Billy's Thoughts

Tokyo - Food, Coffee, Shopping

Posted on Jun 27, 2023 — 20 mins read

Last updated on Feb 20, 2024.

Sections

Logistics before

Flights
There are two airports you can fly to: Haneda airport (HND) and Narita airport (NRT).
I’d recommend HND if you have the choice.

HND is closer to Tokyo (45 mins to 1h for ~¥600 by subway) vs NRT (1.5h for ~¥3,000 by NRT Express + subway).

Getting around Japan (prep version)
If you’ll be in Japan for over 7 days and plan to take the Shinkansen (high speed trains) between Tokyo, Kyoto/Osaka, and beyond, look into getting the JR Pass.

This pass includes rides on the Shinkansen (high speed train, non-express lines), as well as the JR subway lines in Tokyo. You can still ride the trains/metro without a JR Pass by paying directly, but buying the pass will likely save you some money in the end.

You can order the JR Pass online to either be shipped to you beforehand, or to be picked up at the airport (~1h line). They come in 7/14/21-day options.

Stay
I’d recommend staying in Shinjuku, one of the most populous areas, where you’ll find lots of restaurants, malls/shops, and subway stops nearby. Shibuya is another area that’s good for the same reasons, though central Shibuya and the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing can feel a bit like Times Square with the crowds, so I prefer it less.

For lodging, Airbnbs look to be much cheaper than hotels (30%+ cheaper), especially for longer stays. But Airbnbs can be a bit hit-or-miss with things like: mattress quality or only having Japanese floor futons, your A/C’s ability to fight off the Japanese summer humidity, and noise (I’ve stayed at one that was next to an elementary school so there was a lot of activity in the early mornings). YMMV.

Internet and Phone
If you’re traveling alone, you can purchase a data SIM card at the airport for some reasonable price (I didn’t do this so idk the exact numbers).

You can also purchase a data e-SIM online via a service like Ubigi, which runs you around $17 for 10GB over 30 days (data only).

If you’re traveling in a group, there’s also the option to get a Pocket Wi-fi–essentially a portable mobile hotspot device–which you can order ahead online for pick-up/drop-off at the airport. On my 2023 trip, I ordered one from Ninja WiFi which got me 3GB per day, at $65 for 14 days (so ~$5 USD / day).

Logistics when you’re there

Getting around
May Google Maps guide you.

The subway system in Tokyo is extremely robust (with all signs translated in EN too) and reaches all popular areas. I got around mainly by subway and bus (also has EN translations).

To pay for the subway and bus, you’ll need a metro card (an “IC card”, from either PASSMO or SUICA brands, but they function the same).

Subway fares are usually ~¥200-300 one way.

Money
Japan is still a very cash-heavy country, with many small shops and restaurants not accepting credit cards (larger establishments likely will though).

Physical IC cards are also only loadable by cash (digital ones can be loaded by credit card), and if you’re out and about expect to spend ~¥1,000 per day on the subway.

For reference: on my 2023 trip I exchanged ~$400 USD total over 14 days, mainly spent on the metro and restaurants/food stalls.

On exchanging currency:

Searching restaurants
You can look up restaurants on Google Maps, though beware the ratings and reviews will mostly be from foreigners.

Pro-tip: to find less tourist-y places, pick the type of restaurant/food you want (e.g. yakitori), get the japanese translation (e.g. yakitori = 焼き鳥), and search that in Google Maps. Restaurants with “yakitori” in their name have Westernized their names for Google for better tourist SEO (which maybe doesn’t actually signal anything in regards to quality though, idk).

To see more local ratings and reviews, try Tabelog (though FYI, at a glance it looks like Japanese people are rate more harshly on average). Tabelog also has better details on what phone number to call to make reservations.

Restaurant reservations
One downside of data SIMs or pocket Wi-fis is that you won’t have a phone number, which is frustratingly useful in Japan mostly for calling restaurants or services to make reservations. So if you’re trying to dine at fancy restaurants that need reservations, consider getting a SIM that has calling capabilities. Normal restaurants do take walk-ins though.

Alternatives to having a JP phone number are:

Laundry
Japanese apartments (and therefore Airbnbs) will commonly have a washer but no dryer, and you dry your clothes on the patio or on hanging rods inside the room. But in the summer when it’s humid, it might take clothes a couple of days to air-dry, depending on your place.

