Great stuff to do in Tokyo for FREE!
Tokyo doesn’t have to be expensive. There are super fun free things to do all over the place, if you just know where to look. Shrines and temples dish up … Continue reading Great stuff to do in Tokyo for FREE!
Author: Jonelle Patrick
Cherry blossom season isn’t the only great time to visit Japan
Everybody always wants to crowd into Japan to see the fluffy pink things, but cherry blossom season is far from the only time that Tokyo delivers yowzah-level flower extravaganzas. So I made a … Continue reading Cherry blossom season isn’t the only great time to visit Japan
Akihabara Area
Akihabara is all about maid cafés, cosplay supply stores & all things electronic. It’s where the new, newer, newest of electronics, household goods (like smart toilet seats) and everything J-pop is sold. … Continue reading Akihabara Area
Aki-Oka Artisan Co-op
Each shop is filled with cool new stuff made with age-old methods, and is run by an artist. They all use traditional Japanese techniques to make very untraditional designs, and some shops … Continue reading Aki-Oka Artisan Co-op
Aoyama-Itchome Area
This is the home of my favorite place to see and buy crafts from all over Japan: the Japan Traditional Craft Center. Walking around this store is like getting a primo art … Continue reading Aoyama-Itchome Area
Asakusa Area
This is where I often take people on their first day in Tokyo. It’s everything you think Japan should be – traditional festivals, a secret garden, temples & more. Asakusa … Continue reading Asakusa Area
Asakusa-bashi Area
I can tell you’re already asking yourself: why would anyone want to get off the train in this obscure neighborhood? Come with me, and let me show you the three … Continue reading Asakusa-bashi Area
Calico Cat Cafe
Experience the legendary cat & coffee thing, sipping a latte and petting the kitties at a real Tokyo cat café! My favorite cat café – the Calico, in Shinjuku – has … Continue reading Calico Cat Cafe
Ebisu Area
Ebisu is a great place to find hoppin’ bars, eateries & even a beer museum. One of the most fun, authentic and cheap places to get a taste of Tokyo … Continue reading Ebisu Area
Edo-Tokyo Museum
The Edo-Tokyo Museum is my favorite museum in town. Half the museum is about everyday life in the Edo Era (during the time of the shōguns, before Japan opened to the West) … Continue reading Edo-Tokyo Museum
Fukagawa-Edo Museum
Are you ready for a little time travel? One step inside this shitamachi museum, and we’ll find ourseves in the streets of a lovingly recreated Edo-era town. Open: Every day and … Continue reading Fukagawa-Edo Museum
Ginza Area
Ginza is so last century, but there are still hidden delights well worth seeking out in the most famous luxury shopping ghetto in Tokyo And the Mitsukoshi department store (exit A7) is … Continue reading Ginza Area
Gotoku-ji Temple
The lucky cat temple with a magnificent wooden pagoda, Gotoku-ji is a serene and uncrowded temple seldom visited by tourists. It’s a great place to see plum blossoms (Feb) and autumn leaves … Continue reading Gotoku-ji Temple
Hama-Rikyu Teien Garden
This garden used to be the shogun’s duck hunting grounds, but now it’s an enormous stroll garden that’s beautiful in every season. Famous for its plum orchard, mid-late Feb) and cosmos … Continue reading Hama-Rikyu Teien Garden
Harajuku Area
Harajuku is home to the beautiful and serene Meiji Shrine, the wacky free entertainment of Yoyogi Park, and more cult fashion shops than you can count. First let’s stop at the Meiji … Continue reading Harajuku Area
Hasedera Temple
Kamakura is stuffed with entertaining shrines and temples, but this is the only one with a hillside of gorgeous hydrangeas, a thirty-foot-tall Kannon figure covered in gold, and a candle-lit … Continue reading Hasedera Temple
Harry Hedgehog Cafe
Turn down the volume on your squee-meter, unless you want to lose a little more of your hearing! Check out the little prickle monsters you can snuggle up with at Tokyo’s Harry Hedgehog … Continue reading Harry Hedgehog Cafe
