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Welcome back to the short sleeve travel podcast where luxury meets budget and adventure is always a given. I'm your host Kat Shortsleeve and my journey from finance and wealth management to the world's hidden gems has ignited a passion, making every trip feel first class without the first class price tag. Through inspiring stories, curated guides, and insightful tips, Short Sleep Travel is your compass, pointing you to experiences that are elevated, yet attainable. So are you ready to redefine luxury travel on your terms? Dive in with me and I'll help you fill in your life with as much travel as you desire. I've got the insider guide on everything from mastering the art of the airport to the city's intricate subway system. If you're wondering about currency, tap water, and the cultural norms in Tokyo, I've got you covered. And at the end, I'll let you know the must see spots, as well as the overrated, more touristy spots that you can definitely skip out on. To capture Tokyo in just two words, I'd have to go with it's sophisticated as well as energetic. The city seems to offer this seamless blend of the two, and you'll notice it's a great blend of ancient traditions as well as this hyper modernality. One of my favorite things about Tokyo is that it's truly a safe haven, and it holds the title as one of the safest cities in the entire world with extremely low crime rates. It's a great spot for solo travelers, which I do a lot of, and highly recommend it to any women solo traveling especially. So you've just arrived at the international airport and you're wondering how to get downtown. This is always my first question. Now you can grab an Uber, because Uber is operational in Tokyo, but it's going to be pricier than the other local options. What I highly recommend is taking a train called the Narita Express, or the NEX. It's direct, it's comfy, it's a quick ride to the city, and it'll only cost you 3, 000 yen. Which is just around 18. Now when it comes to cash, where to get money out? I never recommend getting money out at the ATM, but there are ATMs at the Narita and the Haneda airports. Hopefully I'm pronouncing that correctly. But if you go downtown, you'll find ATMs at 7 Elevens, and most of the time, while I recommend only taking money out, At ATMs that are directly connected to banks, you are going to be very safe in Japan in their highly trusted 7 Eleven ATMs, as well as these Japanese post ATMs. If you're trying to figure out where to stay, I have a few recommendations for you. First is Shinjuku. Now, this is the energetic heart of Tokyo. It's perfect for everyone who wants to be where the action is. It's a little bit of a later night crowd, a bit of a younger crowd, and this is where you can find a lot of the incredible street fashion. And I'm talking the more grungy street fashion. And now the other area that... It is known for the quirky, avant garde street fashion. And this is definitely a sight for sore eyes, and a delight for anyone who's very into unique wardrobe pieces. I'm sure you've heard about this if you know much about Japan or Tokyo, but it's called Harajuku. And this is a fashion district. The second place that I'd highly recommend to stay is called Asakusa. So that's A S A K U S A. This is a much more traditional Japanese experience and you're going to be surrounded by some really amazing restaurants, some more boutique y shopping, and a bit less touristy. Now this third area is over by the Shibuya Crossing. The Shibuya Crossing, you might have heard about this, this is often dubbed the Scramble. It is the busiest pedestrian crosswalk in the entire world. 2, 500 people cross at the same time during rush hour. I went and crossed back and forth, of course had to take a few photos, it's kind of an iconic spot. Definitely don't miss this, but that actually, shockingly enough, is a good area to stay. Now, I would compare this area to be a little bit similar to Times Square in New York, and I would never recommend anyone stay in Times Square in New York. That's actually the last place I would ever recommend you stay, but when it comes to Tokyo, Shibuya Crossing is central, you're going to be located near all of the train systems, it's a great spot. And now, to getting around the city. While they do have Ubers like I mentioned, I highly recommend Taking the subway. I will actually be angry at you if you do not take the train system when you're in Tokyo because it's extensive, it's highly efficient, it's always on time, and it's the go to option for locals as well as tourists. There is some great etiquette about being on trains. You can't eat on the trains, you can't really speak on the trains, everyone minds themselves, minds their own business, and is extremely conscientious of one another. Now, if you don't want to take the subway for whatever reason, you can take a taxi. These are going to be slightly more costly, but always opt for the more reputable companies. When it comes to the number of days that you're going to need in Tokyo itself, I definitely think you need a minimum of three days, but three to four is probably ideal to cover the Tokyo classics, like you're going to need to see the Imperial Palace, the Tokyo Tower and Akihabara. Okay, Akihabara, it's a vibrant district. It's famous for all these electronics shops, anime shops, very big Japanese influence there. This is a great spot if you're going to find different collectible items. For example, I'm very into cameras and photography. And so there's some great vintage camera stores that I went and checked out and a lot of vintage watches. A lot of people go to Tokyo to buy vintage Rolexes that you can't find anywhere else. So that's what's in this area. You'll also find lots of maid cafes, which I don't want to get into that one, but you can look it up yourself. And then there are lots of places in this area that are very safe for solo travel. And it's a gadget galore heaven, so definitely check out Akihabara. Okay, language. Now, Japanese is of course the official language, but English is a little less common. You will see that signage does often include English translations, and people will speak English at, I'm not going to say most places, but a lot of places. I always find it's in your best interest to try to know a couple of the local phrases, even just translate English into Japanese, how to say, excuse me, do you speak English? And just practice that a few times. Okay, the next three things I'm going to get into are converters, tap water, and culture and etiquette. So in terms of converters, you're going to need type A and B plugs with a standard 100 So type A is the one that has the two flat parallel pins and type B is the two flat parallel pins with the one round