Tokyo is a sprawling City that
offers dramatically different experiences depending on where you stay. Are
you looking for night life and bright lights, high-end shopping, unique dining
experiences, or maybe a more tranquil time in Tokyo? What's the experience you're
looking for? We help you decide. [Music] Welcome back to Finding Gina Marie, where we
share our lives as full-time travelers and the connections we make along the way. If you're
new here, welcome, I'm Judy and I'm Kevin. This is the second episode of our Japan series, so
stay tuned for all the rest of them and catch the ones you might have missed. We split our
time in Tokyo. We started off our Japan trip in Tokyo and then we went and did some more
traveling and came back to Tokyo at the end to share some time with our daughter. Our
experiences between our first leg and our second were vastly different. The greater Tokyo
area has over 38 million people and the central metropolitan area has over 9 million. So our best
advice is to book as far in advance as possible, especially when you are visiting in autumn like
us or cherry blossom season. So many options for both legs of our trip weren't available because
we didn't book early enough. When looking at the different areas of Tokyo for hotels, you need
to look at not just what ward an area is in, but also the neighborhood because even within a
single ward, you'll have a variety of experiences. We'll be covering six areas to consider and
sharing some food recommendations, spots to find cherry blossoms and beautiful autumn leaves, and
we'll also mention what we paid for everything. We flew ANA Airlines in premium economy which was
a splurge using points since we were arriving after a visit to family in the US. We redeemed
184,642 points and paid $226.77 for one-way tickets valued at $2,996 for both of us. So we're
actually on a plan going to our flight to Tokyo, and it's been really nice so far. Yeah it's
great. And so this was one of the splurges—we are in Economy Plus that we earned with points
so that's a nice treat. Yeah, staff's been great, treatment's been wonderful, plane looks great,
excellent seats, excellent foot area and stretch out area. It's always nice when it's a 2:2
configuration so you don't have to have somebody next to you. Those are nice a little; a little
bit better than regular, and slippers. I think we have reclining seats. At least we have these
foot rests, which is really nice for me. Yeah, so I'm all set for that. Noise canceling headphones?
Yes, because I can't hear you! [laughter] Chicken teriyaki sort of noodles, teriyaki's over rice,
wasabi paste. Oh good. The advantage of the premium economy was that we arrived fresh from
a relaxing plane ride with great amenities. So I am thrilled that we are here. I don't know;
I feel like our airplane just really set—our airline—set the stage for what awaits us. It was
just really a top-notch experience on All Nippon Airways (ANA)—very nice service, lovely plane,
comfortable seats—set the bar pretty high. Yeah, I'm so excited so excited. I feel very unprepared,
but it won't take too long for us...get ready for a few mistakes. We had no idea of the overwhelm
we'd experience finding the right trains to get to our hotel. All right last leg here we got just got
to walk to our hotel. This is crazy, there's a lot of trains and a lot of stairs. It has been so much
more crowded than I expected it to be, and at this point it's 6:18pm, which we've just gone through
rush hour so that is part of the explanation but it made it very hard to just assess where you are
and where you're trying to get to. Yeah, there's a lot of ticket gates, too, so we didn't want to
make the wrong choice. Well, and unfortunately, not knowing where we're going and having a path
but you have to get there by this amount of time so if we missed something, then we're starting
over, and the path that we took based on price um also required us to get off at multiple
stops so it's been an adventure, and we are at the—nearing—the Finish Line. Yeah, the last stop,
just a quick walk right 500 meters, right? Yes. All right, let's go. Sounds good. So let's start
off with Shibuya. It's southwest of central Tokyo and one of the three large subcenters in Tokyo.
