I have a solo trip to Tokyo to visit some friends next week. I only actually bought the ticket two weeks ago and was able to cover the whole thing with miles so it only cost me $55. The Gods must have been looking upon me because I got the last seat on the plane on the way back which is a First Class Suite on Japan Airlines

Basically it's a once in a life time situation where many of my interests are aligning. I am wanting to do and see as much as possible for the week I am there (15th-21st)


I am looking for your best recommendations on things to do, places to visit, stuff to bring home, Temples/Shines, things to eat, restaurants, etc. What are your top things to do?


This is what I have planned so far:

Activities:
Professional Wrestling match (WWE Stye)
Japanese Tea Ceremony
Sens-ji Temple
Chiba Lotte Marine Baseball game-It's Star Wars theme night
Star Wars Celebration
DisneySea
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
One act Kabuki theater
Meiji Jingu
Hanazono Shrine
Shibuya Scramble Crossing
Kappabashi Street


Places/things I want to eat:
Niboshi Ramen
7-Eleven
Sushi (need recs that won't break the bank)
izakaya in Ginza
Shirohige's Cream Puff Factory for Totoro cream puffs
Little Texas

Stores to visit/Souvenirs:
Nintendo Store
Tower Records
Onitsuka Tiger
Converse Tokyo
Bandai Namco's Gashapon Department Store
BEAMS in Shinjuku
Hinoya for Denim
Don Quijote Shinjuku
Tokyo Character Street
Shinkansen Chopsticks
Hanko name stamp
Higonokami Pocket Knife
Kitchen Knife (looking more entry level)
Wood Block Prints
Yunomi Tea Cup
Tenugui Towels


Places that I am considering
Akihabara
Tokyo Character Street
Gotokuji cat temple
Nakano Arcade
Take****a street
Donguri Republic
Harajuku
Donguri Republic
Mega Pokmon Center Ikebukuro

glad you decided to do it!

Sushi sushi sushi. And did I mention sushi?
I wanted to go next month. But a dear Japanese family friend advised against it because of the expo. So we decided to go in October.
I can't wait to hear about your travels and recommendations when you return. Safe travels my friend!

Kappabashi for the kitchen knife

I'd combine Shinjuku + Meiji Shrine + Harajuku

Nissan Crossing in Ginza is pretty cool if you want to see what future cars could look like.

7-11?

TXAG 05 said:

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7-11?

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C'mon man, at least get some Pocari Sweat from Lawson Station

This guy doesn't know.

I was in Tokyo about a month ago. I don't really have much to add to your list. You're covering nearly everything we did. Rolling solo will be much different than running around with a 10 and 12 year old!

We loved it. Both Tokyo and Kyoto were outstanding cities. I have more tips and recs for Kyoto than Tokyo if you decided to go there for a few days.

The 7-11s were indeed great. One of the highlights for my kids was simply going to a 7-11 and using the smoothie machines or making ramen and eating pork buns.

I didn't see teamLab Planets Tokyo on your list. This was a surprise for my son and he loved it. We all did.

We visited the top of Tokyo Skytree the first night of our trip. Coming from a small farm in Texas, it was quite remarkable. That said, the lines and crowd getting back down nearly ruined the experience, so I'm not sure I can recommend it.

I wouldn't waste time at the Nintendo Store unless there is some specific collectible you want that is only available there. Terrible store location and layout.

Take****a Street. Oh my. Maybe this is what you mean by character street. It was a sight to say the least. My kids were overwhelmed.

I wouldn't even dare to give sushi restaurant recommendations, but the standing sushi bars are such an incredible way to experience all kinds of hard to find and delicious sushi. One of my favorite experiences of Tokyo.

I just wish you had taken more than 6 days for Japan.

I agree about the Nintendo Store. I had it in my head that it was going to be a massive store, and it ended up being relatively small and underwhelming. It is in the same shopping mall as the Pokemon store, which was also a bit underwhelming. But it makes for a good combo.

You already have a baseball game, which is a must. I don't really like baseball, but we went to a Yomori Giants game, and it was awesome.