Ikebukuro Area
I love to wander through a faux Meiji Era town eating savory Japanese dumplings, then roam around the LABI electronics superstore to see all the strange toys and appliances. Inside a huge shopping … Continue reading Ikebukuro Area
Inari-cho Area
I call this the “funeral goods district,” but there’s nothing depressing about the street where they sell intricately-pieced Shinto shrines and Buddhist home altars. First, let me explain why most Japanese describe … Continue reading Inari-cho Area
Japan Traditional Craft Center
This place sells handcrafted stuff from all over Japan, at excellent prices. Every part of Japan has its own traditional crafts, and walking around this store is like getting a … Continue reading Japan Traditional Craft Center
Jindai Botanical Gardens
I came for the azaleas, then ran back again every month, because this garden’s flower displays are seriously impressive, year round. Many botanical gardens sacrifice landscape design to cram in … Continue reading Jindai Botanical Gardens
Kamakura Day Trip
Let’s get out of Tokyo for a day, and see some of the most entertaining shrines and temples in Japan. First, let’s go to the Zeni-Arai Benten Shrine and double our … Continue reading Kamakura Day Trip
Kamiya-cho Area
Kamiya-cho? Why would anyone want to get off the train at Kamiya-cho? Actually, from Kamiya-cho Station, we can walk to that incongruously orange replica of the EiffelTower and a … Continue reading Kamiya-cho Area
Kanda Myōjin Shrine
Sure, Kanda Myōjin is a gorgeous red and gold shrine, but the best part is that this is the place where comic book artists and anime auteurs come to pray … Continue reading Kanda Myōjin Shrine
Kappabashi Street
I can’t let you leave Tokyo without going to Kappabashi Street. Even if you’re not a big foodie, the kitchenware district is filled with all kinds of entertaining things, including … Continue reading Kappabashi Street
Kiyosumi-shirakawa Area
This old-fashioned neighborhood is an undiscovered gem, with a serene (and uncrowded!) garden and the Fukagawa-Edo Museum – a life-sized samurai-era town you can walk around. As you can see, … Continue reading Kiyosumi-shirakawa Area
Kiyosumi Teien Garden
This is my go-to garden for soul-restoring serenity. Kiyosumi Teien Garden doesn’t put on spectacular flower displays, but a walk around the greenery-cloaked lake dishes up perfect Japanese vistas at … Continue reading Kiyosumi Teien Garden
Komagome Area
Komagome has two of the most beautiful Japanese gardens in Tokyo, stores that sell traditional goods, and an old-fashioned Japanese shopping street. Let’s start at Rikugi-en. This garden was built in 1695 by the … Continue reading Komagome Area
Koraku-en Area
Stroll in a 17th century Japanese garden, cheer with the world’s craziest baseball fans, or ride a roller coaster that goes straight through a Tokyo skyscraper. Let’s start at Koshikawa Koraku-en garden, an oasis … Continue reading Koraku-en Area
Koshinzuka Street Market
Shop for big red underwear, squicky snacks & goods from a bygone era. Walking along Koshinzuka Street is like taking a step back in time, and I always see something I’ve … Continue reading Koshinzuka Street Market
Kudanshita Area
This neighborhood is home to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and the magnificent Imperial Palace moat. From an extensive World War II museum to spectacular seasonal festivals, this area is also boasts … Continue reading Kudanshita Area
Meiji Shrine
The Meiji Shrine has the most spectacular weddings, coming-of-age ceremonies, festivals and traditional events in town. Many people find it more beautiful than all the brightly lacquered shrines put together. … Continue reading Meiji Shrine
Monzen-nakacho Area
This Old Tokyo shitamachi neighborhood has a temple where we can watch a fire ceremony with taiko drums, a dragon fountain that grants wishes written on dissolving paper, and is one of the most … Continue reading Monzen-nakacho Area
