I often get mail from people planning a trip to Tokyo, asking me to recommend some sightseeing spots. While there is a ton of fun stuff to see in and around Tokyo, the reality is that the Kansai Region is the better place to visit, with fabulous destinations like Kyoto and Nara and a thousand more years of history than the Kanto area. If you are Tokyo-bound, though, I’ll do my best to offer some suggestions. Of course Akihabara is fun to visit, but if you want to really drink in the totality of otaku culture, try to be there on a Sunday after payday (which is the 25th of the month), when everyone is power-shopping and giddy with excess energy. If you like 8-bit gaming culture, hit a store called Super Potato, which has more classic console game stuff than you can shake a stick at. If you drink, make sure to go pub-crawling in Shinjuku’s east side near Kabuki-cho, the only place in Japan that can be considered dangerous (so use good judgment). If you need to get across the bay to Odaiba for any reason, go out of your way to ride Himiko, the “water bus” designed by Space Battleship Yamato creator Leiji Matsumoto. Another fun water-related experience you might try is an evening cruise on a yakata-bune, essentially an old-style Japanese izakaya restaurant-bar on a boat that cruises around Tokyo bay while you eat and drink. Of course one spot you must visit if coming to Tokyo is the famous Hachiko statue in Shibuya, erected by local residents to honor the dog who waited faithfully for his master to return, even after the man died. Incidentally, we’ve posted a new T-shirt that’s a tribute to Faithful Dog Hachiko — check it out now.
The Himiko looks like it jumped out of a Leiji Matsumoto anime
