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Global Travel Planning
Top Tips and Insights for First-Time Travellers to Tokyo Japan
In episode 38 of the Global Travel Planning Podcast, host Tracy Collins welcomes guest Helen Foster to discuss essential tips for first-time visitors to Tokyo, Japan. Helen shares her journey from initially disliking Tokyo to falling in love with its unique blend of modernity and tradition.
The episode offers valuable advice on navigating the city, planning itineraries, and cultural etiquette. Tracy and Helen also highlight fascinating travel experiences, must-visit places, and budget-friendly tips for enjoying Tokyo.
⭐️ Guest - Helen Foster (Japlanease)
📝 Show Notes - Episode 38
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- Episode #14 - Tips for first-time visitors to Japan
- Episode #4 - Tips for first-time visitors to Vietnam
- Episode #16 - Exploring New Zealand by Van: Insider Tips and Must-Visit Destinations with Abigail Hannah
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Welcome to episode 38 of the Global Travel Planning Podcast. Today, we're uncovering everything you need to know about planning a visit to Tokyo, a city where ancient traditions meet cutting-edge modernity. Join us for expert tips to make your first visit unforgettable. Hi and welcome to the Global Travel Planning Podcast. I'm your host, tracey Collins, who, with my expert guests, will take you on a weekly journey to destinations around the globe, providing travel inspiration, itinerary ideas, practical tips and more to help you plan your next travel adventure. Hello and welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 1:Today, I'm so thrilled to explore Tokyo, a city where tradition and modernity blend seamlessly to create a truly unique destination. Joining me is Helen Foster, who has a deep connection to Tokyo and a wealth of knowledge to share. We'll be covering everything a first-time visitor needs to know, from the best times to visit a must-see neighbourhood to navigating the city like a pro and discovering hidden gems you won't find in guidebooks. Along the way, we'll discuss cultural etiquette, budget-friendly tips and the one piece of advice that can transform your Tokyo experience. I began by asking Helen to tell us a bit about herself and where she's based.
Speaker 2:So I'm based in Sydney now. As you may be able to tell from my accent, I'm British originally and I moved out here about eight years ago. I am a journalist by trade, but I've kind of given that up now to spend my entire days, well, basically writing about Japan, because why not?
Speaker 1:So that's me. Well, me, obviously. You love Japan. And, um and when, when Doug and I went to Japan in 2023, at the end of 2023, I extensively used your website and was a member I still am a member of your Facebook group and I fell in love with Tokyo. So I'm going to ask you about your connection with Tokyo, and how did it become such a special place for you? Because I know you, you love Tokyo, don't you?
Speaker 2:yes, it's one of one of my favorite places in Japan, but, um, yeah, first time I went, hated it. Uh, came back saying never going back there, never couldn't live there. Oh my god, it's awful. Uh, I first went in I don't even know really what year it was it was about 20 odd years ago and it was very different. Then. There wasn't so much English. It was the first place I'd ever been where I, I felt, really did feel like I was in a foreign country and I didn't know what on earth to do. I mean, shows you how long ago it was. I had to send facts to my office and it's just trying to just work that out was just impossible so at that point, and I couldn't understand. The thing I love about it now, it was the thing I hated about it then, which was the orderliness of it and the fact that people queue for the train. It was all just too conformist for me. Now it's one of the things I love most about it, but anyway, I went back again in 2012.
Speaker 2:And, for some reason, everything about the way I thought about it changed. The thing I hated about people queuing on the trains and the silence and the fact that everybody did what they were told was the thing that made me actually love it most, because it's safe, it's clean, you know where you're going and and that. So that was one of the reasons I loved it, but the the main one was the fact that somebody decided it was a great idea to chuck a giant Godzilla on the top of a hotel in the middle of Tokyo that breathes fire a few times a day. And it wasn't so much that that made me just think this is my happy place. It was the fact that someone else said, yes, that's a fantastic idea, let's do that. And that pretty much sums up Tokyo to me that somebody just thought it was a great idea to shove a giant Godzilla in the middle of the city and make it roll.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. If you would describe Tokyo and to somebody who's never been in a few words, how would you capture the essence what? What would you, what words would you use to capture the essence of Tokyo?
Speaker 2:it's bonkers, it's busy, it's buzzing, it's just, it's the. It's the Blade Runner, it's the, it's. It's what you think when you think of Blade Runner. That's that's what I think of. When I think of Tokyo, it's the, it's the blade runner, it's, it's, it's what you think when you think of blade runner. That's that's what I think of. When I think of tokyo, it's the neon lights and the and the fast things I mean there is another side to.
Speaker 2:It's a very traditional side if you don't look for it, but to me that's. That's what tokyo is all about. It's the, the bright lights and the and the and the people and the fact that you're just standing there like what the heck is happening right now so absolutely.
Speaker 1:I have to say, doug and I both totally fell in love with Japan and I loved Tokyo, absolutely loved Tokyo. So totally get that, absolutely. If somebody's planned to a trip to Tokyo for the first time and I remember when Doug and I were doing it, we kind of thought, oh my goodness, like Japan is. It was a bit of a spur of the moment thing and it was like well, japan, it just feels so, so exotic, so foreign, so different. How do we do this? And luckily your Facebook group and and your excellent website, japanese, really helped with that. But uh, so I would say, if you listen to this podcast and you plan to go to Japan, you need to look at Helen's resources.
