r/TokyoTravel

For the first-timers currently buried in Japan trip planning: here are a few small things that caught me out. None of these are groundbreaking, but knowing them beforehand would’ve saved us some time and a couple of silly mistakes. Hopefully at least one helps someone planning their first trip!<3~

Apparently I still had another whole list in my notes 😂 These are the smaller things that caught us out:

• If a restaurant has a clipboard or tablet outside, put your name down!! Standing in the queue doesn’t always mean you’re actually in the queue. We waited for ages before realising everyone else had registered their name and party size 🙈
• Pokémon Cafe bookings are still being released in monthly batches at the moment but check the official news page because old posts about the 31-day system are now out of date.
• I used CafeSnapBot to book a table because the release was in the middle of the night for us and I couldn’t face another booking-site battle. It’s a paid third-party convenience service and it saved me sitting there refreshing. Completely your choice, just explaining how we got ours because people keep asking 😊
• Closing time and last order are two different things. A restaurant saying it closes at 9 might stop taking food orders at 8 or 8.30. Check for “L.O.” on Google Maps or the sign outside before travelling across the city for it.
• Check the train type as well as the platform. Local, rapid and express trains can all leave from the same place but skip completely different stations. We confidently got on the right line going in the right direction…and passed our stop lol.
• Take a photo of your coin locker AND the nearest sign or exit number. Remembering “Tokyo Station near the stairs” is absolutely useless when you come back six hours later and discover there are about 400 stairs 😂 Keep the receipt too if it gives you a locker number or PIN.
• Hotel washer-dryers take MUCH longer than the screen first suggests. Ours kept adding time and a “quick wash before bed” turned into me waiting for socks at 1am. Do laundry earlier in the evening and don’t leave it until checkout morning!!
• If you’re using lifts in a big station, follow the lift signs from the start. The accessible route can come out at a completely different exit and involve a long detour. We kept taking the stairs route on Maps, then discovering there was no easy way up with the suitcase.
• Save your hotel’s name and address in Japanese as a screenshot. Taxi drivers were lovely but the English hotel name wasn’t always enough, especially when two hotels had almost identical names.
• And keep one little bag in your day bag for rubbish. There are bins inside some stations and convenience stores, but nowhere near as many as I expected. Somehow I spent half of Tokyo carrying an empty coffee cup 😂

Anything small catch you out that nobody warned you about? I’m sure there’s enough for another part at this point ^^🇯🇵

Trying to find out if there's a league or not, does anyone know?

Hello!

I will be traveling to Tokyo in October and booked a soccer game with my mom for Oct 10th at Ajinomoto Stadium which I believe will be the FC Tokyo vs Urawa Reds, we booked this through Klook as an “experience” with a local fan so we will have a guide.

I just wanted to see if anyone else has attended a game and could share their experience or insight? Unfortunately I don’t know much about J1 League but I LOVE soccer. I have season pass tickets to my local MLS team and am a big Bundesliga (Bayern) fan and overall just love and appreciate the game so I thought it would be cool to experience in Japan. Any information is welcome! :)

Hello! my husband snd I are going to Tokyo in the beginning of February. He is a huge car enthusiast. We will be going for his 30th birthday. Is there any recommendations where I can take him? Any type of car meets that are around Shibuya or Shinjuku I would love to be able to blow his mind. He thinks we’re not gonna be able to find much meets, just cars sitting around so if I can find an awesome car meet to take him to, that would be amazing!

Hi travellers, we’ll be arriving at Haneda at 4:30am. The Haneda monorail doesn’t even start running until 5!

We haven’t booked our hotel yet, but I’m not sure how flexible Japanese hotels tend to be with REALLY early arrival times. I expect we’ll be pretty beat by the time we land, so I don’t think we’ll be up for exploring anywhere until some relaxation time and a nap.

Assuming we can’t get any earlier arrival tjmes for our hotel, what would you recommend we do? It’s not our first time in Japan, but it’s definitely the first time we’ll arrive so early. Any thoughts on what we should do? Should we just hang around the airport until lunchtime? Check into a capsule? Find an Onsen for a soak and sleep? TIA!!

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I'm a Canadian PR living in Vancouver and I'm planning to travel to Japan and South Korea soon.

I applied for a Japan eVisa through the Vancouver consulate, but my application was cancelled. I followed the instructions and provided the requested documents, including my accommodation bookings, financial documents, Canadian PR/status documents, and proof of my onward travel to Korea.

Japan had previously asked me to provide proof that I had a Korean visa. At the time, I didn't have one yet, so I provided proof of my upcoming appointment with the Korean Consulate to submit my visa application, along with my Korea travel plans and an explanation letter.

