Tokyo in 3 Days – HOW TO SEE IT ALL

Tokyo in 3 Days – HOW TO SEE IT ALL

After traveling to more than 50 countries, I can confidently say Tokyo is the most unique city on Earth. One second, you’re surrounded by neon lights crossing the busiest intersection in the world, and 10 minutes later, you’re in complete peace walking around a thousand-year-old temple. And don’t even get me started with the food. Oh my gosh. With the most Michelin starred restaurants, Tokyo is the culinary capital of the world, where you can have the freshest sushi, unlimited wagu beef, and mouthwatering ramen. Just when you think this city couldn’t get any better, seeing Mount Fuji in the distance towering over the skyline is the cherry on top. But what amazed me most though was that despite having the world’s largest metro area with over 37 million people, it remains one of the cleanest and safest cities on this planet. I just got back from a 10-day trip to Japan. And five of those days, I was up north snowboarding in Hkaido. And the other 5 days I spent exploring Tokyo, and it has now become my favorite city in the world. In this video, I want to give you a 72-hour itinerary where you can just go to Japan and enjoy without worrying about what to do. On your first day in Tokyo, I want you to get settled into your hotel, relax a little bit, walk around your area, and then at night, I want you to go to Shinjuku. It is the entertainment capital of Tokyo, and it has some of the best food, karaoke bars, those iconic neon lights, and so much more. Big tip here is to download the Sua app on your Apple Wallet. Suika is a payment processor that is used all over Japan. So you could just tap to go through train stations, buses. You could even use these on the vending machines in the streets or at places like McDonald’s or Watson’s. So definitely download that onto your Apple Wallet, add some yen. Start with like 5,000 yen. And then wherever you’re staying, you’re going to use this Suika card to go to the nearest train station and get off at the Shinjjuku train station, which is the busiest train station in the entire world with more than 3 million passengers every single day. This place was wild. There was so many people. Right when we got out, you could see these crowds and it’s something I’ve never experienced in my life. So, be ready for absolute organized chaos. The first place I recommend going in Shinjjuku, is a place called Amoy Yoko Cho, also known as Piss Alley to a lot of you Americans out there. Piss Alley is a network of alleyways that has a bunch of restaurants serving up a famous street dish, these chicken skewers. I know it’s a funny name, but the reason it’s nicknamed that is because right after World War II, a lot of people went to this area for cheap drinks and food. There weren’t a lot of bathrooms, so they had the piss in the alleyway. But don’t worry, nowadays it’s clean. It has some great food and great bars to go to. This is one of the most iconic spots to go to in Tokyo. So, of course, it’s going to be crowded, but it does not matter because it’s so unique and it kind of sets the entire vibe for the rest of your Tokyo trip. After Piss Alley, you’re going to walk 10 minutes to another area in Shinjuku called Golden Guy. And this spot is unbelievable cuz it has 200 themed bars. Some are cat themed, jail themed, and the one we went to was called Open Book, which just had bookcases surrounding you. We had all sorts of drinks like Japanese whiskey or sake sour. You definitely got to try that when you go there. But in this area, other than the bars, which you should go check out, there is amazing ramen. And one of the places you have to go to is called the Ramen Nagi. Ramenagi serves up this massive bowl of ramen. It was just unbelievable. Especially cuz we visited during winter time, so it was cold out and that steaming bowl of ramen was the perfect spice level. And you get to order on this retro machine. And the whole place is just such a vi too. So definitely hit up that for dinner that night and walk around the bars. After getting a little buzz on at the bars in Golden Guy, you’re going to head back to the Shinjuku train station and this is where you’re going to take a train ride to an area called Shabuya. This is a famous area in Tokyo and one of the most popular amongst tourists. This is actually where I stayed in a capsule hotel. It was around $100 a night and it did the job. Even though, as you see right here, it’s super tiny, but I’m going to be honest, I only spent like 5 to 6 hours every day in the hotel cuz I was out exploring Tokyo. There’s just so much to do. When you get off the train in Shabuya, you’re going to be right next to the Shabuya crossing, which is the busiest crosswalk in the world. It is such a wild experience. Even though it sounds a little weird walking across the street, this is just another example of Tokyo’s organized chaos. And it’s so much fun to go across. I truly believe the Shabuya area at night is the best place to go in all of Tokyo. The energy there, the street performers, the crazy cool cars having dance parties in the middle of the street. It’s unlike anywhere I’ve ever been before, and I had just so much fun not following an itinerary and just letting the night take me. If you want to see the Shabuya crossing from above, you could climb the magnet, which is a observation deck above the street. Has some pretty cool views of the entire city, especially at night when it’s all lit up, all those neon lights. Or you can even explore some anime shops. And there’s even a Pokemon center right there at the Shabuya Crossing where you could pay around 1,700 yen and you get Pokemon Mats unlimited food and drinks. And if you’re obsessed with Pokémon, this would be such a fun thing to do. Next, to start day two, I recommend going to Team Lab Planets right when it opens around 9:00 a.m. You could scan this QR code right here on the screen to book it. It definitely books up fast, so make sure to do it a couple days before your trip so you get the time slot you want. But the reason I say go in the morning is because there won’t be that many crowds there. Because when I went later at night, there was a lot of people. No matter what, this is one of the craziest art installations I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. At this museum, there’s three different places you get to explore. First is water, where you’re actually going to be taking off your shoes and putting them in a locker because you walk through the water to get through this entire part of the museum. You’ll walk by waterfalls. You’ll go in this room that’s full of mirrors. And then there’s projections of koiish all around you, which was super cool. And then after, you’re going to be heading into a room that has thousands and thousands of LED strands hanging from the ceiling. It has mirrors on the floor, walls, and ceiling, and it’s just out of body experience because these lights go with the music playing. It feels like you’re in space, and it’s something I’ve never seen before. After this, you’ll be going to a garden section where there’s 13,000 real living orchids hanging from the ceiling that go up and down with the way you move through them. So, you’ll be walking through and they’ll go up around you. This was definitely one of my favorite rooms and really, really unique. There’s so many different rooms in this place. You could easily spend over 2 hours here just walking around. And even though it’s a tourist trap, I still highly recommend it because there’s nowhere like it in the rest of the world. After that early start to the day, you can go relax back at your hotel or just roam freely for a little bit. But then I recommend going to