Speaker 2:But one of the key things first-time visitors should know about Tokyo before they arrive I think the fundamental thing and the thing that people don't really sort of understand until they get there is how big it is. It is huge. And you look at it on a map and you say, oh yeah, I can go to the Meiji Shrine now and the I can't even think of something Disney Island at the same day and they're actually like an hour apart. So the main thing I would say is really know the distances that you're going to be dealing with and don't try and do everything. Don't try and do it in two days, which I've seen people do, but I'm going to see all of tokyo in two days.
Speaker 2:No, no, you're really not. If you've only got two days, find one area or two areas and and enjoy them. Don't try and run around the top 10 sites in two days. You're just gonna hate every second of it. I think three to four days is the minimum you can do tokyo well in um. I've been, I've probably spent I don't know 25, 30 days there, maybe more.
Speaker 1:At least let me touch the sides, so yeah, we decided to spend yeah, we decided to spend six days there and honestly, it was it. We just felt we scratched the surface of it because there's so much to do and see and experience there. So what about choosing the best time of year to visit tokyo? Is there a best time of year to visit? Do things change over the seasons? There's a worse time of year. I can tell you that.
Speaker 2:Um, okay, go for it, don't go in summer, if you can help it. Just Just don't, please. I know it's school holidays in a lot of sort of the sort of northern hemisphere, but if you can avoid the summer, do. It's absolutely scorching. I mean, people come from Australia thinking they can cope with Tokyo summer and there's a lot of people in my Facebook group who've done it going. No, you really can't. I live in Queensland and this is like nothing I'd ever felt.
Speaker 2:So I would say that's the only time I would say don't go, for the seasons they're all very, very different. If you come in spring, you've got cherry blossoms. You can watch people picnicking under the trees. It's amazing, it's pretty, but it's also going to be quite busy. It's the one time everyone wants to go.
Speaker 2:Winter is crisp, it's clean, it doesn't snow that often, so and when it does, it doesn't settle, so the weather's not too bad and if you come just before Christmas, they have amazing illuminations and decorations and things like that. Especially if you go somewhere like Disneyland, it's just bonkers. Autumn's good. You're not going to get the autumn leaves because Tokyo doesn't have many leaves, but it's a nice sort of shoulder season. Just doesn't have many leaves, but it's it's. It's a nice sort of shoulder season. Just the only thing to be careful with september is that it can be still be typhoon season, so it can get rainy. And if you are traveling that time of year, I would say, allow a little bit of flexibility with your plans, especially if you do go further into japan and need to get back to tokyo to go to the airport. Give yourself a couple of days, grace don't, just in case so, because you never know no, absolutely we.
Speaker 1:We were actually surprised about how we went in um end of end of October. First couple weeks in November. We were absolutely gosh like how hot it was. I was wearing my summer dresses. Yeah, I've just.
Speaker 2:I was there this year, um at the same time, and I was surprised, um, it was actually a lot warmer down south by the time I came up to Tokyo. I was a bit like, oh, I've actually had to put my tights on, but yeah, I, I thought it was going to be proper like england, october, november weather yeah and yeah. I just had a cardigan and I was like this is nice I know I couldn't, but I had not.
Speaker 1:I genuinely hadn't expected that. I did the same thing and I thought, oh, it's going to be like uk weather, because it's end of October, first few weeks of November, it's just going to be chilly. But there's pictures of me in my summer dresses and sandals and I honestly could not believe it. Now, one of the things that I struggled with the most was choosing where to stay in Tokyo, because, as you say, it's huge, it's massive. So have you got specific recommendations for neighborhoods or areas to stay for, kind of for the, for convenience, for the atmosphere, but also for first-time visitors?
Speaker 2:I mean there's, there's sort of four or five areas that are the ones that everybody suggests for first-time visitors. Whether that means you should stay in them, I'm not sure. I'll tell you where I stay in a minute. Um, yeah, but they are. So there's I'm gonna get this pronounced pronunciation wrong um, asakusa, um, which is like the more traditional area. It's um, it's where the sensuji temple is and it's nice if you sort of like that side of things, and that's over on the east, east of tokyo.
Speaker 2:Ginza is a big shopping area, but it's also got. There's a lot more to it than that. I always thought I've never stayed in ginza because it's just shops. It's like gucci, prada, um is oh yeah, what do I want to do that for? But if you actually go around the back streets there's a an entire sort of salaryman culture and little restaurants and things that you need, sort of. Even now I'm just still exploring that much, much, much more. Ginza's great because it's kind of it's still on the east, but it's everywhere. It's got great sort of transport links to everywhere. Shinjuku, if you want your nightlife, it's fantastic.
Speaker 2:I love Kabuchiko, which is the middle of Shinjuku but it is a red light district and some people it's nothing like you would. It's not like any red light district you've ever been to in your life. It's not intimidating, it's not scary, it's not violent. It's not intimidating, it's not scary, it's not violent, it's not too in your face, but a lot of people do. It can put some people off, so just bear that in mind. That east shinjuku is can be part of the red light district. West shinjuku is fine, um, and if you want sort of shops and teen fashion and and sort of stuff like that, it's shibuya. Now, the disadvantage of all these places is they're very, very busy, they're very, very popular and they're quite expensive. So there are some sort of, some other areas that you might want to look at.
