When to Visit

Any time of year is great to visit Japan. That said, I recommend March-May when the weather is at its most mild (and cherry blossoms can be briefly be seen).

Fun Things to See & Do

• Suigian Dinner with a show, check out their Technohlab event for an innovative mix of traditional Japanese theatre with DJ Ken Ishii

• Harbor Circuit Need for speed? Go-karting at a world-class track for hobbyists and professionals alike, based just outside Tokyo

• Tokyo Comedy Bar Miraculously opened in 2020 by comedian BJ Fox, hosting English-language standup 7 nights a week

Places to Consider Skipping

• Golden Gai Once a bohemian hangout for artists and intellectuals, now 99% foreign tourists

• teamLab Notoriously Instagrammable 3D “artwork”

• Tokyo Tower Japan’s answer to the Eiffel Tower, which wasn’t a question

Restaurants

• Sushi Kushiyagawa Innovative, beautiful and playful sushi run by master chef of the same name

• Ebisu Teppanyaki Sublime Best teppanyaki I’ve had in Japan and great for guests visiting Tokyo

• Hanamachi Tora Amazing (and affordable) izakaya-inspired Japanese fare served by head chef and fluent English-speaker, Katsuaki Hamada… tell him Jim sent you

Bars

• Bloody Angle Chill cocktail spot and record bar serving mostly international clientele and hip hop; they have two locations, but the one in Dogenzaka is more lively

• Analog Cocktail bar with latest music and patrons allowed one song request per visit from their extensive selection

• SG Club Largely considered Japan’s best cocktail bar with New York prohibition style and downstairs bar with completely separate menu

Food, Wine & Sake Classes

• Sake Studio Tokyo Run by two sake enthusiasts, weekly sake classes on the basics of serving and enjoying sake, entirely in English

• Vegetarian Wine Pairing Modern “Buddhist” cuisine in Roppongi paired with wines, run by owner and chef Daisuke Nomura

• Imi’s Bento Project Japanese cooking class taught in English by Izumi, longtime Tokyo resident with experience living in the US (she loves hip hop!)

Music Venues & Live Houses

• WWW & WWW X Shibuya live-house built inside gutted indie movie theater, featuring domestic and up-and-coming international acts

• Blue Note Tokyo & Blue Note Place Japan outposts for the legendary New York jazz club of the same name

• More Than Music Not a music venue per se, but a fantastic collective for rotating indie music events throughout the Tokyo area

Nightclubs

• Womb Four-story house venue located in Shibuya featuring Funktion 1 soundsystem and ranked #1 Tokyo nightclub on most lists

• Mitsuki Afterhours techno spot keeping the party going well past 5:00am on most nights

• ZEROTOKYO Shinjuku’s latest superclub featuring many of the best global house, techno and progressive DJs

Tech Meetups & Networking Events

• Pechakucha 20x20 Design, tech and artist talks capped at 20 slides, each for 20 seconds

• Hacker News Tokyo's longest-running hacker networking event, started by Jay Winder and Paul Oswald (founders of MakeLeaps)

• InnoHyve Community of techies and entrepreneurs with bimonthly networking and panel discussions

Music Festivals

• Fuji Rock In my opinion Japan’s best festival, featuring Japanese and international music of all genres but with special focus on UK rock, thanks in no small part to Daisuke Koyanagi’s enduring influence over the music industry in Japan

• SYNCHRONICITY Domestic rock festival taking place across multiple clubs in Shibuya area in April each year

• Snow Machine Aussie-run winter music festival in Hakuba featuring domestic and Australian talent

Record Shops

• Big Love Records The newest British and American Indie Rock, Post-Punk, Industrial and Experimental; the best record store on earth in my opinion

• Lighthouse Records House, Nu-Disco, Balearic and Techno

• Upstairs Records Brooklyn vibes in Tokyo, mainly Rap and R&B

Sports

• Yakult Swallows Tokyo’s second-favorite baseball team after the Yomiuri Giants, but first in our hearts

• Shibuya Sunrockers Tokyo’s second basketball team, after Alvark Tokyo… if you think you’re seeing a pattern, trust your instincts

• Suzuka Grand Prix Japan’s one and only F1 race based in Nagoya, with track serving Super GT races year-round

Adventurous Nightlife

• Haus of Gaishoku Japan’s best drag comedy show, run by MC and founder Goma Dango

• the27club Monthly event in kabukicho featuring singers alongside Japan’s best professional pole dancers and shibari artists, run by the fabulous Michelle Yumiko Payne

• Kujira Entertainment The soul successor to the now-defunct Robot Restaurant, a bizarre neon fever dream of a bar with several high energy shows per evening

Trips Outside Tokyo

• Nozawa Onsen Great skiing 4-5 hours outside Tokyo with plenty of activities for non-skiers, including some of Japan’s most scenic hot springs

• Myoko Kogen One of the oldest known ski areas on earth, established in 1917 featuring Austrian-designed buildings, frozen in time (1988?)

• Koshu (Yamanashi) Japan’s wine country; recommend checking out Maruki (Marquis) Winery, Japan’s oldest vineyard, for a tour and tasting