Are These Places in Tokyo Overrated for First-Time Visitors?

[@WizardOfOss]

Can't really fault you with most of these... 1) Meiji Jingu - Kinda agree. Not a must see but nice anyway. 2) Asakusa: Agree - Overcrowded but you haven't been to Tokyo if you haven't been here at least once. 3) Skytree - Absolutely agree! I like the tower itself, but the view is not that great, it's terrible for night photography, and it's way overpriced. My favorite alternative: Mori Tower. 4) Ichiran - Don't know. In 19 trips to Japan never been to Ichiran, and still don't feel like I'm missing out. Good ramen shops are everywhere! 5) Takeshita Dori -Agree. Been there, done that, no need to go ever again. 6) Teamlab - Still haven't been....yeah, you should book ahead. 7) Golden Gai - Hard to day. Been there and had a good time, and for tourists this is still one of the more accessible places for such tiny bars. 8) Shibuya Crossing - Agree!. Iconic scene, have to go there at least once. 9) Tsukiji - Don't think so. Have been to the old market a few times, that was great. But now it seems just a tourist trap. 10) Kabukicho - Nope. There are similar areas all over Tokyo without the annoying touts.Just go to Ikebukuro or Shimbashi instead. 11) Ameyoko - Absolutely agree! My favorite area to stay, even when it has become very touristy in recent years. 12) Akihabara - Yes. Mostly for window shopping though. And go to Nakano to actually buy... 13) Donki - Absolutely! Mostly for snacks and drinks though. Love Loft and Tokyu Hands too, but just not the same thing. 14) Kawaguchiko - Mixed feelings. Been there en route when it wasn't so crowded, and had a good time. But as a day trip, not so much probably. 15) Hakone - Very much Yes! So much to see and do. Some parts very touristy, but also many placed not so. And both times I went I didn't even see Fuji-san and still had a great time! 16) Kamakura - Yes! Though still need to go again, only been once 16 years ago.

[@filipskater]

Thank you for your videos guys. They really helped me prepare for my recent first trip to Tokyo.

[@connormaze2605]

I finally fly out for the first time in 7 days Been waiting years for this holiday and looking forward to hitting up some of the spots in this video

[@tokyocheapo]

Hope you have a great time!

[@robot_collective]

I can feel you! It was my first time last year and we saved the money a few years for this trip - it was absolutely AWESOME! Have a great time 🇯🇵

[@AJ_UK_LIVE]

Have a wonderful time. It's the coolest place I have ever been.

[@jdavid3885]

Same here! Flying out next week. :)

[@Kusaland_CEO]

Kamakura being only an hour away by train is a must. Visit the Giant Buddha, the temples, make friends with the Sail surfers on the beach and enjoy the water, ride the seaside train down to Enoshima, eat some fresh seafood, explore the island, buy some souvenirs, enjoy some coffee watching the sunset, then go back to Tokyo with enough time to decompress and relax at the hotel.

[@mmeaux201]

Great video! Flying into Tokyo tomorrow. This was helpful.

[@AJ_UK_LIVE]

Exciting!

[@qualow888]

Hey kids. Thankyou so much for all the videos and guidance. We are flying to Tokyo this weekend and are visiting Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka and also doing a day guided trip to Hiroshima as well as a trip to Nara (all in 10 days)! With all of your guidance we think we have a really fun packed trip planned. Really looking forward to using the bullet trains (and purchasing some amazing bento box es from Tokyo Station...yum! We'll let you know how we go.

[@AJ_UK_LIVE]

Exciting! I hope to see Nara and Hiroshima on my second trip early next year. I bet it will awesome! Have a great time.

[@GodAtum]

instead of the fish market, I'd recommend the newly opened Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai. far less busy and great quality fish to eat

[@monchbacs]

Some of my two cents - -Asakusa is actually my favorite area to stay in Tokyo (more affordable, direct line from Narita, not as crowded as Shibuya and Shinjuku) -Another option as an 'observation deck' is the bar on the 22nd floor of the Asahi building. No entrance fee, just buy a beer, and a pretty great nightime view. Nice to walk by the Sumida river afterwards, too. - I agree with Yuta, Ichiran is overrated. It's not bad, but not worth lining up. Another ramen alternative is Ippudo, they have branches everywhere in Tokyo, too. - I did not enjoy Takeshita street. I did enjoy the nearby Cat Street. - Kabukicho strangely smells like urine and cigarettes - I preferred Ikebukuro over Akihabara, but Akihabara is still worth going at least once - Don Quijote is NUTS.