Speaker 2:I and I shouldn't say this because I'm never going to get my hotel now I stay in a place again I probably might pronounce not pronouncing this correctly, my japanese teacher will have a right go at me uh, it's a place called daemon, and daemon is fantastic for access from Haneda Airport.
Speaker 2:It's a direct line, it's one train, it's touristy enough to not be intimidating or difficult, but it's local enough that you can walk into a restaurant and you're surrounded by sort of Japanese workers or salarymen. It's just a nice compromise between the two, and there's quite a lot of hotels there and it's because it's not one of the big name places, it is a little bit cheaper, um, which which I like. So, yeah, um, I also like the sound of it. Yeah, the main thing is, as long as you're near a station, you can't really go wrong. That's the fundamental thing with tokyo. Don't try and stay in shinjuku if you're 25 minutes walk from the station, so I'd like you to have them, but you're better off staying somewhere else than being two minutes walk from the station yeah, yeah, I totally agree.
Speaker 1:So I mean, what's the best way to get around tokyo?
Speaker 2:um trains, uh trains in the metro. There's the tokyo train map. Makes the London Underground map look so simple. It's just a maze of colours. But once you're there it's actually very easy because they've all got numbers and everything's in English and it's not as scary as people think it's going to be once they get there. But yes, that's probably the easiest way to get around. My advice when you are using the trains is to try and avoid big stations like Shinjuku and Shibuya, just because, I mean, shinjuku station's got 200 exits. You can go down there. You may never be seen again.
Speaker 2:I'm sure there's people just wandering around just like grabbing food because they can't find their way out. That was.
Speaker 1:Doug and I. Honestly, it's like unbelievable.
Speaker 2:I know it's just and you're just like where am I going? I don't know, I'm just gonna follow these 4 000 people because I must be going the right way, and then you find out you're just going, I don't know, off to mount foodie for the day. Um, but no, it's, it's. I'm making it sound terrifying, but avoid it until you know what you're doing and you're a bit like less tokyo shocked. There's always a smaller metro station nearby your hotel and at first at least, I would suggest using those, if you can, just to get, while you get your bearings and get used to how many people there are and sort of the pace of everything. Also, do not discount the buses.
Speaker 2:I have had a hip problem for quite some time, which means I was having quite a lot of pain and I was trying to limit my steps, and so I started using the buses, because what you don't realize when you use the trains in Tokyo is that you can do like 4,000 steps getting onto the platform by the time you've gone in the exit from your hotel and you've walked under this underground passage which seems to go on for like three days. You've literally walked a kilometer. So sometimes the buses are a lot easier to use because they take away that initial great big lump of steps. Most of them are in english, most of them have numbers. You haven't got to try and read kanji. Google maps has made it so much easier to find the stops and everything along those.
Speaker 2:So don't discount the buses, is my, my other piece of advice. They're nowhere near as frightening as you think, and if you've got a what they call a suica card or an ic card, which is like the oyster card or opal card, depending where you live, um, you just tap on when you get on the bus, you don't even have to worry about finding how much it costs. You just tap it on when you get on, you tap it off when you get off and it does it all for you yeah, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:We did use the buses and found them really easy. We did find um uh shinjuku station a bit. A bit intimidating to start off with. Thank goodness for google maps. Is there any other apps or anything that you suggest to help people navigate tokyo?
Speaker 2:not so much to navigate tokyo, google maps is is the easiest to use on the. On the, I use another app to plan. I use an app called navi time when I'm forward planning, um, just because I find it better, but that's more for long distance, because it's better for trains and times and what have you? Google maps is fantastic on the day because it will find you the quickest route and there are often so many ways to get to one destination and it will just tell you which is the quickest, or you can put down which is the least walking and things like that. The only tiny problem with google maps is it doesn't like high buildings. Um, I have walked around in circles a few times before now. My favorite one was when I was in Shibuya, opposite Google, and it did not know where I was.
Speaker 1:Google's office is literally next to you.
Speaker 2:I'm literally outside your office. So yeah, that's. The only thing to be a bit aware of is that it can have a bit of a conniption. In Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, there's still a tiny statue of Godzilla I have never seen, because I was just walking around in circles for ages and it was raining and I just gave up in the end because I could not find the entrance to this mall to see the thing.
Speaker 1:What about anybody planning their itinerary? What sort of tips would you say? Anybody?
Speaker 2:planning their itinerary. What sort of tips would you say? I only really have one tip. Well, one tip with an additional thing, and that is divide Tokyo into East and West. Do not attempt to cross the streams. Choose the sites you want to see in the East, and see those over a day or two. Choose the sites you want to see in the West. Choose those over a day or two, otherwise, you will just literally be spending your whole time attempting to navigate these train systems you're looking about.
Speaker 2:People just want to do everything. I've seen I mean, I plan an itinerary like this, but for different reasons. I've seen people saying but eight o'clock, I'm gonna be here. Nine o'clock I'm gonna be here. Ten o'clock, I'm gonna be there, you're not. Uh, the reason is, it might tell you it's going to take you 20 minutes to get there on Google Maps, but that doesn't account for you to get lost, to go in the wrong exit, to turn around three times, to get strapped by something fabulous, which is what usually happens to me like a robot information office I actually go and play with for 10 minutes. Don't really try not to schedule it to the minute. Just pick two or three things that you really want to do in a day, have some other things in the same area, that would be nice and enjoy what you see on the way and I mean some of the best moments I've had in Tokyo have been things I just found on the way.
