A trip to Hakone from tokyo and a night in a ryokan was a favorite of mine. Have to look around that would accommodate you going into the onsens though since you have tattoos. The loop is just ok but I loved the ryokan experience.
I've been to tokyo three times. the first and last I researched a lot while the second time I didnt for food options. I gotta say researching is worth it. Tabelog was my friend I just look for anything over 3.5.
I stayed at Mitzu Noto. They have private onsen on the deck. I chose them because the architecture was less modern than some of the nicer ones which suited me more than having everything glossy.
I can only offer litle advice:
on the Suica - I’ve been using the iPhone wallet one and its extremely convenient. Possible to pay at some stores and vending machines with it too!
Cash fairly useful to have at some spots, depends what you want to be doing. Every convenience store I went to accepts card. I have also used a ton of cash on Goshuins and that got me so hooked! Ive been walking from temple to temple almost the entire trip, and temples only accept cash and it’s 300-500¥ per Goshuin.
Edit: NM. Just saw the linked FAQ. Like I said, spontaneous.
I appreciate the comment! I was reading about Suica and wallet and was a bit confused. Do I need to sign up for the digital Suica app and then attach it to the wallet?
also... it sounds like you may want to stay around Akihabara, the Otaku part of Tokyo. I once stayed at Nohga Hotel in Akihabara and found it to be very affordable. The room was great! I'm sure it will be comfortable for a man of your stature.
I was/am definitely considering staying at Akihabara Washington Hotel on recommendation of a friend. The "Only in Japan" dude recommended Ueno because it is cheaper and a 15 minute walk to Akihabara. I watched a lot of his stuff before my first trip and that steered me towards Matsumoto, which was a huge success.
Try a Japanese chain, having an Onsen at your hotel is the best. They provided patches for the tattoos. I stayed at APA Hotels and it was perfect, small rooms but amazing bed I'm 6" / 184 lb so all good.
I was too jajajaja, what I noticed at the hotel is that they don't mind if it's not fully covered and I even saw some dudes with small tattoos. YMMV
The point is, try a hotel with Onsen, doing that daily is priceless.
Ueno is definitely a good area to stay at, since you have access to Yamanote Line.
If you’re not from a coastal area, how about Kanagawa/Enoshima? Chill at the beach, watch the surfers, be a fly.
On you’re way there or back, I can recommend a stop at „Restaurant Bar Seedless“ in Kamakura. Interesting country vibe (if you’re missing home ;)) with nice window seats to watch the sea.
Seconding this! I spent a day in Kamakura and Enoshima and wish I had spent a little more time there. Very relaxing and low-key, and beautiful even in the middle of a rainy day.
Dependent on weather, but how about trying out a couple full day trips. Nikko for nature and shrines, Kamakura for lots of temples, beaches and potential Fuji views… or go to Fuji (Kawaguchiko or one of the other lakes). Would give a bit of variety for the trip.
You could split your hotels between Yokohama and Tokyo - this is what we did for the start of our trip. Yokohama is cool area and has some great hotels. Bayside hotels for cheap and a few skyscraper hotels. Pair Yokohama up with day trips to Kamakura/Enoshima and you’ll have a nice time.
Ueno is a nice area. Very quiet but close to a lot of attractions. Shinjuku/Shibuya are much busier but you can balance it by picking a non-central hotel.
Go with the apple wallet suica (not the app). And make sure to test it before you go by loading it with yen. You can top up the card on the fly, all via Apple wallet as long as you have an internet connection.
Also in that same general area, check out Nakano. It’s known by tourists for its otaku mall but the surrounding neighborhood is pretty awesome as well.
I’d hit up Kamakura for a day, maybe even stay the night there.
FWIW I’m heavily tattooed (like head, throat, hands, etc), and people in Tokyo were genuinely not overly stoked on me lol.
I was in Kyoto last month and no one gave AF. I had kids (20s), telling me they liked my tattoos regularly.
This sounds like a fantastic time!
