So my first travel post went pretty well and I wanted to follow up here with some more details about the city of Tokyo and some of the areas nearby. My second time around in Japan I had a much lower budget, but I knew I still wanted to go back there to see more. This time I spent my time mostly in the Tokyo area to see a lot of the things I missed and try to see just how affordable I can make this trip. I bought the tickets to Tokyo in the fall to fly out there in late March. The tickets were incredibly affordable and the airline was actually Japan's own Nippon Airways. Let me say that Nippon Airways was a really great airline to fly out with. The flight is going to be long and punishing no matter what (unless you can afford first-class), but Nippon Airways really did a great job at making it as painless as possible. Now I will say this: try not to fly back into Chicago if possible when returning from an overseas flight unless you have a really long layover or are staying there. They separate the international arrivals into two different buildings and it takes forever to get through security and out into the domestic flights terminal. I nearly missed my connecting flight because of how terrible the setup is there, so I'll always try to avoid returning to the USA by Chicago and you should too on layovers less than 3 hours.
This time I was going to Japan during its peak tourism time. The flight was way cheaper, but all the hotels were double the price from when I went just a few months ago in September. If you go during this time, just be prepared to pay a lot for hotels in popular locations. I stayed just outside the city at this small place run by this older Japanese couple called the Canaan Hotel not too far from Kawasaki, about a10 minute train ride into Tokyo. It was actually decent for the price, but no one spoke any English there so it was a little hard to communicate at times, but I got by just fine. The hotel is in this quiet area that's not very tourist heavy so it was actually kind of nice to be surrounded by more locals despite the language barrier. I actually really loved how hard some of the locals try to make outsiders like me feel comfortable and try their best to communicate (just my experience in this area). The picture above is the area at night, even in the dark hours I felt safe and relaxed here. So the rest of this will be sharing a few locations I really enjoyed visiting and what you can see and do there.
Day 1: Kamakura
About an hour away from Tokyo by train is a beautiful town on the south coast that's full of amazing history. If you're looking for some temples and a more relaxing kind of day then this place is for you. It's the perfect place to walk around and enjoy some beautiful architecture. There's the famous Kotoko-in temple where there's a giant statue of Buddha and some great temples with unique visuals and experiences. That alongside lots of great places to get some great Japanese food makes it a great place to spend the day. There's also the beach that's not too far from this area if you're looking for some sun time.
Day 2: Kawagoe
This time we'll be going north of Tokyo, about an hour by train. The small town of Kawagoe is a really great place to stop if you want to go shopping for traditional Japanese gifts or souvenirs. The area has this cool mixture of modern and old historical buildings that make the area feel really unique to anything you'd find in Tokyo. You get lots of little shops and vendors where you can buy some street food that's really good and not expensive, just be sure to have some cash here for the vendors.
Day 3: Shinjuku
If you're looking for the Tokyo nightlife experience this is the place to go. Lots of neon lights everywhere, tons of bars and arcades around the area, and of course... karaoke. There's even a big Godzilla statue on top of the movie theater staring at you. This is an area of Tokyo that's a little busier and more chaotic than maybe some of the other areas, especially at night. That being said it's still very safe as is most of Tokyo. Even wondering at night alone I never really felt in danger in any way. I will say if you happen to be alone in this area you may get some annoying salespeople trying to get you to come into bars or to get a "massage", but nothing too bad and not aggressive at all. If you're looking for a more "nerdy" version of this experience then check out Akihabara on the east side of Tokyo, there you'll find tons of arcades and anime stores with the same aesthetic as you'd find in Shinjuku.
While you're in Shinjuku be sure to buy tickets to the Robot Restaurant. It's one of the weirdest things you'll see in Tokyo, but it's so much fun. It's basically a dinner show where a bunch of neon floats that look like crazy robots carry performers around as they dance, play music, and battle. It's one of the most Japanese things you'll see in Japan... if that makes sense. It does look like the show closed down for COVID and still hasn't been reopened, so it could be closed for a while longer.
