Micah LeeI'm going to Japan for the first time soon! What are things that I should definitely check out in Tokyo?
savagejen@micahflee The Ghibli museum!
Mike McCue@micahflee Check out Kyoto while you're in Japan. You won't regret it.
xyhhx
Peter Pappas@micahflee Best dining - lunchtime. Amazing specials. Eat like a king.
Kevin Karhan 
@micahflee depends on what you're looking for.
@fuchsiii may know some places.
Personally I'd checkout the New Tsukiji Market, the small electronics stores that sell you basically all the small and hard-to-find stuff in Akihabara and don't forget to put on green tinted sunglasses and put this jam in your ears whilst walking around Shibuya Crossing.
Clubbed to Death - Matrix soundtrack
@micahflee if you feel extra adventurous you could check out some used electronics store for a bargain, like #MattKC did...
Buying a $1 Wii from Japan
@micahflee OFC you could also check out the numerous touristy spots and also enjoy #PublicTransport that works for the very vast majority of people...
According to @fuchsiii you really should check out some nice sushi place and consider asking the chef what he can make you for a fixed budget [i.e. 10k JPY] and you might get something like a tuna rainbow...
@micahflee but I guess @fuchsiii knows more nice places...
Also check out #iNok's #Ramen videos if you really want to get deep into that rabbit hole:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzwJr72j_iA
All MICHELIN starred Ramen Restaurants in Tokyo Japan. Konjiki Hototogisu, Nakiryu, Hachigo
Because #Japan has like a huge amount of #Foodporn...
https://youtu.be/SP3xRhfRJJQ?t=283
We Love CoCo Curry
@micahflee @fuchsiii But don't expect japanese Curry to be spicy...
https://youtu.be/7azk8AJJZCM?t=50
https://youtu.be/7azk8AJJZCM?t=50
MASSIVE Japanese Curry & GOLD Green Tea(Matcha) Ice Cream in Kyoto Japan
@micahflee @fuchsiii And don't forget to check out Japanese Breakfast!
How I Stopped Hating Breakfast
@micahflee @fuchsiii one thing that one is said to try besides Unagi and Scallops is Basashi...
What Does Japanese Raw Horse Sashimi Taste Like?
Evelyn Franco@micahflee Baseball game at the Tokyo Dome and (if available) Sumo basho
Jesse VincentWander around Akihabara. Go up the stairs in the smaller buildings into weird little shops.
Have brunch at Bill’s in Omotesando. Everything is fantastic.
I don't know it’s like around the new Tsukiji fish market, but there's almost certainly 4am jetlagged sushi there. It's going to be among the best fish of your life.
Walk through Tokyu Hands.
Check out the fake food displays on Kappabashi Street.
@micahflee Go to a department store at lunch time. The basement grocery store is astonishing. And (at least pre-pandemic) oh-em-gee all the free samples.
What kinds of things are you into?
Dr Pieter Peach@micahflee The toilet seats
Sam Wade@micahflee The Tokyu Hands flagship in Shibuya. From @GreatDismal: “Tokyu Hands assumes that the customer is very serious about something … My own delight at this place, an entire department store radiating obsessive-compulsive desire, was immediate and intense.” https://gwern.net/doc/japan/art/2002-gibson Also the walk under the huge torii from Shinjuku to Harajuku past the Meiji Shrine. Also any konbini, and the drinks vending machines that are everywhere.
Shiny balls of Mud: William Gibson Looks at Japanese Pursuits of Perfection
Essay on minimalism, otaku, and hikikomori as esthetic choices reflecting an obsessive focus on perfection of a single activity, exemplified by the unusual sculpture form <em>dorodango</em> (hand-rolling mud into colorful spheres).
Kris Hardy@samuel_wade @micahflee @GreatDismal I literally thought that I had a sudden nerve condition when I grabbed a can from the vending machine and it was hot. My American brain was screaming at me "cAnS r CoLD!", and my hand was screaming "oh god, what did you just do!?!?"
@nonlinear @micahflee @GreatDismal The range of selection is one thing, and the mix of hot and cold drinks … but the ubiquity! I particularly appreciated this one (red, in the middle), surrounded by forest and rice fields, on a long, hot bike ride through rural Kyushu. Couldn't believe it when I saw it in the distance.
Olav@micahflee Yokohama, but definitely the Gundam
An 18-meter Gundam robot is really walking in Yokohama, Japan.
PersonalEscrito
Henry Chong@micahflee If you are in Kyoto, Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu is a chain of fried katsu meal. Go for the one near Kyoto station
@micahflee Go on a city-wide hunt to find every flavor of KitKats in the known universe.
