Like a Local
Tokyo is far more liveable than you may think. Get beyond the skyscrapers, the omnipresent neon and the crowds and you’ll find a city that’s more like a patchwork of towns, each with its own character and characters.
Book browsing in Jimbōchō | OGIYOSHISAN / GETTY IMAGES ©
Local Hang-outs
Spend an afternoon in one of these neighbourhoods loved by locals.
Shimo-Kitazawa (下北沢 GOOGLE MAP ; Setagaya-ku; dKeiō Inokashira Line to Shimo-Kitazawa) A bastion of bohemia for decades, with snaking alleys, secondhand stores, coffee shops, hole-in-the-wall bars and live-music halls.
Yanaka Long-time artists' neighbourhood, with studios, galleries, art supply shops and cafes – many of which are in old wooden buildings.
Naka-Meguro Few tall buildings and a leafy canal flanked by small shops and restaurants give this artsy district a small-town vibe.
Kichijōji Popular with students for its woodsy park, funky cafes and casual restaurants, and oft-voted among the best places to live in Tokyo.
Jimbōchō A favourite destination for local bibliophiles with more than 100 secondhand bookshops. As you'd expect, there are lots of cafes here.
Nakano Tokyo's underground otaku (anime and manga fans) haunt, without the flash and bang of Akihabara.
Tomigaya Hipster 'hood with cafes, bistros and indie shops, right down the street from Shibuya.
Kagurazaka Cobblestone streets give this district a romantic feel; good for dates and for snapping photos with friends.
Kōenji Punk-rock clubs, grungy bars and secondhand shops are the hallmarks of Tokyo's counter-culture den.
Kuramae A growing scene of young artisans drawn by cheap rent on the east side of town.
Top Local Experiences
Queuing up for the latest trendy ramen shop.
Signing up for a nomi-hōdai (all-you-can-drink) plan at a karaoke parlour and singing until the first train starts running in the morning.
Riding the Chūō line at rush hour – if you dare.
Spending a sunny weekend afternoon at Yoyogi-kōen or Inokashira-kōen.
Finding everything you need (from sundries to slippers to lunch) on a shōtengai, a typical shopping street.
Getting a conbini (convenience store) bentō (boxed meal) for dinner.
Get to Know the Old City
Literally the ‘low city', Shitamachi was where merchants and artisans lived during the Edo period. The city is no longer carved up so neatly; however, many of the old patterns remain. On the east side of the city, former Shitamachi neighbourhoods remain a tangle of alleys and tightly packed quarters, with traditional architecture, artisan workshops and small businesses.
The term 'Shitamachi' is still used to describe neighbourhoods that retain this old-Tokyo vibe, such as Asakusa and Fukagawa. Not everyone in Tokyo is enamoured with the city's forward push; the Shitamachi lifestyle has its staunch defenders. Spend an afternoon strolling through one of these districts and you'll see a whole other side to the city – one that is utterly down-to-earth and unpretentious.
Join the Celebrations
Hanami, the spirited parties that occur every spring under the boughs of the cherry trees, is Tokyo's most famous celebration, but festivals happen year-round. This is especially true during the summer months, when every neighbourhood has its own festival – a custom that goes back centuries. These riotous spectacles usually include a parade of mikoshi (portable shrines) by locals in traditional garb (which sometimes means only loincloths and short coats on the men).
Street fairs and hanabi taikai (fireworks displays) draw crowds dressed in colourful yukata (light cotton kimonos). And where there are festivals there are stalls selling food and beer. Don't be shy: by all means join in the merry-making (though we recommend stepping back from the heavy mikoshi so you don't get jostled).
Websites such as Go Tokyo (www.gotokyo.org/en/index.html) and Time Out Tokyo (www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo) have listings.
Eat Like a Local
Think Seasonally
They may live in concrete boxes but Tokyoites are still attuned to the rhythms of nature – at least when it comes to food. Share their excitement over the first takenoko (young bamboo shoots) in spring or sanma (mackerel pike) in autumn. Even fast-food restaurants and convenience stores offer seasonal treats, luring customers in for the taste of the month.
