Tokyo Itinerary | DIY Tour for two Days — Jea Wanders

As first-time guests to Japan, we made certain to spend a while exploring its superb capital metropolis, Tokyo. We wished to expertise what it feels wish to be on the planet’s most populous metropolis and dive into its wonders. This DIY Tokyo itinerary isn’t essentially the most excellent one there may be, however via it, we skilled town’s conventional aspect and fashionable environment whereas immersing within the sceneries for at the least a few days.

From the culture-rich districts of Asakusa to the excessive rises and busy fashionable streets of Shibuya. From the hippest and really fashionable Akihabara to the old style setting and vibrant gardens of the Imperial Palace. These are simply among the many superb experiences we had on this tour that I wish to share with you. The locations listed on this itinerary are inside comparatively quick prepare rides from one another, thus, simple to DIY.

You too can watch our Tokyo Metropolis Tour!

Tokyo DIY Itinerary

Our Tokyo itinerary began from night time 3 via day 5 of our Japan journey.

Right here’s a desk containing the listing of locations coated per day.

AKIHABARA

Upon getting again to Tokyo from our Mt. Fuji day journey, we did a fast night time stroll round Akihabara. It’s not thought-about the digital capital of Japan for nothing. Akihabara is densely filled with electronics retailers starting from tiny stalls to very large malls the place geeks and tech fans can rating digital gadgets for aggressive costs. But it surely’s not nearly electronics and all types of devices. That is additionally a haven for followers of anime, Japanese popular culture, and gastronomic meals experiences.

We had no plans for purchasing or eating however it was an amazing night time simply strolling round and observing the city scenes of Akihabara. It’s good to see that regardless of being extremely urbanized and crowded, orderliness was nonetheless evident. The world doesn’t feel and look polluted, that’s why we nonetheless had a pleasurable leisurely stroll.

ASAKUSA (with Kimono Expertise)

Once we take into consideration Tokyo, what immediately involves thoughts is a contemporary bustling metropolis powered by superior applied sciences. However Tokyo isn’t all about that. Head to Asakusa and you’ll witness outdated Tokyo vibes with out going out of town.

That is the place you can see the oldest temple in Tokyo, the Sensoji Temple. And the 250-meter path going to the temple is named Nakamise Road. It’s the oldest purchasing avenue in Asakusa which is lined with conventional craft outlets and meals stalls on either side.

And is there a greater approach to discover Asakusa than to stroll round donning a kimono? Absolutely, this turned certainly one of our most memorable experiences on this Tokyo itinerary! We spent the whole morning of day 4 exploring Asakusa like a standard Japanese native!

You’ll be able to learn extra about our kimono-wearing expertise in Asakusa right here.

Asakusa can also be a notable location for followers of the anime collection Demon Slayer. That is the place Tanjiro lastly discovered Muzan. Though it might look a bit completely different as a result of it was the outdated look of the place that was featured within the collection. Asakusa was largely destroyed throughout the Nice Kanto Earthquake and was rebuilt.

SHIBUYA SKY

After the cultural journey to Asakusa, we then headed to Shibuya like we had been transported from an historic location to a new-fashioned district. SHIBUYA SKY is a 360° open-air commentary deck, an ideal place to have a chicken’s eye view of town. It’s positioned on the highest stage of the Shibuya Scramble Sq. skyscraper.

There are lounges the place you possibly can loosen up whereas admiring the views, and an indoor museum and cafe as effectively. It’s additionally an amazing spot to see the well-known Shibuya crossing scramble!

We booked our tickets through Klook. It’s good that there’s no want to vary into precise tickets. All we wanted to do was to go straight to the location and scan our QR codes on the entrance. We booked right here: SHIBUYA SKY Ticket

SHIBUYA CROSSING

Any Tokyo itinerary wouldn’t be full with out seeing the well-known Shibuya Scramble Crossing. It’s a fashionable pedestrian scramble positioned in entrance of the Shibuya Station Hachiko Exit. Right here, pedestrian is the precedence. Autos in all instructions ought to cease to permit pedestrians from the whole intersection to cross over.

It was a pleasant expertise to observe individuals go throughout the road like tiny little ants (from Shibuya Sky Statement). And naturally, to really set our foot on the highway to cross over and mix in with the native Japanese workers and vacationers!

You’d recognize the place much more in case you’re a fan of the Alice in Borderland collection as a result of that is certainly one of their most notable taking pictures areas. You’ll absolutely want that you simply received’t instantly see any fireworks within the sky!

HACHIKO MEMORIAL STATUE

Just some meters stroll from the Shibuya Scramble Crossing is the Hachiko Sq. the place the Hachiko Memorial Statue is positioned. For certain, many people already know the story about Hachiko. Hachiko is a well-known Japanese Akita canine who faithfully waited for his deceased proprietor to return for greater than 9 years till his loss of life. The bronze statue was put up in honor of Hachiko’s unwavering loyalty to his proprietor, Hidesaburō Ueno.

This ultimately turned a well known landmark and the entire of Hachiko Sq. has been a preferred assembly place and rendezvous level for everybody, locals and vacationers alike.

