Tokyo Itinerary: City Highlights and Travel Recap

Hi friends, happy Monday. It’s time for part two of our Japan trip recap, and today I’m covering our Tokyo itinerary. Our time in Tokyo included two days in the city on either side of DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland (but I’ll share all about those two amazing days separately in upcoming posts). I thought I would recap our Japan trip mostly by city rather than by day.

Hopefully, this way it will be easier to follow, since we moved around quite a bit, packed in so many sights and experiences, and didn’t stay in one single place for long. So, let’s go to Tokyo 😊

Tokyo Itinerary: City Highlights and Travel Recap

Ueno Park

First stop on our very flexible Tokyo itinerary was Ueno Park. What a perfect way to start, because it was calm and exactly what we needed. Oh boy, I didn’t know it at the time, but over the days we spent there, my senses got a major workout in colourful, bustling Tokyo!

How lucky were we to be there and catch the end of cherry blossom season? This was the first week when we saw a few of them — so pretty, aren’t they? By the second week, the blooms were mostly floating away in the wind.

After that calm start, Tokyo quickly shifted gears as we made our way into busier parts of the city, including Shibuya.

Onitsuka Tiger

Before our trip, I made a mental wishlist of places I would love to visit. If I saw them, it was a bonus, and if I didn’t, that was all ok too. Visiting Onitsuka Tiger was one of them, but I didn’t want to waste time hunting for the store, especially knowing how busy it got.

When I did spot it (I couldn’t believe my eyes!) I cleared it with the group and went in. I love travelling with my cousins, and one of the reasons we work so well is that we give each other time and space.

We mostly stayed together on this trip, but occasionally we split up to visit places or do things we were individually interested in. If one of us spotted a place or shop we liked, we went in while the others did their own thing, then we met up again or dropped a location pin to find each other again.

Inside the Store Experience

It was crazy busy inside, with people trying on shoes and waiting to pay. The upstairs section, where they stocked the sneakers I wanted, had a queue for the cashier wrapped around about three times. It was nuts!

Luckily, I already knew exactly what I wanted and in what size. Then the stars aligned, and I found a lovely sales assistant who helped me try them on and let me pay downstairs, where it wasn’t so busy. If that hadn’t happened, I would have had to wait well over an hour and probably wouldn’t have bought them.

It was a total madhouse in there, full of tourists like me, all hoping to get their hands on a pair of iconic Onitsuka Tigers at a better price than I could ever find in Australia.

I still can’t believe I got the pair I wanted — the same style Uma Thurman wore in Kill Bill. What a win!

Shibuya Crossing

Later, we ended up at the iconic Shibuya Crossing, one of the busiest intersections in the world.

We crossed the crossing a couple of times while we were there. On one of them, I saw my husband trying to get a photo, so I ran right into the middle and struck a pose. Bucket list wish ticked!

I’m more on the reserved side (less so as I get older), and my family have said they can clearly see my mum comes out in me when we are overseas. She wasn’t reserved, she was a riot!

Akihabara

On another day in our Tokyo itinerary, we visited Akihabara, the district known for everything to do with anime, consoles, retro gaming, and Pokémon cards. Oh my goodness, the streets were lined with endless shops going up so many levels, absolutely packed with it all.

The gacha machines were everywhere, and the choice was incredible!

We also came across a whole mix of animal cafés, from cat cafés and reptile cafés to owl cafés and even hedgehog cafés.

There were also so many maid cafés, where staff dress in costumes and create a playful, fantasy-like, over-the-top experience for guests. Outside almost every one I saw, there was a maid standing out front waving and trying to encourage people to come in.

I was so curious because I’d read about them when we were doing our Tokyo itinerary, and truly, where else in the world do you see anything like that? I really wanted to go in, but we ran out of time.

Friends in Tokyo

Sam is so friendly, and I’m not just saying that because he’s my son; he really is. He met some Japanese students when they were living in Sydney last year, and they had since returned to Japan, so he got in contact with them before our trip. They spent a couple of days with us and were such lovely guys.

This is them with Sam when it was time to say goodbye. They had travelled three hours just to meet us in Tokyo. Even though I had only known them briefly, I felt sad watching them leave.

Don Quixote

In this building is a shop called Don Quixote,and again it was on my mental Wishlist as I had seen it on Instagram. So in we went but what I did not know was how overwhelming it was going to be!

Inside, there are rows and rows of everything you can think of. Souvenirs, keychains, shoes, bags, clothes, food, sweets, games, you name it, it’s there.

The lighting is also quite strong, and the music is loud and constant, including the Don Quijote jingle on repeat.

There was a whole floor of crane games for prizes like plush toys and the usual things you’d expect. What I had never seen before was machines using a hook-style grab for items like mayonnaise, sesame oil, bottles of juice, soft drinks, and even packets of two-minute noodles.

It’s also not just one level; I think this shop had seven or eight, and we went up every single one of them.

So here’s a friendly warning. If you get anxious, panicky, or overwhelmed by sensory overload, you might want to avoid this shop. I’m usually fine with busy stores, crowds, and noise, or at least I thought I was until my Don Quijote experience. Yikes!

Still, I’m glad I got to experience it as it’s certainly unique, even if it left me feeling a little (or a lot) overwhelmed. Haha.

Kabuki-Cho

One time, it was just Sam and I, and cousin M, who still had enough energy left to explore in between sightseeing trips, so Google Maps led us to Kabuki-cho.

This wasn’t on our Tokyo itinerary at all, just a spur-of-the-moment “nope, we can’t rest, we must continue” kind of decision.

King Kong, I think??

Godzilla on top of a tall building.

We stopped for a snack.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Another day, we went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatory to see the views over Tokyo.

Shinjuku Gyoen

One of the last places we visited was Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. It was truly a beautiful, peaceful spot right in the middle of the city. If you’re planning a trip to Japan, make sure to put this on your Tokyo itinerary!

And just before I wrap up, here are a couple of photos of Tokyo at night, including Tokyo Tower from a distance and a riverside walkway lit up by the city.

Whoa, that was a lot of places we covered in Tokyo over about three days, and I’m sure we only scratched the surface. It really is a city you could explore forever.

Next recap will be all about DisneySea and  Tokyo Disneyland. Thanks so much for stopping by and for reading this long one. If you made it to the end, you’re a champ!

See you in the next one 😊