Speaker 1:That's it. There's so much isn't there. I remember walking through a shopping centre and a robot kind of gliding past. That fascinated me. It was kind of I think it was helping people in the shopping centre, but I was like, wow, I'm seeing that, so you know that took about 20 minutes. So I was like, wow, I'm seeing that, so you know that took about 20 minutes.
Speaker 2:So I was taking some photos and following around to see what it was doing Exactly Some of the stations. Once you can go and ask for directions, I could be there for hours.
Speaker 1:Or even just stopping people and talking to them, because obviously you're going to see people dressed in different ways than you've ever seen before. Or the other thing as well that distracted me were vending machines than you've ever seen before, um, or or the other thing as well that that distracted me were, um, vending machines. Oh god, yeah, yes, it's selling everything, everything you can imagine.
Speaker 2:And even the drinks vending machines. I mean you can just but yeah, we'll talk about some things later but uh, yeah, just finding sort of like hot corn drinks. And especially now you've got google translate, the first couple of times I went it was like oh, what's that? I don't know. But now I can read a little bit more japanese. And also, if you scan google translate over the vending machines or anything, you suddenly it's this whole new world of exciting things to discover the oh, what's that? But yeah, yeah, and sometimes you should make sure you scan them over, because there's a sneaky trick that not so much in Tokyo is that they sell this thing called dashi in vending machines and it looks like a delicious tea drink and it's not. It's the sort of soup stock. And yeah, if you try and buy that and think it's a nice cup of tea and then take a swig, you're going to be like what's this nasty sort of fishy, salty thing that I'm drinking?
Speaker 1:Google Translate is amazing. After it was, it was a lifesaver for us because I, I have known all the japanese whatsoever. It's uh, it was like google translate out every time, especially menus. What is this? Okay, right, um, I could. I struggled to eat in japan, which, which is a huge confession I'm making I I lost a lot of weight because the I'm probably the one person in the world who doesn't like Japanese food. Should I say that?
Speaker 2:You can say that I always lose weight, but that's because I'm walking 20 kilometers a day.
Speaker 1:It's the only time I lose any weight. A lot of walking and living on egg sandwiches from the convenience stores.
Speaker 2:But anyway, we'll talk about that a bit.
Speaker 1:Day trips from tokyo. Should you do one or two, and if so, where should you go?
Speaker 2:well, I find it quite hard to answer this question because once I get into tokyo, I don't leave. I'm actually going back well, possibly going back in november to go and do all the day trips I'm supposed to have done. Uh, because I haven't done any of them, not for the day. Anyway. I can tell you what the big ones are, but I can't tell you whether they're any good because I haven't done them. Um, so the big ones that are easy to get to from tokyo is nico uh, which is a unesco world heritage site with a whole load of temples. It's beautiful in autumn but, as I say, I've personally seen it.
Speaker 2:Um, there is hakane. Hakane, the main thing. People go to, the. They do it for the day. They do a thing called the sightseeing loop, which is a missive sort of a mass of trains and cable cars and boats and and things and it's. It's interesting, but I find it rushed when you do it as a day. I would say spend a couple of days in hakane. Diton fuji um. I'm a bit torn about whether you should go there for a day. I would say spend a couple of days in hakone. Diton fuji um. I'm a bit torn about whether you should go there for a day or stay there. It's beautiful when it comes out, but it doesn't always come out. So if you do decide to go to fuji for a day, be flexible. There's actually and I can't remember the exact web address, but there is actually like a fuji visibility index website. I wouldn't plan your trip too far in advance. Book it when you get there and use the Fuji Visibility Index to at least try and find a day when you've got a decent chance of seeing it, because otherwise you get there.
Speaker 2:I got there because I was staying overnight and I didn't have a choice and literally I didn't even know where the mountain was supposed to be because there was no sign of it anywhere. I was just like is was supposed to be. Because there was no sign of it anywhere, I was like is it supposed to be? There? Is supposed to be there. So again, if I'd only gone for the day on that day, I wouldn't have seen it, because it popped out about half past six. At about half past six, the clouds lifted, everybody had gone home and it was only people staying the night there that got to see it. And it is as beautiful as everybody thinks. And I woke up the next morning and it had gone again. It was chucking it down. So I, yeah, I find it a bit hard to talk about day trips from tokyo because, as I say, once I get there I don't, I don't want to leave it that we we took.
Speaker 1:We took a day trip out to uh mart fuji and we were very lucky. I think I did. I think I did what you suggested, actually, and we were flexible because we were there for six days, so I probably booked a couple with some free cancellation and then just kept checking the weather. So we were very lucky. We went on a day where we did get fantastic views of Fuji. It is a long, long day. It took us, I think, over four hours to get back, because the traffic going back into Tokyo was no joke. In fact, some people decided to get the train back back and they would have got back a lot quicker than we did, because I think it was maybe it was four to five hours sat in that coach just to get back into tokyo.
Speaker 1:So yeah, to be honest, if I did that next time, I wouldn't do it on a day trip, I'd actually go and stay, uh yeah, I would.
Speaker 2:I think it's because it's difficult. As you say, you can either go on the organized day trip with coach, and then you've got that problem, or the train that gets you there sells out, so you have to book it in advance and then you're stuck on a day, so it's yeah. I would, I would also say, suggest staying a night Right Tokyo itself.
