensive at night. Just be sure to have a topped of Suica card and life will be easier. In Tokyo most buses are paid for as a fixed price on entry, but across Japan, many buses and local trains charge you different prices based on distance - you should try to make sure you get a ticket or swipe in when you get on, and then pay the appropriate amount when you get off (when you get out of cities, some buses may be cash only).
  • Within Japan, flying really only makes sense if you’re trying to get to Hokkaido or Okinawa, getting between airports and your destination will typically make your trip longer/more cumbersome than the Shinkansen. If you’re flying north in the winter, be aware that train is much less likely to get canceled than planes during inclement weather (CTS can often get snowed in). Low cost JP airlines (Peach, Vanilla, etc) are incredibly strict on carry-on size and weights (usually manually checked). They usually fly from Terminal 3 in NRT, incredibly far from transit (budget an extra 15-20min of walking from T2).
  • Japanese taxis are great (very clean, although the classic black Camry’s and white gloves have been disappearing), but more often driven by old Japanese men who don’t speak a lick of English and can’t read the tiny text on your phone or business card. You should try to experience it, but if you are looking for less stressful car service, you can use Uber (which will often just send you a taxi). There’s also some new Tokyo Taxi apps that might help? https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/japantaxi/id481647073?mt=8
    • See also: https://www.tokyoweekender.com/2018/05/a-guide-to-taxis-in-japan-apps-fares-hailing-booking/
    • The new smaller black taxis in Tokyo have translator apps on the screen that can help.
    • Otherwise, asking for a station name (eg Ebisu Eki Onigeishimas) is an easy way to get somewhere. Just say something like Sumimasen English (Eigo) OK? if they say stuff in Japanese you don’t understand…
    • Remember to add a vowel to the end of words. Eg, a taxi driver won’t understand “hotel” at all, but if you say “hotel-luu’ they will. Japanese basically only ends with a vowel sounds so they literally have a hard time hearing an ending consonant sound by itself.
  • Public transit or taxis can get you just about anywhere (most Tokyo residents don’t own a car), and I’d only recommend renting a car if you have a good idea of somewhere way out in the countryside you want to get to that’s far away from any transit and are comfortable driving (left hand side), I found the process to be fairly pleasant/easy and not terribly expensive (expect tolls to be more than the rental though). You will need an International Drivers License (available from AAA in the US). I had good experiences with https://rent.toyota.co.jp/eng/ and Nippon Rent-a-Car. Make your life easier and always get the full coverage if you are renting.

Mobile/Internet

SIM cards are becoming slightly less of a pain in the butt in Japan - you can’t buy a prepaid regular SIM, but you can get a data-only SIM. You can buy data SIMs (almost always Docomo MVNOs) now from vending machines at NRT/KIX, or at any electronics store (BIC Camera, Yodobashi, etc). Some require downloading a custom Profile or setting an APN to function. You may (catch-22 require internet access to download said profile). If you’re sharing w/ people you can rent a wifi hotspot for not much more and is probably more useful (requires mail desk pickup and mailing back, they usually can deliver to your hotel as well though).

You can also use eSIM apps (I’ve used Airalo without issues) if you have a newer phone. (You pay a little more, but the convenience and flexibility might be worth it.)

If you’re doing a lot of international traveling, IMO Google Fi https://fi.google.com/ is a pretty good deal if you travel a lot as it works from touchdown in like 200 countries. If you want a credit, you can use my referral code https://g.co/fi/r/E9DF9P

Recently lots more free wifi has been popping up (prep for 2020 Olympics) - pretty much every JR and Metro station should have you covered. You may be able to get a free wifi account at the arrival terminal, but they’ve always been closed whenever I’ve visited (like 3 times now) - many of the wifi hotspots require authentication/user accounts. You’ll want to install this free app which will give you access to most of the wi2 wifi network: http://wi2.co.jp/tjw/english.html See also: https://japanfreewifi.com/

For more details on SIM cards, network bands, etc: https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com/wiki/Japan

Wifi pucks (some AirBnBs/hotels provide wifi pucks or data phones)

NOTE: “Unlimited” plans will probably have a daily cap (eg 2-3GB) after which you are basically throttled to modem speeds, so be careful if you’re going to use your laptop attached to one of those. If you are using a system that doesn’t respect metered bandwidth limiting, then it’s best to just use your hotel wifi or something so some large update/download doesn’t blow away your cap. (Both iOS and Android phones let you specify metered wifi to be a bit more efficient on bandwidth usage in those cases).

SIMs

All these prices and details are probably out of date, but give you an idea of things that are common.