Alternatively, we found some coin laundromats near us that were fairly cheap and convenient, where we’d pop our laundry in in the morning and go to a cafe for some coffee while we waited.

Districts

My recommendations:

Tsukiji Market

This one gets its own subsection. Beware: a lot of the shops are closed on Wednesdays so plan accordingly.

This used to be where they held live tuna auctions every morning around 3 AM–those have since moved to Toyosu Fish Market, but the restaurants and shops that buy and serve the fish are still here.

I’d recommend getting here around 7:30-8 AM to check out some of the open shops and get a lay of the land before finding a sit-down place for an early lunch.

My must-have recommendations:

Some other popular options if you’re into them:

Then line up for an early lunch. I’d recommend lining up at these spots, 45 mins to 1h before they open:

There are also tons of good TikToks/Insta Reels that cover how to enjoy Tsukiji efficiently, so check those out for the visuals and to get some more ideas.

Food

Here are some places I would recommend. Most have English menus, unless otherwise stated, and take credit card, unless otherwise stated.

For a more comprehensive list with additional commentary (of ~80 spots, including the ones mentioned below), here’s my list on Google Maps.

Ramen

Generally considered affordable fast food and late night food in Japan. Here are the few spots that are worth seeking out.

Other Noodles

Seafood

Sushi

Izakaya and Yakitori

Meat

Napoli Pizza (I’m serious)

There are also a lot of TikToks/Insta Reels with good-looking food recs if you search for Tokyo.

Coffee/Kissaten

From a friend’s recommendation I discovered the Kissaten scene in Tokyo, and a large chunk of my 2019 trip was sitting down at various coffeeshops with a good book.

Kissaten are Japanese-style tearooms/coffee shops. Most are based on – and some are actually from! – the Showa Era in Japan (1926-1989), with their signature wood counters where they serve you pour-over coffee in a china teacup.

Cafés, in descending order of how much I liked them:

Personal Colour Analysis

Would recommend!

A brief intro: someone somewhere created this systematic way of identifying what your “personal colours” are, essentially what colours to wear to make your features sparkle, that has blown up over the past couple years. (Or at least that’s when I started seeing TikToks of English-speakers flying to Korea for this service.)

I’m probably butchering the details, but at a high level: there are 4 “seasons” of colours (groupings, generally either yellow undertones or blue undertones) with 4 subcategories within each season, for 1 of 16 different combinations you could fall under. Different colours add yellow to your face (which may be good or bad), or add blue to your face (which may be good or bad), and can do everything from wash out your skin tone, to make you look tired and highlight your eyebags, to make your eyes light up. Your personal colour analyst will lay colour swatches on your chest and compare between different ones to find your palette. I, for one, was clearly a Vivid Winter.

There are lots of salons in Tokyo offering this service at a reasonable price, with additional services for women like Facial Structure Analysis and Make-up Suggestions. For options and booking:

Shopping

I did A LOT of shopping this time around, split between luxury thrift stores, Japanese modern brands, and dinnerware.

Part of this was a superb (for me but not for my wallet) Airbnb Experience we booked with local fashion industry expert Keisuke-san, who took us on a shopping trip through Omotesando and Ura-Hara. Not only did he show us the low-key high quality brands, but he also took into account our preferences and helped us with styling tips, sizing, and translating with shopkeepers. Would recommend!

Here are some of my favourite brands/stores we went to, with Keisuke-san and also on our own:

Here’s the route we walked in Ura-Hara for our Airbnb Experience, which hit some of these.

Some bonus reflections:

There’s so much shopping that can be done in Tokyo, that it can be overwhelming. Thankfully my travel buddy had some shops and brands already in mind that he wanted to check out. This was a first for me, really spending large amounts of time and money finding clothes that both fit well and look fly, and it was a lot of fun! It helped having my energy directed at the limited set of brands my friend was into, and separately it helped that there’s just something about the fit of the clothes from Asian brands on me that’s *chef’s kiss*. Feels good to have a sorta new, overhauled wardrobe that I can rock.

P.S. I’d love to hear any other Tokyo or Japan recommendations you have! I’m hoping to go again, and I’m always interested in trying new/cool things. DM me on Twitter @billyisyoung or shoot me an email at [email protected].