[@simonwelsh9619]

Amazing list and very much like our experience in the same spots we skipped going to Ichiran all together in favour of more local ramen shops

[@dariusq8894]

If you are not an otaku/gamer, then Akiba is super overrated. What you have is a really crowded shopping district with mostly specialty shops. Normies would have a better time in other more popular districts. If you are an otaku/gamer though, Akiba is a must visit, along with Ikebukuro and Nakano Broadway.

[@CarlosContreras]

My friend doesn't care about anything that has to do with games or Japanese animation and she loves Akihabara.

[@rommelflores2618]

Akihabara is not overrated whether you are a gamer or not.

[@BojoPigeon]

Akihabara is my home base whenever I visit Japan. It feels like home for a nerd like me. I will say though, if you aren't into the culture and just want to _shop_ for anime goods, you can get your shopping done a lot faster by going to Nakano Broadway.

[@randomtravel4361]

Ameyoko is definitely overrated. Too many Chinese-owned stores catering to Chinese tourists that doesn't make me feel it's Japan anymore, and if not, selling overpriced touristy knick-knacks. I'd rather go to Yanaka Ginza or Sugamo for a more peaceful old time shopping street vibe. And any restaurants lined up with tourists only - give them a pass. Not worth the 1 hour wait unless you are only craving for that TikTok / IG thumbs up rather than the food itself. Ichiran - I agreed it's a bit overrated. It's good, but not that good worthy to wait for anything over 30 mins when other ramen shops are everywhere. If it's only a short wait / no wait, by all means give it a shot. They also have shops opened in other countries too.

[@RedZ1900]

Great tips

[@TheScratchingKiwi]

Nobody tells you that at Borderless, you have to wait between rooms. You cannot go through at your pace. It takes about three hours to see (the previous Borderless at Odaiba took 2 hours). If you have the time, great. If you don't... it's overrated.

[@AJ_UK_LIVE]

Warning - foolishly long KZbin comment ahead. My take as a single English guy travelling alone, on the places I visited on this list: 1 Meiji Shrine - Worth It. A truly beautiful place, that makes you feel like you have gone back in time. It’s also a fascinating feeling being there, when just moments ago, you were in one of the busiest places you have ever been. It is so peaceful there. 2 Tokyo Skytree - Worth It. Was it busy? Insanely so. I would say I spent more time in queues than looking at views. BUT the views were absolutely insane. An absolute sea of buildings, roads and rivers everywhere you looked. It was honestly jaw-dropping, and I would happily queue again. 3 Takeshite Street - Overrated. One of the busiest places I visited whilst in Tokyo, with wall-to-wall people all the way down the street. The busyness is super-fun actually, but the stores are largely very bland and touristy. I agree with the comments in the video - keep walking to the end of the street and you will find a large crosswalk with a big 3D billboard. Cross that road and the streets beyond are far more interesting. 4 Golden Gai - Worth It. This was so fun. I wandered around the streets of Golden Gai for a little while, just taking it in. It was fascinating to me. So many little places with four or five seats. With an extreme amount of courage, I finally picked one at random that had no cover charge and in I went. The bar I chose was called Bar Roundhouse Kick, and was staffed by the lovely Emmy-chan. No English was exchanged, but we muddled our way through, and I managed to order some tasty drinks. I had a lovely time with some locals, as well as English-speaking tourists. Many kanpai’s were had! 5 Shibuya Scramble Crossing - Worth It. One of my favourite places. In fact, I visited multiple times at different times of day just to take it in. As someone that lives in a very quiet, ancient place, full of 500 year old churches, it was very hard for me to wrap my head around what I was seeing. Bonus 5b - Shibuya Sky. Truly wonderful. I went in the morning, so it was genuinely peaceful. No crowds at all, and I could do whatever I wanted without waiting. A very different vibe to the Skytree - as mentioned. Seeing the crossing from above was mesmerizing. 6 Kabukicho - Worth It. I walked all over this area, having gone there to visit Godzilla, who I must say, was very well behaved. I also got to walk under the famous, red-lit archway, which I think was pretty cool. You do need to keep your wits about you here - especially at night. There are touts everywhere, and they will try very hard to get your attention and pull you into bars that you really should not go into! 7 Akihabara - Worth It. This was the first place I went after my first sleep in Japan. I walked there from my Chuo hotel and got there just before ten, so most things were still closed. I got to witness it in the morning and came back later that night to see both sides. It is a super touristy place, but at the same time, very Japanese indeed, and very much what you imagine Japan to be as a Western tourist. As someone who loves games and arcades, this was so very much fun for me, and I spent a lot of time in the GiGO arcades. 8 Don Quijote - Worth It. The Shibuya Mega Donki is like a Japanese Ikea with added madness. It is super busy, very large, and incredibly random, seemingly selling everything that exists. You will be bombarded with the theme tune the entire time, and will then proceed to sing it for the rest of your trip (and perhaps, the rest of your life). I recommend coming here on your last day to pick up lots of snacks and presents for the trip home. Overall, I loved every little thing about Tokyo, but then I am rather positive in general, and found the insane busyness to be genuinely amusing most of the time. Your mileage may vary! I chronicled all of this stuff on my channel if you are interested 😊 Thanks for the video, Tokyo Cheapo - your vids helped a lot whilst I was in Japan!