a place called Kapabashi Street. Another nickname for it is Kitchen Town, and this is where you can get Japanese knives, amazing ceramics, and anything to do with kitchen wear. It’s a great spot to get souvenirs, and I always recommend getting your souvenirs earlier on in the trip so you don’t have to worry about it later. Huge tip here is to make sure to bring your passport with you because you get tax-free shopping which can save you hundreds of dollars. They do this all over Tokyo, but especially for this street because those Japanese knives can get quite expensive. Here’s a few items that we got on that Kapabashi Street. We got really nice ceramic plates. I shouldn’t be holding a knife like this. This is a very, very nice Japanese knife that I got for my wife Anna. She loves to cook and this thing is a very, very sharp. It was around 400 bucks. I know that’s expensive. You could find some really great knives for around 150 bucks on the street. And this is a great gift option when you’re in Japan. If you haven’t eaten lunch yet, there is an amazing restaurant right near Kapabashi Street. You can get this famous dish called Oki Nomiyaki, which is basically kind of an omelette filled with all sorts of things. The one I got was filled with shrimp and scallops, and it was absolutely amazing. Basically, you take off your shoes again, which is pretty normal for any Japanese restaurant, and then you sit down at these hot plates right in front of you. They give you the bowl with eggs and all sorts of things. You dump it on, put it on for 5 minutes on both sides, put some special sauce, some seaweed on it, and it was one of my favorite dishes I had in all of Japan. Such a good lunch near that area. Another great thing about the Kabashi Street is that it’s so close to the Sky Tree, not too far away. I think you could easily walk there, but you should definitely go to the Sky Tree during sunset because it has one of the craziest views I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Tokyo City is massive. It has 37 million people, making it the biggest metropolitan area in the entire world. You can scan this QR code right here to book ahead of time because sunset times do fill up, but it’s definitely worth it on a clear day because you might be able to see Mount Fuji. I got super lucky one night and saw Mount Fuji at sunset up in the sky tree and it is something I will never forget. Although it’s yet another tourist attraction, it is a musto in my opinion in Tokyo because the views you get, trust me when I say this, are going to make your jaw drop. With that QR code, you’re going to have your ticket on your phone, but there still might be lines. I had to wait around 30 minutes, which wasn’t too bad. And you go all the way up to 350 m deck, or there’s another one at 450 m. Another fun fact about the Skytree is that it’s the third largest structure on Earth and the tallest tower in the world. And then after taking in those views of the Sky Tree, you can take a quick 7minute train ride to the Sensoji Temple, which is the most famous and oldest temple in all of Tokyo. It’s such a good time to go at night because you beat the crowds and it’s much more calm and the temple lit up is just beautiful. Something you have to do at this temple is get your fortune read. Basically, there’s these steel boxes all over the place, and you shake them really hard until a wooden stick pops out. That wooden stick has a number that corresponds with the box you open up with your good or bad fortune. Lucky for me, I got a good fortune, but if you get a bad fortune, don’t worry. You just leave it on the sticks there to leave your bad fortune behind. This is such a fun thing to do at the temple. But before the night ends, I want you to head to one of my favorite sushi spots near this area. I have the name popping up right here, but it had the juiciest tuna, yellow tail, salmon, and the owner was extremely nice. He opened up a little over a year ago. You need to go here. It was some of the best sushi I had while in Japan. And now, let’s head on to day number three. Now, in the morning of day three, I want you to take it slow. You’ve already done so much in Tokyo so far. Maybe grab a coffee, head to the park that’s nearest your hotel. Now, in the afternoon, I recommend going to a place called Takashidita Street. This is just the most wild experience. It’s just this long street full of crazy shop, food you’ve never experienced in your life, and sadly some animal cafes that I don’t recommend going to at all, but more on that later. Before visiting Takashita Street, you can visit a street only 5 minutes away called Cat Street. This is basically the vintage street of Tokyo. One of many, I’m guessing. But here, you can get some of the coolest vintage clothing. And you’ll see lines down the street at some of these stores that are having drops that day. It’s a really cool experience, especially like I said if you’re into vintage clothing. Now, let’s talk about Takashidita Street. You can get some of the craziest food like these strawberries covered in sugar like this glass sugar coating. Guess it’s famous in Japan. And then you can get massive cotton candy and all sorts of just really unique food. And yes, there are so many animal cafes here like owl cafes, otter cafes, dog and cat cafes. But like I said before, you should not visit these because just seeing it firsthand, I was looking through the window and I felt so bad because these animals are just passed around all day by new customers. So people pay to go in these cafes and play with the animals and they’re just in a very small area. So yeah, I definitely recommend skipping those animal cafes, but still coming to the street because this is sensory overload. This is just one of the craziest streets you’ll experience in your life. After Takashita Street, I highly recommend going to a show, whether that be a sumo show or a dance cabaret. For this two-hour experience, you go to a sumo club for two hours, and they teach you all about sumo wrestling, which is Japan’s national sport. These 10-year veterans here were absolutely hilarious. And this is something I highly recommend, and I think is a must do for your Tokyo trip. [Music] Oh, no. It’s around $100 and they’ll serve you a hot pot and some beer as you watch them train and fight right in front of you. What’s even better is they invited eight people from the crowd to dress in sumo costumes and fight the real sumo wrestlers. And these guys are absolutely massive, but they were so fun as they let the kids push them over. and it was just a great experience all around. If you’re not into the sumo show, you can go to the dance cabaret. It’s basically dance with storytelling. It is one of the most impactful stories, and I actually ended up crying, which really surprised me. It’s a 2-hour experience where the first hour you get unlimited drinks and meet the cast, which are all so nice, and then the show is 1 hour. This is something I’ve never experienced before because their storytelling through dance. They don’t talk the entire time. It’s something I highly recommend. So, do one or the other, whatever you think you would like more. And then to end your 72 hours in Tokyo, you could do anything you want. Head back to places like Shabuya or Shinjjuku or go to some rooftop bars. Tokyo is infamous for the rooftop bars. And this one that I’m having overlaid right here has an amazing view of the Tokyo Tower. But that is a wrap. Make sure to check out our other Japan videos in this playlist right up here. We’re just trying to help you guys travel. Like, comment, subscribe, follow us on Instagram. My wife Anna does amazing on there. and we will see you in the next one. Woo!

