Tokyo is a city of surprises and hidden treasures, a place that is always evolving, producing new places to visit and super trendy hangouts. Whether you’re visiting for the first time or the 10th, there’s always something new to try. During our recent visit to Tokyo, we had so much fun and here’s 5 unique experiences in Tokyo (it’s all our own experiences).
1. Standing Sushi Bar
Why stand when you can sit down and have your sushi comfortably? Standing Sushi Bar is a casual place where you can just pop in and order sushi exactly like ordering drinks at the club. The sushi master will take your order and place the sushi right in front of you. Starting from 75 yen, the prices are mad cheap for fresh and made-to-order sushis!
Uokashi Standing Sushi Bar Shinjuku (20 outlets all around Tokyo)
Add: 1F Kasai bld. 1-12 NishiShinjyuku Chiyoda-ku Tokyo
Hours: 11:00 to 22:30 (Monday through Friday)
Getting Here: Kanda Stn, 3min
Image from thepoortraveler.com
2. M’s Pop Life Adult Department Store
M’s is an incredibly famous, 7-floor sex shop in Akihabara
Getting Here: 5 minutes walk from Tokyo Metro subway Akihabara station.
3. Takeshita Dori is a great place for people-watching. It is best to come here during the weekend, where enthusiastic fashionistas and cosplayers parade their finest get-ups on the city streets. The narrow 400m long street is unbelievably crammed full of thousands of tourists and locals, but what’s the fun if the street is dead quiet?
image from tokyofashion.com
Bizarre hairstyles, funky onesies, sexy costumes, elaborated make up…the fashionistas and cosplayers are not afraid to showcase their efforts in dressing up. It was such an interesting experience for us!
Getting Here: A short walk from subway station Meijijingu-mae Station
4. At Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, visitors and devotees were fanning the incense smoke around their head and body. It is believed to have therapeutic and purifying properties. We do not hesitate to do so of course. Visiting a Buddhist temple or a Shinto shrine in Tokyo and following their praying ritual is a must do thing here!
Sensoji Temple
Address: 2-3-1, Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Getting Here: Asakusa station (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Tobu Line, Toei Subway Asakusa Line, Tsukuba Express)
5. Are you a tongue person? Gyutan is grilled sliced beef tongue on flaming charcoal grill. What’s so special about gyutan in Japan, yakiniku joints in Malaysia do serve gyutan too! However it was our first to try beef tongue in a variety of choices, e.g. thick cut or thin sliced, white or red (different parts of the tongue). The thick, white part is the best part, and of course it costs more than the red and thinner slices. We tried it at Negishi, a gyutan specialty store and immediately got hooked for life!
Negishi Ginza (34 outlets in Tokyo)
Add: 116 Ginza Corridor-gai, 7-2, Ginza, Chuo-ku, TOKYO
Hours: 11am to 11pm
Getting Here: JR Shinbashi Station, Ginza Exit. Follow the road under the JR train line overpass (Corridor Gai) toward Yurakucho for 5 minutes.
There are many other unique experiences in Tokyo such as:
-Robot Restaurant: a loud and colorful cabaret show featuring robots and skimpily dressed girls.
-Tuna auction at Tsukiji Market: if you can wake up on the ungodly hour of 3-4 am.
-Maid Cafe: apart from food & beverages, some maid cafes provide a variety of “alternative” services, ranging from spoon-feeding to ear cleaning.
-Meguro Parasitological MuseumL: why would anyone want to go and look at tapeworms but we heard that it is an interesting museum)
Tokyo is always a fresh experience, given that it is a city that never stop developing. As we all know, Matta Fair is happening this weekend (17th – 19th March 2017) and Tokyo will be exhibiting there! Whether you are a first timer to Tokyo or a recurring visitor, do drop by to visit the Tokyo booth for more travel information! See you there!
