Tokyo can get expensive, very expensive, especially for accommodation, but if you do your research and plan ahead you don’t have to go broke booking a hotel. If you’re anything like me – traveling on a budget but well beyond hostels with shared rooms/toilet, then the following might help. All options include a room equipped [...]

The imperial palace in central Tokyo is really beautiful. Atleast, that’s what I heard. Only the gardens were open since being an ordinary tourist does not grant you entrance to the actual palace, unless you happen to arrive on one of the two days when the palace is open to the general public. Still, you [...]

I’m not sure why, but the Tsukiji Fish Market (Tsukijishijo) is considered one of Tokyo’s prime attractions. The myth built around the biggest fishing market in the world is that you can’t miss going there early in the morning, 5-6am, to catch the auctioning, and then enjoy a Sushi breakfast at one of the local [...]

The Japanese are famous for their hotsprings obsession and so Tokyo’s full of public bathes (sentos), big and small, private and public, some of which enjoy a steady stream of natural hotsprings (onsens). One of the more up-market posh options for hotsprings in Tokyo and a recommended spot by many recent guidebooks is the LaQau [...]

Ueno (上野) is one of my favorite areas in Tokyo. Just next to the Ueno station is the Ueno Park (上野公園 Ueno-kōen) which serves some of the major attractions in Tokyo – the Ueno Zoo, Tokyo National Museum, National Science Museum,  the Shinobazu Pond (不忍池 Shinobazu-ike) with plenty other museums and gorgeous little temples, not [...]

Tokyo’s Nishi Nippori is a lovely area a bit off the main tourist track that offers a more traditional laid-back Japanese atmosphere. Abound with gorgeous little temples, old cemeteries and family owned little shops and restaurants, the area between Nishi-Nippori and Nippori is my type of place.
The Lonely Planet and Frommer’s have good suggestions for [...]

Harajuku is not all modern fashion and pop culture. In a nearby park is the Meiji Shrine (明治神宮, Meiji Jingū), a large Shinto shrine for one fairly recent Japanese emperor that the Japanese respect for bringing Japan out of the dark ages into modern times.

Facts about Meiji Jingu: [...]

You got to love the Japanese. There’s something different about them, and it’s even more apparent in Tokyo. The stereotypes make sense to me – they’re fashionable, trendy, extremely polite, care about fine details, service-quality oriented, very modern and yet with high respect for their traditions, strongly emphasizing self expression while being careful not [...]