Unique Things to Do in Tokyo

Wondering what food to try? My travel guide has a list of some must-try Japanese food!

Visit the Shrines and Temples

Okay, this one isn’t super unique, but it’s a definite must-do for visiting Japan. There are shrines everywhere. Scattered throughout the cities you’ll find modern shrines mixed with ancient temples. And it’s wonderful. My favorite was definitely the Tochoji Temple in Fukuoka where you’ll find the largest wooden Buddha in Japan. Sadly, no photos are allowed. But I highly recommend that you visit it if you have the chance. It’s truly breathtaking.

All over Tokyo you’ll see shrines and temples mixed in. And each shrine has its own Zen god that it honors; another thing I find fascinating. At each place of worship, you’ll find a fountain of running water with long wooden ladles. This is to clean your hands – spill water over your left hand, then your right, then take a sip of the water from your palm. When you are done, lift the end of the ladle up and away from you so the water pours down the handle to cleanse it. (Also, please make sure you are dumping water over the rocks below the fountain – not the fountain itself!)

Asakusa Temple

The most famous temple in Tokyo is Asakusa. It is a HUGE tourist destination, with a long street of shops leading up to the temple itself. Expect it to be very crowded. Once you pass under the gate to the temple (and bow), you can wash your hands, light incense, and pay for a fortune. I recommend you do it all to get the full experience! Also, be respectful inside the temple – no photos are allowed. It is a place of worship and it needs to be treated dutifully. Don’t be afraid to drop some coins in the large wooden box and ring the gong!

The Snoopy Museum

Yes, there is a Snoopy Museum. Yes, I went. Who doesn’t love Peanuts? But, I have to be fair – I visited the museum when it was in the Roppongi district in Tokyo. The museum has since closed, but will be back! The museum is scheduled to reopen in Machida in fall of this year. In the meantime there will be traveling exhibitions in Osaka in April and Nagoya in June. Just another reminder to take advantage of temporary exhibits when they are around!

When you purchase entry to the museum, you’ll get a comic strip as your ticket! Perfect souvenir and so nostalgic. The museum leads you through different rooms focusing on the various characters from Peanuts and the history of the comic strip. The have quotes and artwork on the walls with original comic strips framed and scattered throughout.

There are lots of fun spots for photo opps – including a painting on the ground of the Peanuts on Abbey Road! As you make your way through the colorful exhibits, you’ll end in a room with a short film about Snoopy and his history surrounded by artifacts from over several decades. At the end? One of the best gift shops ever! So many Snoopy gifts to buy! I had to control myself… There is also a themed café if you’re hungry!

Visit a Pokémon Center

For the inner nerd in all of us, be sure to check out a Pokémon center. The easiest one to find is located in the shopping center next to Tokyo Skytree. Inside you’ll find lots and lots and lots of Pokémon things to buy! Anything you could imagine. If you play Pokémon Go (…like I might…), you’ll find that the center is a gym and there are often battles and raids going on. I’ve heard from friends that there is an even bigger and better Pokémon center in Yokohama if you venture outside the city! While not surprising, this is still one of the most unique things to do in Tokyo.

Play the Claw Game & Capsule Machines

The neighborhood of Akihabara is known for its devotion to games, comics, and anime. There are shops upon shops upon shops of collectors anime items. I’m not kidding. Some of the shops may look small, but they have 8 to 10 floors! In between the shops were arcades of all sorts – but mostly filled with claw machines. I get it, we have claw machines too. But they really have claw machines. Like floors filled with only claw machines and nothing else. Want to check out upstairs? More claw machines. SO MANY. My husband played a few, but never got anything. But it was fun to watch some of the locals who come in with duffel bags and sit and play endlessly. I can only imagine that they are then selling the items on Ebay, but, alas.

EVERYWHERE you go you’ll see capsule machines. What are capsule machines, you ask? Well we have them too – you put a quarter or two inside and you get some candy or a sticker. But Tokyo has them everywhere and for everything. Remember when I said they love eveyrthing cute? One of the things I found interesting is that they collect food miniatures – little replicas of dishes made out of plastic. They were in lots of capsule machines. You could also find lots of anime toys, Pokémon toys, souvenirs, and even… hats for cats. Yes. You could put some yen into a machine and get a capsule containing a hat. For your cat. Tempting… but no, haha.

Eat at Gonpachi

Almost everyone I talked to recommended having dinner at Gonpachi. If I hadn’t said I’d already been on my first night in Tokyo, I’m sure I would have gone at least two more times. Why is Gonpachi so famous? It’s the setting for some scenes filmed in Kill Bill. No, I still haven’t seen Kill Bill (I’m not a fan of Quentin Tarantino, sorry!). But people rave about this place and it’s one of the ‘tourist things to do’. is it cliché? Not at all. The atmosphere is actually really cool and the food (while slightly more than I’d typically pay), is DELICIOUS. Check it out for yourself – just be sure to make reservations! I recommend the bacon-wrapped asparagus skewers.

Enjoy Japanese Craft Beer

Yes, we’ve all heard about Kirin and Asahi, but there are breweries in Japan that make good craft beers as well! Hitachino Nest is a cute little brewery located on a pier near the train station in Akihabara. It was the perfect stop after spending some time at the cat café! The White Ale (a witbier) is my favorite, and the view of the city next to the water was exactly what I love. If you’re lucky, you can find Hitachino at good craft beer stores in the states. Try it!

Also – let’s go back to Asahi for a moment. The Asahi headquarters in Tokyo is housed in a building that is shaped like a giant mug of beer. Seriously. People either love it or they hate it (and refer to it as the ‘golden turd’). I thought it was clever. Either way, it’s worth a visit to the Sky Room on the top floor to get a great nighttime view of Tokyo. Please note that they do make you purchase a beverage (you can’t just visit to look out the window), but it’s worth it!

Bar-Hop in Golden Gai

Speaking of beer, there is a notorious area in the Shinjuku neighborhood known as Golden Gai. Why? Because its this teeny tiny neighborhood with so many bars smushed together and stacked on top of each other. It’s a little intense for an outsider. On other travel blogs I’ve read that it’s either ‘the place to go’ or to ‘stay away’. The choice is yours. One night I left my agenda up to one of my Japanese friends, so to Golden Gai we went.

While I’m glad to have had the experience, I can tell you that Golden Gai just wasn’t my thing. I’m not much of a person who goes out just to go out anyway, and that’s what Golden Gai is good for. When I say these bars a tiny, I mean it. The first one we went to was up two flights of narrow stairs. When we got inside, it felt like I was in someone’s over-sized closet. I actually had to squeeze between some men at the bar and the wall behind them to get to the open seats in the corner. The whole place fit maybe ten people… maybe. They also smoked inside and there was no ventilation. Ugh.

The second bar was better, more space and cleaner air. And…. we were the only ones there. It’s such an interesting little culture in Golden Gai. Every bar has its own charm and most of them are hidden behind doors you wouldn’t expect. If you’re into going out and checking out new bars, head to Golden Gai. When my husband got to town, I didn’t go back. I also think he would have been too tall for some of the places!

Go-kart through Tokyo

One of the very best things I have EVER done was to go go-karting through the streets of Tokyo. It’s like real-life Mario Kart (without the banana peels) and it’s INCREDIBLE! Stay tuned to read all about my experience in an upcoming post!

Have you been to Tokyo? What unique things did you do? Tell me all about it in the comments!