After experiencing our first winter in Hokkaido, the next part of our Japan trip brought us to Tokyo.

It wasn’t my first time in Tokyo, but it was my wife’s.

So even though I had already experienced the city before, this trip felt a little different.

There was something fun about coming back and experiencing Tokyo again, this time with my wife seeing everything for the first time.

And compared to Sapporo, Tokyo was a completely different experience.

Everything was moving.

There were people everywhere, stores everywhere, food everywhere, and somehow we always found another place where we wanted to spend money. 😂

We didn’t try to visit every famous attraction in Tokyo.

Instead, we explored places we genuinely wanted to see, walked around a lot, ate a lot, and yes, shopped a lot.

And looking back, I think that’s one of the things I enjoyed most about this trip.

One of my biggest Tokyo travel tips is not to feel pressured to pack every famous attraction into your itinerary.

Sometimes simply exploring an area, finding good food, shopping, and taking your time without rushing to the next tourist attraction is already part of the experience.

That addition works especially well because “Tokyo travel tips” sounds like part of your actual advice rather than a keyword inserted just for Rank Math.

Shibuya Still Feels Like Tokyo

Of course, we had to visit Shibuya.

You’ve probably seen Shibuya Crossing countless times online, in movies, anime, travel videos, and basically anywhere Tokyo is featured.

Even if you’ve seen it before, actually being there still hits differently.

And for my wife, it was her first time experiencing it.

There are people everywhere, giant screens around you, stores in almost every direction, restaurants, cafés, and so much happening at the same time.

It gives you that feeling of:

Okay. We’re definitely in Tokyo now.

We spent time walking around and exploring instead of immediately jumping from one attraction to another.

And that’s something I’d recommend doing in Tokyo.

Give yourself time to just walk.

You’ll find stores, small streets, restaurants, and random places that weren’t originally part of your itinerary.

Sometimes those end up being more memorable than the places you planned months in advance.

RPR TIP: Shibuya Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive

You can enjoy Shibuya without immediately spending a lot of money.

Walking around, seeing the crossing, taking photos, and exploring the streets doesn’t require you to book an expensive activity.

The problem starts when you enter the stores.

And Tokyo has a lot of stores. 😂

My advice is to separate your shopping budget from your actual travel budget.

If you have ¥10,000 available for the day, for example, don’t look at that entire amount as money you can spend shopping.

You still need food, transportation, drinks, snacks, and whatever else comes up during the day.

Trust me.

Something always comes up.

Harajuku and Omotesando: This Is Where Shopping Gets Dangerous

Another area we explored was around Harajuku and Omotesando.

This was probably one of my favorite areas just to walk around and shop.

There are bigger stores, smaller shops, fashion, streetwear, cafés, and plenty of places where you’ll probably tell yourself:

“I’ll just look.”

Yeah.

Good luck with that.

We ended up doing quite a bit of shopping during our Tokyo trip.

And honestly, shopping was part of the experience for us.

When we’re traveling, my wife and I enjoy checking out stores and finding things that might not be as easy to find back home.

The problem with Tokyo is that you can easily keep saying:

“It’s only this much.”

Then you do that five or six times.

Suddenly, it’s not “only this much” anymore.

😂

Set a Shopping Limit Before You Start

This is something I’d recommend if you know you’re going to spend a lot of time shopping in Tokyo.

Decide how much you’re willing to spend before entering a shopping area.

Not after.

Before.

It’s very easy to overspend when you’re excited, especially because you’re already thinking:

“I’m in Japan. When am I going to be here again?”

And I understand that feeling.

You should enjoy your trip.

Buy something you’ve been looking forward to.

But you also don’t want to reach the last few days of your vacation and realize most of your budget disappeared in the first half of the trip.

We Ate. A Lot.

Food was a huge part of Tokyo for us.

And I think it should be.

You can plan all the famous attractions you want, but sometimes one of my favorite parts of traveling is simply trying something we don’t normally eat back home.

One experience we really enjoyed was conveyor-belt sushi.

You sit down, choose what you want, and just keep eating.

Which sounds harmless at first.

Until you realize how many plates you’ve already finished.

😂

That’s another thing about food in Japan.

A meal doesn’t always have to be extremely expensive to be enjoyable.

Sometimes we’d rather spend on several different foods throughout the day instead of spending a huge amount on one fancy restaurant.

Try something.

Walk around.

See another food that looks good.

Try that too.

That’s basically what happened to us.

Don’t Forget to Budget for Snacks

This is something I think people underestimate.

You might already have money prepared for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

But what about:

• Coffee
• Convenience-store runs
• Desserts
• Street food
• Drinks
• Snacks you randomly see while walking
• That one thing your wife suddenly wants to try
• That one thing you suddenly want to try

Those small purchases add up very quickly.

So when you’re planning your daily food budget, give yourself some extra room.

Tokyo is not the place where I’d want to tell myself:

“No, I can’t try that because I didn’t budget for it.”

You’re already there.

Try the food.

Just make sure you’re not doing it without keeping track of your spending.

