Hey you guys! Phoebe here from Little Grey Box with Matt behind the camera
Are you planning a trip to Tokyo?
Japan is a beautiful and diverse country unlike any other and Tokyo
is probably my favourite big city of all time. I love exploring
Japan's fascinating history, trying lots of great food meeting locals and getting
in touch with those kooky, modern elements as well
Tokyo should absolutely be on every travelers bucket list and if you're
planning your own trip, here are a few things I think you really need to know before you go
You're going to be visiting a lot of places that will
require you to remove your shoes so you guys it's a great idea to wear shoes
that are easy to put on and put off make sure that the ones you pack are really
really comfortable and personally I favour sneakers. That's because every time
Matt and I visit we end up being out all day and we are on our feet all day
catching public transport and sightseeing you guys so make sure that
the shoes you pack are super comfortable so you've got that back and knee support
that's gonna help you last all day
When it comes to getting around Tokyo
public transport is going to be your best friend and Matt and I always like
to go with the train now when you first try to catch the train it is going to be
a little bit overwhelming because different lines are owned by different
companies which means you do have to purchase different tickets when you
first see that map it's a little hard to understand but Matt and I have developed
a couple of tricks to help us with that before we leave the hotel we always plan
our routes for the day using Google Maps it's the best app to do it because one
is free and two, it's really detailed so it tells you which company that line is
owned by it tells you what stops exactly to change at and it counts the stops in
between for you so you know that you're getting on at point A, get off at point B
change lines and then get on again another eight stops and then off
Now when it does come time for you to buy your first ever ticket at the train, my
advice would be just to ask for help that's what we do even when we go back
again we've always forgotten how to do it. The staff at the train stations are
really lovely, just ask them for help. The train ticket
machines are set up in English so they can take you through that and make sure
that you have cash to pay for your ticket
I would also recommend before you
go unless you speak Japanese to download the Google Translate and Waygo Apps now
we use Google Translate a lot while we were in Japan and that's because we
don't speak Japanese so there were times that we needed to read menus or check
signs or even just communicate with somebody out on the street and ask for
help or ask a question at a restaurant and Google Translate was really useful
with that now the reason I also recommend Waygo is because I've been told
that it's amazing I haven't had the chance to use it yet but apparently it's
much better for languages that involve characters instead of being written in
the traditional letters that we might be used to. Now when we checked into our hotel
at Tokyo I saw a pamphlet in the lobby for the Free Japan Wi-Fi App and I
thought oh that sounds a little bit too good to be true but I'll check it out
and it was actually really useful every time we went to the train station we
were able to connect to the Wi-Fi and honestly that's where I was using the
Wi-Fi most to chart our routes between different locations so it's definitely
worth getting and there's also some great recommendations in there like
restaurants sightseeing things to do if you felt that you needed Wi-Fi more
constantly for some reason I know that there are some companies where you can
hire a dongle or a mobile Wi-Fi device and you can keep that in your pocket as
you travel around now one other thing I would say you guys if you have really
specific food allergies let's say you were allergic to peanuts or shellfish I
would 100% get that in like written out in Japanese so that you could show that
to people at restaurants because while English is spoken around Tokyo it's not
spoken fluently or probably at a level that you would feel comfortable if you
did have a severe food allergy so just make sure you have those key phrases
like I'm vegetarian I'm vegan I'm allergic to nuts whatever it is written
down so you can hand that over and not have to worry about it if I could give
you one tip on the best way to see Tokyo it would be by bike Matt and I
absolutely love this you can see I'm smiling it is just so much fun and on
both of our trips we have hired bikes and we've just had the best day now if
you look at some of the more posh web sites or the hipster web sites it's
actually quite expensive but Matt did some digging and he found an amazing
local bike hire place and it was 300 yen per day that is so cheap I'll have a
link in the description below to a blog post where I outline how to do that in a
little bit more detail so that you can find the place for yourself but we hide
our backs for the day we rode around everywhere stopping wherever we liked
and we had so much fun you guys a ten out of ten recommend now the local
currency in Japan is the Japanese yen I'm sure you've already heard about
before you guys you are going to need to make sure that you have cash being then
it's a very modern city it can feel in Tokyo like you'll be able to pay with
your card everywhere but as we learned the first time we visited that's just