grounding pin. So double check your converters. Two, when it comes to tap water, it is safe to drink in Tokyo and I absolutely love that. This is dissimilar to most other Asian cities, so indulge and you don't need to splurge on tons of bottled water. Three, when it comes to culture and etiquette, I will point out three things for you. Number one being respect. So bowing is a traditional way to show respect, especially to show respect to elders. Number two is quietness. So the Japanese really value quietness and calm, even in crowded places like trains. And I was walking through Tokyo, I was shocked to notice that cars do not honk at each other. Cars are just moving along slowly through the streets. And similarly, when I was taking the train, no one is speaking. No one is playing music out loud. It could not be more different than my experiences in New York City, which is where I live. Third piece of culture and etiquette is the queue. So always stand in line and wait your turn, whether it's for an elevator or for a bus stop. This is common practice and people really want you to respect that. Similarly, I want to prepare you for what to expect in Tokyo as well as in Japan. So first, there's this high level of hospitality. There's this concept in Japanese called omotenashi, and it's all about exquisite hospitality, impeccable service, and it kind of is something that you can see throughout a lot of Japanese culture. Omotenashi deeply values individual needs and preferences, and This is something that you'll notice in the service that is going to be offered to you, whether it's at your hotel or at a restaurant you'll also expect in Tokyo that everything is startlingly clean. It's similar to Singapore in that the streets are very clean, there are not trash cans all over the city, there's not garbage all over the place. It's funny, you would think... The place is so clean because there are so many trash cans, but instead people just take their trash home with them and throw it out there. And the final thing to expect is Tokyo is super high tech. From toilets to vending machines, expect a very fast forward experience. I actually was listening to a podcast just this morning and I heard that Tokyo is going to be the first city to offer some ride shares that are completely driverless. So they are on the cutting edge and if you're very into tech, or even if you're not like me, I'm not necessarily. You're going to see some robot cafes and and just really high tech advanced things that don't exist elsewhere It's pretty cool. I Don't want to bog you down with a million sites that you have to see in Tokyo instead I want to tell you one that you need to see so this is the Tezukiji Outer Outdoor Market, so it's t s u k i j i now this is the And you have to go at four in the morning and my friends and I we were partying late into the night in Tokyo and so Maybe you can go from a night out, but eating raw fish on a empty stomach after a night out isn't the best I don't recommend it Maybe get a good night's sleep the night before or go if you're jet lagged but go at four in the morning try to get right down there on the floor and Um, and you see all the tuna being brought in off the ships and they're doing the punches to test the tuna and find out what each piece can be sold for. Continuing in the same vein, when it comes to local cuisine in Tokyo, you need to have sushi. I don't even know why I need to tell you this. Let's move on, because you just, if you're not having sushi in Tokyo, I'm sorry, what are you doing? You need to also have the ramen. It's so authentic, it's so cheap, and especially if you're going in the colder winter months, it's so perfect. Go for some omakase. So this is the chef's selection of sushi and different Japanese dishes. It's going to be a little bit pricier, but well worth the experience, in my opinion, to splurge,. And now, Tokyo has more Michelin star restaurants than any other city in the world. It's not just sushi. They have an entire culinary universe there, but I recommend go to one of the one star Michelin restaurants. Places you can find some that are kind of less expensive and you're going to have an incredible experience Also, if you want to learn more about Michelin stars Where they come from what they mean all the details like that check out my latest podcast I dive into the cheapest places in the world to have Michelin star meals Even as cheap as 5 as well as I talked about some of the extremely high end Crazy spots where you can have a meal for 2, 000 I'm not headed there just yet, but fingers crossed for the future. Now, Tokyo is the birthplace of cat cafes. So you can sip tea, pet cats, and for many. People living in Tokyo, they have pet free apartments. So this is a slice of little exposure to some animals and people love it. Now I'm not a big cat person, despite my name being cat, but if you're into that sort of thing, definitely check it out. Now, when to visit Tokyo? So, if you can choose any time, there are two times that I think are best. One is going to be during the cherry blossom season. This is iconic. Now, this is late March to early April, and please just Google some photos of what the cherry blossoms look like in Japan. It also is similar to the cherry blossoms in DC, but in Japan it's just even more so over the top, more incredible, more iconic. And the second, this is the time that I went because I haven't yet gone to Tokyo during the cherry blossom season. I went during the winter months, so I went towards the end of January and I went skiing in Niseko. Holy cow, it was amazing. Japan is actually the snowiest country in the entire world and you just have powder up to your elbows. It's truly incredible. You can visit during autumn, during the fall for some leaf peeping. Or you could visit New England for that as well. Similarly, during the winter you can go to the Sapporo Snow Festival and New Year's Eve in Tokyo is a very, very big thing. So, at some point I hope to visit during all these different seasons, but similar to New York City and a couple other places, any time is going to be a good time if you can stop over in Tokyo. I'm dying to tell you guys all about my skiing experience, but that will be a story for another time. Thank you for listening and thank you for hanging out with me. I really appreciate all of you who do come listen. And if you enjoyed this, you can subscribe to the Short Sleeve Travel Podcast. New episodes coming out each week, or just like this week, two episodes coming out. You can follow me on any platform, whether it's Instagram, all at Kat Short Sleeve. That's K A T Short Sleeve, if you want to see what I'm up to. You can also email me at catshortsleeve at gmail. com. Cannot wait for the next episode. See you all there. Cheers.