I have some people coming to visit. And while I do have my own closed-minded udnerstanding of this marvelous city-- I am curious to hear what you all found impressive.
Cheers...
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I have some people coming to visit. And while I do have my own closed-minded udnerstanding of this marvelous city-- I am curious to hear what you all found impressive.
Cheers...
Show me your city. Is what I'd ask in any situation with a local man on the ground.
But to your question, we loved walking as many neighborhoods as we could while ticking off very few actual objectives
Amazing steak houses. Cool stores with every kooky toy ever made.
There's a craft museum that I thought was cool, maybe the Mingei Kan? But obviously you should stay out too late, get shit faced, and go to a karaoke box. A friend took me to a fancy tonkatsu restaurant (like 4000 yen for lunch) and it was unbelievable, but I couldn't tell you where it was. I'm sure there are lots of good candidates.
On every night of the week, seeing a red faced salaryman passed out, face down on a subway platform
For visitors, shibuya and shinjuku crossings. Hachiko and and the 3d cat are great places to people watch. Exploring the insane levels inside department stores
I just left Tokyo today. It was my first trip. What impressed me the most was the beef culture. The wagyu was so good I had to return to the atm like I was doing coke. Sitting in some hole in the wall joint in a tiny alley grilling devine meat was just such a cool experience.
Otherwise the whole dam city is just awesome. One second you’re crossing the street with 5000 people under neon lights, the next min you’re in the deep forest with blossom trees and shrines. The quick contrast from chaos to green space was cool. The inner city parks were very impressive.
It’s hard for me to pinpoint one thing really. It was all just so special. Oh yeah, bullet trains. So rad.
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In addition to what's been said, I really enjoyed some aimless wandering. Hitting small hole in the wall Ramen places. Checking out some pachinko parlors. Stumbling on a group of teenagers in 50's greaser outfits. Various other non- specific Japanese weirdness. It's a very pleasant city to walk around in.
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Golden Gai, piss alley, Shinjuku
Arashio-beya Sumo Stable where you can watch guys practice through the window. I liked how this guy peacefully biked off and I was impressed he didn't manage to bend the rims getting on.
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People talk about liking to see the real Tokyo by walking around smaller neighborhoods - I thought Shimokitazawa neighborhood was a good example of that. Easy to get to by train and then just walk north from the station. Not too touristy but not unknown either.https://www.gotokyo.org/en/destinati...awa/index.html
There used to be a street that specialized in making/selling the fake food that restaurants use in their window displays, that was pretty fun to walk down.
Was just there with our kids (8 and 11) for a couple days on the way back from ski trip. As someone said above, the contrasts going from things like Meiji Shrine to wandering through Shibuya. Great food at hard-to-find places (Shirubee in Shibuya was one). We also spent half a day at TeamLabs Planets exhibition. Not sure if your friends are bringing kids, but the interactive art was pretty amazing and captivated our kids (and us).
The coin op vending machines and the places they use them to eliminate a cashier or a m/c selling me all kinds of drinks including a can of hot coffee
In america you will be robbed or die eating the food in a 7-11 but in Japan a 7-11 will have good sushi and the all important internationl cash m/c so you could live at 7-11
As others have mentioned above. Sumo, sushi, and the incredible contrasts of old and new in the city. Going straight from an ancient temple, to catching a train out to Odaiba and watching the huge Gundam statue light up was pretty cool.
Are the imperial palace gardens too dorky to mention? We really enjoyed strolling that.
Seeing sumo was also a highlight.
And seeing Muted’s pics of the guy parking his bike reminds me of how mind blowing it is to be in one of the largest cities but to just see bikes parked around with no locks or worries.
Love the idea of a sumo tournament if there's one going on when you're in town. In my 20s, I thought it was fun to go to Shinjuku station during evening rush hour and get squeezed into a train. Now that sounds to me like a circle of hell that Dante forgot (there should be a thread for that!), but it does feel like a very Japanese experience if your guests are into that
Same. By a complete stroke of luck, it was the emperor's birthday when we walked through. He came out and waved to the crowd. Pretty cool. And there were frog men in the moat.Quote:
Originally Posted by babybear
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I thought the Sony HQ was pretty interesting. Anyone who has any interest in electronics will love it.