The other two are Shinjuku and Ikebukuro area. We were shocked that our first sights in Tokyo
were of a highway overpass and could have been lifted out of any part of the world. There were
no tall buildings and it didn't look particularly Japanese, except for the Kanji versus Roman
lettering on the signage. It turned out that although our first hotel was in the ward of
Shibuya, it's in the neighborhood of Hatagaya, which is an upscale residential area of town and
requires you to take an extra train leg to get there. If you're looking to stay away from the
hustle and bustle, this may be the area for you. We stayed at the Himalayan Cloud Hotel. It was a
very nice hotel and great for the price. We paid $635 for [FIVE] nights which breaks down to $127
per night. We thought we were staying in the area with skyscrapers, so you need to understand
the neighborhood as well as the ward. [Music] When planning your hotel location, do a quick
directions from the Tokyo Airport and see what it looks like on the map app. If you stay near
one of the major train stations, you'll save time on your first day arriving in Tokyo. You can
travel quickly to any other place in Tokyo by train without having to deal with your luggage
after that. You'll also save money because you won't have to take these extra arms deep into a
neighborhood. And if you're near a major station, there's likely going to be more that you can
do in that area. So let's skip to the area of Shibuya that you might really want to stay in
or be expecting when you think of Tokyo. The most touristy thing you must do is to be part
of the Shibuya Scramble: 3,000 people cross the scramble every 90 seconds. Watch us walk through
it and then view it from overhead. Skip the pricey Shibuya Sky building with its $15 online tickets
and rooftop seats costing nearly $28. Instead head to the Magnet for a budget-friendly
option. For just 1500 Yen (which is $10), enjoy a rooftop experience with couches, fewer
tourists, a drink and no reservations [Music] needed. The Metropolitan government building's
45th floor observation deck offers a free view, but it's currently closed. If you have an
international driver's permit, consider a cartoon character go-karting experience from Street Kart
Tokyo bay where you can dress up in your favorite costume and ride around the streets of Tokyo looks
like those people were having a lot of fun and if you have enough patience stand in line for a
picture with the bronze statue of the famous loyal Hachiko a Japanese Akita dog who lived a 100 years
ago and is remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner it's a very popular site you can get
pictures from the side but if you want to pose with a statue you have to wait in line it's right
in front of the shabuya station's Hao exit which was named after him if you want to have amazing
sushi but want to make a real experience out of it we recommend kakaya by the sea in the Mario Macho
neighborhood it's got traditional Japanese seafood with a temporary twist you need reservations but
it was our most memorable meal if you book online you need to order one of their family style course
meals we might not have chosen that left to our own devices but we tried some incredible food that
we might not have been ambitious enough to try otherwise we chose the Yuki course which included
nine small courses that we could barely finish at 4,800 Yen per person or about 3250 this is FY
and let me overa FY and oh this one's fatty fatty and the ring okay yeah let's snap SN Amber Jack
Amber Jack Spanish ma excellent Spanish Ma and [Music] V the waiter and chefs were
a hoop and cheered anytime anyone paid them a compliment after each course which was [Music] aw and if you're interested in a themed
hotel check out the nearby Sweets Hotel mom's like me when I why
didn't you book us here Mom are they free oh yeah I found my place I found my [Music]
home on our second visit to Tokyo from Kyoto we were a bit smarter and planned a little bit
ahead unlike our last uh hotel in Tokyo this one's right near our main station Shinjuku
so should be an easier trip than the last time which was a little bit exensive right
and hopefully this should be a busier part of town too so we are excited for all the cool
things you're going to be doing Tokyo again to we knew our daughter would be disappointed in
the hota area so we booked a hotel in Shinjuku near the main train station this area
is famous for its flashy neon lights and nightlife it is a bit more nightlife than maybe
we had bargain for because Tokyo's red light district also is here called kabucho it's not
unsafe area just be mindful to avoid the [Music] touts this is where you want to be if
you're looking for some serious nightlife scene because there are parties well into
the night the streets can be very dirty until the garbage Crews will transform
it in the morning there are several APA hotels in this area and you want to make
sure you have the correct address for the one you book ask me how I know to do this
and air hotel is right in the middle of all [Music] this the rooms are small but
functional and affordable APA stands for always Pleasant amenities for Kevin
and I we paid 73384 Yen or $499 for four nights which is $24.75 per night we got a
separate room for our daughter at the same price since the rooms were way too small and
only had one bed which is pretty typical of Japan this area even has its own
four-way scramble but it's much smaller and we don't mind busy cities but
we don't go out partying at night so this area of Shinjuku wasn't a perfect for us
we are glad that we got to see some of the popular sites like the 3D cat display
near the Shinjuku station's East exit it spans three stories and runs from
7:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. with different videos appearing based on the time of day
very Instagram worthy and fun to [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] watch
Shinjuku has its own themed hotel but this theme was darker than the sweets one hotel malta's
exterior designed to look like it's falling apart there's also a glamping hotel with a beach
Vibe allowing the feel of glamorous camping on the seashore with hammocks and beach chairs
facing gigantic big screen televisions and a ton of free food let's move on to Cho one
of the areas inside Cho city is Ginza where you'll find upsale shopping and 100-year-old
stationary store Japan is famous for stationary and fountain pens and this store boasts five
stories of joy for anyone with a creative [Music] flare go past all the fancy stores and
you'll come to thei market area it's the largest fish market in the world don't go at lunchtime
though because the fish is overpriced here it's better to go to any of the restaurants who
purchase their fish in the early morning hours stalls typically close at 2:00 p.m. if you
take a sushi making Class A market tour is often included beforehand Cho also holds the man-made
island of sukima which is famous for monaki you'll know it better as mja Tokyo's version of
the Savory pancake called okin namaki which is from [Music] Osaka there's an entire Street lined
with manga restaurants mostly open for dinner we preferred hiroshima's version version best of
all but they are all worth trying M's runer and gooier and AR as well formed compared to the other