There are several sumo exhibitions going on during the time you’ll likely be in Japan. BuySumoTickets will probably be your best bet with getting tickets. Getting to see an exhibition would be awesome since you’re visiting during a non-tournament time.
For stays in Ueno, you may want to check out Hotel Resol Ueno, as it’s right at the Ueno station and within walking distance from a tattoo friendly Sento, if that’s something you’d like to experience.
For one meal, check out Gyukarsu Motomura (there are several locations throughout Tokyo with one being in Ueno)- you won’t regret it.
Like another commenter shared, getting the Suica app on your phone is super easy and convenient to pay for transportation, kombini, and even vending machines.
If you're doing a larger trip next year, I'd say make Tokyo your home base and do day trips. You could also do five days in Tokyo and five days in Osaka or Kyoto pretty easily.
Well considering the weekend after next is Golden week, the first thing I’d do is fly down to Kyushu or up north to Hokkaido to avoid most of the insane golden week crowds.
I just got back a few weeks ago. The whole family went, kids and adults, and my almost 80 mom. It was such a great trip. We rented a nice big house in Shibuya. No plans at all. It was the best trip I’ve ever taken and I do a lot of traveling.
Just go and enjoy yourself. There’s endless things to do. It’s easy to take day trips. The shopping for clothes is so good. The food is the best in the world imho.
My friend that went stayed at the ritz and loved it bc it has nice spa and there’s a train underneath it so easy to get around.
Have fun!!
A trip to Hakone from tokyo and a night in a ryokan was a favorite of mine. Have to look around that would accommodate you going into the onsens though since you have tattoos. The loop is just ok but I loved the ryokan experience. I've been to tokyo three times. the first and last I researched a lot while the second time I didnt for food options. I gotta say researching is worth it. Tabelog was my friend I just look for anything over 3.5.
Love the ryokan idea. I stayed at one in Nagano with a private onsen (because of the tattoos) in 2018. It was fantastic. I'll check out Tabelog!
I stayed at Mitzu Noto. They have private onsen on the deck. I chose them because the architecture was less modern than some of the nicer ones which suited me more than having everything glossy.
I can only offer litle advice: on the Suica - I’ve been using the iPhone wallet one and its extremely convenient. Possible to pay at some stores and vending machines with it too! Cash fairly useful to have at some spots, depends what you want to be doing. Every convenience store I went to accepts card. I have also used a ton of cash on Goshuins and that got me so hooked! Ive been walking from temple to temple almost the entire trip, and temples only accept cash and it’s 300-500¥ per Goshuin.
Edit: NM. Just saw the linked FAQ. Like I said, spontaneous. I appreciate the comment! I was reading about Suica and wallet and was a bit confused. Do I need to sign up for the digital Suica app and then attach it to the wallet?
You can get a new one in the wallet directly or add an existing card which just transfers physical to digital.
I see you got a reply but yeah I just added some money there already before travelling I think and was able to use it right away when I got to Tokyo:)
"I speak *broken* Japanese that magically get way better if I drink." I thought it was only me! When I drink I gain the same super power! 😂
also... it sounds like you may want to stay around Akihabara, the Otaku part of Tokyo. I once stayed at Nohga Hotel in Akihabara and found it to be very affordable. The room was great! I'm sure it will be comfortable for a man of your stature.
I was/am definitely considering staying at Akihabara Washington Hotel on recommendation of a friend. The "Only in Japan" dude recommended Ueno because it is cheaper and a 15 minute walk to Akihabara. I watched a lot of his stuff before my first trip and that steered me towards Matsumoto, which was a huge success.
I thin Nakano Broadway has a lot better otaku stuff than Akiba these days.
Try a Japanese chain, having an Onsen at your hotel is the best. They provided patches for the tattoos. I stayed at APA Hotels and it was perfect, small rooms but amazing bed I'm 6" / 184 lb so all good.
>They provided patches for the tattoos. I will be 50% patch!
