What Should I Do On My Trip To Japan?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hello all. I am traveling to Japan very soon, and I would like to hear your advice about what to do and see while I am there.

Some background: I will be there May 27th through June 6th. I will be staying in Tokyo, in Shibuya. I love sushi and ramen, and I am looking forward to the food there. I would like to visit one fancier sushi restaurant while I am there. I expect I will mostly do touristy stuff, but any suggestions are welcome. I do not speak any Japanese whatsoever, but I will try to learn a small number of the most important phrases to use. I have never been to Japan before. I collect retro video games and I especially enjoy Japanese role playing games, so I expect I will visit some arcades and some retro video game stores there. I plan to spend most of my time in Tokyo taking public transportation, but feel free to suggest a day trip out of the city.

What do you all suggest? Please let me know!

And one bonus request: please let me know about Japanese etiquette. I understand that there are some rules of etiquette in Japan that may not be known to a tourist. I do know that as a foreigner who does not speak Japanese, it is not expected that I will know all the nuances of etiquette. I also understand that unless I am very rude, likely no one will correct me for small lapses of etiquette. But I would like any advice you have about proper tourist etiquette for Japan. I think observing as many of these rules as possible is polite and shows respect for the culture.

Thanks for any suggestions you may have. You’ll help me make a great vacation even better.

2

I have not been to Tokyo but my best friend has traveled there several times a year for the past 30 years and I asked him for a few tips:

  • Super Potato is the most famous retro game store in Tokyo (he thinks), located in Akihabara (he said it is well worth the visit if you like that stuff).
  • He suggested a couple good sushi restaurants: Matsue in Shibuya Scramble Square and Takumi Shingo. Certainly there will be some other excellent sushi places. Tokyo is huge so check around. Your hotel concierge (if it has one) can certainly help with this too.
  • For some day trips he suggested: Hakone (hot springs), Nikko (shrines, historic), Kamakura (he said it is very beautiful around when you will be there…research that one).

He noted taxis are expensive so use mass transit when you can (Google Maps will work so make sure you have arranged for internet service while there and figure out how to pay while you are there…he said he uses Suica…this video may help…this other video also seems helpful).

Also note that you can download local maps to your phone so Google Maps will work to some extent even without internet service.

Also, get familiar using Google Translate on your phone (or some other app that does translations). It can help a lot in a pinch. You can also use Google Lens to translate. Just point it at a sign or menu with your camera and it will translate what it sees (kinda cool). Practice using them before you leave. (also note, you can download language packs so if there is no internet connection it can still work).

3

For reasonably priced food, including sushi, go to the konbini, convenience store. The big chains are 7-11 and Lawson. I loved their onigiri. Pictures here: 7-Eleven Japan Review From An American
Must-Buy Snacks and Drinks at Lawson Convenience Stores in Japan - WAmazing Discover

And for some reason I needed cash on my last trip 10+ years ago; the easiest place to get it was 7-11. Their ATMs are compatible with the US Cirrus network.

The vending machines are interesting too. We found out from a friend who used to work in that industry that there are several hundred types of drink that they introduce and rotate. They’re all over, with loads of them around the train stations.

4

For the last part of your post, I wouldn’t worry very much about knowing a lot about etiquette, they really don’t expect it. If your manner is polite and respectful, that will over-ride any details or slight mis-steps.

As for the language, you will find many people in Tokyo who speak some English, although many are too embarrassed to try it, and their accents can be pretty difficult. English is taught from Junior High through High School, but not many native speakers, so there are students who want to practice with a native speaker, sometimes they can be very helpful. Train station and other place names are almost always printed in Roman letters. Getting around in Tokyo may be a bit complicated because there are so many train and subway lines. If you are staying at a hotel, they will be your best source of help and advice. I also have been well served by standing in front of the giant railway or subway map on the wall at a station and looking bewildered, someone will nearly always ask if they can help.

If you are willing to spend for a bullet train, you can go pretty far for a day trip. The places I would want to see again (I haven’t been for maybe 10 years) would be Kamakura, south of Tokyo past Yokohama on the Shonan coast, which is an old feudal capital from the 12th-13th centuries, it has a very large outdoor Buddha, and lots of other Buddhist shrines and Shinto temples, plus lots of crafts; Kyoto (2.5 hrs by bullet train) to the west, beautiful imperial capital until the 19th century, full of temples and shrines (my favorite is Kiyomizudera); and Nara, an even older imperial capital just to the east of Kyoto, with a giant indoor Buddha, and slightly feral deer that you can feed yourself. One place I find uninteresting is the big gaudy Shinto shrine to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the long-lasting shogun dynasty in the early 17th century, but I know lots of people like it. If you do go, take a few minutes to walk outside the main gate, turn right until you come to a lovely, quiet, subdued and subtle Buddhist temple next door, and take a break from the crimson and gold.