I reapplied after making sure I included everything they had asked for, and now the Japan application has been cancelled again. I haven't received the reason for the cancellation yet,waiting to get it but assuming it's due to the missing Korean visa.

I haven't applied for the Korean visa yet, but I'm planning to submit it soon and now I'm stressed about it what if they ask me for the Japan visa first

I'm wondering if anyone here has a similar background/status and has traveled to both Japan and Korea on the same trip, and successfully managed to get both visas. If so, what documents did you provide, and did you run into any issues with either consulate?

I've been tokyo twice and soon will go again.

We have done all the tourist things and this time we are going back as we never went Disney Sea.

But my issue is whenever I search for things to do in Tokyo, it's always the same stuff.

Go visit this street
Go eat this Ramen
Go look.at this Shrine
Drink coffee here

And we just don't appreciate it. A street is a street, Ramen is Ramen etc...

In our favourite holidays were ones filled with experiences such as skydiving, seeing shows only available in that area, driving rally cars etc...

So what does Tokyo have that I can't get elsewhere?

Hi everyone- so sorry to be annoying and ask this, yes I have searched the thread and done a lot of research but suddenly feeling overwhelmed and would like some advice!

We are going to Japan in March for three weeks, starting in Fukuoka then Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka then 6 nights in Tokyo.
First timers (obviously)

Everything else is sorted but I'm still undecided on accommodation in Tokyo.
We are two adults with our 7year old daughter, it's been tough to find triple rooms (we are ok sharing a king bed in small stops but not for 6 nights) so I've done the search for triple rooms (3x adults) etc.

However- way too overwhelmed with where to stay. So many friends/ family say Shibuya or Shinjuku but my brother and sister in law (foodies no kids) go twice a year, speak Japanese- told us to stay in Takadanobaba close to Yamanote line to get better prices and less noise/ foot traffic for night time.
This makes sense feels good but they also stay in expensive places and travel business class 😂

I do trust them but have now gone down too many rabbit holes and need a reset 😀 please any guidance is appreciated!

I see I could go to a Yomiuri Giants vs Chunichi Dragons game at the Tokyo Dome while I’m in town, does anyone have any insight on going to a game? I’m a big MLB fan so I think it would be pretty cool to go experience a baseball game in Japan.

Hi everyone! I'm planning a first trip to Japan with my parents, my fiancée, and myself, and I'm having a hard time deciding between two itineraries. I'd really appreciate advice from people who have done both Kyoto and the Mt. Fuji/Nikko day-trip options.

This will likely be my parents' only trip to Japan, so I want to make sure we get a good overall experience without trying to cram too much into one week.

After talking it over with my parents, we've decided that we do want to see some temples, shrines, and traditional Japanese areas. However, we're not huge history/temple people and don't want to spend the entire trip visiting temples. We're more interested in a mix of food, nature/scenery, unique experiences, neighborhoods, shopping, and getting a feel for Japan.

We've also decided that three cities is too much for this trip, so we're trying to decide between these two options:

Option 1: Tokyo + Kyoto
Dec 6 — Arrive Tokyo
Arrive at Haneda at 2:05 PM, transfer to Tokyo, check in, have an easy dinner and recover from the flight.
Dec 7 — Tokyo → Kyoto
Take an early morning to Kyoto and spend the rest of the day exploring Kyoto.
Dec 8 — Kyoto
Full day in Kyoto with a mix of temples/shrines, traditional areas, food, nature and scenery.
Dec 9 — Kyoto → Tokyo
Take an early morning back to Tokyo and spend the afternoon/evening in Tokyo.
Dec 10 — Tokyo
Full day in Tokyo.
Dec 11 — Tokyo
Full day in Tokyo.
Dec 12 — Tokyo
Full day in Tokyo and final night in Tokyo.
Dec 13 — Tokyo → Haneda
Easy morning and then head to Haneda for our 4:25 PM flight home.
The main appeal of this option is that we get two very different sides of Japan. Tokyo would give us the modern/urban experience, while Kyoto would give us more traditional architecture, temples, scenery, and a different pace.
My concern is that we're not particularly interested in history and temples, so I'm wondering if two nights in Kyoto is enough to make it worthwhile. I'm also wondering if we're giving up too much Tokyo time for Kyoto given our interests.

Option 2: Stay in Tokyo + Mt. Fuji and Nikko day trips
Dec 6 — Arrive Tokyo
Arrive at Haneda at 2:05 PM, transfer to Tokyo, check in, easy dinner and rest.
Dec 7 — Tokyo
Full day in Tokyo.
Dec 8 — Mt. Fuji / Kawaguchiko
Day trip from Tokyo to the Mt. Fuji area, focusing on scenery, nature, and the Fuji Five Lakes area, then return to Tokyo.
Dec 9 — Tokyo
Full day in Tokyo.
Dec 10 — Nikko
Day trip from Tokyo to Nikko, focusing more on the mountains, nature, scenery and unique experiences rather than spending the entire day visiting historical sites, then return to Tokyo.
Dec 11 — Tokyo
Full day in Tokyo.
Dec 12 — Tokyo
Full day in Tokyo and final night in Tokyo.
Dec 13 — Tokyo → Haneda
Easy morning and then head to Haneda for our 4:25 PM flight home.