Did TeamLab and Meiji Shrine w my then 13 y/o daughter in 2020. She loved it. Also, for teen girl, hit Shibuya 109 (actual buying) and Harajuku (looking) for shopping.Quote:
Originally Posted by 3pin
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At the old fish market (which is an interesting scene to walk around in the morning) there is a sushi joint called Sushi Dai - you have to line up in advance of them opening in the morning but the jet lag helps with that and it’s a great welcome to Japan meal - sushi for breakfast just sets the tone.
A few blocks walk from the market is a small grocery store that sells “perfect” strawberries and other fruits - like $80 for a single avocado. Worth popping in to have a look.
From there go to Shibuya to check out the crossing and walk around.
If you have the legs you can walk to Harajuka from there.
Then you can walk to Meij shrine from there - doing it in this order gets you from urban madness to serene temple scene.
Just north of Shinjuku station is the Omoide alley - worth at least walking down this after dark to have a look - if you can score some seats and eat some food all the better.
From there walk the short walk over to Don Quijote store see what is on sale. Quirky fun store for all ages.
Golden Gai bar scene is a short walk from there - only worth visiting if you’re actually gonna sit down and have drinks.
If you are staying in Shinjuku area then Eggslut has great breakfast sandwiches and baked goods and Verve Coffee is very nearby and is a coffee nerd spot to check out.
Eggslut is good but it's a chain restaurant I eat in Vegas, LA, etc and not very japanese.
I did not know that - but sometimes in foreign lands you still want a North American breakfast!
Gotta be a used car dealer somewhere in the area focused on kei cars old enough to import to the US. That would be a fun visit
I loved a sushi breakfast and dawn walks at the old Tsukiji Market. I’m positive we walked places we weren’t supposed to but the people were too kind to say so.
Strolling around the Asakusa neighborhood.
Teamlabs borderless
Lots of cool ideas in here, thanks guys.
I’ve never been to the fish market. Might have to give that a go as we’ll be waking early due to jet lag.
I thought about Asakusa as I used to live there. But there is still so much that I haven’t seen yet around Tokyo as a whole.
It’s cool to read all your thoughts. Thanks!
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You want to walk around the old fish market - not the new fish market which is in the same area.
Gaijin, are these adults or a mix of adults and kids? Hard to recommend since those are totally different recommendations.
Tsukiji is hit or miss. Half of our guests loved it, half were ready to leave as soon as they saw the number of tourists packing the narrow streets. We were over it once covid restrictions came to an end but would usually swing through once a month or so because one of the vendors there does sell the best dashi we could find in Tokyo.
We just left after 5 and a half years of living there, these are not in order but are what I miss most.
- My early morning runs around the palace, usually just after dawn. If you're up early then that's a great place to head. I would hit Hie shrine on my return trip on the way to Roppongi, that is also a beautiful shrine to visit in the morning or evening, particularly the hundred torii gates going up to the back entrance just north of the main one. Favorite shrine outside of Kyoto.
- The food. I still have not had a good meal in 6 months of living in the US after living in Japan so long. My tastes and expectations have forever changed. I have made numerous restaurant recs in other threads but I will still plug Sushi Y in Azabujuban as the best westerner friendly top end sushi restaurant in the city. No kids allowed but if you are bringing adults and they are willing to eat whatever is placed in front of them then go get a reservation. It will be their highlight for sure.
- A somewhat food related item is that my wife used to take a monthly cooking class for expats, the instructor now runs food tours in some of the smaller neighborhoods in Tokyo. I have not been on one but I would still recommend trying it for an experience. Her and her husband took us out one night after they felt they owed us a favor (they didn not but in Japan if you hook someone up, they must reciprocate) and it was incredibly fun and eye opening, something we did not get to experience being gaikokujin. If her business mirrors her own preferences it will be a big win. Mayuko's Little Night Tour in Google will get you to the right info.
- The mass transit system and the convenience stores. You don't need any recs here but I'd kill for a decent 7-11 or Family Mart down the street again.
Enjoy, if you provide some more details on your guests then it will help provide a better suggestion. ????
Shinjuku was fun in general. Shopping, people watching, food, etc. Can't remember the name but ate the best bowl of ramen I ever had at a sidewalk restaurant. Also as a enginerd and train fan, Shinjuku station has an overpass where you can watch all 12+ lines at once. Seeing 12 trains arrive and depart all within one minute of each other during commuting hours is interesting if you're into that kind of thing.
I was trying to get our group to go to a baseball game or sumo match, but there wasn't enough interest. I would have enjoyed that.