Tokyo is one hell of a city, with skyscrapers, delicious food, amazing customer service and large advertising billboards making it seem like the city never gets dark. It's always dusk after 7:00pm in Tokyo.
As we travelled through Japan during the coronavirus outbreak, there were a lot of things closed that we did originally want to see. These included the Skytree (which has extended its closure) and Tokyo Disney, which we were both eager to go visit. However, we still completed most of our itinerary and saved a lot of money from not buying excessive amounts of Mickey Mouse ears...which I definitely would have done.
Therefore, this list provides a less touristy guide to Tokyo (as all the hot-spots were shut) and a more authentic and local approach to the city - if that's what you're looking for... Here are our favourite things we did - or tried - in Tokyo, that we think you should try too:
Izakaya Alleys
Luckily, we were staying with one of my best friends and her boyfriend, so we were travelling with the experts of the city - they knew where all the good, local spots were. One night they took us down a little alleyway decorated with fake cherry blossom branches. It was dimly lit by the signs of bars and restaurants.
From every angle, there were businessmen drinking, other tourists sampling the local food, and people and chefs chatting as one cooked and the other ate. It was a delightful little place where you could share a friendly chat, drink a lemon sours (traditionally called a Chuhai) and indulge in deep-fried meat, vegetables or fish - yum!
Cat Cafes
I didn't previously know how popular animal cafes were in Japan, but you sure do realise when you walk through the streets of Tokyo. There are owl cafes, hedgehog homes and restaurants with poodles to sit with you as you eat. I'm not too sure on the others, but we did visit two cat cafes while we were there, which I did my research on before to make sure everything was above board.
My favourite was a rescue centre cat cafe, which I would highly recommend as an alternative to the cafes on the strip. Cat's Inn Tokyo rehouse cats and if you find the perfect pet and you've got a suitable home, then you can adopt one. My friend told me that most apartments in Japan do not allow pets, so the citizens of Tokyo get the chance to visit the friendly felines and experience what it's like to have a cat! Don't...I'll start getting emotional.
Here's the little guy I fell in love with - Ponko:
If I lived in Japan, I would've adopted him straight away. Like Voldemort, a little piece of my soul was left with Ponko, so if you ever need to kill me, one of my horcruxes is definitely there (and the others are definitely with other cute cats I've got emotionally attached to).
Cat's Inn Tokyo also have adorable souvenirs you can take too, like earrings, necklaces, tops and photos of the felines! You have to sign up for a membership on your first visit, then pay as you go from there - it was around ¥1200 each.
Tokyo Tower
An alternative to the Tokyo Skytree, or an additional visit, the Tokyo Tower boasts a pretty impressive view of the city. We recommend going at night when the tower and the rest of Tokyo is lit up too. There's even an area with a star-patterned floor that glows in the dark on one of the decks.
Take a trip to Enoshima
...and catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji from the bridge on a cloudless day. Enjoy Hawaiian-themed food, drink craft IPA ales and climb the mountain to see the shrines and temples. Beware, there are a lot of steps and I wouldn't recommend doing the trek straight after a beer - please do not make my mistakes!
Follow the steps up and visit the Buddhist temples - there's one with a dragon guarding the shrine, which is pretty terrifying in the dark!
Try a Bubble Tea
Some bubble teas do not even taste like the hot beverage, so if you aren't usually a fan of the taste of tea, make sure you still try one of these delicious drinks. There are lots of stands and shops that will serve you bubble tea - I don't believe I passed through one street without at least one bubble tea vendor selling the delicious beverage.
There are so many different flavours to try - one shop we saw had over twenty available! If you can try them all - do it! My two favourites were caramel milk and banana milk tapioca with cream and chocolate shavings on top - trust me, you won't be disappointed!
Relive your youth in the Pokemon Centre
...and plan on spending a lot of yen. Honestly, I don't know what it is about Pikachu, but I just can't seem to control myself. I left with both a Pikachu and an Eevee plush toy, and justified each purchase by saying it was for my car...I don't even own a car.
We visited the Pokemon Centre in Sunshine City, which is about an eight minute walk from Ikebukuro station - if you go the right way and not the wrong route like us. The line is included with your JR pass (we got ours from the Japan Travel Centre in London and they let us pick it up the next day), so it's basically a free trip to see cute Pokemon teddies, right?
Shrine after Shrine...
Walking through the streets of Japan, you are bound to find a shrine anywhere within walking distance. They are all beautiful decorated inside and out, and are surrounded by picturesque environments. We got to see a lot of shrines during our visit to Tokyo and here are our favourite two:
Meiji Shrine
This shrine is located right next to Yoyogi Park, which is filled with cherry blossoms during the season. The Meiji Jingu has signs all around telling you the history of the place and a large collection of sake barrels, all donated to give honour to the Gods. When walking through the Torii gate, make sure to bow, or walk around the legs of it as a sign of respect - the Gods walk through there, and you don't want to get in their way!
