I think with shrines, my top tip is to find one with a theme that relates to something in your life - when i was in Tokyo I found out that there was a shrine for scholars and as a PhD student - it was relevant! It was a little adventure travelling to it, finding out about it and writing an ema wishing for success for myself and my peers. That shrine sticks so much in my mind compared to the ones which people normally go to.
What a great idea, that sounds like a fantastic adventure! It must have so much more significance - and you never know what you'll discover along the way. :-)
I remember heading to Sensoji but it was far too early so I just spent an hour buying and drinking cups of amazake in the little shop near the front for an hour before the priests, shrine maidens and volunteers began to open up.
My thought about Senso-Ji is that it’s crowded. And it’s been crowded for hundreds and hundreds of years. It’s crowded with Japanese and with local Tokyo citizens as well as international tourists. I think that gives it a special quality. It is a temple of crowds and commerce - which is the actual spirit of Tokyo. Equally valid are any of the Zen shiprines with their peaceful gardens. They are temples to peace and quiet, and we’re created to provide an escape from the hustle of the city.
If you're already in Harajuku, I would STRONGLY recommend visiting the Ota Memorial Museum of Art. You kind of have to curl around through the streets off of Takeshita, but it's not too hard to find. This was literally something I discovered the day of, from (I think) a sign that pointed it out. I went and was bowled over by the exhibition they had on (and bought the book so I could bring home replicas). It has an amazing collection of ukiyo-e art, and if I remember correctly, all of the displays had dual language descriptions. If you want a quiet few hours looking at wonderful art, this is a must-visit.
Thanks for the recommendation! It's so great when you come across something like that completely by surprise! And good to know they have dual language descriptions - always a concern with museums and galleries.
I really like Ueno Park. It's got a lot of interesting shrines and temples to check out, and I'd really recommend the shitamachi museum. Ameyokocho is also pretty cool.
I'm a big fan of Ebisu and yurakucho stations... especially in the summer when you can eat outside. As for disney sea... its an amazing park I can wait for the expansion (Fantasy Springs) that should completed in april-ish 2023
today is my 9th day in tokyo, and the only place i visited twice is akiba :D I think 90% of the young tourists come to japan because they want to pay pilgrimage to the great Akiba, haha. I want to buy a giant figurin, but it will break on my way home... what a shame.
I can totally understand you going back there twice - I've done the same many a time! Enjoy the rest of your trip - hope you've had an amazing time! Hope you made lots of good finds in Akiba!
Sensoji is a must visit at least once, as you said it's great at night. Same for the skytree, try to go at sunset so you get both day and night views. I'm kinda feeling I'll never get back to Japan ATM, the decision to hold the Olympics with no foreign spectators is very telling. I'm not sure we'll ever be welcome back after seeing some reports.
I really hope it doesn't change the perception of foreigners too much as it'd be horrible to feel like you're not welcome - we'll all have to be extra nice & friendly when we're allowed back in!
Excellent video as always Amy, the top 10 seems more mainstream and things that anybody would do which is why perhaps things like Akihabara aren’t on the list. Your book has so much information in, can’t wait to put it to good use when I can get to Japan.
I guess there's a reason for it being mainstream when it's just a general top 10 for anyone on Google. So glad you like the book - I can't wait to see pics when people start taking it to Japan!
Great video as always. Totally saving it for my next Japan trip planning references since we went in winter last time so didn't really do parks and missed some of these temples. The only place that felt like a 'tourist trap' and I wasn't happy with on our trip was The Pokemon Cafe. I was very disappointed with it and the food when we went was very meh compared to the other themed cafes we went to (Ghibli museum cafe and Kawaii monster cafe) BUT That's just our experience. I've seen people sing its praises since then so maybe it just wasn't for my group. I'm honestly happy seeing so many people so happy to go there and enjoying themselves. And I did get my chef Pikachu plushie which, as a cook, was very important to me to get.
Most of the theme cafes are more about the theming than the food - and you pay a lot for it (especially where popular characters are involved, as they have to pay for the licensing). Glad you got Chef Pikachu, that sounds cute!
Thanks Amy! Can't wait till I get back there! Just a FYI Ueno shopping area used to be known as a Ameri cho. (I forget if that was the exact name) My mom explained that after the war, this area was where the US soldiers went to buy things. That is why at this area you can find T shirts and other goods in sizes for Americans. (My mom has my sense of humor so she could have been pulling my leg!) hehehe
Hehe, it's called Ameyokocho. "Yokocho" means alleyway so "Ame" could be short for America (like Ame-mura in Osaka). I didn't have a proper look in the shops there so it could be true!!
It was already known as that, or "Ameya-yokocho" before the war. Ameya = "candy shop", and "ame" (high 'e') means (hard) "candy". But it was such a fitting name for selling American goods that the goods and the connotation changed! (Learned from John Daub's video from there yesterday :) )
@@cakeswithfaces WOW! My mom wasn't lying to me!!! She's getting old!! hehehe that's right it's yokocho..and Ame...I was close but thanks for the correction...Hopefully one day I can meet up with you and BF in Japan...Thanks for your work!
my tip for Ueno park in spring (if it's still there) - a beautiful peony exhibition (april/may). zoo wasn't bad but not the best in the world. but park overall is good! senso-ji - very beautiful but probably not worth it because of all hype. can't tell if i'd ever go there again, however area with souvenirs and food was good (but pricey) shibuya crossing and hachiko statue a must, i guess (but there are a lot crosswalking like that around tokyo and statue is so small and crowded) instead of disney - everything ghibli! both towers - not worth going, better look at them from the ground or any other skyscraper observation deck (even for free)
Thanks for the recommendations! It's great when you come across surprises (like the peony exhibition). Especially when they're seasonal, it makes it feel special that you were there at just the right time! :-)
@@cakeswithfaces since i have not "planned" planned my first trip it was pretty amazing to find such hidden jem. But now you can actually "google" everything you're interested in. Not only cherry blossoms but like azalea park in spring, hydrangea places in summer, red autumn etc. If you're into nature of course!
