Welcome to my final study abroad blog post! I write to you from back home in the US, having taken some time to gather my thoughts about the very best things I did this semester in Tokyo. There are so many amazing and unique experiences you can have in this city given its massive size so I can’t include everything here, but this should be a solid list to get you started.
Museums - I personally really enjoy visiting museums and Tokyo’s selection did not disappoint.
- I loved the Tokyo National Art Center, which is an exceptionally beautiful building housing an ever-changing array of contemporary art exhibits. I was lucky enough to visit during Keiichi Tanaami’s “Adventures in Memory” special exhibition and was struck by the range of his work. I also really enjoyed the Nezu Museum, which, in contrast to the Tokyo National Art Center, focuses on all sorts of traditional Japanese art and has a wonderfully preserved garden. If you can't make it to the Nezu Museum, a great alternative option would be the Tokyo National Museum, which was bigger and has its own garden but was slightly less enjoyable for me. I’d recommend visiting the Edo Open Air Architectural Museum as well if you’re a fan of immersive experiences and would like to explore both traditional and contemporary Japanese architecture—this location offers a large number of structures, from former private residences to commercial buildings, which you can walk through and examine in-depth. The Ginza Art Aquarium and Yayoi Kusama Museum, though rather small, are worth a visit too.
Secondhand Shopping - Tokyo is truly a mecca for secondhand shopping, from thrifting clothes to digging through crates of vinyl to searching for the perfect used camera.
- Head to the Shimokitazawa neighborhood (or to Kichijoji, another nice option) and you’ll find a thrift store on every corner. For American vintage, I found Flamingo locations, BIG TIME, WEGO Vintage, and ALASKA Vintage Clothing to be outstanding—somehow, all of those Levi’s jeans and colorful graphic tees ended up in Japan rather than in the U.S.
- Speaking as someone who has bought records in countries all over the world, I’d say that Tokyo definitely has the best stores I’ve ever been to. Together, all of the stores offer a huge selection of any genre you could think of, with first presses and new releases available to meet the needs of any collector. My top picks are Flash Disc Ranch in Shimokitazawa, the Disc Union chain, HMV Records in Shibuya, and Be-In Records in Nakano because I prefer older editions. Disc Union is best for buying cheaper records in bulk because their selection is just so big, while Be-In Records is highly curated, offering rarer and significantly more expensive vintage records in pristine condition. HMV is a chain similar to Disc Union and Flash Disc is a smaller store with a more curated selection but with great prices. There are many other record stores in Shibuya, allowing you to do a massive record store crawl in a day.
- Tokyo also has an amazing array of used and vintage cameras, but be warned that prices are likely not cheaper than what you’d see on eBay—you’re paying for the convenience of seeing your camera in-person before you buy. Shinjuku has very many secondhand shops within a close radius of one another, but I’d recommend Five Star Camera, Kitamura Camera, and Map Camera, as well as Fujiya Camera in Nakano if you’re interested in vintage gear. Yodobashi Camera or BIC Camera should have you covered if you’re looking to pick up a new camera and don’t want to go out of your way to visit a smaller store.
Architecture - Because I took an architecture course this semester, I quickly learned that Tokyo is home to some really amazing architecture. You won't regret taking your own self-guided tours around the city.
- Highlights for me included the FujiTV Headquarters, Akasaka Palace (make sure to visit the State Guest House and make a reservation for the traditional Japanese Annex), and the Yoyogi National Gymnasiums, among so many others. I’d also recommend taking a walk through the Omotesando and Roppongi neighborhoods to see some amazing modern designs.
Parks - While Tokyo excels in terms of its modern glass and concrete wonders, its natural wonders are no less impressive.
- The Imperial Palace East Gardens are very large and feature diverse landscapes, from fruit tree groves to Edo-period structural relics. You could spend a long time there without getting bored, and I wish I had had the chance to visit more than once. The Rikugi-en Gardens, on the other hand, are smaller and more traditional in style and offer absolutely gorgeous fall foliage. I went the day before my departure and felt that my walk through the park provided great closure to my time in Japan.
And there you have it! Honorable mentions to Kappabashi Street for incredible cookware (especially knives and ceramics), Happy Daruma in Akihabara for unique daruma dolls, Tsutaya Books in Daikanyama for art books and indie crafts, and Ginza Itoya for a huge selection of stationery. Also, make sure to visit Nakano Broadway, Super Potato, Mandarake, and HARD OFF if you’re at all into vintage arcade games or pop culture collectibles of decades past, and enjoy a handcrafted omakase meal (I had a wonderful time at Sushi Ajuuta in Shibuya).
Keep in mind that many of your best experiences in Tokyo will most likely be spontaneous, so if anything piques your interest as you’re walking by (e.g. some market you stumbled upon unexpectedly) and you feel the urge to stop, do it! My other pieces of advice are to stay curious and open-minded so that you can fully learn from this very different culture and its people—and to be prepared to return home with at least one more suitcase than you arrived with! I hope you have enjoyed my blog and that you’ll decide to study abroad in Tokyo, or to spend a couple of weeks there at the very least. It truly is an amazing city and a great home base for traveling around the rest of Asia too.
Daxton Mironoff
My name is Daxton and I'm from NYC. I'm a senior studying the social sciences, entrepreneurship and film. Outside of class, I enjoy doing film photography, traveling, conducting interdisciplinary research, and DJing at my campus radio station!