15 years ago a friend asked me for tips on what to do in Tokyo. I’ve updated the post a few times with new information but never shared anything about where to stay and what to eat so here’s text lifted from a long message to another friend.

Where to Stay

Old Tokyo

I like Yanaka in eastern Tokyo. This area was not bombed during the war so many of the old buildings and temples remain. I used to live there and enjoyed having good access to downtown but still retreat to a neighborhood when you want to decompress. For visitors, it’s a more authentic Japanese experience than the hustle, bustle and glitz of Ginza or Shibuya. 

I recently went back to visit and now it’s been rediscovered as a nostalgic neighborhood and has transformed a bit like Williamsburg in New York. 

There’s a family-run inn in the neighborhood that’s still there. I’ve never stayed there but imagine it’s a bit like a backpacking experience. You’ll definitely meet other travelers that might be fun to hang out if you’re traveling solo.

http://www.sawanoya.com/eigo.html

Modern Tokyo

When I worked at SmartNews and traveled to Tokyo every couple of months, I would stay at the Shibuya Dormy Inn. The rooms are tiny but they have a large shared bath & sauna and the breakfast buffet is a good deal. Location-wise you’ll be a 15-minute walk from Shibuya station so if you go out late, it’s a cheap cab ride home. Stay here if you want to be in the thick of it. Pro-tip, ask for a room away from the train tracks which run right next to the hotel. 

https://dormy-hotels.com/dormyinn/hotels/shibuya

Where to eat

Tokyo is like NYC in that there is anything you want and the baseline quality isn’t bad. If you know what you want and plan ahead, you will have access to some truly unique dining experiences. Off the top of my head, here are some places to try.

Minatoya –  cheap sushi-don under the tracks. The whole neighborhood was where the black market was after the war and still is a neighborhood full of niche shops selling their wares at a discount. After visiting the rabbit warren of shops, be sure to stop by here for your requisite $8 lunch.

Bayside Sakura Olion-sushi – if you’re looking for a different take on sushi, this place pairs olive oils and salts with their fish to serve a somewhat hybrid meal. The chef trained in Southern Europe (Spain I think) so came to appreciate the Mediterranean way of eating and fused that with traditional Japanese sushi. High end eating but well worth it. 

Tonki – Fried pork cutlet is not for everyone but if you want to try the best Tonkatsu in the world, this is the spot. The place is immaculate and they run people through there like it’s a factory. You’ll get to sit at the counter and watch the open kitchen work in quiet efficiency. The rice is fluffy, the sliced cabbage is sweet and the roast pork done to perfection. Truly a temple to the pork cutlet. 

Enoki – Tiny Japanese bar that seats 6 in the shadow of the skyscrapers of Shibuya. I have been going here since the 80s (Enoki was in my post 15 years ago) so Chizuru, the proprietor has know me since I was in my twenties. It’s super hard to get in so if you want to go, call a day or two ahead. 

Tokyo is a city that gives more than it takes. If you go in with an unstructured schedule with only one or two things to do each day and leave yourself plenty of time to poke around surrounding neighborhoods and open yourself to sidebar explorations, you will be amazed at what you’ll find. 

Be observant, marvel at the intricate designs on the manhole covers, see a line of folks at a sweet treat shop? Queue up and try it out. Ask questions, have conversations, connect with humanity and celebrate what brings us together. 

I was just back there last month to visit my parents to celebrate my dad’s 90th. While I spent most of my time with my parents, I did manage a couple of focused days out and caught a whiff of that Tokyo magic. Here’s what I did. 

One Day in Tokyo

It’s been said that Tokyo is Disneyland for adults. If you approach the city with a beginner’s mind the city will reward you many times over.

I’m back in Tokyo visiting with my parents (who have been living here since 1978!) and while I spent most of my time visiting with them, I did go out a few days just to poke around. Here’s what happened on one of those days.

On Tyler’s recommendation, I went to the Tokyo City Flea Market, held on Saturday from 9 – 2 pm down by the Kawasaki horse racing track. Like most large flea markets it was mostly vintage clothing and collectables but there was some cool finds such this game my sister and I used to play.

