The National Museum of Nature and Science is split between the Global Gallery and the Japan Gallery, but it’s the Japanese building that’s a delightfully only-in-Japan view of the natural world. … Continue reading National Museum of Nature and Science
This gem of a temple is home to one of the more unusual Buddhist saints – the Shibarare (pronounced she-bah-rah-ray) Jizo. Legend has it that this saint has a gift for … Continue reading Nanzo-in Temple: Home of the Shibarare Jizo
Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden is a restorative green oasis, set amid the tallest skyscrapers in Tokyo. Beautiful bridges, choice flowers in every season, and lush greenery make this classic Japanese … Continue reading Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden
This garden surrounds a majestic stone mansion, and is typical of the Meiji Era, right after Japan opened to the West. The grounds below the house are still an age-old … Continue reading Kyu Furukawa Garden
Yayoi Kusama might be the most well-known (and eccentric) modern artist living in Japan today, and last year she opened a jewel of a museum to showcase a rotating sample … Continue reading Kusama Museum
If you’d like to see a fire ceremony, make a wish at the dragon fountain, and say a prayer in the hall of the glow-in-the-dark saints, this is the temple for … Continue reading Fukugawa Fudo-san Temple (Narita-san)
If you see nothing else while you’re in Tokyo, see this. It’s truly a world without horizons, and it’s constantly changing and unfolding around you. Technologically, it’s astounding, with some artwork … Continue reading Borderless: The TeamLab Digital Museum
If you aren’t dashing from the plane to feed all your hundred yen coins into gachapon vending machines, you should be! And if you have to ask why… You can only … Continue reading Gachapon hunt! Where to find the best capsule toy vending machines in Tokyo
How do you deal with allergies when traveling in a country where information about food ingredients is written in characters most Westerners can’t read? The first time I lived in … Continue reading How can I travel in Japan if I have food allergies?
The Borderless Digital Museum is the hottest ticket in Tokyo right now, but it’s also the great grandaddy of FOMO. Some days they sell out, so how do you make … Continue reading 12 tips & tricks for maximum fun at the Borderless Digital Museum
As someone who likes to save her hard-earned cash for eating great food and buying tickets to see great stuff, I like to spend as little as is comfortably possible … Continue reading Where should I stay in Tokyo? How to pick a hotel
How to use your phone in Japan without forking over all your savings We’ve all heard the horror stories about crippling phone bills after accidentally using a phone overseas. But if … Continue reading How to use your phone in Japan without breaking the bank
If you have a smartphone, the easiest and fastest way to plot your routes anywhere in Japan is with a train finder app You can get the train app before … Continue reading Navigating around Japan: How to get where you’re going if you don’t speak Japanese
Here’s how I buy bullet train tickets: There are lots of sites that will tell you how to buy a long-distance train ticket in detail (this is a good one) … Continue reading How to buy tickets for the bullet train if you don’t speak Japanese
Some drivers speak English, but don’t count on it. Here’s how to be sure you get where you’re going Your best bet is to hand the driver a written copy … Continue reading How to take a taxi in Tokyo if you don’t speak Japanese
Narita airport must get the worldwide prize for being farthest from the city it serves. Seriously, what the heckin’ heck were they thinking? But sadly, there’s no time to move … Continue reading How to get into Tokyo from Narita airport
Nothing is more mortifying than hearing that the restaurant where you just ate the best lunch ever doesn’t take credit cards… Credit card use is spreading, but outside the big … Continue reading How & where to get cash in Japan
The train system in Japan is one of the best in the world, and you can go anywhere in Tokyo with only a short walk at either end. Subways and … Continue reading Get around Tokyo fast, easy & cheap: How to buy & use a transit card
It’s hard to plan a trip to somewhere before you know how big it is and how hard it will be to get around. Compare Tokyo’s size and population to … Continue reading How big is Tokyo?
Here’s a quick A-Z look at everything I take my friends to see in Tokyo! If you’d rather browse the full descriptions, click here • AKIHABARA AREA The famous electronics … Continue reading Browse Quick Overviews of Destinations A-Z
Tokyo has a reputation for being ultra-urban, but there are actually gorgeous (and huge!) gardens all over town. Stroll around one of these beauties to feast your eyes and restore … Continue reading The most beautiful gardens in Tokyo
Everyone thinks you have to go to Kyoto to see beautiful shrines and temples, but Tokyo boasts some incredibly amazing ones if you know where to look. These are my … Continue reading The best shrines & temples in Tokyo
If you’re the kind of traveler who likes to wander the backstreets and discover a city’s delights for yourself, here are some neighborhoods where you can’t go wrong! Read on … Continue reading Great walking neighborhoods
If you’re looking for experiences that will make your friends back home wish they’d come along, here are my favorites! • ONLY-IN-JAPAN CRAZY • Be astounded by immersive digital art … Continue reading Unforgettable experiences
There’s so much cool stuff to buy in Japan, but Tokyo is huge, and how do you know where’s the best place to shop? Fear not, I’ve got you covered! … Continue reading Where to buy great only-in-Japan stuff
If you’re looking for art exhibits, I’m going to send you back out to the wide web to see what exhibits are in town. But if quirky & entertaining and … Continue reading Museums you won’t want to leave
Yeah, it happens – monsoons and typhoons are A Thing. But don’t let the weather keep you from having all the only-in-Japan fun! Click on the images for great stuff to do … Continue reading What to do in Tokyo on a rainy day
Tokyo is one of the few places on the planet where you can have as much fun at the kid-friendly spots as they do. Feast your eyes on my favorite … Continue reading Fun with kids in Tokyo
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!
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 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. Akiba … Continue reading Akihabara Area
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 … Continue reading Aki-Oka Artisan Co-op
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
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. … Continue reading Asakusa 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
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 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 … Continue reading Ebisu Area
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 … Continue reading Edo-Tokyo 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 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
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
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 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
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
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
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 … Continue reading Ikebukuro 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
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 primo … Continue reading Japan Traditional Craft Center
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
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 money. … Continue reading Kamakura Day Trip
Tokyo beyond the guidebooks 