  • Airport Prepaid Data SIM
    • You pay maybe a $10 premium, but if you want data as soon as you land and searching for a SIM at Bic or Yodabashi isn’t your idea of a good time, it’s totally worth it and I’d recommend buying at the airport for most people.
  • IIJ Travel SIM of Freetel Travel SIM
    • I’ve used this the past few times. It’s convenient, does the job. You can install a profile that gives you the APN settings (disable/remove when done) but there’s no registration involved
    • Freetel is nice since you get free FB/WeChat/LINE data (not counted against the cap)
  • b-mobile
    • in the past i’ve used b-mobile http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/product.html (you can buy them locally) - is $30 for a 14day/1GB SIM
    • delivers to Airport or Hotel
    • if you get the Visitor SIM it’s no registration, just stick it in and go. If you buy a b-mobile SIM in JP you need to register online w/ a JP address (or pay an extra $25 to register via phone)
  • eConnect
    • about same price and is 30day/1GB SIM
  • BIC SIM
    • https://www.iijmio.jp/bicsim/
    • you can buy this at Bic Cameras (all around town)
    • the no-registration pack is 2GB/3mo for $35
      • It can’t be recharged w/ a regular BIC SIM refill. The pack comes w/ its own refill method but it may actually be cheaper (certainly easier) to get a new card if you run out
    • The pricing on the registration one is pretty good - 10-20/mo (1-2GB hispeed before throttling). Requires registering w/ JP address. Comes with a free Wi2 wifi account that is extremely useful
    • The OCN SIMs are the best registered SIMs because they have some modicum of English support

iOS and Android let you see cellular data consumption by app, but for Android, I also recommend installing:

If you are tethered (which is generally allowed), you might want to run something like Menumeters/iStats (OS X), Conky (Linux), or Rainmeter (Windows) to keep an eye out.

Things to Do in Tokyo

If you’re looking for general food, bar recommendations as a tourist, I recommend installing Foursquare, as gives decent representation to the sort of stuff that foreign foodies, travelers etc might like. If you’re a 4SQ friend you should also see things I like (or maybe didn’t). I’ve checked into a few hundred places in Tokyo.

NOTE: Double check on what’s still open of course, a lot of places might have been temporarily (or permanently) closed due to the pandemic

Leonard’s 4SQ: https://foursquare.com/lhl/list/recommended-tokyo Naveen’s 4SQ: https://foursquare.com/naveen/list/tokyo Fred Wilson’s 4SQ: https://foursquare.com/fredwilson/list/freds-tokyo-list Dens’ 4SQ (first trip): https://foursquare.com/dens/list/my-tokyo-trip-20142015

http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo

So many neighborhoods to walk around: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Yoyogi Park/Harajuku, Ebisu/Yebisu, Tokyo Station, Roppongi, Ginza, Odaiba, etc etc - IMO Japan is one of the best places to walk around aimlessly. There are also lots of specialized neighborhoods like Jimbocho which has lots of used bookstores, or Akihabara which is for weebs, or Kappabashi for knives and kitchenware

A friend, Harper, has been putting together a little recommendation list of his own recently with some good takes: https://japan.harperreed.com/

