It’s Mark Wiens here, I’m in Tokyo, Japan, which is one of the world’s largest cities,
and there are so many things to see and do, of course, this is one of the best cities
in the world for food, so many awesome restaurants and delicious things to eat.
I’m cruising around Tokyo, and I’m going to show you what I think are twenty five of
the top things to do when you’re in Tokyo.
So keep watching this video, let’s explore Tokyo together right now.
I am at the Ameya Yokocho market, just next to Ueno station and park.
There’s almost everything in this market that you can imagine, from cosmetics, I’ve
seen big piles of shoes, jackets, clothes, golf stores, like army fatigue stores, and
also it’s very famous for buying snacks, so giant snack stores.
You can pick yourself up some green tea kit kats.
You can spend a few hours here wandering around and exploring for sure.
We just took a walk through the park, and now we are about to enter the Meiji shinto
shrine.
So this is one of the most famous places to visit when you’re in Tokyo.
Located in the center of Tokyo, yet in the midst of a quiet forested area, Meiji Jingu
is one of the landmarks and most important religious shinto monuments in Tokyo.
When I visited, I got lucky to see a wedding ceremony taking place.
I am at the sumo stadium.
Pretty cool place to visit, I’m pretty bummed right now that I’m not here during a fight
time.
You can come here when it’s not fight season.
There’s a little museum at the stadium, it’s pretty small, but there’s a bunch
of photographs of the different famous sumo wrestlers, as well as little three d models
of basically every kind of winning technique or position.
After going to the museum, no visit to Tokyo’s sumo town would be complete without a proper
sumo feast, and a dish known as chankonabe.
This hearty stew tastes absolutely amazing, and it will fill your belly with extreme satisfaction.
We just entered the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, this is one of the famous gardens
in Tokyo, central Tokyo, and you actually pay a fee of two hundred yen to enter.
At first I wasn’t so sure about paying entrance to visit a park at first, but after walking
around, and seeing a few of the amazing gardens, I thought it was well worth it.
There’s an impressive green house, Japanese gardens, formal French gardens, and a traditional
tea house.
Ginza is one of Tokyo’s most prestigious upscale districts, there are plenty of malls,
food courts, high end restaurants, and boutiques.
And just a short walk from Ginza is Yurakucho train station.
Tucked under the railroad tracks you’ll discovers dozens of izakaya bars and restaurants,
each with unique character.
I went to a place called Yakitori Ton Ton for a quick beverage and plate of succulent
grilled meat.
I am at the Tokyo metropolitan government offices, and there is an observatory, I think
it’s on the forty fifth floor, offering a three sixty panoramic view of Tokyo, and
the view is just unbelievable actually.
And the good thing is, you can come here for free, there’s a couple of gift shops it
looks like.
At the Tsukiji fish market, walk in, and when they see you are a tourist you’ll get a
map.
Basically you can only visit the wholesale area and then there’s a bunch of, a few
restaurants, and a vegetable area.
If you come at five am, you can get in to the fish auction, the tuna auction, but they
only allow, I think one hundred and twenty people per day I think to see the auction.
It can be pretty tough to get a spot to see the early morning tuna auction, plus you have
to wake up early and make the trip there.
So if you decide to skip the auction, just head to the wholesale area around nine am
when it opens for tourists - I was amazed at the quantity and diversity of seafood available
- some things I had never even seen before.
When you visit the Tsukiji fish market, eating sushi for breakfast is basically a rite of
passage.
There are famous restaurants across the street from the wholesale market, and also some great
places in the outer market.
Sashimi over rice and you can see it has the fatty tuna plus the fish roe, salmon fish
roe, and this is sea urchin.
Here I am at the Shibuya crossing, which is basically a sea of humanity crossing the street
at one time.
It’s like fifty meters of solid people.
Shibuya is not only famous for its massive street crossing, but it’s also one of the
most well known areas in Tokyo when it comes to shopping and fashion.
There are some nice department stores, shops, and some good food as well.
I am at Sumida river and the park, it’s a good place to come if you want to do some
exercise, nice place to take a relaxing stroll.
You can choose to do the Tokyo Cruise, and it’s a little pricey, but you get to cruise
along the river and see lots of sights, and it’s a nice leisure experience.
I am at the Imperial Palace and going to take a walk around and especially see the stone
bridge, which is one of the famous things to see, as well as try to get a view of the
palace.