versions we split a pork curry pancake which cost 1130 Yen or $768 it's pretty affordable
especially for the amount of food you're [Music] served across the street you'll also want to stop
for melon pan they are a steel at200 again and they are delicious and that's only $1.36 so you
can have two okay we were at this place before back for second round right and we didn't taste
it on camera so I thought we would here and it's called melon pan but I think it's just because of
the shape not because of Any flavors it's got not not got melon in it but the top is like a Dutch
crunch um site and it's really fluffy inside it's really good and and it's good enough that we came
back twice can I give me that piece there we go I agree this same part of town is famous for
Manga and Anime let's now take a look at the asakusa area it's where Tokyo's oldest and most
significant temple senoji temple also known as asakusa Canan and if you thought visiting a temple
would be a somber experience guess again for many of them the grounds are celebratory high energy
and filled with vendors of every sort it's also free to visit the kamarian gate which means
thundergate in English is the outer of two large entrance Gates that ultimately leads to the
senoi temple the gate with its Lantern and statues is great for pictures when you come in through
this gate you'll walk along the street leading to the temple called nakamas Dori it's lined with
nearly 90 shops selling crafts suvenir and plenty of sweet and savory snacks seasonal events in July
and December are also held on Temple ground it's easy to miss this main gate if you enter through
one of the side or lesser Gates keep in mind that you're not supposed to eat while you're walking
so although there's all these food vendors there aren't always places to put your trash so you
may have to carry it with you or give it back to the shop person if the lines aren't too long
there are plenty of restrooms here and they all have toilets with built-in bedet our daughter had
a laundry list of foods that we needed to try from the food vendors so of course we had to listen
to her so this is a milk serve I've seen a bunch of these and finally got a chance to snag one
while we're by the temp look fake though yeah it does Mr Softy or Dairy Queen or what um I don't
know it's a little bit crystalized just okay but I'm a snob when it comes to ice cream look looks
pretty though right it does the other popular ice cream here is serve inside a crate what do you
think it's creamy softer yeah it's really soft it's really creamy very good since we're talking
about ice cream we're excited to share that we've started our own absolutely free community
Forum that we are calling La Familia you can ask questions about trip planning and all things
related to travel there we're also giving you a chance to peek behind the scenes and are offering
a bunch of other perks we're calling gelato levels if you decide you want to help support us
financially as well a video with the details is linked in the description ion below the uo area
of asakusa has several museums as well including the Tokyo National Museum which is the oldest and
largest museum in Japan unfortunately we missed exploring museums on this trip but we think it's
still worthwhile for you to visit there so let's talk about chiota we visited the neighborhood
of K in the chiota area to meet up for a great ebike tour that hook us through this area and our
guide was really good it was a perfect way to get our bearings especially since Tokyo is so spread
out we'll put a link in the description below at the end of it we stopped at a standing Sushi area
for lunch that our guide recommended called benai sushi bar this is a very authentic sushi bar with
very little English it was a little difficult to figure out what we wanted so we chose to share
the special of the day which was a 10piece set of five different sushimi lunch is typically from
around 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. so don't wait too long to find a place to eat we prefer the salmon
and the shrimp the best and for both of us it was $1,800 Yen total which is about $12 also in cond
is karashibi miso Ramen kambo which we loved and is known for offering spicy Ramen this place
takes it to the extreme its name translates to ogre's iron club which basically means that
the spice level will have you feeling like you got clubbed in the mouth their basic Ramen is
$980 Yen or about $6.66 to upgrade to an egg Ramen cost $150 Yen or $782 cents and you can add
additional toppings for extra charge or additional spices the Imperial Palace which is the main
residence of the emperor of Japan is here Koko Gan National Gardens also are here as well the
most convenient entrance of the park is from the kudan side through the tayuman gate which
is a 2-minute walk from the kudan D station inside the park is the nepon Buddakan area which
hosts Rock shows and martial arts tournaments The Beatles played five sets here in 1966 during
their world tour tuman gate is famous for its cherry blossoms around the end of March the area
is so loaded up with visitors you can't even ride a bike through it a little later in the season
it's also famous for its fall colors we visited this area in October so it was a little too
early to get the pretty trees one interesting thing about this gate is there's actually an
outer gate and and then an inner gate and you have to make a pretty hard turn to get through
them both which made it harder for the city to be attacked if you're looking for cherry blossoms
the British Embassy has a lot of them when they're in season everywhere in Japan you can find places
where you can rent a kimono if you want to walk around in a traditional outfit for the day and
that applies for both men and women if you're looking at a rickshaw ride your time in Tokyo look
no further than asakusa where there are plenty of them before we get to our final recommendations
we want to talk about the manato area the manato ward is the most expensive area to stay in Tokyo
it's one of the most International areas and has a concentration of business and diplomatic
activity in Japan the jingu gayen area has a golden Geno Tree Line Street that you must
visit in Autumn warning there is a lot of posing and selfies happening there so come early in the
morning when it's less crowded we arrived late in the day and it was still worthwhile the trees in
the fall are a must SE they are truly JW [Music] dropping the nezu museum also is here even if you
aren't visiting specifically for the art there's a lovely five-star Garden if you are looking for
some peace and Tranquility so with so many areas to stay what are our final recommendations
well after some of the mistakes we made we recommend that you stay in a Central area of
Tokyo near a train station because then you can get on whenever you want to and visit other
areas you'll still have walking access to the shops and convenience stores and things that you
would normally want to access in Tokyo so we'd like to know where you would prefer to stay in
Tokyo leave us a comment below and let us know what resonated most and why if you've enjoyed
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our travels until next time until next time
