Is Tokyo worth visiting? Yes, for most travellers, Tokyo is the best starting point for a trip to Japan. It offers the widest range of food, neighbourhoods, and experiences in the country. That said, Tokyo is not the highlight for everyone. Some travellers prefer Kyoto’s temples or smaller cities with a slower pace. This guide … Read more
The best day trips from Tokyo give you access to experiences you won’t find in the city, Mount Fuji views, historic temple complexes, hot springs, and quieter towns. Most are within 1–2 hours, but choosing the right one matters. Some are weather-dependent, some are easier to reach, and others require more planning. This guide shows … Read more
Asakusa is the Tokyo many first-time visitors imagine before they arrive. There’s the enormous red Kaminarimon gate, incense drifting across Senso-ji, traditional shops along Nakamise and rickshaws weaving through streets that feel very different from Shibuya or Shinjuku. It’s also one of Tokyo’s easiest neighbourhoods to explore. Most of the main sights are close together, … Read more
Shinjuku at night is one of the best places to experience Tokyo after dark. Neon streets, tiny bars, yakitori alleys, panoramic city views, karaoke, arcades and late-night ramen are all packed into a surprisingly walkable part of the city. For a first visit, you don’t need to spend the entire night drinking or jumping between … Read more
Finding the best ramen in Tokyo is harder than it sounds. There are excellent ramen shops all over the city, from tiny counters serving one carefully refined bowl to busy chains where you can order at midnight without speaking Japanese. The problem isn’t finding ramen. It’s deciding which places are actually worth fitting into a … Read more
Shibuya Crossing is one of those Tokyo sights you have probably seen long before you arrive in Japan. The intersection appears constantly in films, advertising and photographs of Tokyo: enormous video screens glow above the streets while pedestrians pour into the intersection from several directions at once. Then, almost as quickly as it begins, the … Read more
Travelling around Japan alone can feel intimidating before you arrive. Tokyo is enormous. The railway maps look complicated. English isn’t spoken everywhere. And if you’ve never travelled alone before, even something as simple as walking into a restaurant by yourself can feel unfamiliar. The reality on the ground is usually much easier. Japan works particularly … Read more
Japan is unusually well suited to a honeymoon because the trip doesn’t have to feel the same from beginning to end. You can spend one evening looking across the Tokyo skyline, the next few days sleeping in a ryokan with a private onsen, then walk through Kyoto’s old streets before finishing beside the sea on … Read more
Three weeks is one of the best amounts of time you can have for a first trip to Japan. You have enough time to see Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka without treating them as a checklist, but you can also go beyond the standard Golden Route and experience places that many shorter itineraries have to leave … Read more
Five days in Japan is short. It is still enough time for an excellent first trip, but only if you resist the temptation to keep adding destinations. Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nara and Mt Fuji might look manageable when you see them connected by fast trains. In reality, every additional city means checking out, moving … Read more