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I thought i'd put together a thread here detailing my experience visiting Japan totally alone as a foreigner.
Hopefully i'll leave a few pointers and other visitors can see and use this thread and maybe get some guidance.
I was in Japan for 10 days then went to Hong Kong for a shorter trip.
I recommend staying at a hotel as close to the train as possible. Its just convenient when you're out shopping or sight-seeing and you want to go back to your room to get changed or drop stuff off or whatever. Also, when you go out drinking and get smashed its easy to get back to your room when its close to the train. Also, If you're taking a cab back home its easier to just say the station name (if you dont speak Japanese) "SHIBUYA EKI ONIGASHIMAS! "
When you're at the airport, get a bunch of those 72 hour metro/toei line passes. They're good for all the trains in the metro tokyo area except the JR line.
Google maps is essential. Get a sim card in japan or a overseas data plan. Google map saved my butt a LOT.
I flew in and out of Narita so I cant speak to Haneda Airport ...but i found the "narita express" an awesome and fast train to get from the airport to Tokyo Station. Its comfortable, affordable, easy to navigate if you dont speak Japanese.
I went to Hong Kong for 5 days after Tokyo and i didnt have as much fun. Tokyo is amazing. The city offers so much. Ideally, i could spend a week in each of the following: Roppongi, Shibuya, Tokyo Station, Shinjuku, omotesando/harujuku, Ginza ...going through all the side streets, shops, bars etc ... a day in each area there does not do them justice.
Its useful to know some basic Japanese...even in Tokyo. I have a vocab of about 200 or so words...and i cant really form sentences... but at this level i was fine. I could order food, ask directions, talk to strangers lol and I really had no problem. But if you speak zero, then you're going to struggle at times.
Unlike North America, people pay CASH everywhere!!! wow. There are no ATMS in Japan.....or at least it seems like it. Cash Cash Cash.
Tokyo people are super friendly. I had strangers come up and start conversations with me...that was surprising from what i read before coming to Tokyo. I was in the big smoking area near shinjuku station and it took me a full minute to light my cigarette since my lighter was just about out of fuel. Random Japanese dude with broken English approached me and offered me a lighter to keep since he had two "my-u, giftu for you".
Wow! thats friendly!
Download "LINE". Its a chat application. Similar to how Koreans use Kakao-talk. If you make friends or hook-ups in Tokyo, you will need this application. I"m sure this is painfully obvious to most of the people on this forum but a lot of foreigners will not know this and find it useful,
The last general tip i can offer is to KNOW LOCALS. I knew 6 girls now living in Tokyo from when they were studying English in Toronto. They were useful ...they helped me out when i was confused with something or wanted to go to a restaurant that would be weird to go to alone. This may not be easy if you dont already know someone in Tokyo....but there are lots of ways you can meet some online before you arrive. Tinder, Language exchange apps etc.
What did i do in Tokyo?
well, aside from the general tourist attractions i did a ton of shopping and hit up a lot of bars.
I didnt do any of the sexy pay for play stuff like girls bar or hostess bars, blowjob bars or happening bars...but i'll give out a few pointers if your a foreigner and want to get some action. I was a busy boy, either hooking up with old flames, hitting up local bars (see below) or by using tindr / dating applications.
My tips:
1. Dress to impress. I don't know how many times i saw blokes running around looking like they stumbled out of a wallmart at 3am.... trying to hit on some girls. Tokyo is a fashion leader. Respect that.