Senso-ji Temple
This temple is the oldest in Tokyo and therefore, one of the busiest. It's red and huge, with the famous Kaminarimon Gate with a momentous lantern. There's a lot to see there, including a huge pagoda. Once you've finished up at the temple, take a walk down into the large market next to it. There are souvenirs a plenty with stalls selling everything from faux-fur animal backpacks, to cat purses, to Kimono pyjamas - I think I saw a set you could buy for your dog! A little walk away from that is Hoppy Street, where you can relax and get a nibble and a tipple after a long, hard day of browsing.
Take a train to Kamakura
If you've finished visiting all the shrines and temples in Tokyo, then take a trip to Kamakura. It's about an hour on the train from the city centre. As you leave the station and walk up a little, there's a street on your right with lots of street food vendors. We recommend getting a snack before setting off on your journey of Kamakura shrines - it's a long one!
You can take a bus to the first spot - the Kotoku-Temple. It's a must if you want to see a giant Buddha, which is the temple's main attraction. You can pay a few extra Yen and go inside him too. The interior has a plaque that tells you a little more about the statue and you can feel the structure of the Buddha. If you go on a hot day, the statue feels warm to touch! Pictures really do not do this big statue justice - you have to go see it for yourself!
Other spots to check out include the Tsurugaoka-hachimangu Shrine, which is huge! You can also get your fortune read. If it's bad luck you have to tie it to a specific part of the shrine, and if it's the worst luck you can get, you must dispose of it in a red box and try to forget about it. The fortune scrolls are available at most shrines and it's about ¥100 a turn. Some are self-serve and others you can get from counters. You usually have to shake a box and retrieve a stick with a number on. Your fortune is then picked from a section with the same digits. One fortune gave us a poem and another was written in Japanese, which we had to translate.
Another incredible place in Kamakura was the Hokokuji Temple. At first, there's a small garden where you can have a walk around and pay your respects. You can then pay around ¥600 to enter the temple. If you pay a little extra - ¥900 - you can have a green tea in the teahouse. It's incredibly peaceful and you can sip delicious matcha from a bowl with the view of a bamboo forest and waterfall. Make sure to walk through the bamboo trees and find the cliff-side tombs and temple!
And last but not least, ensure you check out the Hasedera Temple before parting ways with Kamakura. It's got a beautiful Japanese garden with a cave you can walk through. When you climb the stairs, you are greeted with the temple and tens to hundreds of tiny Buddha statues. There was one with a bucket hat on, which made him look like he'd just sauntered to Japan straight from Reading Festival. At the top, if you turn to your left you are greeted with an incredible view of the city and you can sit down on the benches and eat some snacks!
Win (or lose) in the arcades
Prepare to part with a lot of money in the arcades of Tokyo - never underestimate the trickiness of a claw machine. As an avid goer of arcades, I was looking forward to trying my luck in them, but I only experienced sorrow as I struggled to win on anything! I spent most of my time throwing my body around on a really advanced dance machine. However, I was victorious at Tekken after aggressively pushing buttons. Also, my friend won me a tiny little Charmander after I tried sixty odd times. The arcades take up whole five-storey buildings, with each level offering a different kind of game. One floor could be purely dedicated to face-altering, makeover photobooths, while another could be filled with games where you can play other people in the room using cards.
There are some 'claw' machines in the arcades, but they favour a harder way of winning teddies and toys - with a more sweeping prong, than a grabby-metal thing. I couldn't figure out a technique - I need to hear from someone that's won on one of these things! The best place for arcades is the Akihabara area, which is also home to lots of Sega Centres, comic book shops and maid cafes too!
Spend a night in Korea Town
Indulge in the food and music of Korea in a small part of town in Tokyo called Shin-Okubo. It's well worth a visit and you can easily get there using your JR Rail Pass. My friends got to try chicken wings dipped in cheese and I settled on a seafood dish, which was a cross between an omelette and a pancake. We found a place that did unlimited drinks for two hours too, so make sure to hunt out a good deal!
Try the Korean traditional spirit called Soju too. You can get all sorts of flavours, from lemon, to grapefruit, to blueberry. You can drink it neat and it tastes a little like Schnapps. But, beware, too much and you'll be spending your whole night with a karaoke mic in one hand and a 9% can of sours in the other...followed by a rather abrupt taxi home.
Take a walk on the calm side
Sometimes it's nice just to have a stroll, and luckily in Tokyo, there are a lot of stunning places for you to saunter through. About a thirty minute walk from Senso-ji temple, but only a short distance from the station, is Ueno Park. There are food stalls selling fried crisps on a stick - you can get them dusted with your choice of salt, butter, garlic or BBQ, a temple, museums and, of course, a Starbucks. As we went early March, it was almost Sakura season in Japan, so everything is flavoured accordingly - the Starbucks Sakura latte was divine!
In the Shinjuku area, there's the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. It's pretty big and has a rose garden, lots of different sized lakes, forest areas, a traditional Japanese garden with a viewing terrace and a greenhouse with a waterfall. You do have to pay to enter, but it's definitely worth the yen, especially after a hard night at the karaoke.
I hope you found my top things to try in Tokyo list helpful, and I'd love to know if there's anything you'd add to your itinerary. Happy travelling!