Tokyo’s Imperial Palace is the residence of the emperor of Japan.
You can’t walk into the palace grounds by yourself, but you can apply for a free tour
on the official website, and when your booking is accepted you’ll have the opportunity
to take a tour inside the gates.
Ueno Park is a huge public park in Tokyo, surrounded by temples and shrines, cafes and
restaurants, the Tokyo zoo, and a few noteworthy museums.
Throughout the day you’ll find people walking and jogging, others performing dances and
playing music, and others just enjoying the outdoors.
The Tokyo Museum, at the far north side of Ueno Park, is one of Tokyo’s most renowned
museum, preserving art and artifacts from Japan and throughout Asia.
The modern Tokyo Skytree is a six hundred and thirty four meter high communications
tower.
Within the mega tower are a number of viewing decks and galleries - and they claim that
you can see a view of up to seventy kilometers in distance.
At the base of the Tokyo Skytree is a huge mall.
I’m on a street right now which is known as Tekshita Dori which is a walking street,
and it’s especially famous for people dressed up in animation characters, cartoons, all
sorts of costumes, cartoon characters, and just a very interesting place, and it’s
especially popular with teens and young people.
Along with the unique atmosphere and cosplay that takes place, Takeshita Dori street is
also extremely famous for the Harajuku crepes and you can choose from dozens of different
types.
The crepe is fried thin, wrapped into a cone shape, and stuffed with whatever you choose.
I’m about to go into Sensoji temple, which is one of the main places to see when you’re
in Tokyo.
I think this is sort of the entrance gate, and then we’ll walk around in there and
check it out.
Everyday big crowds of both religious pilgrims and countless tourists visit Sensoji temple,
one of the most important religious sites in Tokyo.
The temple dates back to six twenty eight, making it the oldest temple in the city and
a historical treasure.
Surrounding the temple you’ll find little shops and a few places to sample some snacks.
I decided to tried a Japanese sweet bread, which was extremely fluffly and quite sweet.
I am at the Edo Tokyo museum, it’s quite a structure.
The real price is six hundred yen, but if you have this Tokyo handy guide, I got this
from the tourist center, you get a one hundred twenty yen discount.
So that is just four hundred and eighty yen for the ticket, and that’s a good little
discount.
Make sure you have this handy guide.
Made to look like a warehouse on stilts, though I sort of think it looks like a UFO, the Edo
Tokyo Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of Tokyo, Edo being the former name
of the city.
As soon as you enter, you’ll cross a wooden replica of the famous Nihonbashi bridge, and
you can then walk through the many exhibitions to gain an education of how Tokyo became the
city it is today.
As you know, I normally like to stick to street food when I travel, but there’s something
about Tokyo that makes you want to experience the elegant luxurious side of the dining scene.
Food in Tokyo is so incredibly elaborate and so aesthetically pleasing - not only to the
taste buds, but to all of your senses.
At fancy restaurants in Japan they pay acute attention to every minute detail of the atmosphere
and presentation - the food will undoubtedly be outstanding - but the entire experience
is what really makes the fine dining in Tokyo so remarkable.
If you have the budget to splurge on a nice meal in Tokyo, whether it be international
or Japanese cuisine, the experience you have will be unforgettable.
I am in the area of Tokyo known as Akihabara.
And this is also known as the electronics town, gamers town, geek town, so if you are
looking for electronics or if you are a crazy gamer, this is the spot you’re going to
want to come when you visit Tokyo.
Akihabara is home to electronic stores, game stores, arcades, the animation center and
those infamous maid cafes.
It even has its own temple, where you can often see business men seeking luck for their
latest modern ventures.
One of the free things you can do here in Tokyo is visit the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
So you walk in and you’ll get a visitors pass, and then you can go through the small
Tokyo Stock Exchange Museum, but then you can walk around the whole edge of the floor,
edge of the trading floor, and you can pick up these phones and it will give you an education
about what’s going on and what they’re doing in these different parts of the exchange.
I am at Roppongi, which is a famous area in Tokyo.
You can go to the Mori Art Museum, which is a modern art museum, as well as the sky view
observatory, which is at the top of one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo, offering a
spectacular view of the city.
But you got to go to the art museum and then you can also go to the observatory at the
same time.
Roppongi is also a famous area in Tokyo for its nightlife, lots of bars and clubs here,
especially on the weekend nights.
I am on the monorail right now heading to Odaiba city.