Hi Amy, I was wondering when your Japan guide book will be available for purchase again? I’m visiting Tokyo for the second time in February and I still think your book would be useful. Thank you!
Thank you! Lots of people have said they've found it helpful on their second/third (or more!) trip to Japan. It's available now: www.cakeswithfaces.co.uk/product/japan-travel-guide-book/
Hi I don't know if is my phone but I can see your face and hands with a orange colour tone. As if you have been eaten cheetos. Cheetos and faces😅😅. Love your videos.
I really want to hit the Ghibli Museum but at least here in the states you have to be really quick on the click button to score some. It will be tricky to plan my trip around getting tickets heh.
Thanks for this, hope to use in May if we are allowed to go back :). Tokyo Skytree also has a great Ghibli merch store, is it the biggest in Tokyo anyone know??
Fingers crossed for May! My cancelled trip would have been in May 2020 - a good time of year to go with nice weather. I think it is indeed the largest Ghibli store in Tokyo - the official Ghibli shops are called Donguri.
This list feels really touristy, where are the top 10 dodgy places to go in Tokyo? I've never been to any of the Disney land parks, would be interesting if my first trip to one to be in Japan?
Visiting a Disney park consists mostly of standing in lines for attractions and then spending excessive money on merchandise and fast food. Your time, money and health is more precious than that, IMHO.
i highly recommend both parks... especially disney sea. its amazing! as for dodgy... not sure the type of "dodgy" you mean but here are the places you're likely to see Yakuza, abandoned industrial buildings, lovehotels, back alley bars and brothels: Kabukicho Kamata Gotanda Asagaya ...SINCE Disney made the top ten and its not EVEN tokyo (chiba) I'm including some spots near yokohama Tsurumi (Kanagawa) Kawasaki (Kanagawa) Noge (Kanagawa)
Interesting list, seems to lean more toward parks and shrines (which I'd go see anyway) rather than the busier shopping districts and tourist-oriented neighborhoods. To each their. Curious, though: how much longer can you keep making these videos without eventually doing another trip? Given that Japan has declared yet another state of emergency, it's not clear when the borders will reopen and travel is allowed, maybe sometime next year? Good piece, though.
I keep a list of video ideas, so I have enough for another year or so if I have to! No news on when Japan's re-opening; I've given up hope for this year though. Thanks for sticking with my channel until we can get back to more exciting videos!! 😅
at one shrine i took 1 fortune and got super bad luck LOL, i did tie it off out of superstition but wish i didnt as its a funny thing to receive and keep as a souvenir. i do plan to walk up to the lower deck of the Tokyo tower ie the red one, sky tree i opted to stay on ground level and explore but its super tall...
@@cakeswithfaces as far as i know, it was just superstition. i cant read Japanese but the reaction the 2 girls i tried to ask on if the fortune was good or not made the result clear. it was either bad luck or super bad luck. cant wait to try and get it again LOL. i did get a good luck one later on on Miyajima Island so maybe it cancelled out the bad luck???
Yeah, it was a funny reaction, their faces and hand gestures said that it wasn't a good fortune. Don't need to understand Japanese to know what that means
To be honest I did think Sensoji was a tourist trap and I probably would not go there again. Sure it is pretty and big but it was enormously crowded (maybe it was just the time we were there..) and all the shopping stalls didn’t really help either. I do understand if one only goes to Tokyo you’d go there, but travel to Kamakura, Kyoto or even just Meiji-Jingu or another temple in Tokyo and you have more space while having the temple experience.
Absolutely - while Meiju Jingu's also extremely popular, it's not as crowded as Senso-ji. It's been very busy every time I've been there too - I think it's only quieter if you're there extremely early or at night. So many lovely temples and shrines in Kamakura!
I've spent 10 days just in Tokyo without even going anywhere else, as there's lots to do! So it depends on your budget and how much time you have but I'd say minimum a week, or 10 days, or 2 weeks if you can (and stay a few days in another location!). Enjoy planning your trip!
We visited the Ueno Zoo in 2019 but were quite disappointed and sometimes shocked about the smal enclosures and cages. If you love animals, you should not visit to not support that kind of outdated approch to keeping animals in zoos. :/ Other than that, we prepared a list of potential go-to spots, both for Tokyo and the other cities and areas we visited. This way we could decide each day, where we wanted to go and be flexible, based on weather or or preferences
Since I saw the crocodiles at the hot springs in Beppu (concrete, small and overcrowded) I decided to avoid anything involving animals in Japan. I'm sure not everywhere is so bad but I don't want to support anywhere like that. It's a shame that animal welfare doesn't always seem to be a priority. That's exactly what I do with my itinerary too! Have a to-do list but keep it flexible (you have to when it could rain at any time!) :-)
Nice video, but I was expecting more personal choices from you. To each his own, but including Disney and not Akihabara ... If I go to Japan, I like to discover what's peculiar to the country; Harajuku (you mentionned), should be in your list (like Camden if you are in London). And I would go to Yanesen for a feel of old Tokyo's Neighborhoods.
Absolutely - I think a day trip out of the city is essential to see Japan beyond Tokyo. And food: definitely yes!! Maybe this list should be "Top 10 Tokyo for Fans of Parks"...! 😝