[@XC-Z-cv8qw]

Bruh u seem overhyped about everything like an overactive puppy. You literally only have one overrated in your list.

[@ParaSF4]

Hello there. I’m flying with my wife and sister in law on the 1st October from London to Tokyo and of course we are all excited. But regarding the golden gai area and the cover charge you mentioned, what do you prefer: a pub/izakaya without cover charge or one with? Because I heard some stories that if a place charge you cover charge, they charge ridiculous prices inside the place and some of them could be scams. Do you have any good places to go? Where they don’t do this kinda shit to foreigners and something that’s affordable as well?

[@AJ_UK_LIVE]

In my experience, cover charge places in Golden Gai had slightly cheaper drinks. It depends how much you wish to spend. I chose no cover charge and paid a little more, as I was not sure if I would stay. I am lucky as the British Pound is currently very strong, so I did not feel as though it was expensive anyway.

[@borg386]

Really, you're going to make a 500 yen cover charge and sway a decision to go into a cool place? You are paying for the experience,and a seat that hundreds of others also want. It's worth it!

[@borg386]

@@AJ_UK_LIVE good points!

[@michaelmaslo3937]

My wife and myself are headed to Tokyo in May 2025. Thank you so much for this video for it helps determining what we are and not going to do. We will be there for 14 days, but there is so much to do trying to decide what to do is really difficult in these videos help

[@SotaMaehara]

I agree that Sky Tree is overrated because it's more beautiful to look at, rather than being in it and looking out

[@Hyokano]

That’s what I thought about the Empire State Building - Its absence in the New York City skyline stands out

[@aar0475]

Been to Tokyo twice (2016 and 2024). Other than the day trip ones, agree on all the places. When we went on 2016, it was not as crazy busy . I think for a first timer Don Quixote is fun but on our second trip this year, did not enjoy it as much. We also went into Ginza and Tokyo Station on our 2nd trip, that was cool to visit, especially Ginza as I always see it in movies and anime.

[@gsr4535]

Japan is fascinating, Tokyo is fascinating but yes, there are more than a few tourist spots (especially on KZbin) that are over-rated.

[@rachaelstevenson7652]

Do you guys recommend one day trip to Hakone or a 2-3 day trip to Osaka/Kyoto for a 8 day trip to Tokyo?

[@meinsweetlife]

Thanks for the video! This would help me alot in my first Tokyo trip next year ! How about Kawagoe? Is it still worth it, considering I've been to Kyoto already?

[@TassieEV]

Thank you guys for all your informative videos. Do you have one on Ramen at all as in the best in your opinion Ramen places in Tokyo? I'm coming to Japan in Feb next year with my kids, well young adults really, so have watched many of your videos really love Chris in the video about mistakes to avoid so funny..."Sure sure". My kids are looking forward to a small Jazz club that a Japanese friend told me about but is there any other cultural experiences we aren't there for long more a taster of Japan you could say but are staying in Osaka and will go to Kyoto and Nara.

[@lazyhusband]

You must eat at Menya Musashi.

[@adidyu]

is Hakone worth it in the winter ?

