Akihabara (秋葉原)   Game shops, maid cafes, arcades….it’s all in Akihabara.  You can do some duty free shopping, check out the latest Mario, pick up a cosplay wig, hit the anime shop, then have lunch with girls in French maid outfits (but not really if you’re foreign). Back in the day this place dominated a lot of the electronics and video game...

Sensouji Temple (浅草寺)   Sensoji Temple is a great little area in Tokyo that I really didn’t discover until my last trip there.  It’s your typical Japanese temple that has a walk-up lined with trinket stalls and other souvenir shops.  If you want to combine culture with some great places to pick up gifts for friends back at home, this would be it....

Nakano (中野)   Oh, how I love Nakano.  I stumbled upon it while going to Broadway Nakano, the large retro/cosplay/whatever shopping center that’s there.  While walking around I discovered an incredibly quaint little neighborhood area that just oozes Japan. Broadway Nakano is a shopping complex that’s a bit past it’s prime, feels a bit lonely,...

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observation Deck   Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observation Deck is a great place to default to when you want a view of the city lights, plus it puts you in Shinjuku which is a pretty fun part of town.  We went here, then we had some Peking Duck at a Chinese restaurant on the other side of the station. ...

Gonpachi (権八) – Kill Bill Restaurant   The Gonpachi Kill Bill restaurant is famous because it was in Kill Bill, the scene where Beatrix meets Gogo Yabari and the Crazy 88.  You might remember it for the violence.  Here is it again, in case you’d forgotten. As with most movie locations it seems smaller in real life, but you will definitely recognize...