Good luck, and I hope you have fun!

5

Post above mine right on the money.
Been a while since I’ve been other than overnight at Narita which I enjoyed…had I done what I intended and rented a motorcycle for 5 days I would not have a broken leg that is still bothersome.

Be very careful with prescription drugs…ie anything containing pseudoephridine which many cough, flu and allergy medicines contain. It’s very proscribed to bring in yet ironically available in the local pharmacies. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Food is always a hilight.
Try Shabu Shabu tho that’s best done with a friend over a leisurely meal.
Be aware of the difference between Chinese run Japanese eateries. ( btw you can order from the window displays which are a tourist atraction on their own)
Chinese version you get more food, lower price not quite the presentation.
Japanese version, small meal, higher price, superb presentation and you likely will want more to eat.
The price differences can be very high.

Feel free to be very noisy sucking up noodles in the noodles eateries…it’s the done thing.

The subways are fantastic but remember Tokyo has the same population as Canada in a space the size of Toronto.
It is very safe.
The vending machines are fascinating

Shinjuku with all the tech products on display is like a worlds fair every day. You will be amazed at the goods just left on display with no one around as casual theft is just not done by Japanese …it would a social horror show for the perp.

Be a little careful wandering at 11 pm as the taxi cabs all pick people up then and the major city lights you might navigate with will go out.
There is a terrifically funny movie called Enlightment Guaranteed about a pair of German mine workers who have nver travelled in their life who decide to visit a monastery in Japan.

The ensuing comedy is priceless and worth chasing the movie.

Cultural shock all around.

Mount Fuji is worth a visit and so is Kyoto for the temples. Kyoto would give you a ride on the super train and you could have a bento box meal while scenery whizzes by. Good memorable experience all around.

Tokyo fish market if still accessible is wonderful and meals are fresh.

Many establishments, shops, night clubs etc are stacked vertically with a common entrance at ground level and many floors of related activities …say a night club, or karaoke bar all in the same stack.
So getting to an address can be tricky - many directions are by building.

Have fun and I think the yen is down for you.

6

My general one sentence rundown of a few tourist spots in Tokyo:

Meiji Jingu. Very pretty, worth the time to walk through.

Senso-ji. Also worth it, though by the time you’ve done this and Meiji Jingu you might be temple and shrined out.

Tokyo National Museum. A nice collection, but what’s on display felt rather small though I may have been biased by the Freer-Sackler and the British Museum.

Tokyo Metropolitan Building. Free admission to an observation level, what’s not to love?

Tokyo Skytree: Not worth the cost, especially when there’s that free option.

Ghibli Museum: A must for Ghibli fans or anime fans in general, plan well ahead to already have a ticket. Also, have fun taking a bus (I found the bus system less tourist friendly than the subway).

Ahkihabara. Probably worth it, at least for poking through a couple stores, but no need to spend more than a couple hours.

Ameyoko. See Ahkihabara.

Asakusa. I’d say it’s the most interesting of the three I listed, and I’m not going to keep naming wards.

Anyway, I found some of the best times I had was just walking through parts of Tokyo. A nice evening in a more residential area, walking through a park people watching. Walking from Senso-ji across the Sumida to get to the Skytree and spending time in the park by the river. Also, making the mistake on the same walk of being lured in by the promise of AC and getting pretty heavily proselytized by a Buddhist sect. Finding a flea market set up in a park near the metro government building. Stuff like that.

7

That reminds me @RayMan - If you see an Nvidia RTX 5080 on sale pick one up for me! I’d pay you back and buy you dinner (they are quite expensive). (Apparently though, this has become such a problem with people, especially Chinese, traveling to Japan to get these cards that vendors now refuse to sell them to foreigners).

8

Principal Skinner’s “thin stew” is my 7-11 onigiri. I went close to madness trying to find it in the states, but they just can’t get the salmon right.

I practically lived off 7-11 onigiri for my 4 years in Japan (15 years ago now), and if it hadn’t been for COVID I’d have gone back there during my gap year between getting out of the Navy and starting law school just for the onigiri. I’d have rented a hotel room, stocked the mini-fridge with onigiri and coke (guess which kind!) and gorged myself for however many days.