Short Stop: Fukagawa
Across the Sumida River to the east of Tokyo is a less popular area called Fukagawa. It's a little out of the way, but there was one thing I really wanted to see here and I'd recommend anyone who's in Tokyo for a few days. There's an Edo Period museum here that's pretty cool and worth checking out. Inside the museum is a replica of a village during the Edo Period in Japan. There you can get a tour in English and they take you through the entire village explaining how everyone lived back then and showing you the tools they used and buildings they visited and lived in. It's really interesting and does a great job of helping you imagine life back in that time. You can even explore the replica houses on the inside which was really fun. It's a bit out of the way, but worth visiting to learn something new.
Day 4: Ueno
One of the best places to go in the spring if you're looking for some beautiful sights and tons of Cherry Blossoms. There are a ton of things to do here besides just walking around the beautiful park and lake area. There's a big zoo in the area that has some pandas if you've never had the chance to see one. There's also the Tokyo National Museum and an Art & Science Museum around that same area. Then you can head to the Ameyoko shopping district not too far from that area to find some food and stores that sell anything you could probably think of.
Day 5: Shibuya / Cat Street
I mentioned Shibuya in my first post which you can check out
right here. There are some other stops in Tokyo I talk about there if you want more ideas after reading this one. Going back to Shibuya this time around to check out the Cat Street area specifically. There you'll find a ton of stores in a long street with lots of interesting art and some great food (if you're looking for some nice restaurants especially). Most of the stores are ones you might recognize around the States, but it's still a nice place to stop by when you're in the Shibuya area.
Day 6 (and possibly 7): Tokyo Disneyland / DisneySea
Just outside of Tokyo to the east are the big Disney parks in Japan. There are two parks here, one that's more familiar to California Disneyland and one that's a completely unique park to Japan. If you can only visit one, then of course check out the unique DisneySea park. It cost a little less than 70$ at the time I went back in 2019, but I'm not sure if that price has changed at all since then (after looking it up, it looks like the average price is closer to 80$ now, which is still better than the USA parks).
Getting to the parks is pretty easy as you can use the rail system anywhere in Tokyo to get to them. It can take up to an hour though depending on what part of Tokyo you're staying in and how busy the day is. It's a good idea to get there as early as possible to be able to enjoy all the park has to offer. In Tokyo Disney there isn't a fast pass you can purchase, instead, every ride has a ticketing system you use that will tell you what time to come back to skip the line. You can only have two tickets at a time, so it's like a weird game you have to play in order to maximize your time there. Still, as long as you get there early you'll have time to enjoy everything.
News came out recently that the Rail Pass for tourists will be increasing in price by a good amount. The JR Rail Pass is a great deal if you're staying in Japan and plan on going to Kyoto, Osaka, and other cities far from Tokyo. It gives you unlimited rides on the JR lines and that includes the bullet trains that travel across the country. The price will be going from an affordable $220 7-day pass to $370. Probably still worth getting if you're going to be riding across the country and then back to Tokyo, but the increase is significant enough that it makes me wonder if finding a flight to Kyoto/Osaka might be better.
Be sure to pick up a PASMO card when arriving in Tokyo as soon as possible. These can be loaded up with money and scanned at all stations for rails and buses around Tokyo. It's the easiest and cheapest way to get around without having to purchase individual tickets to every trip you make. There's also a tourist-only version that has more fun designs and comes with discounts to certain shops, restaurants, and fun activities. While you're riding on trains and buses be sure to be quiet and not talk on your phone or play music as Japanese culture has an emphasis on not being a bother to those around you and being respectful. You can use Google Maps to help you find every station and platform to board and what time you need to be there.
Some other small tips here are: Always carry some cash, there are still a decent amount of places that only want cash. Also, most places want you to put cash on a plastic tray and not just hand it to the person directly. Also, you don't need to tip here usually.
Traveling early in the morning (8-9am) and around 5PM can be a hassle and the subways/trains can get really full to the point of being squished inside, so avoid if possible.
Much like other cities, the buses and rails don't run 24hrs so make sure you use them while they're open or you'll be taking a cab or walking.
Tokyo is a very clean place, but for some reason it's hard to find trash cans around the city. That means you may have to carry trash with you for a while.
Convenience stores like 7/11 and Lawson sell pretty affordable meals if you're trying to save money and actually... they are pretty decent meals you wouldn't expect from a place like 7/11.
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