My Tokyo Guide

Welcome to my Tokyo Guide!

Having lived in Tokyo for over 5 years now, I’ve come to know a lot about the city and its diverse neighbourhoods. Whether you’re visiting Tokyo or living here, I hope this page of my favourite places, events and activities will give you some inspiration.

All are my personal recommendations and where I have a dedicated post or Instagram photo, I have added a link. Being such a huge metropolis, there are still many places I am yet to visit, so I will no doubt be adding to the lists over time.

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Tokyo has an overwhelming number of food-related establishments. It’s said that you could eat at a different place for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday of your life and you’d only just scratch the surface. Standards in Japan are high so you get great food pretty much everywhere, but here are a few specific places I’ve tried and am happy to recommend.

Japanese restaurants: 35 Steps izakaya (Shibuya) Afuri ramen (various locations) Ippudo ramen (various locations) Kisentei teppanyaki (Roppongi) Kohaku kaiseki (Kagurazaka) Makino tempura (Musashi-Koyama) Shirube izakaya (Shimokitazawa) Sushi no Midori (Shibuya) Creo-ru takoyaki (Shibuya) Yakitori no Tetsujin (Shinjuku)	Non-Japanese restaurants: Benoit (Omotesando) Bills (Omotesando) Cafe-Creperie (Kagurazaka) Cicada (Omotesando) L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon (Roppongi) Sky Restaurant Musashi (Oshiage)
Cafes: Aoyama Flower Market (Omotesando) Bondi Cafe (Yoyogi-koen) Canal Cafe (Iidabashi) Commune 2nd (Omotesando) Darwin Room (Shimokitazawa) Dixans (Kanda) Ladurée (Ginza) Les Grands Arbres (Hiroo) Noliette (Shimotakaido) Peter Rabbit Garden Cafe (Jiyugaoka) Shirohige’s Cream Puff (Shimokitazawa) Stall (Nakameguro)	Coffee: Blue Bottle (various locations) Fab Cafe (Shibuya) Frankie (Shimokitazawa) Fuglen (Yoyogi-koen) Iron (Gotokuji) Lattest (Omotesando) Obscura (Sangenjaya) Onibus (Nakameguro) Reissue (Harajuku) Roar (Hatchobori) Roastery (Shibuya) Sarutahiko (Ebisu) Streamer (various locations) Turret (Tsukiji)

For all you art and design lovers, Tokyo has some incredible museums, art galleries, touring exhibitions and cool buildings. Feast your eyes – these are some of my favourites.

Akasaka Palace Edo-Tokyo Museum Edo-Tokyo Architecture Museum Ghibli Museum Intermediatheque Kyu-Iwasaki-tei Miraikan National Art Centre

Nature and Science Museum Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum Tokyo National Museum Tokyo Skytree Tokyo Tower Tokyu Plaza entrance Ukiyoe Ota Memorial Museum

Typical of big cities, Tokyo is all about the hustle and bustle and sometimes you really need a quiet, open space to get away from it all. The parks and gardens of Tokyo are kept in immaculate condition all year round and shouldn’t be missed especially in spring and autumn. My favourite central park is Shinjuku Gyoen, and favourite outlying park is Showa Kinen Koen!

Arisugawa-no-Miya Kinen Koen Chidorigafuchi Hamarikyu Imperial Palace East Garden Inokashira Koen Kinuta Koen

Koishikawa Korakuen Kyu-Furukawa Gardens Rikugien Shinjuku Gyoen Showa Kinen Koen Yoyogi Koen

One of the reasons I love living in Tokyo is there’s always something happening. There are many local/community events that are worth attending if you’re in the area, but in general, these are some of the major festivals and events I highly recommend to everyone.

First Shrine Visit (Jan) Coming-of-age Day (Jan) Some no Komichi (Feb) Setagaya Plum Festival (Feb) Cherry blossoms (Mar-Apr) Kameido Tenjin wisteria (Apr) Children’s Day (May) Sanja Festival (May) Kanda Festival (May) Bunkyo Azalea Festival (May) Tanabata (Jul) Adachi Fireworks (Jul) Kagurazaka Awa Odori (Jul) Shinjuku Eisa Festival (Jul)

Sumidagawa Fireworks (Jul) Edogawa Fireworks (Aug) Shimokitazawa Bon Odori (Aug) Kiyose Sunflower Festival (Aug) Hibiya Bon Odori (Aug) Harajuku Super Yosakoi (Aug) Koenji Awa Odori (Aug) Ikegami Honmonji Oeshiki (Oct) Kanda Book Festival (Oct) Autumn leaves (Nov-Dec) Christmas markets (Dec) Illuminations (Dec-Jan) Boro Ichi Market (Dec-Jan)

There’s an endless amount of fun to be had in Tokyo on any given day. This is a list of activities you can only do in Tokyo or Japan—some are popular among tourists and others are what locals often do. What’s your ultimate Tokyo bucket list?

Belt out some tunes at karaoke Catch a wedding at Meiji Jingu Cross the Shibuya Crossing Drive a go-kart on the streets Eat your way through a depa-chika Eat monjayaki on Monja Street Explore yokocho alleys Go on a Ghibli hunt Go rafting in western Tokyo Go to Disneyland or Disney Sea Have a picnic at Shinjuku Gyoen Have high tea at a hotel Hike up Mt. Takao See the lucky cats at Gotokuji

See Tokyo from an observation deck: – World Trade Center – Shinjuku Gov. Metropolitan Bldgs – Roppongi Mori Tower – Bunkyo Civic Center – Tokyo Skytree – Carrot Tower Take a sushi-making class Visit an animal cafe Watch a Japanese baseball game Watch a musical (in Japanese) Watch sumo wrestling Wear a kimono at Sensoji

Tokyo is known for being numerous cities wrapped up into one big one. There are 23 special wards and 39 outer cities/towns. And the neighbouring prefectures are just a continuation of the metropolitan area! These are the most common neighbourhoods to explore in the central area and what they’re known for, or how you’d describe them.

Akihabara (otaku) Asakusa (downtown) Ebisu (restaurants) Ginza (luxury shopping) Harajuku (street fashion) Ikebukuro (a bit of everything) Jimbocho (bookstores) Jiyugaoka (sophisticated) Kagurazaka (European quarter) Koenji (vintage stores)

Nakameguro (chic cafes) Odaiba (entertainment) Omotesando (trendy) Roppongi (international crowd) Shibuya (youth fashion) Shimokitazawa (boho village) Shinjuku (red light district) Ueno (museums) Yanaka (old Tokyo)

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

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