Look Up
If you’re accustomed to scanning the street at ground level, you stand to miss out on a lot in Tokyo. In downtown areas restaurants are stacked on top of each other, creating multiple storeys of competing vertical neon signs. Most department stores, and even some office buildings, have food courts on the top floors with restaurants that are often surprisingly good.
Party Like a Local
With small apartments and thin walls, most Tokyoites do their entertaining outside the home. A nomikai is literally a ‘meet up to drink', and they typically take place in restaurants or izakaya (Japanese pub-eateries). A ‘party plan’ (パーティプラン; pāti puran) is arranged, consisting of a course of food and a couple of hours of nomi-hōdai (飲み放題; all-you-can-drink booze, a good word to know). Never mind the stereotype about Japanese people being quiet and reserved – nomikai are loud and animated. There’s no worry about disturbing the neighbours – or cleaning up.
While large groups require advance reservations, a group of around four can usually ask for a party plan when ordering – as long as you're not picky, this also simplifies the ordering process!
Bathe Like a Local
Public bathhouses (sentō) have a centuries’ old tradition in Tokyo. Though their numbers are dwindling, most communities still have one. Serious devotees come to take advantage of extras such as saunas, to gossip with neighbours or just to revel in soaking longer than would be fair at home (with others clamouring for a turn). Custom calls for a beer afterwards.
For Free
Tokyo consistently lands near the top of the list of the world’s most expensive cities. Yet many of the city’s top sights cost nothing and free festivals take place year-round. Of course, the best way to enjoy Tokyo is to simply wander its colourful neighbourhoods – which doesn't cost a thing.
Free Sights
Shrines & Temples
Shintō shrines are usually free in Tokyo and most Buddhist temples charge only to enter their honden (main hall) – meaning that two of the city's top sights, Meiji-jingū and Sensō-ji are free.
Museums
Tokyo has many free niche museums. Often no bigger than a room, they offer a succinct look at the more plebeian aspects of the city, such as its artisan craft culture or the history of beer production.
Markets
Tsukiji is the most famous of Tokyo's many markets. There's also the old-fashioned open-air market Ameya-yokochō and a weekend farmers market in Aoyama.
City Views
Some skyscrapers, like the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, have free observatories on the upper floors.
Architecture
Tokyo has some fascinating buildings, such as the designer boutiques lining Omote-sandō (表参道 MAP GOOGLE MAP ; bGinza line to Omote-sandō, exits A3 & B4, dJR Yamanote line to Harajuku, Omote-sandō exit) in Harajuku, designed by many of the big names in Japanese architecture.
Galleries
Take the pulse of the city's art scene in its many free galleries; you'll find clusters of them around Ginza, Roppongi and Harajuku.
Parks & Gardens
Spend an afternoon people-watching in one of Tokyo's excellent public parks, perhaps Yoyogi-kōen or Inokashira-kōen. Grab a bentō (boxed meal) from a convenience store for a cheap and easy picnic. Or set aside time to explore the secret (and free!) gardens of Akasaka.
Money-Saving Ideas
Cheap Sleeps
All-night manga kissa (cafes for reading comic books) and spas double as ultra-discount lodgings. You probably wouldn't want to spend many nights like this, but one or two would s
ave you some yen.
Cheap Eats
Restaurants that charge several thousand yen per person for dinner often serve lunch for just ¥1000. In the evenings, grocery stores, bakeries and department-store food halls slash prices on bentō, baked goods and sushi.
Convenience Stores
The best friend to all budget travellers, convenience stores stock sandwiches, rice balls, hot dishes and beer, all of which you can assemble into a very affordable (if not exactly healthy) meal.
Resources
Expat-run Tokyo Cheapo (http://tokyocheapo.com) is full of tips on how to enjoy Tokyo on the cheap. See Go Tokyo (www.gotokyo.org) for a list of festivals.
5Eating
As visitors to Tokyo quickly discover, the people here are absolutely obsessed with food. The city has a vibrant and cosmopolitan dining scene and a strong culture of eating out – popular restaurants are packed most nights of the week. Best of all, you can get superlative meals on any budget.