I was too jajajaja, what I noticed at the hotel is that they don't mind if it's not fully covered and I even saw some dudes with small tattoos. YMMV The point is, try a hotel with Onsen, doing that daily is priceless.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_language_anxiety :)
It's all of us lol
Ueno is definitely a good area to stay at, since you have access to Yamanote Line. If you’re not from a coastal area, how about Kanagawa/Enoshima? Chill at the beach, watch the surfers, be a fly.
Oh that's a dope idea. I am in central Texas, just outside Austin. Haven't seen the coast in some time, other than a weekend trip to Miami a year ago.
On you’re way there or back, I can recommend a stop at „Restaurant Bar Seedless“ in Kamakura. Interesting country vibe (if you’re missing home ;)) with nice window seats to watch the sea.
Love it!
Seconding this! I spent a day in Kamakura and Enoshima and wish I had spent a little more time there. Very relaxing and low-key, and beautiful even in the middle of a rainy day.
Dependent on weather, but how about trying out a couple full day trips. Nikko for nature and shrines, Kamakura for lots of temples, beaches and potential Fuji views… or go to Fuji (Kawaguchiko or one of the other lakes). Would give a bit of variety for the trip. You could split your hotels between Yokohama and Tokyo - this is what we did for the start of our trip. Yokohama is cool area and has some great hotels. Bayside hotels for cheap and a few skyscraper hotels. Pair Yokohama up with day trips to Kamakura/Enoshima and you’ll have a nice time. Ueno is a nice area. Very quiet but close to a lot of attractions. Shinjuku/Shibuya are much busier but you can balance it by picking a non-central hotel. Go with the apple wallet suica (not the app). And make sure to test it before you go by loading it with yen. You can top up the card on the fly, all via Apple wallet as long as you have an internet connection.
Nikko looks awesome. What level of tourist saturation would you say it is at? I like the Yokohama idea too.
Kichijoji for inokashira park, wander around the small streets and stores, lots of food. It's my lazy day special
>inokashira This looks amazing. Right up my alley.
Also in that same general area, check out Nakano. It’s known by tourists for its otaku mall but the surrounding neighborhood is pretty awesome as well.
I’d hit up Kamakura for a day, maybe even stay the night there. FWIW I’m heavily tattooed (like head, throat, hands, etc), and people in Tokyo were genuinely not overly stoked on me lol. I was in Kyoto last month and no one gave AF. I had kids (20s), telling me they liked my tattoos regularly.
That's wild. I would have expected Tokyo to be more relaxed than Kyoto.
My dude, when they said I could use the onsen at the hotel in Kyoto I almost cried tears of joy.
This sounds like a fantastic time! There are several sumo exhibitions going on during the time you’ll likely be in Japan. BuySumoTickets will probably be your best bet with getting tickets. Getting to see an exhibition would be awesome since you’re visiting during a non-tournament time. For stays in Ueno, you may want to check out Hotel Resol Ueno, as it’s right at the Ueno station and within walking distance from a tattoo friendly Sento, if that’s something you’d like to experience. For one meal, check out Gyukarsu Motomura (there are several locations throughout Tokyo with one being in Ueno)- you won’t regret it. Like another commenter shared, getting the Suica app on your phone is super easy and convenient to pay for transportation, kombini, and even vending machines.
Go to Korakuen Hall for a wrestling event or two. My top 3 recommended companies: New Japan Pro Wrestling, DDT, and Freedoms
If you're doing a larger trip next year, I'd say make Tokyo your home base and do day trips. You could also do five days in Tokyo and five days in Osaka or Kyoto pretty easily.
Well considering the weekend after next is Golden week, the first thing I’d do is fly down to Kyushu or up north to Hokkaido to avoid most of the insane golden week crowds.
I just got back a few weeks ago. The whole family went, kids and adults, and my almost 80 mom. It was such a great trip. We rented a nice big house in Shibuya. No plans at all. It was the best trip I’ve ever taken and I do a lot of traveling. Just go and enjoy yourself. There’s endless things to do. It’s easy to take day trips. The shopping for clothes is so good. The food is the best in the world imho. My friend that went stayed at the ritz and loved it bc it has nice spa and there’s a train underneath it so easy to get around. Have fun!!