Planning Your Trip A list of things to do before you get on the plane including airline tickets, hotels, train tickets, and lots of other stuff. When You Arrive From when the plane touches down to when you arrive at your hotel, an easy walk-through to everything you need. Settling In Some quick tips about Japan and navigating around once you’ve settled in. Get ready...

Harajuku (原宿)   Harajuku is one of my favorite places to visit, and it’s good for seeing during the day.  I actually ended up live streaming my walk through, so I don’t have as many pictures as I’d like but you can find a large number of them on Google Images. Harajuku is a fun place to visit with lots of quirky Japanese people mixed in with...

The Imperial Palace (皇居)   The Imperial Palace was one of the first places I visited in Japan, more than a decade ago.  All I really remember was that it was a cool place to be but nothing that I’d really describe as “beautiful,” with the exception of the massive, carved stone walls.  It’s worth visiting because of the historical value,...

Yokohama (横浜)   Don’t get me wrong, Yokohama isn’t bad, but… There’s just really no reason to spend time there when Tokyo is 30 minutes away.  If you find yourself there for business or to meet someone you’ll enjoy the city.  It has some great sightseeing areas, shopping, a Chinatown that has what seems like a million Chinese...

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum (江戸東京たてもの園)   The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum is a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, while at the same time giving you something different from the typical shrine/temple experience. The area is an entire village with preserved and restored buildings from different periods in Japanese...