When I began writing these series of posts on my trip to Japan, I had mentioned that we had very limited time to visit the entire country. We had to manage soaking in as much of Tokyo as we could in just 6 days out of our 15 day trip. Tokyo is the largest metropolitan city in the world in terms of land area and we knew that even a month, wouldn't be enough to really see most of it. We did, however, try to get the most out of that short stay and visited loads of great places from the travel itinerary we had been working on for months and discovering more as we wandered around. I promised that what I share will focus mainly on budget, so I'm going to list, in parts, the things we did based on the free stuff, the economical stuff and the stuff you definitely must try.
Free
Have A Picnic At Ueno Kōen (Park)
We decided to pack a quick sushi lunch and take it to Ueno park. The park is located in central Tokyo and apart from a large number of museums that are situated in the park, it also has the Ueno zoo which is home to adorable pandas. It’s one of major spots during sakura season because it has over 1000 trees lining the central pathway and is great for a picnic. If time is of essence though, I’d advise you to skip visiting here.
2. Take In All The Cool Architecture At Roppongi Hills
Known to be a ‘city within a city’, Roppongi Hills is a large contemporary complex peppered with chic designer boutiques, fine dining restaurants like L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, nightclubs and offices. It’s really top drawer and all I could do on the shopping front was lust after everything in the Alexander McQueen store and slowly walk away. There are however, a bunch of cool things that you can enjoy for free if you decide to visit! We enjoyed the view of Tokyo Tower from Mori Gardens at Roppongi Hills. The garden has pretty trees, including cherry blossoms that will be in full bloom this time of year. The weather was fantastic and there were loads of benches to sit on. You could grab a sandwich, have a smoke and just enjoy the view. In the Roku Roku Plaza area, is a fascinating 30 ft sculpture called “Maman” by a French artist, Louise Bourgeois. If you stand right under it, you can see the eggs the spider is carrying; the detailing on it is what drew me in. While it might seem like a sinister piece of art, there’s a deep purpose behind it. The artist built it as an ode to her mother:
She was my best friend. Like a spider, my mother was a weaver.
3. Walk Around Akihabara
Electronic gadget enthusiasts and anime lovers, this is going to be paradise for you. Akihabara is Mecca when it comes to electronic stores and otaku culture. Streets are lined with stores selling every kind of electronic goods, manga and anime memorabilia imaginable! There are floors of cool anime figurines that can be purchased at multiple stores but they are, as you might have guessed, quite expensive. A medium sized Goku figurine (pictured above) costs around ¥5500–6000 (3200–3500 INR). Walk into the innumerable stores and just have a look around — it’s worth doing, trust me! We walked into an adult book/DVD store since I'm very intrigued by hentai and browsed through some aisles. I noticed some men leave the aisle the minute I entered it, but didn't really pay too much attention. Minutes after we left, my boyfriend brought to my notice, that I was the only woman in the store and he noticed multiple men in the store look at me with embarrassment and discomfort the minute I had stepped in! It completely slipped our mind that the Japanese find it disrespectful to look at porn in front of women. The more places we went, the more we realised how much tradition matters to them. They couldn't be more endearing, really. I'm in love with the culture and the people.
Electronic Store You Must Visit: Yodobashi Camera — this place has everything and I mean, E V E R Y T H I N G. The boyfriend got a great deal on a couple of camera lenses and I bought some running gear, clothes, shoes and make-up for quite a reasonable rate.
Budget Friendly
Supermarkets Do Not Disappoint
We were famished after we landed in Narita Airport and were just generally excited to begin our culinary adventure so we walked into the 7-Eleven at the airport to grab things that would keep us satisfied until we reached town. Nothing prepared us for the amount of bento boxes, convenient o-nigiri packets and sushi boxes that were on display. We spent some time in the fresh lunch aisle and then spent more time in the candy, drinks and junk food aisle. Amusing, nonsensical candy, rows of grape drinks and café au lait (Japanese style) and crazy flavoured chips (I picked eggs Benedict cause it was breakfast time) sucked us in and it was like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory; except here he’d be Wonka san and he’d be known for more than just chocolate. Buying things at the supermarket is not expensive, at all. Whether it’s alcohol, food or junk food. If you’re on a crazy budget, you could actually just buy all your food from the supermarket and save a ton of your travel money. The food won’t be mind blowing but you will end up saving a lot. If the supermarkets are shut, the vending machines that are everywhere will always come to your rescue. You can read more about them here.