Speaker 1:What are, or what would you say are, the must do experiences I'm putting on? I always get asked this about London and I hate this question because I know it depends on what you're dressed up, but I'm going to ask you anyway, Helen.
Speaker 2:But thankfully you said experiences rather than sights, because sights I'm always like. There's like 10 big ones. Experience is the one thing if you want to see Japan at its most bonkerskers, which is what I think tokyo is about. There's a thing called the samurai show, um, which has apps. Well, it does have something to do with samurais, but don't ask me what this is. Um, there used to be a thing before covid called the robot restaurant in um shinjuku. It was insane. It was basically women in bikinis, waving glow clips, riding giant crabs around the stage. Unfortunately, it didn't survive COVID, but for some reason they came back as the samurai show and it is the most insane thing I have seen.
Speaker 2:It's not got the highest production values. It is in an over-18 establishment in Kabukicho, which means kids can't go, but it's perfectly safe and it's perfectly clean. It's all family entertainment. It's just in this particular venue and I literally came out just mind blown and I had to go and sit in a bar because I couldn't go back to my hotel room. After it just goes, I just say I I can't just go and sit and chill out in my room. After that, I just gotta sit and like decompress for a moment. It is absolutely joyous, completely bonkers. You're given a glow stick which you're just waving around. It's just yeah. So I would say that is one of the. If that's the type of thing you want to find in tokyo, you just will not beat it.
Speaker 2:Shinjuku at night. It, as I say, it's blade runner, it's. It's what you go there for. Um, go and see godzilla roar, it's funny.
Speaker 2:And then another thing that I love and not many people mention and it actually made me clap my hands with glee, because I am a small child and that's not what's body is a thing called small worlds, tokyo, and it's it's like a model village, but on steroids. They literally have an airport. It's a model of a soccer airport and the planes take off and it's just absolutely joyous and the level of detail in this place is just phenomenal. And I wasn't going to go and I just thought, oh, I think it's raining and I just I cannot tell you how much joy this place brought me. If you've got kids with you, they'll absolutely love it. If you're a small child in an adult's body, if you love model villages, again, you'll absolutely love it.
Speaker 2:It's in an area called Odaiba, which is full of cheesy and tacky things to do. Fantastic for kids. There's a lot more shrines and things in Tokyo than people think there are. Do I think they're the best things to do? No, I think you should do them, but I also think they're very, very busy, and the things that give me the most glee have been have been those things. So what?
Speaker 1:what about, I guess, the the kind of top things that people think about when they go to tokyo? So, uh, I'm thinking the crossing here, shibuya crossing I love shibuya crossing.
Speaker 2:A lot of people just think it's massively overrated. I I love watching it. Um, go and watch it from above. Make sure you cross it. Go when it's busy, because if you go there at 10 o'clock in the morning you wonder what on earth the hype's about. But go there at six o'clock in the evening and it's just fascinating to just the place called mag's rooftop. I'm not sure what time mags closes, but it's not too high so you can get a level of detail. And if you stand up there I'm just watching people going back and forwards. It's just I love it. I think it's fascinating. A lot of people go.
Speaker 1:It's just a crossing oh, I enjoyed it, we enjoyed, we walked over well, over and back, and over and back a few times. It's just also the orderliness of japan and the cleanliness of japan and I, I don't know it's so orderly yes, as I said when I first went, that's what I hated about it.
Speaker 2:Now I love it. The fact that nobody crosses it once the thing stopped. No, everyone is just standing on the side waiting. Yeah, I find it. I find it all quite fascinating. And there is a sneaky thing. If you want to make your friends jealous, there's actually a webcam on Shinjuku Shibuya Crossing. There's also another one in Kabuchiko where you can basically wave at your friends and go on the live stream. I wave at my friends all the time. My friend goes on the live stream and we wave at each other. She's waving, she's like I can see you, I can see you, so yeah, so waving. She's like I can see you, I can see you, um, so yeah. So you can also be really, really cheesy and get your friends to to go on the live stream that's what.
Speaker 1:Now. I know also there's um, something that doug and I didn't do, but I'm going to ask you because I know you're a bit of a specialist on. There's some theme parks in tokyo which are very popular. I don't know, because my, my brother and sister-in-law took the kids there, uh, actually the christmas before last. So they they specifically what was one of the things they want to do? So and I know you're a bit of a specialist on on the theme parks or- disney I am tokyo.
Speaker 2:Tokyo disney, yes, particularly. Yeah, uh, yeah, I, I'm a bit of a disney nut anyway, but obviously, now I live in australia, it's not as easy for me to get to the parks as it was. So tokyo disney was like this happy compromise and now I've become, yeah, a bit sad and tragic and have to go for like three days every time I go to Tokyo. Um, a lot of people will say why would you do that? It's an American theme park? Well, it is, but it's not run by Disney, for one thing. But it was something I was going to talk about in a minute, about whether to do with another attraction in Tokyo. But you, the way the japanese people experience disney is like no other place I've ever been. They are so gleeful and enthusiastic and excited and it just changes the way that you enjoy it, because you're just on a ride that normally, oh yeah, that's pretty and then, and it just makes it so much of a magical experience I mean, disney's pretty magical anyway, but they just take it to like the next level for me and everybody's wearing ears and ridiculous hats and or out matching outfits, or it's just brilliant. Um, yeah, I, I said, if you're a disney person. You absolutely love it.