We had a great time doing the Street Cart in Shibuya. It used to be called Mario Kart and you could dress up as Nintendo characters, but Nintendo sued the piss out of them. Driving a go-kart around Tokyo was one of the best experiences we had. I believe there are multiple ones throughout the city. Just don't ask the Tokyo Travel Reddit because they all cry about how the locals hate it. Everyone we drove by thought it was funny, and most waved.

Very jealous about the Japan Airlines First Class seat. I have never flown JAL, but I have only heard amazing things.

Very good list of activities.

My recommendation is Liquor Express in Ginza. Has a significant Japanese whiskey collection.

Any chance you're on JAL's new A350-1000 from DFW? We were in premium economy on the new -1000 and it was very nice. It made the Dreamliner return flight feel dated. First class on that aircraft should be great.

The Dreamliner is 12+ years old now:
https://www.airwaysmag.com/legacy-posts/ana-first-rev-boeing-787-dreamliner

I remember seeing the ANA ads around Tokyo as they were the first ones to fly it.

arrow said:

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Any chance you're on JAL's new A350-1000 from DFW? We were in premium economy on the new -1000 and it was very nice. It made the Dreamliner return flight feel dated. First class on that aircraft should be great.

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not from DFW. I only have the first class suite on the way back, but yes it's the new A350-1000. I can't believe my luck.

https://www.jal.co.jp/jp/en/inter/service/first/seat/A350-1000.html

I was just going to hit up duty free because I had heard it was hard to get Japanese whisky in the country. Thanks for the tip!

nai06 said:

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I was just going to hit up duty free because I had heard it was hard to get Japanese whisky in the country. Thanks for the tip!

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It is VERY challenging for sure.

nai06 said:

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I was just going to hit up duty free because I had heard it was hard to get Japanese whisky in the country. Thanks for the tip!

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Duty Free is usually a bust.

You're much better off buying locally unless you're after a few Duty Free exclusive bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

Since you're going to Japan, look for Yamazaki.

And my other Tokyo pro-tip is to buy beers at 7-11, Lawsons or Family Mart for drinking in your room. Hotel Beers are expensive. Once had a $32 glass of Hoegaarden at the Hyatt in Shinjuku.

Yeah. My second thought after feeling the Dreamliner was old compared to the 350-1000 was: no, really I'm just getting old.

Scotch was cheaper in Japan than USA. Japanese whisky was cheaper in the USA than Japan. This was a month ago. I ended up buying scotch only at Don Quijote in Kyoto. I bought one bottle of Japanese whisky in airport duty free just to have one. Then I went and bought all the Japanese whiskies I enjoyed while there at Total Wine in Frisco.

Not as cool. But my cabinet is looking pretty great now.

Toyosu Market and also the old Tsukiji Market are things to consider.

Also, the large department stores have great food halls to visit.

8 best depachika food markets in Tokyo

arrow said:

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Any chance you're on JAL's new A350-1000 from DFW? We were in premium economy on the new -1000 and it was very nice. It made the Dreamliner return flight feel dated. First class on that aircraft should be great.

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Glad to see a recommendation on the 350-1000 PE. Was sniffing around this option.

Sundays in Yoyogi Park is a trip and the food stalls are amazing (minus the deep fried octopus balls).

We lived there 25 years ago while working between Osaka & Marifu but used to make my weekend jogs around the Imperial Palace.

Can't remember what part of town it was but if you can find the underground music scene the hole in the wall joints would have amazing cover bands that played til the sun came up.

We used to just pick random train stations to get off and just walk around. And bars didn't close until the last patron left - get to know your Mama-San !!

arrow said:

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Yeah. My second thought after feeling the Dreamliner was old compared to the 350-1000 was: no, really I'm just getting old.

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Were you able to get some sleep. I struggled last time we flew PE 10+ hrs but it was an older United 772.

It's absurdly priced, but Pizza Bar on 38th has a Michelin star and is rated the best pizza spot in Asia. It's like an omikase take on pizza, really unique experience.