2. If you're looking to hook up at regular bars with locals then i recommend the following places: R2 supper club. This place is golden if you have money (drinks were pricey), are at least decent looking and have style. Even alone at the bar, I had girls starting conversations with me. Always nice when you dont have to make the first move. My second hook-up bar recommendation is Rigolettos (sp?) in Roppongi hills. This place ....you get a bit of an older crowd.. 27 to 39 ? well dressed, classy ladies, some are very sexy. Girls here go to be seen in my opinion. Girls here target foreigners as i'd say 90% of the guys there were foreigners... at R2 supper you get foreigners and Japanese dudes. Both of the above places will get you laid if you play your cards right, trust me haha
I"ll give two more casual type places that are good hook-up spots. HUB....yeah.... HUB...you get local girls...and i honestly think that any local girls that go there are ONLY looking to get laid. I mean why else would they go? Actually, the hottest girl i saw all trip was this one girl at HUB who was drunk AF. Too drunk ...drunk to a point where guys were getting annoyed with her. She wiped out and smashed her face on the corner of the bar and lost two teeth. Ouch! Another place that i like is the standing 300 yen bar in Ginza. There are two of them...i forgot which i went to. However this place has random lonely girls standing against the wall nursing a drink... lol are you serious? too easy. Oh Oh one more, In Shinjuku i found a really late bar (was open till like 5am on a weekday)...it was upstairs and called "From Dusk Till Dawn". It's like a heavy metal rock themed bar. There was a LOT of girls in there and only like 2 guys. I totally looked out of place being the only white guy ...wearing a blazer and printed T...when everyone was deked out in heavy metal rock type outfits....lol but girls there were easier than anywhere else. I'd go as far as to say they're straight up sluts. Girls in Tokyo tend to play hard to get for a bit before they give-in. Not here. These are the rebellious type girls. Anyways, I stayed till closing and took home the bartender Tomoka ^.^
Not a hook-up bar but a really fun bar to go and drink was Geronimo shotbar in roppongi right on the corner near the station. I met this South African stripper there. We drank really late until like 4am. Met a bunch of Brazilian people too. I didnt hook up...but i wasnt looking for it then....it was a really fun place with chill people just having a good time. Another good place to explore and drink if you're not in the mood to hook-up but want to have a good time was the Golden Gai area in Shinjuku. I hit up 9 bars in one night. I sat next to and chatted with swedish, finland, amercian, japanese, korean and chinese people. Age range is probably 28 to 48 ! wide diverse group. Fun experience for sure!
My favorite izakaya/yakitori drinking place was Baird Tap House in Harujuku
Favorite restaurant was Shima just east of Tokyo Station and Ishikawa (forgot where this was!)
Favorite shopping location Ginza Six (felt proud to see three Canadian shops in there! )
How much money should you bring?
After hotel and air was paid, i brought with me 250,000 yen cash for 10 days. This was not enough. I didnt factor in shopping. In total i should have brought 400,000 yen cash. the 250,000 would only cover my food and booze for 10 days.
I'm back in Toronto now....already planning my next Tokyo Trip. Tokyo has such a cool vibe. I love how each "area" has its own theme (for lack of a better word).
Hopefully i'll leave a few pointers and other visitors can see and use this thread and maybe get some guidance.
I was in Japan for 10 days then went to Hong Kong for a shorter trip.
I recommend staying at a hotel as close to the train as possible. Its just convenient when you're out shopping or sight-seeing and you want to go back to your room to get changed or drop stuff off or whatever. Also, when you go out drinking and get smashed its easy to get back to your room when its close to the train. Also, If you're taking a cab back home its easier to just say the station name (if you dont speak Japanese) "SHIBUYA EKI ONIGASHIMAS! "
When you're at the airport, get a bunch of those 72 hour metro/toei line passes. They're good for all the trains in the metro tokyo area except the JR line.
Google maps is essential. Get a sim card in japan or a overseas data plan. Google map saved my butt a LOT.
I flew in and out of Narita so I cant speak to Haneda Airport ...but i found the "narita express" an awesome and fast train to get from the airport to Tokyo Station. Its comfortable, affordable, easy to navigate if you dont speak Japanese.
I went to Hong Kong for 5 days after Tokyo and i didnt have as much fun. Tokyo is amazing. The city offers so much. Ideally, i could spend a week in each of the following: Roppongi, Shibuya, Tokyo Station, Shinjuku, omotesando/harujuku, Ginza ...going through all the side streets, shops, bars etc ... a day in each area there does not do them justice.
Its useful to know some basic Japanese...even in Tokyo. I have a vocab of about 200 or so words...and i cant really form sentences... but at this level i was fine. I could order food, ask directions, talk to strangers lol and I really had no problem. But if you speak zero, then you're going to struggle at times.
Unlike North America, people pay CASH everywhere!!! wow. There are no ATMS in Japan.....or at least it seems like it. Cash Cash Cash.
Tokyo people are super friendly. I had strangers come up and start conversations with me...that was surprising from what i read before coming to Tokyo. I was in the big smoking area near shinjuku station and it took me a full minute to light my cigarette since my lighter was just about out of fuel. Random Japanese dude with broken English approached me and offered me a lighter to keep since he had two "my-u, giftu for you".
Wow! thats friendly!