Marc Jacobs@micahflee Go to the old school electronics in Akihabara’s “radio kaikan.” Like a farmer’s market for resistors or LEDs or other small components. Even if you don’t solder. Very different. Not corporate.
Bic Camera or Yodobashi Camera flagship stores.
Walk up Tokyo Tower.
Stroll through Yanaka Ginza. It’s a very old-school neighborhood.
Listen to recorded music in a Jazz Kissa (coffee shop) like Milestone in Takadanobaba.
Takeshita Dori for young women’s clothing shops.
Robert@micahflee the temple at Asakusa is worth visiting.
Also, if you use iPhone, you can add a Suica travel pass (works on all public transport) to your phone (or watch) in apple wallet before you leave. Can top it up from your device using Apple Pay as you go. Super convenient. Don’t know if Android has the same (but it probably does).
Dawangthang@micahflee I wrote a whole guide on various areas that I’ve visited. I need to get around to reviewing places on my Yelp but this should serve you good. One place that I know is missing is Silverball Planet in Osaka. Can’t recommend it enough. Also some things have changed since Covid but all the areas mentioned still exist. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-0BX2Hm2pRrnOpTHIKSO8ymkISZpt-GuFdfGijum2jA/edit
Wang's Guide to Japan
So you’re going to be visiting Japan! That’s wonderful! Here are a couple of tips from my trip I did. Also, I’ll list out all of the places I recommend checking out. Money: You may have heard that you’ll be using cash a lot more often than you would have expected during your visit. I’m happy to ...
@micahflee Go to a cat cafe, or another niche animal cafe. I liked the hedgehog cafe, personally.
Eat yakitori, or yakiton (pork version). Note these are drinking places, and usually allow smoking cigarettes.
Eat not-sushi at the fish market. There are restaurants serving the workers, for example a pasta shop. Outstanding food, no tourists. Note fish market work is night shift & people are eating dinner.
@trollball @micahflee There is a capybara cafe as well.
@micahflee teamLab Planets TOKYO. HTTPS://planets.teamlab.art
Joshua Thayer@micahflee if you coincide with the cherry blossoms in the spring, find someone to do a proper ohanami with. if you want to travel within the country, watch the cherry blossom maps and consider going somewhere they’re hitting!
Led By Gilded Fools@micahflee Was last there 3/11/2011 and here are a couple thoughts:
(0) don't go for the earthquakes
(1) Mount Takao near Hachioji) is a hike you can take from the train station to get an awesome view of Mt Fuji.
(2) You'll somehow end up in the very vast Shinjuku station, its worth walking all around.
(3) the big Buddha in Yokohama
(4) the gardens and moat around the imperial palace
(5) cherry blossom time is right now! lots of festivity.
(0) don't go for the earthquakes
(1) Mount Takao near Hachioji) is a hike you can take from the train station to get an awesome view of Mt Fuji.
(2) You'll somehow end up in the very vast Shinjuku station, its worth walking all around.
(3) the big Buddha in Yokohama
(4) the gardens and moat around the imperial palace
(5) cherry blossom time is right now! lots of festivity.
Ryu@micahflee Highly recommend that on your first or second day (when you're still waking early with jet lag) getting out to Toyosu fish market and having sushi breakfast at Daiwa there.
If you go in any odd month of the year there will be Sumo happening for a fifteen day period and it's awesome.
zoracon
Chay MacTavish@micahflee Shinjuku Golden Gai! Dense set of alleys with lots of tiny bars. Set yourself up in one for the night or move around if you can. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinjuku_Golden_Gai
Carlos Sierra 🌹@micahflee Not sure about Tokio but try to go to the Hiroshima Memorial. Is absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking.
Mark W. Gabby-Li 🐌@micahflee
Depending on how far you're willing to go, as it's about an hour by train from Tokyo Station, but the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum has my highest recommendation.
Depending on how far you're willing to go, as it's about an hour by train from Tokyo Station, but the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum has my highest recommendation.
CyberSeismology RocksDisneyland?
Phil Piwonka@micahflee Yoyogi Park, HEY Arcade in Akihabara. https://youtu.be/dDyRnrWH1xQ
Hirose Entertainment Yard (HEY) - the best Arcade in Akihabara's (Danmaku Heaven)
onur@micahflee 100% the Tokyo Tower 🗼
gray@micahflee since it’s spring now, would definitely recommend going Cherry Blossom viewing in Shinjuku National Park, Yoyogi, etc.