Mt. Takao Area
At Mt. Takao, you can go hiking, monkey-viewing, beer drinking & firewalking just an hour from Tokyo. Hours of cable car/chairlift to the top:8:00 – 21:15. (Note: These change seasonally. Detailed info about first … Continue reading Mt. Takao Area
Nakano Area
Nakano Broadway is fast catching up to Akihabara as the cosplay & comic capital of Tokyo, and there’s a great grill-at-your-table restaurant for refuelling when you’ve shopped ’til you dropped. Just a short … Continue reading Nakano Area
Yanaka Area
Yanaka is one of the best, undiscovered, Old Tokyo neighborhoods in town, filled with traditional shops and excellent shrines and temples. Let’s start at the Nezu Shrine, which is my … Continue reading Yanaka Area
Nihonbashi Area
Nihonbashi is home to Tokyo’s most famous bridge, a department store where the best of Japanese culture is on display, and Art Aquarium, a must-see, only-in-Japan summertime event. The Mitsukoshi flagship store … Continue reading Nihonbashi Area
Nihon Minka-en Thatch-Roofed Farmhouses
A village of thatch-roofed farmhouses you can go inside! You don’t have to go to Okayama to see traditional Japanese houses – the Nihon Minka-en is a beautiful natural park set … Continue reading Nihon Minka-en Thatch-Roofed Farmhouses
Nishiarai-Daishi Temple
This off-the-beaten-path temple is famous for its peony gardens (April) and its wart-curing shrine, but it’s also a great place for seasonal festivals and markets that are not at all … Continue reading Nishiarai-Daishi Temple
Odaiba Area
Odaiba is a man-made island out in Tokyo Bay, and it’s home to the kind of experiences you’ll definitely tell your friends about when you get home. The hot spring theme park, the … Continue reading Odaiba Area
Oedo Onsen Hot Springs
This indoor hot springs theme park is a real only-in-Japan experience – it’s like spending a day in Old Edo, with every kind of food and variety of hot … Continue reading Oedo Onsen Hot Springs
Origami Center
Would you like to see how they make origami paper and ogle some amazing examples of the art of paper folding? Let’s go to the Origami Kaikan, where they always … Continue reading Origami Center
Rikugi-en Garden
If you love Japanese gardens, we have to go to Rikugi-en. This gorgeous stroll garden features 88 real-life views from famous poems, and is artfully designed to look different – … Continue reading Rikugi-en Garden
Roppongi Area
Roppongi is known for its skeezy nightlife and drunken tourists, but it also has a couple of provocative museums, an interesting art night, and the best holiday illuminations in Tokyo. … Continue reading Roppongi Area
Ryogoku Area
The sumo stadium and the Edo-Tokyo Museum are both right next to Ryogoku Station. If you’re lucky enough to be in Tokyo during the three 14-day sumo tournaments of the year, … Continue reading Ryogoku Area
Sankei-en Garden
This venerable garden in Yokohama has a huge pond and a lot of interesting historical buildings, including a spectacular pagoda. It makes for a fine, meandering walk in any season, … Continue reading Sankei-en Garden
Sasuke Inari Shrine
Tiny, moss-covered, fox villages make this shrine extra-magical. Walk through the shadowy tunnel of orange torii gates, and you’ll find yourself in another world. The shrine seems to grow out of the … Continue reading Sasuke Inari Shrine
Sengaku-ji Temple
You know the story of the 47 ronin? The samurai who avenged their lord, then were all ordered to commit ritual suicide? Well, this is the temple where they’re actually … Continue reading Sengaku-ji Temple
Shibuya Area
This is where you’ll find that crazy scramble intersection and the neighborhood where young Tokyo goes to play. Even if you’re not an under-25 shopoholic making a beeline for the … Continue reading Shibuya Area
Shimo-kitazawa Area
Looking for a funky and inexpensive evening of bar hopping and live music? Shimo-kitazawa is my favorite place to find decent food, eccentric bars, excellent craft beer, and awesome music … Continue reading Shimo-kitazawa Area