not the case when it does come time for you to take money out from the ATM we
always found we were able to locate one inside a mini-mart or a convenience
store one of my favorite things about Japan is how lovely the locals are and
every time Matt and I have visited Japan and Tokyo we have just found the people
to be so sweet and respectful and kind and we have always just felt so welcomed
and comfortable so as you are interacting with locals in Tokyo
everybody you meet just make sure that you treat them with the same respect and
humility this one's for our North American friends and everybody that
comes from a tipping culture you guys tipping is not required in Japan and if
you do leave some cash on the table in the way of a tip you're likely to get
chased down and they will try and return it to you that's how sweet they are
instead you can show your gratitude through your body language you know
speak smiles at your server and letting them know that you loved your dinner you
can also pick up a few local phrases like I don't got though because I love
thank you and ishi delicious that one's my favorite she one
thing that might trip you up is if you go to a restaurant and you sit there and
you're looking at your menu ready to order and just waiting for the server to
read your body language and come over in my experience that's not really the way
it works some restaurants it does for the most part it doesn't
the servers will kindly and politely wait off to the side and wait for you to
signal them so if you aren't signal them to come and take your order
they're just gonna stand there assuming you don't want to order so don't feel
rude it's okay to put your hand up and yell out and say hey I'm Freddie you
know whoever would take my order they won't feel like you're yelling at them
or being rude at all we're used to walking into restaurants being handed
the menus sitting there looking through it and then having somebody take our
order but that is not going to be the case in every spot you visit especially
in some of the great murim and bars you guys so you'll walk in and there will be
a vending machine in one of the corners somewhere this is where you're going to
need your cash you look at the front of the vending machine you decide what you
want you feed in your money press your selection take your ticket
and give it to the staff it can be photos that are set up on the vending
machine and I don't really know the ingredients or what's in there and given
I don't eat meat it can be a little bit tricky but like I said the locals are
lovely so if you need help don't be afraid to ask and again that's where
having your dietary requirements printed out is really going to come in handy we
visit a few restaurants and attractions in Tokyo that were quite popular and
this meant that they had a queuing system set up and this includes getting
onto the train you guys so if you do see somewhere where there's a cure the local
culture in Japan is to respect the cure join the end and wait patiently for your
turn don't be cutting in or you could get yourself in trouble now when we
think of restaurants we often think of big places with plenty of areas to sit
but when you visit Tokyo you're going to find that some of the great spots like
some of the ramen bars are actually really small and they only see eight
people at a bar style area at one time so while you may be tempted to go with
what you're used to and settle in for the long haul with a bottle of wine and
chat after your meal that's not really the way things are done in those
situations so just be respectful of the staff who are trying to make their money
for the day and get a good turnover and the people outside waiting for a seat to
by all means go inside enjoy your meal but then beat it so others can too van
and I had some experiences with public baths this was outside of Tokyo but I
know there are some in Tokyo so we'll give you the tips anyway just in case
you visit we had vastly different experiences mine
was this beautiful feminine experience of the divine women embracing their body
bodies Matt's was a terrifying stare fest with a lot of sons as I understand
the story went so I just wanted to let you know it's not cool at all to be
weird at the public baths and truthfully it's not the locals that are gonna be
weird it's other tourists who don't know how to act so let me tell you how to
handle your first public bath experience first things first you want to get
doesn't want to take off all your clothes and get real naked you still
your clothes in one of the cubbies or the baskets provided then you take all
of your washing gear if your showering into the public bath area they seem to
have like stools and mirrors and shower heads set up around the outside you grab
a stool you have your shower products there you slip up you wash your hair and
then you rinse it off by hand just sitting there naked in front of everyone
then when you're all clean and fresh and Sun free you jump into the beautiful hot
spring where you can soak and that's the right way to do it the wrong way to do
it is to sit there in the corner on the stool and just stare at everybody else
ah I love Tokyo because it is so much fun and karaoke is the epitome of that
let me say this I hate traditional karaoke where you get
up in front of a room full of people and you sing that's not what Tokyo karaoke
is all about you have a private booth when Matt and I go it's just Matt and I
and they do unlimited drinks so you pay by the hour or half hour all the drinks