2. The JR Pass Access
I had mentioned in a previous post how having a JR pass is a total saviour if you’re visiting multiple cities in Japan. What’s great about having it in Tokyo, is that it gives you free access to all JR lines, including the Yamanote line — the busiest and most important line. All the major districts and stations in Tokyo are connected by the Yamanote line and having the JR pass to travel back and forth from them is a blessing, indeed.
App that’s extremely helpful to find your way around: Japan Trains
3. Have A Go At The Gacha Gacha Machine In Akihabara For Cute Souvenirs
Gacha gacha are vending machines that release mini toys in capsules once you put money in. You never know what you’re going to get and they make for great souvenirs. Initially made for children, the growing popularity among tourists and adults in Japan led to the presence of machines targeted at adults as well. The toys in the machines range from ¥100-¥500 (60–304 INR)
Worth The Money
The Panda Danishes At Ueno Station
Since pandas are one of the main attractions in Ueno, it’s pretty much become the city’s mascot. You’ll find loads of signs and restaurants in Ueno that have incorporated the panda in different ways and the panda Danishes are one of them. The array of panda treats are so adorable, they will attract you instantly. We tried the custard and red bean paste Danish. These are essentially like taiyaki, just in a different shape. It tastes like a pancake with filling. If you’re not a fan of red bean, the custard one won’t let you down.
Where: Danish Panda at Ueno Station
Cost: Around ¥210 per danish(I27 INR)
2. Kaiten Sushi At ぴんとこな 六本木ヒルズ店 (Pintokona Roppongi Hills)
Situated inside the Metro Hat building in Roppongi Hills, Pintokona is a kaiten (conveyor belt restaurant) that serves really great sushi if you’re looking to eat at relatively nice place instead of a chain (the chains will always be cheaper but you should definitely treat yourself to an experience here). It is also fairly cheaper compared to all the other fancy restaurants around. You can help yourself to some free matcha as the coloured sushi plates glide past you on the conveyor belt. Remember, the plate colours denote the price. Blue was the cheapest and black the most expensive, here. This elegant, affordable place definitely deserves a visit if you’re in Roppongi.
What We Ate: Gunkan Maki (Warship Roll), Otoro Nigiri, Maguro Nigiri, Minced Tuna & Seaweed, Spicy Tuna Maki Roll, Rainbow Maki Roll
Cost: ¥2000 — ¥4000 (1200–2400 INR)
3. Visiting The Endless Line Of Otaku Stores in Akihabara
Otaku culture in Japan and many parts of the world is overwhelming. We had braced ourselves for Akihabara, but nothing really prepared us for the explosion of Otaku stores and insane advertising on buildings that we were greeted with the minute we exited from the station. The best place to soak in this feeling in Akihabara, is Chuo Dori, a boulevard or avenue that has multiple manga and electronic stores. The one we went into on Chuo Dori was 6 floors. No, I’m not kidding. It was 6 floors of anime merchandise, figurines, manga and things I didn’t even know existed. It’s definitely worth a visit if you’re absolutely crazy about anime — be prepared to shell out some cash here, though. The anime figurines are absolutely amazing and they will be expensive.
4. Eat Some Amazing Ramen and Udon At Ramen Darumanome
When you’re walking through streets overflowing with Otaku culture, you tend to lose track of time and before you know it, your stomach that has been accustomed to being consistently refilled with heavenly Japanese food, begins to yearn some of it again. We stumbled upon Ramen Darumanome out of the blue. It’s the first restaurant we spotted, our hunger levels were peaking and it had been 2 hours since our last meal (we’re gluttons and what a wonderful place to bask in our gluttony). I had mentioned a funny anecdote about this place in one of my previous posts (it’s worth reading, trust me). The restaurant has a vending machine that dispenses a ticket for the dish you’ve picked, once you put the money in. You hand the ticket to your server, and you’re seated on a long table with a breaker in the centre so you aren’t staring directly at the person seated opposite you. There are individual stools in front of the table and a mini basket under the table — something I noticed that is present in most Japanese restaurants. Since the seating in most restaurants is very close together, there’s not enough space to keep your bag; the purpose of these baskets, is to have a place to keep your bag and enjoy your meal. We ordered in a hurry so what came to us was pretty much a surprise and it’s one of the most satisfying meals we had since we got to Japan. Highly recommend this place.
What we ate: Udon with negi, white onions, egg, minced pork and tsukemen with a serving of tokantsu, egg, rice and freshly ground sesame seeds. First dish featured in this post.
Cost: For two dishes — ¥2070 (1260 INR)
Part II coming up soon!
Disclaimer: All images in this post belong to Michelle Varghese and Arshad Umrethi