The main appeal of this option is that we would never have to change hotels. We'd get significantly more time in Tokyo while still seeing some very different scenery through the Mt. Fuji and Nikko day trips.
I'm particularly interested in nature and unique experiences, so Mt. Fuji and Nikko sound very appealing. I also think this option might be easier and less tiring for my parents.

My concern is that we may regret skipping Kyoto, especially because this could be my parents' only trip to Japan. I'm also wondering whether Mt. Fuji and Nikko provide enough of a "different Japan" experience to make up for not staying in Kyoto.

So, if this were your first and potentially only trip to Japan with your parents, which would you choose?
Tokyo + 2 nights in Kyoto
or
Tokyo for the entire trip + Mt. Fuji and Nikko day trips

Hello! Going to Tokyo for the first time this year to attend Ultra Japan! I really love techno music and was wondering if there was any underground scene I can experience, and roughly where I can find cool parties/events outside of big clubs. Thank you!

Recommendations please! I will be arriving at 6:30pm & having to leave back to the airport at 8am the following day!

i already have a few obvious foods on my list, but i'm sure there are things i'm overlooking. i'm not looking for fancy restaurants specifically, just food that's worth trying while i'm there.

what would you put at the top of the list?

Hey guys! I'm going on a trip to Japan for the first time in October and I'm a huge gundam fan. I was sad to discover that the unicorn gundam exhibition will close and that I'll never get to see it. Does anyone know anything else "gundam" related to do in Tokyo?

Hey everyone!

I would like to deep dive into Tokyo’s music and jazz scene.
I collect vinyl and listen to a lot of jazz, hip-hop and soul, and I’d love to spend my days digging through record stores and my evenings discovering jazz clubs.

For vinyl, I know some of the obvious names like Disk Union, but I’d especially love recommendations for smaller independent shops, second-hand stores and places where you can spend hours digging. Japanese pressings, jazz, hip-hop, soul — I’m pretty open.

For jazz, I want to test as many places as possible. Live jazz clubs, tiny basement venues, jazz bars, listening bars, old-school places with amazing sound systems… basically anything with character.

I’m particularly interested in places that feel genuinely part of Tokyo’s music culture rather than places primarily aimed at tourists.

If you were building the perfect list for someone obsessed with jazz and records, which places would be absolutely essential?

Thank you 🫶

Hi! I’m Japanese and live in Tokyo.
I create Instagram content about Tokyo and Japan, and I’m looking for people from other countries who’d be interested in exploring the city with me.
I’m especially interested in discovering things that visitors to Japan find interesting — even things that might seem completely ordinary to Japanese people.
So basically, I’d love to walk around Tokyo together, explore different places, and hear what catches your attention from your perspective!
You don’t have to show your face on camera, but I’d like to film parts of our walk and the places we explore along the way.
Whether you live in Tokyo or you’re just visiting, you’re more than welcome to join.
We could explore anything from ordinary neighborhoods and local streets to smaller tourist spots and hidden corners of the city.
I actually posted here before and received a lot of messages from people who were interested. Thanks again to everyone who commented or reached out last time!
I have some availability from the second half of August through September, so if this sounds like something you’d enjoy, feel free to send me a message!
By the way, my English isn’t perfect😅

Hi! My 16 year old daughter and I are travelling to Tokyo in 10 days for a week. We do not travel much and I am getting pretty nervous. Can I get anyones tips for first time travellers? We are staying in Ueno. I will have to get a physical SUICA card as I do not use apple but my daughter can just download one on her iPhone right? Jet lag wont be much of an issue since we are travelling during the day from Australia and its only 1hour time difference.

I will be headed to Tokyo for my birthday this year, which is Halloween! I've been to Tokyo a few times but haven't had the opportunity to explore the night life. I am looking for good club, bar, rave or event recommendations to celebrate my Halloween bday! Any and all ideas welcome! Thank you so much in advance!

I’ll be visiting Tokyo in october and I’m thinking about checking-out some cruising spots like body breath and 24 kaikan. Is it possibile to get in if you have tattoos? Does anyone know where they’re allowed?

We plan to do a beach day the first weekend of September. Season closes August 31. I’m worried the beach will be construction zone taking down the beach bars. Is it worth it to still go without the beach bars open and out of season?