I’ve already climbed Fuji. There’s nothing else I need to do except get my fix of onigiri.

Well, that and maybe take the high speed ferry from Tokyo to Oshima Island. Maybe rent a bike and ride around the island. Went past it many times coming out of or returning to port, but never got to see it from up close.

9

I forgot to mention, when my friend mentioned taxis he said you do NOT try to open the door yourself (either to enter or leave). The driver has a mechanism that does it for you (and apparently you really can’t do it on your own anyway). I don’t really get it but I guess it is a thing there. Maybe I misunderstood him though (we were mostly talking about some other stuff).

10

We did the day trip to Nikko and we enjoyed it. (I’m not sure if that’s the “gaudy shrine” that Roderick_Femm was referring to.) We did get a little bored of shrines and temples after a while, though.

One thing I’ll note: when we went to Japan, I kind of expected that there would be an amazing restaurant around every corner, but we had some fairly mediocre meals mixed in with our good meals. So I would suggest doing more research than we did (i.e. more than none) before picking a place to eat!

11

Actually was thinking of Akihabara not Shinjuku for tech.

I agree on the restaurant comment…do your research and prepare to spend if you want a life long memory.

12

Honestly, if you just want to see a decent Japanese buddhist temple, the one in Narita (a few minutes from the Narita international airport) is pretty good. Sure, it’s not one of the “must see” buddhist temples, but you won’t feel cheated if that’s the only one you get to in Japan. And an hour or two before going to the airport probably is just right.

Are you going solo or with someone?

Not sure what else you like? be helpful if you just name a few random things, and we can chime in if something might scratch that itch. For example, There are mountains in the Tokyo suburbs accessible by subway, that has gondola rides to the top if you’re into that. Tokyo Disneyland is a fun alternate universe type thing. They have (or had) evening tickets, which are a lot cheaper, and might be enough for a cultural experience. My kids and I loved it.

Yoyogi Park to see Japanese teens, tweens go wild on a Sunday can be fun. (I think that is still a thing, it’s been decades since I did that)

13

Unfortunately, the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra aren’t playing while
you’re there… I’d definitely go to see that !

14

Forget the day trips to elsewhere for your short stay. Tokyo metro area is huge, as in packed with things to do and see. Department stores take up entire city blocks, lower floors are restaurants, groceries, and more. Electronic stores are equally massive. The crush can be too much at times. Just find the nearest green space/park and decompress. Every train/subway station is packed with food choices. You could spend your entire vacation within just a few blocks. Pick a few from the excellent suggestions above and enjoy. It will be overload to a first time visitor.

15

Public behavior in Japan is reserved, orderly, and law abiding, which is kind of the opposite of our behavior in the U.S. I suggest researching “Etiquette in Japan” because our reputation as Americans is already bad enough. LOL

16

When I was there in 2008 I went to the Nintendo flagship store. It didn’t disappoint, and since you’re into JRPGs I highly recommend it. If you’re feeling adventurous WRT food, I’d try having fugu. The sort of places that would cater to American tourists typically use farm raised fugu that lacks the microorganism that produces tetrodotoxin, so it should be safe but still provide the thrill of eating something out of the ordinary that would be extremely difficult to find in the US.

17

Japan is the only place where i never jaywalk.

I had some kind of… Savory omelet thing? I didn’t know how to describe it, but it was really good. I enjoyed the gardens and shrines, which are both plentiful. And the department stores. Wow! And waking on the streets.

18

I speak some Japanese, have studied quite a bit about Japanese history and culture, and I watch a lot of Japanese television. Despite that, I’ve never been to Japan.

Were I to go, apart from other sites, I would try to visit the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum, because it looks fascinating: https://www.raumen.co.jp/english/

Friends of mine who have visited Japan have said the etiquette wasn’t much of an issue as long as they remained polite and more or less did what other people did when in crowds. Tokyo is a pretty metropolitan city filled with foreigners, so people have likely seen it all.

19

I second this, its a magical place. If you go bring me back a barrel of the sacred sake, wine or scotch whiskey.

I also walked to a dojo nearby where they practicing tradional fighting with poles. Just don’t take pictures, because I kind of pissed them off when I did so. :slight_smile:

20

If the Giants are playing at home, take in a ballgame at the Tokyo Dome. I won’t spoil it (and I’m unaware of your nationality) but I can guarantee it is one of the most culturally fascinating events a North American can see in Tokyo.