ICHIRAN RAMEN

After a tiring (however amusing) day, it’s time for a bowl of excellent Japanese ramen. From Hachiko Sq., we walked again to Shibuya Crossing, crossed over the highway, and walked for about 5 minutes to Ichiran Shibuya (beside a Household Mart). Sadly, the restaurant was full after we arrived. The workers prompt we switch to a different department which is one other 5-minute stroll from there. Fortunately, there have been accessible slots!

Ichiran Ramen is a well-liked Japanese ramen chain restaurant well-known for its wealthy tonkotsu broth. Their ramen is a giant hit particularly since you possibly can personalize it in keeping with your preferences.

Ordering your meals is fairly simple and handy:

1. From the merchandising machine, choose your ramen base and any add-ons like chashu, egg, seaweed, drinks, and so forth. Then get your tickets from the merchandising machine.
2. The workers will test which cubicles can be found and can information you to the place it’s positioned. Observe that the cubicles have dividers to provide every diner privateness and assist give attention to the meals (aware consuming). However when you’ve got companion/s, don’t fear because the dividers can be folded so you possibly can nonetheless chat when you take pleasure in your hearty Ichiran Ramen.
3. You’ll be given an order kind to personalize your ramen. The soup inventory, richness, and garlic could be adjusted from gentle, medium, or sturdy/further wealthy. For the noodle texture, you possibly can select in order for you further agency, agency, medium, mushy, or further mushy. There are extra different choices within the order kind just like the noodle refill, toppings, and drinks. When you’re finished filling it out, simply press the button in your desk to inform the workers to take your order kind.
4. Wait on your ramen to be served at your sales space. You’ll be able to drink water out of your sales space’s personal faucet when you wait.
5. Take pleasure in your customized scrumptious ramen!

IMPERIAL PALACE

One other must-visit place in Tokyo is the Imperial Palace Gardens. This can be a good spot not just for these with an curiosity in Japanese historical past but in addition for individuals who like lovely gardens. Throughout our go to, we even witnessed an array of plum blossoms!

The gardens are open to the general public though the Imperial Palace itself is off-limits. You’ll be able to take a peek on the palace from the outer gardens and from the double Nijubashi Bridge. The place may be very expansive so higher put on your most cozy footwear and be ready for lots of strolling!

After the tiresome strolling tour, we headed to our subsequent vacation spot which is the Tokyo Tower. We boarded a subway and acquired off at Kamiyacho Station.

However earlier than strolling to the Tokyo Tower, we first had our lunch at Tonkatsu Maruya Kamiyachoten positioned on the Kamiyacho Station. That is the place I had the perfect and tastiest ebi tempura to this point!

TOKYO TOWER

Among the many most iconic landmarks in Tokyo, the Tokyo Tower, is a communications and commentary tower within the Minato District. The Tokyo Tower stands at 333 meters excessive, is the world’s tallest self-supported metal tower, and is even taller (by 3 meters) than its mannequin, the Eiffel Tower. It was the nation’s tallest construction till 2012 when the Tokyo Skytree surpassed its peak. Other than being a preferred vacationer spot, the Tokyo Tower additionally serves as a broadcast antenna.

It additionally has an observatory deck the place you possibly can have a pleasant overlooking view of town. In our case, we already had this type of exercise on the Shibuya Sky so we’re comfortable simply taking pictures of the tower. We tried to go to the “secret photograph spot” however we found that it’s not secret anymore and we didn’t have sufficient time to attend within the lengthy queue.

After this, we went again to Akihabara for a last-minute memento purchasing at Don Quijote.

How did we get round Tokyo?

We merely booked a Tokyo Subway Ticket from Klook. The ticket is for limitless entry to the Tokyo Subway for 3 days. For us, it’s the most cost effective and most handy approach to get across the metropolis since you don’t have to buy particular person tickets for every journey. And also you don’t want to purchase an IC card that additionally must be topped up with load. I personally did a computation for each choices and I discovered that the Tokyo Subway Ticket is the most cost effective.

You too can select from 24-hour, 48-hour, and 72-hour tickets. Good for any Tokyo Metropolis itinerary!

I bought our tickets right here: Tokyo Subway Ticket – Limitless

To know which subway station you must take, Google Maps continues to be the perfect device. So long as you have got your Google Maps with you, you’ll absolutely be capable to get to your vacation spot.

And naturally, you’ll need an web connection for it. A pocket wifi is a must have particularly when you’ve got companions as every pocket wifi can maintain a most of 5 gadgets.

You should buy yours right here: Limitless 4G LTE WiFi

Tokyo Itinerary: Remaining Ideas

As I’ve talked about earlier, this DIY Tokyo Itinerary isn’t essentially the most excellent one there may be, however we loved this superb metropolis even in a brief time frame. The best factor about that is that we skilled each the outdated and new Tokyo given the restricted time and finances.

If we ever discover ourselves exploring Tokyo once more sooner or later, we are going to cowl different notable locations such because the Meiji Jingu, Shinjuku, Ueno, and extra!

We deeply recognize the orderliness and cleanliness of town. It’s superb that there have been no trashes wherever eventhough there aren’t any trash bins round. The meals is evidently clear, even from avenue meals stalls. I by no means skilled stomach discomfort eventhough I drank a faucet water.

You received’t assist however notice that Japanese honesty and integrity is de facto one thing we must always all be imitating.

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