  • Free stuff, lots of cool stuff to see: http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/feature/2999/30-things-to-do-in-Tokyo-for-free
  • Sundays are “special days” - when the rockabilly, harajuku girls etc head to Yoyogi, Maid parades in Akihabara, etc.
    • If you go a stop out to Ikenoue Station (presumably Shimokitazawa as well) the street has an awesome farmer’s market/street fair vibe with little musical/magic performances, and lots of fresh snacks/food for sale
  • If its your first time in JP find a way to get high up for a view - you could pay for Tokyo Tower, Mori Tower, Tokyo Skytree, but there are also tons of free views like from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building or lots of different bars/malls/misc buildings that are high up. (Droning is strictly prohibited in most populated areas of JP including all of Tokyo)
  • teamLab Borderless is totally worth going to. Buy tickets online before hand, try to go either to aim for first thing in the morning or later in the evening, and on a weekday to minimize crowds - there will be a line, but it moves pretty fast (about 20 minutes if you get to the end of the building, single file). Expect to spend at least 3h there if you want to see most of the things:
  • Near Roppongi? Check out my friend Jia’s bar HOMEBASE in Azujuban. It’s a cocktail bar with some nice drinks, a decent selection of higher end whiskeys and gins, and Wednesday night is Karaoke night
  • Robot Restaurant. Book a couple days ahead. Plan to eat elsewhere (it’s not actually a restaurant, they have terrible bentos - get beer and popcorn though!)
  • For weird tiny intimate drinking, do a bar crawl along Golden Gai
  • Wander through the big Bic Camera stores. Try to resist buying tax-free electronics/cameras that can be up to 30% cheaper than US pricing. Between instant tax-rebates and Amex/Visa/JCB deals, you usually will pay up to 15% off the (higher) listed price. Use http://kakaku.com/ for easy price comparisons. ( https://www.amazon.co.jp/ works great as well and many things are same-day delivery.) When you’re shopping, you’ll want to bring your passport (don’t lose it!) as they’ll need to stamp/attach stuff in it for the duty free shopping.
  • In Shibuya, go through all the floors of the Tower Records and Tokyu Hands. Also maybe check out the Lopht and Muji. Be sure to swing through a Don Quijote, basically a JP version of Walmart/everything store, but weirder and cooler
  • Most of the weird tech/super otaku stuff has been priced out of Akihabara and has relocated to Nakano Broadway
  • Park Hyatt Bar is nice enough (but by far not the best bar), will probably be ~$100/head. Longpants required. Go once to say you’ve been there and then go to better bars.
  • Fish Auction has moved but many sushi shops are all still at Tsukiji - as of October 2022, some of the more famous places have moved to Toyosu near the new market, like Dai/Daiwa - the breakfast Sushi is a definite YES and is some of the best sushi you’re likely to have - omakase (chef’s choice) + otoro at Dai/Daiwa was awesome (the shorter line one, Daiwa is the son’s restarurant, both are supposed to be equally good)
    • Regardless of the time of day, order the omakase at any number of places in Tsukiji or Toyosu and you will get some of the tastiest sushi you can get at ridiculously low prices
  • Walk through a pachinko parlor. Leave because it is loud and smokey (I’ve been told smoking is now restricted to smoking booths) and dumb
  • Walk through an arcade and marvel at Star Horse 3, Season 2, Blaze of Glory
  • Daikanyama Tsutaya is a pretty sweet book store/ok work hangout.
  • Tokyo has great coffee shops. There’s plenty of great espresso places, and lots of both classic Kisaten (coffee and cake places that make dark-roasted siphon coffee) and newer specialty coffee shops. Here’s my recent review of Koffee Mameya (I’d recommend that and I guess an Ogawa Coffee Lab or the NOZY ROASTERY as fun destinations for hard-charging coffee nerds). I really like some of the smaller micro-roaster shops though like drip bar in Ebisu, and Glaubell Coffee in Shimokitazawa. Basically, avoid the big chains and you’ll probably be fine.
  • Speaking of Shimo, it has a lot of great curry restaurants and little music/jazz bars as well
  • If you like ramen be sure to take the short train ride from the west side to Yokohama to visit the Ramen Museum, it’s awesome http://www.raumen.co.jp/english/ - you can buy half bowls. There’s also a Cup Noodle museum nearby where you can make your own as well.
  • Definitely go to a Ryokan/Onsen - you can do a sento, but my suggestion is to get out of town (lots of places within an hour or two on the train) and do an overnight with a kaiseki meal. Especially in the winter, try to book a place w/ a rotenburo (outdoor onsen)
  • If you’re into live music or live jazz, Tokyo is a unique place, with tons of long-running/casual listening jazz bars. Jazz Spot Intro and No Rooms for Squares are two recommended places to start.

Sakura

Worth it’s own section - definitely book ahead if you’re trying to schedule sakura. Check the schedules for when it’ll happen every year:

In Tokyo, Yoyogi and Ueno are the biggest Hanami spots, but IMO the must-see spot for Sakura is Nakameguro (Chidorigafuchi (all around Chiyoda actually) and Shiba are quite nice too), but just explore around, lots of hidden gems and unexpected prettiness

Booking Hotels

One thing particular to Japan is that oftentimes, there are certain rooms reserved for Japanese (in-country) - if you call directly (although you need to speak JP) or use certain sites, like Rakuten travel you may find availability that’s not available elsewhere.

In general, Booking.com seems like the best for reserving rooms (and for the good review system). Agoda is ok as well (and sometimes cheaper). If you are booking onsen, there are specialized onsen sites like http://www.japanican.com/en/ - you may also want to check out http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/ and http://selected-ryokan.com/ for more on onsen/ryokans. I’m a big fan of little minshuku’s/guest houses, although I haven’t stayed at many for a long time (getting old!).

For Tokyo, first timers looking for something fancy tend to want to book Park Hyatt Tokyo in Shinjuku. Do yourself a favor and don’t do that. 1) Shinjuku station is the worst (huge, confusing as hell, far away) and those hotels are even further out, basically in wasteland. You should prioritize convenience to subways (particularly the Yamanote line, which is JR and takes you in a ring around the city). Also, if you are going to splash out, there are such better options, if you want to be in the middle of the Shibuya buzz, Cerulean Tower or Hotel Indigo. For the classic downtown in Chiyoda there’s the usual Aman, Mandarin, Peninsula, Four Seasons, etc, as well as some other stuff scattered around town (Edition in Toronoman, Grand Hyatt in Roppongi Hills, the Prince Park Tower (or IMO better yet, the Grand Prince in Shinagawa)). Tokyo is also full of mid-priced hotel values: Mitsui Garden, Candeo, remm, and apart-hotel chains like MONday and Mimaru, and of course lousy with the low end (which while the rooms can get incredibly small, are almost always cleaner than expected).

