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
Author: Jonelle Patrick
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 … Continue reading Yanaka Area
Nihonbashi Shopping District
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 Shopping District
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 know 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
Ryogoku is where we’ll go to see sumo wrestlers and my favorite museum in Tokyo – the sumo stadium and the Edo-Tokyo Museum are both right next to Ryogoku Station. If you’re lucky … 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 … 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 … 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 … Continue reading Shibuya Area
Shimo-kitazawa Area
Want 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
Shinjuku Area
Shinjuku and the adult entertainment district known as Kabukicho are filled with stylish host clubs, bars, and all kinds of entertainment that’s definitely not for kids. But it’s also where … Continue reading Shinjuku Area
Shinjuku Gyō-en National Garden
There’s a reason that Shinjuku Gyō-en is one of the most-visited gardens in Tokyo – it’s utterly amazing all year long. You can walk for hours, and around every … Continue reading Shinjuku Gyō-en National Garden
Showa Kinen Park
This spacious park in Tachikawa has something for everyone: a fountain-studded promenade lined with ginkgo trees, a huge Japanese garden with an excellent bonsai collection, spectacular seasonal color, and a bouncy mountain, multiple playgrounds, & lots … Continue reading Showa Kinen Park
Ueno Area
It always baffles me that guidebooks send people to Ueno for all the wrong reasons. For example, if you go during cherry blossom season, chances are, all you’ll see is this: … Continue reading Ueno Area
Yasukuni Shrine
This is a gorgeous, lively, maddeningly nationalistic, must-see Imperial shrine. If you follow Japanese news at all, every year you’ll hear about the Yasukuni Shrine. It’s the place where the … Continue reading Yasukuni Shrine
Yokohama
For a day trip that’s a mix of cutting edge energy and timeless gardens, let’s go to Yokohama. It’s got a big Japanese garden, Pokemon and art that lights up the night. … Continue reading Yokohama
Yoyogi Park
The best free entertainment in Tokyo – from rockabillies to skateboarding dogs – Yoyogi Park never disappoints. Six days a week, Yoyogi Park is a peaceful sea of green in the … Continue reading Yoyogi Park
Yushima Shrine
I love the Yushima shrine because it’s beautiful, and hosts some of the most stunning seasonal festivals in all of Tokyo. If you’re in Tokyo in March of November, the plum … Continue reading Yushima Shrine
Zojo-ji Temple
I never get tired of visiting the avenues of Zojo-ji’s lovely, colorful Jizo figures with their spinning pinwheels. Zojo-ji Temple is also the site of seven shoguns’ graves and a fine place to … Continue reading Zojo-ji Temple
About
Hi, I’m Jonelle Patrick. So glad our paths have crossed! I’m a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Language Institute, and a member of the Mystery Writers of … Continue reading About
Read a mystery set in Tokyo
NIGHTSHADE Holding girls’ hands for the very last time was his specialty… A young woman is found dead in an abandoned car, with a pair of strangers old enough to be her … Continue reading Read a mystery set in Tokyo
Read a mystery set in Tokyo
NIGHTSHADE Holding girls’ hands for the very last time was his specialty… A young woman is found dead in an abandoned car, with a pair of strangers old enough to be her … Continue reading Read a mystery set in Tokyo