Speaker 2:Also, the har Harry Potter Warner Brothers. If you haven't been to the one in the UK, it's amazing. I was there for about four hours. I could have spent at least two more there. Yeah, it's really really good. And don't worry about the fact that it's in Japan, because you've got the audio guide and there was so much going on. I had to actually sit and listen to the audio guide in the cafe because there were so many things going on in the actual exhibits I couldn't listen to it and do all the things. So, yeah, I would say, if you're a Harry Potter fan and you haven't been to the one near Watford, then yeah, add that to your list, because it's also really really good perfect.
Speaker 1:So I know we've kind of mentioned some unique experiences and kind of I hate, hate the term the cliche hidden gems, but are there any other things that maybe people won't necessarily find in a guidebook that you would say? This is something that I think you should experience.
Speaker 2:There was something that I experienced. You've got to be there at a certain time, but if you are there, then again it's another memory that I'll never forget. So there's a massive festival in Japan called the Sanjay Matsuri and it happens between this year it's the 16th, yeah, this year 16th to 18th of May. It takes place in Asakusa and basically groups of people from like the I'm going to use a phrase, somebody Japanese probably really tell me off enough. So, like the local council, each person's got their own float. So all the local councils have got, and when I say their own float, they are massive, they are ridiculously heavy, and it's like 50 men carrying these things on their shoulders, walking down the street, just all going whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, and they all converge and they have like a float off, for want of a better phrase. The Sunday is a bit intense and I wouldn't necessarily suggest people go to that the Saturday. They have slightly smaller floats and they all walk around the streets of Sakusa.
Speaker 2:But the thing that made it incredible for me, it's one of the few festivals where the Yakuza, who are like the Japanese gangsters, come out and they show their tattoos, and this is not something that happens like every single day and I was standing outside my hotel watching the float and then I thought so these guys arrived with sunglasses and bought my hats on and I just thought they're not. They don't look like the japanese that I see everywhere else. And all of a sudden I was like caught up in this float and I realized I was right in the middle of the Yakuza float and they're literally jumping across Yakuza, yakuza, yakuza and I was just like this is something that I am never, ever going to experience. And their tats are on show and it was just mind-blowing again. It's just one of those moments you couldn't. You couldn't make that happen. But the funniest thing was someone lost their like coin purse from another float and there's like the head, like guy, it's like on the float going. Who's this?
Speaker 2:is who is this is he's in Japanese, whatever the equivalent is. I shouldn't really know that. But and then this little guy scurries down and gives it to me and everybody's bowing and and I was just like, ok, that was just, it was yeah. So the experience of Shandong Matsuri itself is fantastic, but that bit, if you can get the chance to see, to see that is something you wouldn't see every single day. A thing that people don't know about Tokyo and I still haven't done this because it's very expensive is that Tokyo has a geisha culture and a geisha area and you can actually meet geisha, dine with geisha, dance with geisha in a couple of different areas. So I haven't done it yet, so I can't tell you, but I know that the Tokyo geisha are very much trying to open themselves up more to international visitors. So if that's something you're interested in and you're not going to Kyoto, then definitely have a look at that.
Speaker 1:So if that's something you're interested, in and you're not going to Kyoto, then definitely have a look at that. Oh perfect. Well, I'm going to kind of pivot to food and drink now, because I kind of touched on it earlier because I struggled a bit.
Speaker 2:But what local foods or drinks would you recommend a first time visitor try in Tokyo? It depends how adventurous your first time visitor is. But I mean mean the thing is tokyo is, despite being a massive city, is by the sea and it does have one of the best fish markets in the world, um, and you are never going to get fish much fresher than you are in this place. But everybody goes to tsukiji, which is the big market that everybody knows about. I used to be one of my favorite places. It's no longer is. It's now incredibly busy and it's kind of lost the local feel that it used to have. It's now very much aiming at tourists.
Speaker 2:The actual fish market itself now has moved to fuyusu um, which is a bit further east. The market itself is terrible. Don't, don't go and see it. This. They've got rid of all the viewing areas. You won't see anything. But there is um a couple of different restaurant areas in the market. They're less crowded than supeji, especially if you go before about 11 o'clock in the morning, and the food is fantastic, um, yeah, and the prices aren't too bad. Just sort of shop around to sort of.
Speaker 2:The place I go to is what is now the one with the biggest queue, which is annoying, but this is also the cheapest. So, yeah, just I would say to go there and try that, because you're not gonna find much better fresh sashimi and sort of um other types of the way they serve raw fish than there. Um, the meal I'm still dreaming about is a place called from a place with thankank Ramen in Daimon. It's a chicken-based broth which is good for people who don't eat pork. It's halal-friendly. I can't even tell you why. I'm still thinking about it. It was just amazing. They also do a little side dish of rice and they give you parmesan and you mix it up into a risotto. I'm still thinking about that about like nine months later. Um, so yeah, so I would definitely say to go there, but I mean, I love all Japanese food, so I find it hard to sort of pick one thing for people to try.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you what I I know. I know this is a bit of a cliche, because I've ever talked some, but the egg sandwiches in the convenience stores were my best friend yeah, I'm a big fan of those.
