One of the many reasons why I loved Tokyo so much is that you didn't need to go to a specific attraction to be in awe. You could just wander around without a plan and basically every street and store would have your full attention because of how crazy entertaining it was! There were so many times where I felt like I was walking around the downtown of one giant theme park. If you've done any research on Tokyo yet then you have probably heard of all these! There are some of the areas I explored that definitely had my jaw dropped.
Akihabara
This place is probably my favorite. Akihabara, found in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, is known for being a center for electronic shops, anime, and video games. In addition to that, it was filled with all kinds of souvenir and collectibles shops and the weird, yet well known, maid cafes (something I avoided).
Chuo Dori
Chuo Dori is the main street through the district and little did I know, its closed to traffic on Sundays (when I went) so everyone is just free for all walking around it. It felt like I was in some kind of science fiction futuristic novel, with the bright lights flashing, huge billboards of anime characters speaking at you and tons of people everywhere wandering in the middle of the huge street, no cars to be seen. I think I just stood in the middle of the street looking around for a good 10 minutes. I was plenty entertained by just wandering into stores that looked interesting from the outside.
Don Quijote
One store I went into is a huge department chain called Don Quijote. And when I say huge I mean huge. Its 10 floors and I got lost several times. Apparently its the biggest discount store in Japan. It has everything you can possibly think of from all the Japanese flavored kit kats to sex toys to touristy shirts to costumes. I would recommend getting some matcha sweets and flavored kit kats and some face masks!
This store has its own maid cafe on one floor and performances by the pop group AKB48 on another. The maid cafe was a little too strange for me. I did not go into it but basically there's a bunch of Japanese girls dressed as maids trying to get you to go inside. Not sure if you're into that but I was not haha
On the top floor is an arcade. Now I don't know much about gaming but it seemed pretty legit to me. There were tons of booths for each individual person to game in in addition to a bunch of other games where you could try and get prizes, like stuffed animals.
There is also plenty of food available (get ready to see girls dressed in costumes trying to get you to go into their themed cafes) on the side streets and tons of other stores for video games and manga art all over, I just covered what stood out to me the most! My advice is to just take some time to window shop and wander!
Shibuya Ward
This is a super busy area so when considering where you want to stay, this may not be the best place if you want somewhere quiet. If you want to be right in the hustle and bustle of the city though, then this is the place for you. Shibuya Ward has several very popular areas that can't be missed.
Shibuya Station
Right outside of Shibuya station you will find the busiest intersection in the world, Shibuya Crossing. It is basically like the Times Square/Regent Street of Tokyo. It has the huge screens of ads, flashing lights, and obviously, tons of people. Surrounding the crossing and throughout the rest of Shibuya are an abundance of clothing stores and other shopping opportunities like the gigantic, 9 story, Tower Records. If you like to shop this is the area for you. I got an adorable cute little backpack here when I was shopping in Shibuya :)
Shinjuku Station
So Shinjuku most commonly refers to the whole area surrounding the station, and the southern half of it is in Shibuya, the other half is in Shinjuku Ward. Shinjuku Station is the world's busiest railway station. It is so much more than just a station, it has plenty of shopping and tons of places to eat! Outside of the station, you can explore the rest of Shinjuku which like I said earlier, is an area that you will be thoroughly entertained with even without an agenda. Just wandering the streets you will see so many interesting stores and signs, lights everywhere, you just don't know where to look.
Harajuku
I am sure you have heard of Harajuku in some context or another, most commonly heard reference are Harajuku girls. Harajuku girls are a representation of Harajuku culture, known for their youthful, unique caricature style clothing and over the top makeup. Harajuku is a really unique center of fashion, filled with all types of stores, from high end designer clothing to anime costumes. I have never been shopping in a place like Harajuku! And in addition to the fashion you will not have any problems finding food. Tokyo is very good at keeping you full no matter where you go.
Takeshita Street
Takeshita Street is everything you would expect out of Harajuku. It's packed with people (I was literally walking like a penguin at one point), all kinds of brightly colored stores filled with costumes, anime characters, make up and toys, and on Sundays you can find groups of girls all dressed up in their Harajuku style (you will see people dressed up on other days as well but on Sundays its definitely much more of a thing). This is definitely a must do while you are in Tokyo! You feel like you are in a theme park of some sort. It easily makes one of my favorite spots :) Check the photos below for some of the pictures I got while shopping!
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