you want you just call up they bring them out you're drinking you're singing
you're dancing it's just so much fun you guys please do me a favor make sure you
go to Tokyo at karaoke because it is just the best other thing you're gonna
notice as you move around this there are a lot of people wearing face masks now
if you are a traveler who's been to places like Thailand and they're like
you might be used to seeing them because of the pollution well I have someone
from Japan why people in Tokyo where the face mask is it the pollution thing and
they said me no it's not it's because we're sick
and we simply don't want to spread what we have and I thought that was just the
most beautiful thing because I don't know how many times I've been on a bus
or a train seeing someone sneeze into their hand and then touch the railing
and if you get sick it's polite for you to pick up a mask and wear one as well
so you don't spread your germs either while we're on the subject of public
transport I have another great tip for you guys too
and that is to not be super loud on the trains when you get on there you'll
notice everybody just Minds their business keeps to themselves it's very
quiet and very peaceful and as visitors it's important that we respect that now
when you're out to dinner with others you might already a salsa Saki or a jug
of beer to share with the group you guys it is obviously very polite and
encouraged to pour a drink for everybody at the table but don't pull one for
yourself local custom is that you should never pour yourself a drink so just wait
for somebody else to pour one for you and don't have a sip until everybody's
got their drink and then you can do a big can buy which is Cheers
when you meet people and they give you a business card it's a big deal in Japan
so be prepared that you want to receive it with two hands you want to bow
politely and whatever you do don't take that business card and jam it in your
back pocket that can be seen as quite rude you want to treat that business
card like it's an extension of the person who gave it to you so look at it
marvel at it bow let them know how much you appreciate it and show a little
respect by putting it in a really safe place don't jam it into your wallet put
it inside a notebook or somewhere really safe and they can see that you're really
taking care of it when you're traveling around Tokyo you are going to be handed
a lot of chopsticks to use and it's important to know how to use them right
now one thing you don't want to do is to skill your food with the chopstick and
then put it in your mouth that's not very cute and another thing
you really don't want to do is to stand your chopsticks up in a bowl of rice and
that's because it's something that's traditionally done at a Japanese funeral
now if you aren't proficient with chopsticks that's okay you guys I think
it's a really good idea to try and learn especially if you going to travel a lot
because chopsticks a comment but guys don't expect for there to be forks and
spoons and knives all the restaurants you dine at if you
feel like you need those things just bring them with you and make sure you
pack reusable one so you can cut down on single-use plastics I have never felt
unsafe once in Tokyo if there was one situation where I felt a little bit on
edge I would just have been in a really truce the area of un Oh at a market just
my travel spidey senses were tingling and I was like oh this is a situation
where a pickpocket could thrive I'll just keep a better eye on my bag we
always recommend that you just have a common sense approach to your travel so
that is don't go out and get blind rotten drunk and walk off down an alley
by yourself with all your money money hanging out don't get drunk and
belligerent and try and find anybody just be a good person and use that
common sense and you'll be fine there are some things you can do to cut down
on your spending of course you can eat at some cheaper spots don't need all
your meals at restaurants that kind of thing catch a public transport to get
around or walk around on foot a lot and plan your days around that too so that
you do all of your sightseeing in Shinjuku on one day all of your
sightseeing in Harajuku on another that way you're not spending too much in
public transport around the place but I will just say that your activities your
sightseeing your food your hotels all of that is quite costly unless you have a
huge budget madnae dirt it's a good chance that you're going to be staying
in a regular hotel room and you need to be prepared that they are tiny and this
means a couple of things one I wouldn't recommend packing a huge suitcase
because staying in one of those small hotel rooms it's going to take up a lot
of floor space and to be honest you're probably not going to have the floor
space for it secondly if you're traveling in a couple you guys it can be
really testing I know that Matt and I hold on a second my cat wants to get on
and have a snuggle when we've been in Tokyo we've just struggled a little bit
because we've been right on top of each other and it's a really small space and
you're together 24/7 so if you are staying in one of those tiny hotel rooms
as a couple just make sure that you get a little bit of alone time every now and
then otherwise you could end up having an argument and with
that that brings our video too and and I hope you found this video useful now if
you don't already be sure to subscribe and say hello in the comments below have
a great weekend and I will see you next week
love you love you