Speaker 2:When they first get there, I buy an egg sandwich and if you have any american readers, they're going to shudder, shudder in horror when I say this. I drink with zima, which you can't buy in america anymore, and you can buy it japan. And the only I can't describe it. It's like a citrus alcohol. It's described as a clear malt beverage. I can't tell you what it tastes like. I can't describe it, but any Americans would just go oh my Lord, because it's very uncool. In America they discontinued it. But yeah, you get it in Japan. So it's my ritual when I get an egg sandwich at Azima.
Speaker 1:And the fruit sandwiches as well. All these fruit sandwiches kiwi and oranges, and sandwiches and all sorts of things that I had never seen before, which I took a lot of glee in taking lots of photographs of and actually trying on camera. We did it for Instagram, we did it. Let's try some of these sandwiches. Actually, they were a lot tastier than I thought they were going to be.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've had a few. I never need to eat them again, but yeah, they are good. But no, my convenience store gives me pleasure is vanilla pudding. They do like it. They call it pudding. You get pudding all over Japan. It's like a cross kind of cross between creme, caramel and creme brulee, and it comes in tiny little pots.
Speaker 1:And yeah, that's my worrying addiction from the convenience store is vanilla pudding. Now we've kind of talked about the convenience stores which I'm assuming you're probably going to mention in this next question, but maybe not but what about budget friendly tips for saving money when you explore in tokyo?
Speaker 2:um, the there's a couple. I wasn't going to mention convenience stores, but, um, yeah, convenience stores are a good way to, especially breakfast. Um, they're a great way to buy a very cheap breakfast, especially if there's a fridge in your room. You can buy it night before and then save you money. The big one that we found a couple of trips ago. Um, so, basically, a lot of restaurants in, or bars and restaurants in tokyo will charge what they call a seat fee, so you can't just sit down, have a beer and then walk off like what if they'll either charge you sort of two, three hundred yen per person for the seat fee or they'll let you chart like, say, oh, you've got two pieces of like food per person and we like to bar hop.
Speaker 2:So it it kind of mounts up and it gets very, very expensive. So we discovered these things called standing bars and basically, as the name suggests, they don't have seats and so they don't charge you a seat fee. And not only is it a fantastic way to save money, it's also a really good way to to meet Japanese people, because Japanese people don't tend to be too shabby. Um, but for some reason in a standing bar, especially if you can even just master a little bit of Japanese, like hello, thank you. That type of thing they tend to open up a little bit more. I think it's the beer and you will always find someone to have a quick chat with.
Speaker 2:My boyfriend at one bar that had been a little bit unfriendly. When we walked in and I speak a very basic bit of japanese but didn't understand what they were saying, that someone said look, they want to know that. You know that basically it's cash and you pay, like when you get your drinks there's no tab. I was like yeah, yeah, that's fine, that's fine. And so we got talking to this guy and he said oh yeah, so the speciality of the house is this beef stew. Blah, blah, blah. So, anyway, my boyfriend goes up to the bar and he's like, because I've been teaching him how to ask for this, this you, and it basically massacred it even worse than I just did. The whole bar went absolutely silent and he just looked and all of a sudden they burst into applause and the whole bar gave him a round of applause and it's again. It's just one of those moments that you're not necessarily going to get somewhere else. So a saves money. But b we met so many lovely people in standing bars on our trip, so saving money again.
Speaker 2:Ramen it's one of the cheapest things you can eat and be full. A lot of places will have a ticket machine. It will often only be in Japanese. If you can't stand there with Google Translate, the sneaky trip is to push the top left button. The top left button on a Japanese ticket machine is the most popular item in the shop. You won't know what you're getting, but it's the thing that most people order and therefore is their best dish. So if all else fails, just push that button. Uh, you're in a ramen shop, you're not. It's not. You're going to come out with sushi or sashimi or the steak and chips. So that's a sort of a good way of confronting the terrifying machine without sort of standing there holding up the queue for an hour.
Speaker 2:And if there's only one of you or two of you, um, business hotels. Business hotels are like chain hotels and they are some of the cheapest places to stay in japan. And the reason I say it's only really good if it's a couple or a solo person is the rooms and, more importantly, the beds are really small, so not suitable for a family of four or anything like that. But it can be a really good way of staying in sort of good areas for less money. Some of the chains are APA a little bit. Very, very budget. Smile, sotetso is the one I choose, daiwa, roynet, and I can't remember any of the others off the top of my head. But yeah, just look for some of the chains. There's a post on the blog about business hotels which has a big list of them. But yeah, that's how I keep my accommodation costs right down.
Speaker 1:It is pricey Good. We'll link to that, helen, so that's really useful. Now, one of the things that people ask me or or are always concerned about when they're traveling, and something that we we wanted to know as well before we went, is that you know you don't want to commit a faux pas when you're in japan. You don't want to do something that is going to offend japanese people, um so so what about cultural norms and etiquette tips, things that people kind of need to know before they go so that they don't step on anybody's toes?
Speaker 2:I mean, I think there's a lot of things that are said that the Japanese don't worry about quite as much as people think they do, but there are some things at the moment that are really annoying them. There's just been a survey that's just come out of people in Japan saying the most annoying things for tourists to do, and it's mostly on trains, and the trains in tokyo. The one big tip don't travel on the rush hour on the yamanote line. Whatever you do, in fact, try and avoid rush hour full stop. Anyway, the trains are packed, so tourists get on with 16 suitcases and five backpacks and carrying a coffee. This is going to drive the japanese mad.
