5 things you MUST do in Tokyo
Before arriving to Tokyo I was extremely overwhelmed with things to do. I had read and heard so much about different places to visit and activities to do but I still felt lost. I think my main problem was that I wanted to know where I could eat, what I could do, what I should see etc etc and I couldn’t find all these answers in the one single blog. In response to this, I’ve decided to base this blog upon a mixture of sight-seeing activities, food to try and things to do – and this is how I arrived to call it ‘5 things you MUST do in Tokyo’.
5 things you MUST do in Tokyo
1. A visit to Tokyo wouldn’t be the same without visiting Shibuya Crossing.
(This wasn’t even the busiest time of the day!)
This place is literally famous for having so many people cross the road at any given time. During busy periods, 2,500 people use this crossing. It’s actually insane. When you get there you’ll find every-day Japanese locals using it and then of course all the tourists running across the middle taking photos and videos of themselves (guilty). After you’ve seen the crossing make sure you actually spend a bit of time in Shibuya. It’s great during the night! You’ll find heaps of really cool restaurants and bars to visit.
2. You need to eat!!
Eat all you can, where you can and whatever you can. It’s all ridiculously amazing and it’s also the best solution for when finding things to do in Tokyo.
Now for you meat lovers, I’m going to give you a hot recommendation – and for our vegetarian friends, I’ve got a different spot for you (hopefully you like sweets 😉 ).
(Only cook a couple of pieces at a time so they stay nice and hot when you eat them!)
Japan is famous for their Japanese BBQ (it’s essentially just like Korean BBQ, but the meats aren’t marinated before cooking them). One night we accidentally stumbled across a restaurant which was rated 5th on Trip Advisor out of 4,810 restaurants in the area! Look out for it, it’s called ‘Han no Daidokoro’ and is located in Shibuya (near Shibuya Crossing!). They had the BEST Japanese BBQ that I’ve ever tried. Essentially they give you very finely cut pieces of delicious beef (make sure you get the Kobe beef and the Wagyu) and a spot to then cook your meat. You literally place the meat over the flames for 30 seconds either side, dip it in this incredible sauce they give you and then eat it. I can’t stress enough haw incredibly delicious this meat was.
For the non-meat eaters out there, I’ve got a different (possibly funner) option.
(#NoRegrets)
It involves eating fairy floss (cotton candy). But when I say fairy floss, I mean MASSIVE. It’s literally the biggest, best tasting fairy floss that I’ve ever had. To be honest I don’t actually like fairy floss but this one was an exception. Look, they even add different flavours and colours to make it like a rainbow!! This place is called Toti Candy Factory and is located in Harajuku.
3. Go to Mount Fuji!
(So this is where you’d normally find Mt Fuji 🙁 )
To get to Mount Fuji from Tokyo it only takes about 2-2.5 hours in bus. If you have the JapanRail Pass you can go free!! (If you’re going and need a JapanRail Pass, which you should as it’ll save you lottsss of moeny, you can purchase one through this link, JapanRail Pass – it’ll also help support my blog 🙂 ).
NOTE – when you do go to Mount Fuji, be sure to check the weather beforehand. When we went it, we couldn’t see the mountain 🙁 It was unfortunately raining and far too cloudy. With that being said though, the bus ride was amazing. We got to pass a lot of really cool Japanese scenery.
4. Visit the Cup Noodle Museum.
(I made curry chicken, beef and seafood flavoured noodles 🙂 )
It probably doesn’t sound like much, and there’s not too much to do there but what you can do there is INCREDIBLE. The Cup Noodles Museum is located in Yokohama (just 20 minutes from Tokyo’s centre). The museum tells the story of how cup noddles came to be. Within the museum is a section called the Noodle Bazaar. You can try instant noodles from all over the world! Italy, China, Thailand etc … BUT my favourite thing there was the interactive section.
You get the opportunity to MAKE YOUR OWN CUP OF INSTANT NOODLES!! How much fun does that sound?? You can choose the ingredients you want and they even let you package it. I definitely recommend going there if you feel like doing something a little bit off the beaten track. It’s a lot of fun. You won’t need much time in the museum, essentially you’re going there to create your own cup of noodles so be sure to check out Yokohama afterwards. It’s a gorgeous part of Japan.
5. This was possibly my favourite thing to do in Tokyo.
(Just cruising to Tokyo Tower with my Mario gang)
When it comes to a list of 5 things you MUST do in Tokyo, this one takes the cake.
It involves renting a Mario GoKart (I used MariCAR), choosing your favourite Mario onesie and then driving around the streets of Tokyo for a couple of hours! This experience was like none other. Imagine yourself inside a little Mario Kart-shaped GoKart, in a Mario onesie, driving next to other cars in one of the biggest cities in the world!! It was amazing!! If you do plan on going be sure to check out MariCAR, and do the ‘Shingawa S-M Course’. You’ll go through Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo Tower and lots of other great spots. They’re a lot of fun! Very professional but yet still very entertaining.
TIP: Make sure you have an offical International Drivers Licence/Permit or you won’t be allowed to participate. Japan are very strict on their rules and it’s imperative you have one. ALSO try to do it at night time as the city looks amazing when it’s all lit up!
Where to Stay?
You’ll need somewhere to stay … and you should treat yourself to a capsule hotel/hostel. Emblem Hostel is my recommendation!
(Yes, it’s a capsule bed!!)
We stayed at this beautiful hostel (Emblem Hostel) which is located in a quieter neighbour of Tokyo (about 40-50 minutes from the city centre via the metro). It was actually pretty nice to stay a little bit away from all the action and the hostel was BEAUTIFUL! It honestly felt like a hotel. Everything is new and instead of bunk beds they have capsules. Staying inside a capsule was such an interesting experience. You get your own lamp, curtain and powerpoint!
The staff there are amazing. they’ll definitely recommend you lots of things to do in Tokyo. At the hostel they even run activities which are designed to help you learn and experience a little more of the Japanese culture. We did a class in Calligraphy which was tonnes of fun! If you stay there, make sure you check out some of these events. Also the hostel is really well priced.
(Attempting to write my name in Japanese)
So these are my 5 things you MUST do in Tokyo! Now, do you need somewhere to go after Tokyo? Check out my blog on What Is Japan’s Miyajima (Deer) Isalnd?
I think you’ll be quite fascinated with this place!
Happy Exploring!!