I also found a guy selling cheap, Japanese baseball jerseys and managed to buy an assortment of Softbank Hawks jerseys for the family. We can wear them at a Mets game in honor of Kodai Senga, their new Japanese pitcher who used to play for the Hawks

I then went to Akihabara to check out the latest gadgets. I spent some time in the main Bic Camera branch playing Japanese Go against a robot. I lost all five times.

I then walked up to Okachimachi to wander around the warren of shops tucked in under the tracks. This area was a huge black market region after the war and it retains the feeling of a place where you can strike a bargin. I visited Minatoya, a great place for a donburi bowl topped with sushi.

From there I punched through Ueno park to my old neighborhood in Yanaka to visit my old apartment.

Around the corner is SCAI the Bathhouse. True story, when I just moved to the neighborhood, I went there when it was still a public bathhouse. As I entered, everyone was singing songs and greeting each others as if in a large family reunion. The atmosphere was unusually jovial for a public bath which is usually a reflective place where one goes to scrub down and soak up to your chin while gazing at Mount Fuji depicted on the tile wall. When I asked the proprietor if it’s usually this festive, she replied that that day was the last day in their 165-year existence as they were converting the structure to an art gallery!

As I was walking the old neighborhood it started to rain so I ducked into another neighborhood favorite, the Asakura Museum. The home is unique in style with a wonderful blend of early 20th century Eastern and Western styles. I would often go just to gaze out on the beautiful garden and it’s amazing carp. The rain sprinkling drops on the water made it even more magical.

Later the rain cleared up and the ladies who run the museum let us know excitedly that we should make our way to the top floor to view the rainbow.

Next, I went to meet my sister at the Yanaka Ginza shopping street where we had a nice cup of coffee and then headed to meet my friend Yuji and his lovely wife Yumi at a local beer hall. Yuji and I met at a Grateful Dead concert in Oakland and when I moved to Japan he introduced me to the surfing culture as well as the downtown community spirit of shitamachi in the working class neighborhoods of Eastern Tokyo. After sampling their beer and light snacks, we headed to Asakusa for some monja, a local dish cooked over a teppan stove with copious amounts of beer and chu-hai.

By then it was getting late so we walked through the Sensoji temple grounds which were mostly empty but lit up majestically.

By the time my sister and I got back to Hiyoshi station where my parents live, we had just enough time to grab “one more drink” so we looked for bar on Google Maps and were drawn to a place called Valhalla.

We stepped in timidly as it was dark and there was no one else in the place. Pink Floyd was playing gently on the hi-fi and the proprietor warmly welcomed us and motioned us to sit down. He brought an oil candle and the menu and we flipped around looking for the beer or chu-hai selections.

When he brought over light snacks and laid out a collection of cigars we asked what kind of bar we were in. It was clear from the many pages of single malt whiskeys listed, this was a place for serious drinking. The master said the cigars were for people who enjoy a smoke with their whiskey. As he was explaining all this, he frowned as my sister flipped to the cocktails page. When I asked for something “on the rocks” he looked at me as if I had asked for a mug of mulled wine. We were gently guided to the topic at hand. Were locked in, whiskey it will be.

For the next hour, my sister and I were given a master class on single malts. Their history, the varieties, some of the distillers, and, most importantly, how to appreciate and drink properly. He wielded the sipping glasses as deftly as a magician. Vigorously swirling the liquor in the glass, the master instructed us to jam our nose in and take a deep inhale before taking a single drop. Notes of peanuts I think. Then he had us take a very small sip and then to smell again and note how the “nose” had changed. He later dipped a fork in some water and let a single drop fall into the whiskey and go through the whole process again. Completely different once again.

We were both amazed how a single drop of water could alter the entire experience. I could understand how he would be offended by anyone who would plunk an entire ice cube into his precious elixir!

After a second round of a different whiskey (we thought he’d cry if we left after only one) it was time to call it a night. Mie and I both laughed how, only in Tokyo, you could go from wolfing down monja and beers in shitamachi to finishing the night with an instructive tour of finer points of Scottish single malts. All completely unplanned and completely serendipitous.

When in Japan, things work out best if you surrender to the flow.