Going this summer let us know how the trip goes!

I couldn't sleep much due to the temperature. Both my JAL flights were much too warm and they didn't have the overhead seat vents.

It's easily the nicest seat I've ever had on an airplane though. About like a recliner. I'm budgeting to fly in lay flats next year to South America.

I just got back yesterday and man what a trip. I am going to do an entire thread on it which I will link here. Im going to cover what I would do again, skip, tips, tricks, etc.

We are planning on going in October. Looking forward to your breakdown.

arrow said:

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Any chance you're on JAL's new A350-1000 from DFW? We were in premium economy on the new -1000 and it was very nice. It made the Dreamliner return flight feel dated. First class on that aircraft should be great.

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Oh man it was so ****ing fancy. I have never felt so rested after getting off a flight. The food and beverage options were amazing and the service/comfort was next level.

A couple of highlights

-they knew each of the 6 first class passengers by name and we were greeted by a line of flight attendants when we boarded

-Honestly more room than knew what to do with. The seat was so big that at one point I just put the foot rest up and sat cross legged while watching a movie.

-lots of storage and very innovative at that. There's a slide out wardrobe/mirror, shoe storage, large bin, etc.

-the Japanese tasting menu was designed Chef Hideki Ishikawa Kagurazaka Ishikawa and Chef Koji Koizumi of Kohaku. Both restaurants have 3 Michelin stars.

-Before you take off, you are offered a set of what they call relaxware. It's cross between pajamas and lightweight sweats made of super soft organic cotton. The amenities kit is also top notch.

-More charging ports than I could ever possibly utilize

-the sleeping arrangement was great. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and when I came back they had made up by bed which was about 1.5 seats wide. You have a standard blanket for the flight but for sleeping you also get a synthetic down comforter. You also have choice of a firm or soft mattress topper laid over the bed.

-I had three attendants. I think there were at total of 6 attendants for the 6 first class passengers. They all spoke perfect English and were there within 15 seconds of pressing the call button.

-Oh man talk about the booze and drink selection. After takeoff we had Salon 2013 (about $1200 a bottle). They also had 2-4 options of reds, whites, digestifs, Shochu, Sake, etc. The attendants were also knowledgeable on pairings with the food. They had 3 types of Japanese whisky but I kept coming back to the Hibiki Japanese Harmony 100th Anniversary Edition. It was so smooth and had great woodsy notes, almost like a spiced sandalwood. Just incredible.

-The fit and finish was overall top notch. High quality materials and attention to detail was evident in the layout and design

-Because the first class section is at the front of the plane, they made all of business class stay in their seating area and escorted all 6 first class passengers to the exit so we could be the first off the plane. There was also a rep for each first class passenger when we landed to handle our carry ons, escort you through customs/immigration, collect your bags from baggage claim, and make sure you made it to a connection if you had one.

Downsides
(keep in mind these are very nitpicky)

-They had very innovative speakers in the head rest so you could listen to the tv without having headphones on. While I liked the idea, I felt the execution fell short. Because I ambient airplane noise I had the volume cranked up all the way. Even then I had to keep my head directly pressed against the head rest or position the speakers directly against my ear. If I sat forward at all, you couldn't hear.

-They had very nice wired Bang Olufsen headphones but when I plugged them in and switched the audio input, it didn't work. Ultimately I was able to easily pair my own bluetooth earbuds without any issue.

-The wifi was free but a littlle cumbersome to activate. You connected to the wifi, went to the activation page, then had to open a separate tab to request a free code, type in your seat and ticket info, then create an account to get the free activation code, go back to the original website, and input the activation code. It wasn't a big deal, but there is no way my parents would be able to do that on their own. It just seemed like a hassle.


It has absolutely ruined me forever on air travel and shows just how far behind the major U.S. based carriers are in their offerings.

I can post a few photos if anyone is interested

Awesome!

I told my kids this morning we have to fly back to Tokyo because we missed the omakase Pizza Bar.

Very interested in photos and a recap!