Nezu Shrine
Yanaka is one of the best, undiscovered, Old Tokyo neighborhoods in town, filled with traditional shops and excellent shrines and temples. The Nezu Shrine is my favorite shrine in Tokyo. … Continue reading Nezu Shrine
Author: Jonelle Patrick
Nezu Museum
This museum (which is in Omotesando, not near Nezu Station, go figure) is a jewel of an art museum that showcases beautifully curated exhibits, focusing on traditional Japanese arts and crafts. The price … Continue reading Nezu Museum
National Museum of Nature and Science
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
Nanzo-in Temple: Home of the Shibarare Jizo
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
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
Kyu Furukawa 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
Kusama Museum
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
Fukugawa Fudo-san Temple (Narita-san)
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)
Gachapon hunt! Where to find the best capsule toy vending machines in Tokyo
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 can I travel in Japan if I have food allergies?
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?
Where should I stay in Tokyo? How to pick a hotel
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 breaking the bank
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
Navigating around Japan: How to get where you’re going if you don’t speak Japanese
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
How to buy tickets for the bullet train 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
How to take a taxi in Tokyo 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
How to get into Tokyo from Narita airport
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
How & where to get cash in Japan
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
Get around Tokyo fast, easy & cheap: How to buy & use a transit card
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
How big is Tokyo?
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?
Browse Quick Overviews of Destinations A-Z
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
The most beautiful gardens in Tokyo
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
The best shrines & temples 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
Unforgettable experiences
If you’re looking for experiences that will make your friends back home wish they’d come along, here are my favorites! • Thousands of fancy goldfish elevate aquariums to art in … Continue reading Unforgettable experiences
Museums you won’t want to leave
If quirky & entertaining and one-of-a-kind is what you look for in a museum, these are the secret spots I go to again and again because I never fail to … Continue reading Museums you won’t want to leave
What to do in Tokyo on a rainy day
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
Fun with kids in Tokyo
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
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!
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. Akiba … 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 … Continue reading Aki-Oka Artisan Co-op
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. … 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
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 … 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 … 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 has always been known as the luxury shopping district of Tokyo, but it has hidden delights well worth seeking out Like Art Aquarium! This used to be a seasonal … 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 … 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 primo … 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 money. … 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 temple … 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
Tokyo beyond the guidebooks 