Tokyo Real Experience
Tokyo Traditional Tours
Recommended LESS TOURISTY
Places around Tokyo
Kiyosumi Shirakawa
Next station from Monzennakacho via Toei Oedo line (E, ruby color icon).
It is getting popular for many cool cafes and galleries, which were previously old factories or workshops. The Blue Bottle Coffee Tokyo flagship cafe is located here.
A lovely Japanese Garden "Kiyosumi-teien" is highly recommended if you love culture.
A small museum "Fukagawa Edo Museum" is so fun, since they reproduced real size neighborhood in the Edo time. You really feel like you are time traveling back to 200 years ago Edo city.
"Yanesen" Yanaka, Nezu, Sendagi
Extending around Bunkyo ward and Taito ward, this neighborhood developed around Nezu Jinja, a very beautiful Shinto shrine with 300 years of history. People typically enjoy a walk starting from the shrine, passing Sendagi station to a unique old shopping street "Yanaka Ginza" near the Nippori station. It is fun checking different side streets out, where you will find hidden cafes, small galleries and sleepy cats. Japanese people love the nostalgic view of "Yuyake dan-dan", stone steps where you can see a beautiful sunset.
Jimbocho
Culturally deep area with old secondhand book shops, ukiyo-e (woodblock paintings) dealers, old school cafes, authentic bars and curry places. You would feel Japanese people visiting here are so much into books, art, music and films. You can visit the ukiyo-e galleries and actually buy ukiyo-e paintings, ranging from reasonable small pieces to real copies of famous ones, such as Hiroshige Utagawa.
Kagurazaka
Elegant, clean and relaxing street along a long slope, starting from the metro Iidabashi station to Kagurazaka station. It is known for some high class Japanese restaurants, french bistros, craft beer or wine bars and nice cafes. Tokyo Dai Jingu is a popular shinto shrine known for matchmaking - they offer more than 20 kinds of relationship related amulets. If you like architectures, "AKOMEYA TOKYO in la kagū" is must visit. Designed by the world famous architect Kengo Kuma, it is a flagship store of AKOMEYA, which sells Japanese food, goods and cosmetics.
West to Shinjuku
(outside of the 23 metropolitan areas)
・Daikanyama, Hiro-o, Nakameguro
Modern area with fashionable shops, cafes, galleries along a canal.
・Koenji, Shimokitazawa
For those who love vinyl record bars, cozy cafes, and thrift stores.
・Kichijo-ji
Inokashira park (a spacious, greenery park with a huge pond) and the old bar streets like a maze called "Harmonica yokocho"
Takao san (Mt. Takao)
Locating almost at the border with Yamanashi prefecture, it's small as a mountain in the nature. You wouldn't feel like you are still in Tokyo. You can either walk or take a cable car or lift to the mountain top. If you are lucky, you can see Mt. Fuji from there. There is a historic sacred temple "Yaku ou in" in the middle of the mountain, as well as a hot spring closer to the train station.
Kamakura
A city in Kanagawa prefecture, 1~1.5 hours each from Tokyo station (JR Yokosuka line) and Shinjuku station (JR Shonan Shinjuku line) .
It was the capital of Japan around 12th century for the very first samurai government.
Some places close to the station are very touristy (Komachi Dori street, Zeni Arai Benten Shinto shrine), but otherwise it is quite calm.
It is really lovely to explore local temples and shrines hidden in the residential area.
My favorite is Houkoku-ji temple (with a mysterious bamboo garden): best to visit early in the morning.
If you take a small local train "Enoden", you will see the Shonan coastline and get to Enoshima, an island with street foods, temple, observatory deck and aquarium. If you are lucky, you will see an amazing sunset view over the sea towards Mt. Fuji.