The monorail is really cool, some pretty awesome views.
The next station is Odaiba.
Made it to Odaiba city, and here at Decks.
There’s a couple of things to do here including Legoland.
A bunch of different restaurants and cafes, actually I saw a couple of Hawaiian restaurants.
You have a beautiful view of Tokyo Bay, and Tokyo skyline.
So yah, Odaiba city, kind of an entertainment island.
Odaiba is also home to the famous Fuji TV headquarters building and the mega ferris
wheel at Palette Town.
I am walking around Yoyogi Park which is one of the main central big parks in Tokyo.
This is a favorite spot for people doing dances, exercising, walking dogs, and it also seems
to be one of the favorite spots for these giant sized, chicken sized crows.
Which, yah, they’re like dinosaurs.
It’s a nice place to walk around, and a place to people watch, especially on the weekends.
I’m here on Tuesday, so there aren’t that many people doing their like dressed up and
doing their dances and costumes and stuff like that, but on the weekends, you’ll see
a lot of that.
Another very cool area of Tokyo to explore is called Nezu and also Yanaka, which is kind
of an old historical area of town.
It’s a really quiet area, right now I’m at the Nezu shrine.
It’s a really peaceful place, feels like you’re far removed from Tokyo.
Nezu and Yanaka, two neighborhoods located next to each other, make a great area of Tokyo
to just walk around and explore.
It’s an area of town that has retained a lot of its traditional charm and Japanese
culture.
Don’t forget to walk down snake road, a small neighborhood alley that weaves back
and forth to earn its name.
Walking around Yanaka, you’ll find little stores as well as restaurants selling meals
and little Japanese street food snacks.
Thats kind of interesting, I don’t know if it’s sweet or salty.
It’s a cold and rainy day here in Tokyo, so it looks like my perfect opportunity to
try out my very first onsen, or a Japanese public bath.
That was quite an interesting experience.
Basically you walk in there, and you pay your fee with a vending mating, and it costs four
hundred and fifty yen entrance.
And from there you get a locker, and you strip down completely naked, and then you can go
into the the series of jacuzzis.
There was one indoor jacuzzi with a view of Mount Fuji painted on the wall, there were
another couple of baths outide.
Today we’re taking a little day trip to Mount Takao, which is about fifty kilometers
outside of central Tokyo, but it feels like you’re far removed from the city.
We’re going to climb the mountain and will be great to get some fresh air and get a little
exercise.
Located just about fifty kilometers from the center of Tokyo, mount takao is an extremely
popular destination for hiking and exercising, and it also doubles as a sacred religious
mountain with a number of shrines and temples.
If you go on a weekend or holiday, the amount of people can get a little crazy, but I went
on weekday morning when it wasn’t too bad at all.
The air was fresh, and we got good views of the mountains on one side and Tokyo on the
other side.
There are a number of different trails you can take, one of them that takes you by the
Biwa waterfall.
Eating food and exploring the everlasting supply of delicious edible things, is without
doubt one of the best things to do when you’re in Tokyo, and for myself I can safely say
that food was the reason I visited Tokyo.
Navigate your way to the bottom of a department store for a culinary frenzy that might will
make your head spin from the variety of food at hand.
Not only does it taste amazing, but Japanese food is easily some of the most beautiful
looking food I’ve ever seen on the planet.
So much care and thought are put into each morsel of cuisine.
With over one hundred and sixty thousand official restaurants in Tokyo alone, you essentially
have a never ending choice of delicious dining spots that will never run out.
You could easily spend your entire life discovering Japanese food in Tokyo, and that would be
an awesome life too, but just do your best to eat as much as you can during your stay.
From the moment you step foot in Japan, your mouth will begin to water, and I’m here
to tell you, your taste buds won’t be let down.
So that wraps up twenty five of the best things to do in Tokyo when you visit, it’s a city
that never gets boring and there’s literally always something to do, see, and eat.
Your next step is to get yourself to Tokyo and start to discover it for yourself.
Hey it’s Mark Wiens here, just want to say thank you for watching this video, I’m glad
you enjoyed it, and I hope it will inspire you to not only visit Tokyo, but also to travel
more.
Make sure you click thumbs up on this video, and also subscribe to my youtube channel for
more food and travel videos.
Lastly, check out my free “Tokyo travel guide for food lovers”, just click the link
below in the description box.
Thanks again for watching.