AirBnBs are an option, but can be hit or miss. (I have a separate doc on long-term stays I’ll be moving over someday). Personally, I like Ebisu as a great neighborhood. It’s walkable to Daikanyama, Yoyogi, Shibuya, Nakameguro and on the Hibiya and Yamanote lines to boot so you can cut across or go around town.

Music

Shows are pretty expensive (¥2500+) but there are free/in-store performances around Buskers aren’t super common, but there’s some of that too. At certain stations they’ll basically be lined up as you walk by, it’s a bit of a trip. EDM: JP loves electro/techno. However so much 4/4 gets sort of old. There is lots of nu-jazz and experimental/ambient stuff. Some indie pop/folk

I feel like this section probably needs a refresh.

Outside of Tokyo

I have some lists I keep that may be of interest:

  • I have a Japan Travel YouTube List of some neat places around Japan.
  • I’ve been to the furthest corners of the main islands of Japan now. Recently I did a couple weeks where I drove to Wakkanai and Nemuro in Hokkaido. A couple years ago I did an Ishigaki/Taketomi Island trip. There are still some farflung places I’d like to go (Tsushima, Iki, Goto, Sado, Rishiri, etc).

General recommendations

Other People’s Tips/Guides

Life Where I’m From

One of the best channels for international people to get a view into Japan/Japanese life. Here are some travel guides as well:

Abroad in Japan

Probably the most popular/well-known foreign YouTuber in Japan, his channel is usually pretty entertaining, also has some good travel videos:

Uncharted Tokyo

This 80 page guidebook was written by Rio Akasaka, mostly between 2014-2019 it looks like so might be a bit out of date, but still, covers a huge amount of topics.

Andy’s Tokyo City Guide

Andy Budd’s personal picks and reccos for Tokyo from a bunch of travel.

Others

Some Food Places in Tokyo

I helped make a short food itinerary for a friend coming in prioritizing some more hidden local places I liked: https://lhl.notion.site/Tokyo-Food-Recommendations-0d3dd2d2be87403e83292bb4e640d667

There’s an infinite amount of food places, so just go for it. While things can get quite pricey if you go ultra-high end, you can have a ton of great culinary experiences for about $50-100/day. Note, lunch sets in Japan are always significantly more affordable than dinner, so if you’re tight on budget (or aiming to go somewhere tough to reserve, try to go for a weekday lunch). There’s a huge array of Japanese food that’s harder to find outside of Japan that I recommend trying:

  • Yakiniku - have grilled A4/A5 wagyu somewhere, you can do a lunch
  • Kaisendon (big seafood bowls) - these can also finish off with a chazuke (tea/dashi soup in rice) course with the leftovers. If you’re here in the winter, chazuke is actually one of my favorites
  • Curry Udon - I highly recommend finding a good curry udon place
  • Kaiseki - you’ll get to experience this at a Onsen (Ryokan), but if not, there are kaiseki paces
  • Japanese Unagi - if you’re getting fresh unagi (you’ll know because usually you’ll see some live eels)
  • Izakaya
  • Yakitori
  • Sushi Train
  • Malls
  • Supermarkets
  • Konbini
  • Ramen
  • Parfait
  • Japanese Sweets

If you’re splurging, you could try:

  • High End Sushi - you can get very good experiences for ~$100/head, especially if you’r not drinking much. You don’t need to go to the most famous places, and it’s easy to order since most of the better places are Omakase (chef’s menu). Reserving might be the most challenging part (get a hotel concierge to help or find somewhere w/ online seat reservations).
  • Teppanyaki - most fancy teppanyaki places will run you $100-200+, it can be fun/tasty
  • Afternoon tea - the most posh hotels (Peninsula, Aman, etc) have pretty crazy afternoon tea (dessert) sets. Note, during popular seasons, these can be booked for months, but something to think about. Note, there are so many great bakeries, pattiseries, and dessert shops that it’s more of a novelty than anything that’s tastier than you can get elsewhere so

Other first timer reccos

  • Tokyu Hands
    • Take the elevator to the top floor and then walk down
    • You can swing by the nearby Loft to check out more Japanese design/craft aesthetic
  • Harajuku and Cat Street
  • Have at least one meal at a konbini - top reccos:
    • Jelly pack - I like the grape ones
    • an Onigiri - the premium ones have more filling. You can’t go wrong w/ an ikura, grilled salmon, or tuna and mayo
    • “spicy chiki hitotsu” (one spicy chiki) use a 1 finger and point to help in case they can’t catch your pronunciation
    • Ion Water or Kirin Salty Lychee or Kuro Black
    • or try a Strong Zero (9%) Chuhai. They are strong.
    • Cheetara: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abww7OFRm5E