Speaker 2:The japanese ethos is very much that the group is more important than the individual, and they very much live by. It is one of the things that makes the place so fantastic, and so things like blocking the doors with your bags and not putting your backpack on your front. It sounds like a very, very silly thing, but if you think about it, you've got a backpack on your back. Every time you turn, you smack someone in the face, um, so put your backpack on the front. Don't talk too loudly on trains. You've never realized silence until you've sat on a japanese train and nobody. I mean london's, very similar, but for a different reason. Um, yeah, so things like that. Apparently the were the things that annoyed people the most. It's difficult when you're coming from the airport. I appreciate the airport trains, they you are going to have luggage, but there are also at least um two different services now at haneda airport which will ship your luggage to your hotel in the same day. So if, if that's something you want to sort of explore, then you could travel completely hands-free on the trains and just get on with your sightseeing.
Speaker 2:The other thing goes back to the seat fee thing that I'm talking about with standing bars. Um, quite often when you go to a bar or restaurant in japan not just tokyo you'll get served a little sort of starter. It'll be some strange on unknown food. Quite often it's like often, lotus root and things like that, and you'll be like, okay, what's that? That's nice, thank you, it's not free. Uh, nor can you say no, doesn't matter, if you don't eat, you're gonna pay for it.
Speaker 2:It's not much, it's like 200, 300 yen. It's basically, as I say, your seek fee. It's just because a lot of places are so small, they they just need to make a little bit more money than they may do by you just buying one drink or what have you. So it's just a way to add, make a little bit more money than they may do by you just buying one drink or what have you. So it's just a way to add up a little bit of money and you don't tip in Japan.
Speaker 2:So a lot of people get really upset by this seat fee thing, but then if you were eating out in the US or the UK, you'd add 10%, 15% anyway. So if you get served this thing, just expect your bill to be a little bit more than the number you see that you may have calculated. It should only be about 300 yen per person. So they were the two things. I just thought they're the things. I think that most people now are sort of getting upset with tourists for not understanding, rather than when I first went it was like don't blow your nose on the train. I still did, but I don't think that's worrying as many japanese people as bashing them in the head with a backpack oh well, yeah, that that would annoy me as well.
Speaker 1:What about walking and eating, because that was something that we were told not to.
Speaker 2:Uh, walk and eat yeah, it kind of depends where you are. Um, normally on the street, no, um, so if you buy something from a vending machine, you drink, you buy the vending machine. Also, there's no bins, so you're going to want it because otherwise you're carrying bottles around with you all day. Um it? No, it's not really done. In sukiji now it's a little bit more allowable just because, as I say, 90 of people there now are tourists. But generally you buy. If you eat in a market, you buy something, you stand by the store, you give them your rubbish when you leave and you don't really wander around with it. And yeah, no, people don't walk around with big coffee cups or anything like that. It's because it's so busy and you could easily bump into someone and splash, and then they've got coffee all down their front. And again, the whole group is more important than the individual. Yeah, and that's again it's.
Speaker 1:The whole group is more important than the individual yeah, and make sure you take your rubbish with you, because you will not see any rubbish anywhere, or bins, no you don't see any rubbish anywhere, but you don't see any bins either.
Speaker 2:No, so you do carry it around all day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah no-transcript just go, um, don't be scared. No matter what people get in my family facebook, I go. It's really frightening, you're really scaring us. I'm like no, I'm just telling you about some of the things you may come across so that, when it happens, you're not freaked out or what have you. There's a lot more English than you think there's going to be. The trains are really easy to use. Once you get there, it looks terrifying on that squiggly little map, but as soon as you realise it will stay, just have numbers and everything in all going to be fine. The people are lovely. I've had people walk me to places when they've realized I'm lost and take me there and like buy, buy me drinks, and it's like no other place on earth and that's possibly why I've been back so many times, um, so yeah, so I think the biggest thing I would say don't be overwhelmed, don't be stressed, don't be frightened and just go and enjoy it, and it's not going to be as terrifying as you think it is no, it isn't, and it's so.
Speaker 1:It's so much fun. We loved it, we, we absolutely fell in love with japan. So we, we are hoping to go back at some point in the next year or two, absolutely because it was amazing and the trains, trains were just fabulous, absolutely fabulous. Such a great system they have for get around. The bullet trains were something else I have to say.
Speaker 2:Doug fell in love with those.
Speaker 1:So I'm hoping, helen, you can come on and talk about some other places in Japan next time as well, but it's been great to chat with you today, so where can our listeners find you?
Speaker 2:Okay, it's called japan trip planning for beginners. Ah, perfect, so that's your facebook group. So japan trip planning for beginners, that's my facebook group. Um, yeah, and the facebook page. The facebook page is a bit easier because that has by japanese at the end.
Speaker 1:So, yes, I'll put links into those in the show notes, helen, but thanks so much for joining us and talking about all things Tokyo today, thank you. Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Global Travel Planet podcast. For more details and links to everything we discussed today, check out the show notes at globaltravelplanetcom. Remember if you enjoyed the show, please consider leaving us a review on your favorite podcast app, because your feedback helps us reach more travel enthusiasts, just like you anyway. That leaves me to say, as always, happy global travel planning.