Download "LINE". Its a chat application. Similar to how Koreans use Kakao-talk. If you make friends or hook-ups in Tokyo, you will need this application. I"m sure this is painfully obvious to most of the people on this forum but a lot of foreigners will not know this and find it useful,
The last general tip i can offer is to KNOW LOCALS. I knew 6 girls now living in Tokyo from when they were studying English in Toronto. They were useful ...they helped me out when i was confused with something or wanted to go to a restaurant that would be weird to go to alone. This may not be easy if you dont already know someone in Tokyo....but there are lots of ways you can meet some online before you arrive. Tinder, Language exchange apps etc.
What did i do in Tokyo?
well, aside from the general tourist attractions i did a ton of shopping and hit up a lot of bars.
I didnt do any of the sexy pay for play stuff like girls bar or hostess bars, blowjob bars or happening bars...but i'll give out a few pointers if your a foreigner and want to get some action. I was a busy boy, either hooking up with old flames, hitting up local bars (see below) or by using tindr / dating applications.
My tips:
1. Dress to impress. I don't know how many times i saw blokes running around looking like they stumbled out of a wallmart at 3am.... trying to hit on some girls. Tokyo is a fashion leader. Respect that.
2. If you're looking to hook up at regular bars with locals then i recommend the following places: R2 supper club. This place is golden if you have money (drinks were pricey), are at least decent looking and have style. Even alone at the bar, I had girls starting conversations with me. Always nice when you dont have to make the first move. My second hook-up bar recommendation is Rigolettos (sp?) in Roppongi hills. This place ....you get a bit of an older crowd.. 27 to 39 ? well dressed, classy ladies, some are very sexy. Girls here go to be seen in my opinion. Girls here target foreigners as i'd say 90% of the guys there were foreigners... at R2 supper you get foreigners and Japanese dudes. Both of the above places will get you laid if you play your cards right, trust me haha
I"ll give two more casual type places that are good hook-up spots. HUB....yeah.... HUB...you get local girls...and i honestly think that any local girls that go there are ONLY looking to get laid. I mean why else would they go? Actually, the hottest girl i saw all trip was this one girl at HUB who was drunk AF. Too drunk ...drunk to a point where guys were getting annoyed with her. She wiped out and smashed her face on the corner of the bar and lost two teeth. Ouch! Another place that i like is the standing 300 yen bar in Ginza. There are two of them...i forgot which i went to. However this place has random lonely girls standing against the wall nursing a drink... lol are you serious? too easy. Oh Oh one more, In Shinjuku i found a really late bar (was open till like 5am on a weekday)...it was upstairs and called "From Dusk Till Dawn". It's like a heavy metal rock themed bar. There was a LOT of girls in there and only like 2 guys. I totally looked out of place being the only white guy ...wearing a blazer and printed T...when everyone was deked out in heavy metal rock type outfits....lol but girls there were easier than anywhere else. I'd go as far as to say they're straight up sluts. Girls in Tokyo tend to play hard to get for a bit before they give-in. Not here. These are the rebellious type girls. Anyways, I stayed till closing and took home the bartender Tomoka ^.^
Not a hook-up bar but a really fun bar to go and drink was Geronimo shotbar in roppongi right on the corner near the station. I met this South African stripper there. We drank really late until like 4am. Met a bunch of Brazilian people too. I didnt hook up...but i wasnt looking for it then....it was a really fun place with chill people just having a good time. Another good place to explore and drink if you're not in the mood to hook-up but want to have a good time was the Golden Gai area in Shinjuku. I hit up 9 bars in one night. I sat next to and chatted with swedish, finland, amercian, japanese, korean and chinese people. Age range is probably 28 to 48 ! wide diverse group. Fun experience for sure!
My favorite izakaya/yakitori drinking place was Baird Tap House in Harujuku
Favorite restaurant was Shima just east of Tokyo Station and Ishikawa (forgot where this was!)
Favorite shopping location Ginza Six (felt proud to see three Canadian shops in there! )
How much money should you bring?
After hotel and air was paid, i brought with me 250,000 yen cash for 10 days. This was not enough. I didnt factor in shopping. In total i should have brought 400,000 yen cash. the 250,000 would only cover my food and booze for 10 days.
I'm back in Toronto now....already planning my next Tokyo Trip. Tokyo has such a cool vibe. I love how each "area" has its own theme (for lack of a better word).