Asakusa Felt Like a Different Side of Tokyo

We also spent time exploring Asakusa.

And this is another reason I enjoy Tokyo.

You can go from somewhere like Shibuya, surrounded by giant screens, crowds, shopping, and modern buildings, and then experience somewhere that feels completely different.

We visited Senso-ji Temple, which is one of the places I’d definitely recommend including in a Tokyo trip.

The surrounding area is also worth exploring instead of treating the temple as somewhere you simply take a picture and leave.

There are streets to walk through, little shops, food, souvenirs, and plenty of things to look at around the temple area.

This is another place where I’d recommend giving yourself some time.

Walk around.

Take your photos.

Look at the stores.

Try some food.

Don’t make everything a race.

That’s something I learned even more from our Hokkaido tour, and it’s something I appreciated when we were able to explore Tokyo at our own pace.

Seeing Tokyo Skytree From Asakusa

While we were around Asakusa, we also got to see Tokyo Skytree nearby.

It’s one of those landmarks that’s difficult to miss once it’s in front of you.

We didn’t need every part of our Tokyo trip to involve paying for an attraction.

Sometimes just walking around, enjoying the city, seeing the landmarks, taking photos, and experiencing the area was already enough for us.

And that’s actually one of my biggest pieces of advice for Tokyo.

You Don’t Have to Pay for Everything to Enjoy Tokyo

There are so many paid attractions in Tokyo that it’s easy to feel like you need to book everything.

Observation decks.

Museums.

Experiences.

Theme parks.

Cafés.

Shopping.

Restaurants.

And there’s nothing wrong with doing those things.

But if you try to do everything, Tokyo can become very expensive very quickly.

Mix your expensive days with cheaper ones.

For example, you could spend part of a day exploring Shibuya and Harajuku, where a lot of the experience comes from simply walking around.

Another day could be Asakusa, Senso-ji, sightseeing, eating, and exploring the nearby streets.

Then use the money you saved for an activity that you really want to experience.

I’d rather spend more money on one thing I genuinely want to do than pay for five attractions just because a travel guide told me they’re “must-visits.”

My Advice: Give Every Day a Budget

This is probably one of the biggest things I’d recommend.

Before leaving your hotel, have an idea of what kind of day you’re going to have.

Not an exact spreadsheet down to the last yen.

Just something simple.

Think about four things:

Transportation

How much are you expecting to travel that day?

If you’re visiting areas that are relatively close together, group them together instead of constantly going back and forth across Tokyo.

Food

Plan your normal meals, but keep some extra money for snacks and things you randomly discover.

Because you will.

Activities

Know which attractions actually require money.

If there’s one expensive activity that day, maybe balance it with free sightseeing afterward.

Shopping

Keep this separate.

Seriously.

Shopping can destroy your budget faster than transportation and food combined if you’re not paying attention.

At least that’s what it felt like for us. 😂

Don’t Overfill Your Tokyo Itinerary

Tokyo is massive.

One mistake I wouldn’t recommend is trying to visit Shibuya, Shinjuku, Asakusa, Akihabara, Harajuku, Tokyo Station, Odaiba, and everything else you’ve seen online in one day.

You might technically be able to reach all of them.

But are you actually going to enjoy any of them?

That’s something I learned during this Japan trip.

Seeing more doesn’t always mean experiencing more.

Pick a few areas.

Explore them properly.

Eat when you see something interesting.

Go inside a store.

Sit down when you’re tired.

Change the plan if you find somewhere you want to stay longer.

Your itinerary should help you enjoy your trip, not control your entire day.

Comfortable Shoes. Seriously.

If you’re planning to explore Tokyo the way we did, prepare to walk.

A lot.

And this is one of those travel tips that sounds obvious until your feet start hurting halfway through the day.

Wear something comfortable.

Tokyo’s transportation system can take you almost everywhere, but you’re still going to spend plenty of time walking through stations, shopping areas, temples, streets, and attractions.

This isn’t the trip where I’d choose style over comfort when it comes to shoes.

Your feet will remind you later.

Would We Go Back to Tokyo?

Definitely.

I’ve already been to Tokyo before, and I’d still come back again.

For my wife, this was her first time experiencing the city, which made this trip a little more special for me too.

There’s also still so much of Tokyo that we haven’t explored together.

On this trip, we walked around Shibuya.

Explored Harajuku and Omotesando.

Ate conveyor-belt sushi.

Visited Asakusa and Senso-ji.

Saw Tokyo Skytree.

Shopped probably more than we needed to.

And ate probably more than we needed to too.

But that’s part of traveling.

You save money so you can experience things.

So enjoy your trip.

Buy something you’ve wanted.

Try the food.

Go somewhere you’ve always wanted to see.

Just don’t forget that making the most out of a trip doesn’t mean spending as much money as possible.

For me, it’s about finding the balance.

Spend on the things that matter to you.

Save on the things that don’t.

And give yourself enough time to actually enjoy where you are.

Because you’re already in Tokyo.

You might as well enjoy it properly.

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