11/03/2025
みんなさんこんにちは！👋🏻
I wanted to share some tips and tricks for my travelers coming to Tokyo in 2025!
✨Do not stay on the Yamanote Line unless you have a specific hotel in mind or want to stay in a tourist area and don’t mind spending the extra money. Yes, it’s convenient, but my best suggestion for the money saving traveler is the Tozai Line. You will find cheaper hotels with very easy access to everything you need within Tokyo. My suggestions for train stations on Tozai are: Minami-Sunamachi, Toyocho, Kiba, Monzen-Nakacho, Kayabacho, and Nishikasai.
✨Bring one pair of comfortable walking shoes because you’ll be walking everywhere. And trust me with all the shopping you’ll be doing you don’t need to be taking up so much space with shoes in your bag. Even Japanese girls wear sneakers with their dresses. Save yourself the trouble. Stay comfy!
✨Bring deodorant! That the one toiletry you cannot forget. They don’t have it here. At least not the good kind with antiperspirants. I have to stock up every time I go back to America to visit.
✨For those making a trip to Golden G*i in Shinjuku, it can seem a bit intimidating once you’re there. Lots of bars don’t welcome foreigners. But Bar SKAVLA is fantastic. It’s on the outer edge of Golden G*i, authentic, welcoming to foreigners and they have great pizza! So if you’re feeling kinda uneasy about which izakaya to pop into, they got you covered. They don’t speak much English but hey, that’s part of the fun right?
✨Most trains stop at midnight so beware.
✨Unless you’re someone who actually needs a taxi service like you are disabled or something, save yourself the money and do not spend money on taxis or uber. Trains are SO easy, cheap, and you’ll save hundreds!
✨I recommend trying Coco Ichiban and Ichiran Ramen. These are chain restaurants but I feel like they’re part of the Japanese experience. If you want to eat like a local, try these restaurants! Coco Ichi is great and I feel like Japanese curry is often overshadowed by ramen and sushi!
✨If you’re a car fanatic, check out Daikoku PA. Do not miss out on that. It’s so much better than you could imagine. You can only get there by car, so prepare in advance for a driver’s service or get your own rental car.
❤️And please please please do not be loud on trains. Yes you can talk but do so quietly. I see tourists on a weekly basis very loudly conversing on the trains and it looks really bad on us foreigners. The Japanese do not appreciate it, so let’s keep that in mind and be respectful! Thank you so much!