Also if you’re into temples and nature trails, there’s a bunch of them in Kamakura with the big buddha statue
Also if you’re into temples and nature trails, there’s a bunch of them in Kamakura with the big buddha statue
Devil Doll, Esq.@micahflee From personal experience:
Check out everything in, and about Japan, and its culture, that is NOT in Tokyo, or Kyoto...or any other big city.
Take a train to a random small town an hour away, get off, and have a meal in a local restaurant.
You will never form a more lasting memory of Japan than that of the humor, spirit, generosity and honor of the people.
That's what I remember most, anyway.
Tilman Beitter@micahflee the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (still on my list 😭) and japanese breakfest (skip the usual and lame european croissant and coffee stuff you get at the hotels 😉)
wildstylemum 
@micahflee
Either Kyoto or Osaka is better. Tokyo is boring.
Either Kyoto or Osaka is better. Tokyo is boring.
kai@micahflee I kinda love Lion Cafe in Shibuya: No talking inside, just sipping drinks and listening to classical records on full volume.
Also +👍 for bar crawl in the alleys of Golden Gai. And all the food everywhere of course: izakaya, ramen, okonomiyaki, etc... Japanese know how to eat.
@micahflee Last visit i spent way too much time (but not too much money!) shopping discount kimonos at this place: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y37jyypAf5B2KxFJ8
SamuelJohnson@micahflee Great replies. I found the cherry blossoms pretty enough but the excitement about it is a Japanese thing and that is enjoyable in itself. Hard to think of something not already mentioned but it might be worth a visiting a kaitenszsushi restaurant before / in case they all cease their traditional conveyor belt delivery of food after recent "sushi terrorism" incidents.
Watch some TV commercials and note gender roles to see where GOP would like to take US.
Visit a Pachinko parlor.
Matteo Giglioli@micahflee the Godzilla monument!!!
technicat
Fidel Ramos@micahflee In no particular order:
- Akihabara for the otaku experience
- Nakano Broadway as a more underground (some would say pure) otaku experience (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakano_Broadway)
- Takeshita Street.
- Go up to the Metropolitan Government Building observation decks: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3011_tocho.html
- Tokyo Tower.
- Roppongi Hills. Observation decks are great, maybe have dinner at a restaurant.
- Ameyoko market
- Kabukicho, the shady area of Shinjuku.
- Shibuya, Japan's fashion is so different.
@micahflee If you have enough time do a day trip to Kamakura. Take an early train, then walk around and visit some temples:
1. Hongakuji
2. Kōtoku-in. Second largest sitting Buddha statue in Japan (first one is in Nara, also a terrific visit).
3. Hasedera
You can stop on Yokohama on the way back, its Chinese district is the largest in Japan, hundreds of shops and restaurants.
@micahflee Another day trip from Tokyo that is very much worth is is Nikkō, with several temples that are World Heritage.
Hakone is a good visit on a clear day, for its views of Mt. Fuji.
If you are in the Kyoto-Osaka area take one day to visit Nara. Tōdai-ji and Kasuga-taisha are a must.
Kanazawa city has the best Japanese garden, Kenroku-en, if you have the time it's gorgeous.
Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Museum is a visit you won't forget.
Itsukushima temple at Miyajima island.
Richard S. Westmoreland 
@micahflee
Tokyo Station underground mall
Ebisu Garden Place
The side streets south of Shibuya Mark City mall
do you want to stay within Tokyo or venture out?
Jim Tittsler@micahflee Try to find the time to get out of Tokyo, at least as far as Kamakura and ideally into a rural area or two. The difference between Omotesando/Shibuya and many small towns is striking.
Akhmad Fathonih@micahflee connect with @craigmod maybe? Instead of the usual places, you can get something totally non popular yet very interesting.
Phil Gastwirth 
@micahflee
Gundam statues!
Gundam statues!
Margot Williams@micahflee https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news
I read this with longing and envy every day.. I had to cancel my Tokyo/Kyoto/Hiroshima trip last year 😭
I read this with longing and envy every day.. I had to cancel my Tokyo/Kyoto/Hiroshima trip last year 😭
PUCE TRAILBLAZERcheck out a hanami
get lots of recommendations for food
catch a Japanese baseball game
take the bullet train to Kyoto
spend half a day in Kamakura if the weather is nice
MercA couple of things I haven't seen mentioned:
* Sumo: The national sumo stadium is in Tokyo. The architecture of the place, the floating Shinto roof and all the ritual is really interesting. If there's a tournament on while you're there it could be interesting.
* Subways: Just use the subway system to get around. Tokyo's subway system is split into two systems run by two different companies, 3 if you also count the surface routes operated by Japan Rail.