Tokyo has been voted the #1 city in the world to visit and now I know why. With the most MICHELIN starred restaurants in the world serving mouthwatering sushi, wagyu beef, and massive bowls of ramen, Tokyo Japan is the culinary capital of the world.

👇🏻 Best Tokyo Tours & Experiences:
🍜 *Shinjuku Food Tour:* https://2ly.link/26M29
🗼 *Skytree Tickets:* https://2ly.link/26M0s
🥋 *Sumo Show:* https://2ly.link/26M0e
🎎 *Traditional Dance Show:* https://2ly.link/26M0q
🎨 *Teamlabs Planet:* https://2ly.link/26Lkt
🗻 *Mt.Fuji Day Trip:* https://2ly.link/26M2C

👉🏼 *Instagram:* https://www.instagram.com/ian.and.ana/?hl=en
📩 *Email:* hello@ianandana.com

In this Tokyo Travel Guide we share all the best things to do like Sensoji Temple, Tokyo Skytree, Teamlab Planets, Takeshita Street, Kappabashi Street, and all the best things to do. This is how you travel Tokyo in 3 days

Tools and services we recommend:

🎵The copyright-free music we use in all our videos: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/fjzme2/

📊The tool we use for youtube research & stats:
https://vidiq.com/#_l_22d

📕The book that will get you started on Youtube:
https://amzn.to/2kCUZlj

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