Omoide Yokocho, Shinjuku | MAREMAGNUM / GETTY IMAGES ©
Tokyo Food Scene
Tokyo foodies take pride in what they like to think of as their 'boutique' dining scene. Rather than offer long menus of elaborate dishes, many of the best restaurants make just a few things – and sometimes even just one! Sushi shops make sushi; tempura shops make tempura. A restaurant that does too much might be suspect: how can it compare to a speciality shop that has been honing its craft for three generations?
It's easy to make a connection between Tokyo's deep-rooted artisan culture – born of its early days as a castle town – and this preponderance of small restaurants hell-bent on perfecting a single dish, be it tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlets) or hamburgers.
Yes, hamburgers: Tokyoites love novelty and are eager consumers of the world's myriad cuisines. The perfectionist streak applies here, too: local chefs love deconstructing, coaxing and reassembling dishes from different traditions. The result might not always look and taste like what you're used to, but odds are it'll be good.
Ebi-tendon (tempura prawns over rice) | KANOK INTHUWANARUD / SHUTTERSTOCK ©
Top Tokyo Dining Experiences
ANoshing on yakitori (chicken skewers) and knocking back beers with Tokyo’s workday warriors under the train tracks in Yūrakuchō.
AGazing upon (and sampling) all the glorious delights to be found in a department-store food hall.
AMaking a pilgrimmage to Tsukiji's Outer Market for street food (such as grilled oysters) and professional tools (such as chef's knives).
AVisiting a traditional festival and getting yaki-soba (fried noodles) or okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes) hot off the grill.
AGrabbing late-night noodles after a rousing round of karaoke.
ASplurging on an omakase (chef’s tasting menu) at a top-class sushi restaurant.
Yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) | TORORO REACTION / SHUTTERSTOCK ©
The Basics
When you enter a restaurant in Japan the staff will likely all greet you with a hearty ‘Irasshai!’ (Welcome!). In all but the most casual places, where you seat yourself, the waitstaff will next ask you ‘Nan-mei sama?’ (How many people?). Indicate the answer with your fingers, which is what the Japanese do. You may also be asked if you would like to sit at a zashiki (low table on the tatami), at a tēburu (table) or the kauntā (counter). Once seated you will be given an o-shibori (hot towel), a cup of tea or water (this is free) and a menu.
When your food arrives, it’s the custom to say ‘Itadakimasu’ (literally ‘I will receive’ but closer to ‘bon appétit’ in meaning) before digging in. All but the most extreme type-A chefs will say they’d rather have foreign visitors enjoy their meal than agonise over getting the etiquette right. Still, there’s nothing that makes a Japanese chef grimace more than out-of-towners who over-season their food – a little soy sauce and wasabi go a long way (and heaven forbid, don’t pour soy sauce all over your rice; it makes it much harder to eat with chopsticks).
On your way out, it’s polite to say ‘Gochisō-sama deshita’ (literally ‘It was a feast’; a respectful way of saying you enjoyed the meal) to the staff.
A Foodie's Day in Tokyo
Start with a trip to Tsukiji Outer Market to rummage up breakfast among the street stalls. The ebi-katsu sando (deep-fried prawn sandwiches) at Kimagure-ya (気まぐれ屋 MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 6-21-6 Tsukiji, Chūō-ku; sandwiches from ¥140; h5am-10am; bHibiya line to Tsukiji, exit 1) are a good choice; you can get coffee here, too. This is also the place to hunt for professional-grade cooking tools; Tsukiji Hitachiya sells hand-forged chef's knives.
Work off breakfast with a walk to Ginza (15 minutes). Have a wander through the basement food hall at Mitsukoshi. Nearby Akomeya is a beautiful foodstuffs boutique that stocks packaged foods from around Japan. All are fantastic for gifts.
Hungry again yet? Head to Kagari, one of Tokyo's hottest ramen shops (you might have to queue). After lunch, visit tea parlour Cha Ginza, where you can sit and enjoy matcha (powdered green tea) and traditional sweets on the roof and shop for tea on the ground floor.
In the late afternoon take the subway to Ueno. Here you can stroll through the old-fashioned outdoor market, Ameya-yokochō, on your way to Shinsuke, one of Tokyo’s best izakaya. Order dishes one or two at a time, paired with Shinsuke's excellent sake. If you have energy to make it back across town, end with a nightcap at Zoetrope, which stocks the world’s best selection of Japanese whiskies.
