Japan travel
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
Japan travel
Asakusa and Sensō-ji Guide: Kaminarimon, Nakamise and Japanese to Use
Sensō-ji in Asakusa is Tokyo's oldest temple, entered through the Kaminarimon gate with its giant red lantern and a shopping street of snacks and souvenirs. It is free, the grounds never close, and it is the easiest place in the city to buy your first snack, draw your first fortune and ask your first question in Japanese.
13 min readMeiji Jingū Guide: Forest Shrine, Torii and Japanese to Use
Meiji Jingū is a Shinto shrine set in a planted forest of about 70 hectares, a few steps from Harajuku Station. It is free, open from sunrise to sunset, and the best place in Tokyo to learn the shrine routine and read your first shrine signs.
12 min readShibuya Crossing Guide: Hachikō, Shibuya Sky and Japanese to Use
Shibuya Crossing is the scramble intersection in front of Shibuya Station where every light turns green at once and the whole junction fills with people. It is free, it is busy at almost any hour, and finding your way out of the station to it is the perfect first test of your Japanese.
12 min readShinjuku Guide: Tochō View, Omoide Yokochō, Golden Gai and Japanese to Use
Shinjuku packs Tokyo's extremes into one walk: a free observation deck in the city government towers, a smoky post-war alley of yakitori counters, a lane of tiny bars and the neon of Kabukichō. It is also where a few words of Japanese open the most doors, literally, at counters that seat only a handful of people.
12 min readTokyo Skytree Guide: Tembo Deck, Tickets, Views and Japanese to Use
Tokyo Skytree is the 634-metre broadcasting tower in Sumida, with observation decks at 350 and 450 metres. Tickets, lifts and the shopping town at its foot are all well signed in Japanese, which makes it an easy place to practise buying a ticket and asking the way.
11 min readTokyo Tower Guide: Main Deck, Stairs, Zōjō-ji and Japanese to Use
Tokyo Tower is the red-and-white lattice tower that has stood over Minato since 1958, with a Main Deck at 150 metres and a Top Deck at 250 metres. You can ride up or, on the right days, climb about 600 outdoor steps, and the ticket counter is a friendly place for your first Japanese purchase.
11 min readTsukiji Outer Market Guide: Street Food, Manners and Japanese to Use
Tsukiji Outer Market is the maze of food stalls, knife shops and sushi counters that stayed in Tsukiji when Tokyo's wholesale fish market moved to Toyosu. It is free to wander, it runs from early morning to early afternoon, and it is the best place in Tokyo to order food in Japanese one small bite at a time.
11 min readUeno Park Guide: Museums, Shinobazu Pond, Zoo and Japanese to Use
Ueno Park is Tokyo's great cultural park, a short walk from Ueno Station, with Japan's oldest national museum, several major art and science museums, the country's oldest zoo, shrines, temples and a lotus pond. The park itself is free, and its museum counters are the perfect place to practise buying tickets in Japanese.
11 min readAkihabara Guide: Electronics, Anime Shops, Tax-Free and Japanese to Use
Akihabara is Tokyo's Electric Town, packed with electronics stores, retro game shops, anime and manga megastores, arcades and maid cafés. It is free to wander, busiest on weekends, and a place where a few shop-counter phrases can save you from buying a gadget that will not work at home.
11 min readGinza Guide: Wakō Clock, Depachika, Kabuki and Japanese to Use
Ginza is Tokyo's classic shopping district, with department stores, flagship boutiques, the Wakō clock tower and the Kabukiza theatre. On weekend afternoons its main street closes to cars, and in the basement food halls you can practise the politest shop Japanese in the city.
11 min readShinjuku Gyoen Guide: Gardens, Cherry Blossoms and Japanese to Use
Shinjuku Gyoen is a former imperial garden a short walk from the busiest station in the world, with a Japanese garden, a French formal garden, English lawns and a large greenhouse. It charges a small entry fee, keeps clear rules, and is a calm place to practise gates, tickets and polite questions in Japanese.
13 min readHarajuku and Omotesandō Guide: Takeshita Street, Style and Japanese to Use
Harajuku and Omotesandō sit side by side between Shinjuku and Shibuya: one a narrow street of kawaii fashion and crepes, the other a broad avenue of flagship stores and striking architecture. Both are free to wander, and both are perfect for the Japanese of shops: trying things on, asking for sizes and paying.
12 min readPractical guides
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