Traditional Japanese kitchen knives for sale at Tsukiji market | LERNER VADIM / SHUTTERSTOCK ©
What to Eat
Sushi
Sushi (寿司 or 鮨; raw fish and rice seasoned with vinegar) comes in many forms; however, the most well-known, nigiri-zushi – the bite-sized slivers of fish placed on pedestals of rice – is a Tokyo speciality. It's also called ‘Edo-mae’, meaning in the style of Edo, after the old name for Tokyo. Sushi was originally a way to make fish last longer; the vinegar in the rice was a preserving agent and older forms of sushi, more common in western Japan, taste much more of vinegar. Edo-mae sushi was developed in the 19th century as a snack for busy merchants to eat on the spot. There was less need for preservation because Tokyo Bay could provide a steady stream of fresh fish.
If you visit one of Tokyo’s top sushi counters, most likely you’ll be served a belly-busting set course of seasonal nigiri-zushi. At sushi restaurants, ordering a set or a course is almost always more economical than ordering à la carte. However, you don’t have to pay through the nose for sushi that’s leagues better than what you can get back home. For a more casual experience, try a kaiten-zushi (回転寿司), where ready-made plates of sushi are sent around the restaurant on a conveyor belt. The best thing about these restaurants is that you don’t have to worry about ordering: just grab whatever looks good as it goes by.
Sushi | ATTAPONG_THAILAND / SHUTTERSTOCK ©
Ramen
Ramen originated in China, but its popularity in Japan is epic. Your basic ramen is a big bowl of crinkly egg noodles in broth, served with toppings such as chāshū (sliced roast pork), moyashi (bean sprouts) and negi (leeks). The broth can be made from pork or chicken bones or dried seafood; usually it's a top-secret combination of some or all of the above. It's typically seasoned with shio (salt), shōyu (soy sauce) or hearty miso – though at less orthodox places, anything goes. Tokyo's classic style is a shōyu-flavoured broth with a subtle bitter smokiness that comes from niboshi (dried young sardines). Another popular style is tsukemen, noodles that come with a dipping sauce (like a really condensed broth) on the side.
Given the option, most diners get their noodles katame (literally ‘hard’ but more like al dente). Ramen should be eaten at whip speed, before the noodles get soggy; that's why you'll hear diners slurping, sucking in air to cool their mouths. If you’re really hungry, ask for kaedama (another serving of noodles), usually only a couple of hundred yen more.
Ramen | MAC PHOTOGRAPHY / GETTY IMAGES ©
Tokyo Classics
&nb
sp; Tokyo has restaurants specialising in every facet of Japanese cuisine. There are a few dishes, though, that have a special place in the city's collective, er, stomach.
Curry Rice (カレーライス) Curry entered Japan through the British and became a beloved dish; here it's hardly spicy at all (unless you request it), but rather a bit sweet and thick, served over sticky rice (and sometimes with tonkatsu, deep-fried pork cutlets). In Tokyo, the neighbourhood of Jimbōchō is known for its curry shops. It's also a popular haunt for book lovers, who will tell you that curry is the perfect dish: as it's eaten with a spoon, you've got one hand free to hold a book.
Monja-yaki (もんじゃ焼き) This Tokyo speciality is similar to the classic dish okonomiyaki (a thick savoury pancake stuffed with meat, seafood and cabbage), but the batter is runnier, making for a thin crêpe that crisps at the edges. Tsukishima is the birthplace of the dish and has a whole strip of specialists.
Soba (蕎麦) Western Japan eats more udon (thick wheat noodles); eastern Japan (which includes Tokyo) eats more soba (buckwheat noodles) – though most shops sell both. Connoisseurs order their soba noodles cold (since hot soup quickly turns al dente noodles to mush), served with a dipping broth on the side. Better soba restaurants serve to-wari (十割; 100% buckwheat) noodles; otherwise they're made of a blend of buckwheat and wheat. Cheaper tachigui (立ち食い; stand-and-eat) noodle bars can be found all over the city.
Lonely Planet Tokyo Page 4