[@zohralanewala5072]

Hello! This was a great video! Thank you so much for the tips! If you were to pick between Lake Kawaguchiko and Hakone for a first timer with family (we’re traveling in mid Nov!), which one would you?

[@ameliae396]

Can someone help me: is Toyosu fish market better (for food, not the tuna auction) than Tsukiji? Is it worth a visit?

[@YoureNowOnTV]

Don Quijote is interesting to see as a store, but all the prices aren't that enticing. I'd much rather go to Seria or Daiso. They have amazing deals on items that are useful. Donki didn't have bargains on anything I'd like to take home with me or have a use for like bags, clothing items or electronic goods.

[@tokyocheapo]

Seria and Daiso are great recommendations

[@dexttech]

nice video! arigatou gozaimasu Aimee and Yuta!

[@BojoPigeon]

I know you can't mention everything there is to do in Tokyo in a single video, but here are some of my recommended spots not too well known to tourists: - Yanaka Ginza - Sugamo Jizo Dori - Ichikawa Zoo - not only did I not see any foreign tourists, there were hardly any _Japanese_ visitors there when I went. You definitely won't have to worry about crowds on weekdays.

[@JuanPellat]

Awesome, can you do the same for Kyoto, Osaka Kobe area??? Im visiting in 2 weeks! >_

[@lazyhusband]

Kobe beef is overrated. Kuromon market is very overrated. Nishiki Market is NOT overrated. Mister Doughnut is overrated. Nara is overrated. Uji is not overrated.

[@shin-i-chikozima]

Attraction of Tokyo can not be overstated Tokyo has a unimaginable Mysterious atmosphere and exordinarily safe and quiet

[@AlonsoRules]

The Tsukiji Fish Market is definitely overrated. Stay far far away. With Tokyo being such a massive city and time precious, extensive research is required. You do not spend time in places that are not required.

[@Victor_YNWA]

What's the best time to go to Shibuya crossing? For the best pictures

[@tokyocheapo]

Go Late afternoon to early evening - it’s more busy and you’ll get an interesting range of lighting conditions (from late day sun to evening neon lights). Rain is also interesting - umbrellas and nighttime neon reflecting off the wet geound

[@jonathansakura]

Tokyo tower is overrated Tokyo skytree is not overrated and I live in Tokyo 😊 They're all crowded but sky tree has so much to see and do

[@JeshuaGuy-wc2uy]

Any stores where I'm most likely to get good quality but affordable anime clothing, or cheap but good photography camera?

[@senatorcthulu1815]

I think passing over Senso-ji at night in this video is criminal. It's the most beautiful place I've ever been, all lit up.

[@karinabaez5804]

If only I want stay in the beach is worth it kamakura?

[@AbbottFrizzell]

Senso-ji I would visit at night time. No crowds and it's still just beautiful

[@mgk2]

All the places mentioned in your video are worth it for first timer period. They are all popular for a reason.... Also dont forget Kawagoe...

[@helend2790]

Excellent video that remembers what it's like to be a first timer. Asakusa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and optionally Akihabara (you know if you need to go there) are all must do's for the first timer.

[@roro2k]

Whenever first-timers to Japan say that ICHIRAN is the best ramen in Japan or best ever...I roll my eyes so hard I almost fall off my chair. It's basically the McDonald's of ramen for me. Tokyo alone has literally 10,000+ ramen restaurants. Do a bit of research and don't believe the hype these influencer types spit, especially if it's their first time to Japan.

[@Tloc222]

Don Quijote not being worth it when it's such a quick walk by trip is wild lol

[@AlonsoRules]

don't do it in Tokyo, do it in Osaka

[@BojoPigeon]

For me personally, Team Lab Planets was way over rated. My friends loved it though. All the water, and mirrors, and lights left me feeling motion sick.

[@thomass4785]

Ichiran : Definitely overrated. This place is like a egg farm shack. There are hundreds of better ramen places in Tokyo Ameyoko : Definitely overrated. It used to be a nice place to visit, but recently it has turned like a China Town. Tsukiji Outer Market : Definitely overrated. So touristy and street food are outrageously priced. Local people do not go there

[@Trentus86]

While I agree Kamakura is generally skippable on a first trip that's crammed with a trip to Kyoto, I think that kind of undersells how great it is to explore. I'd definitely be interested in a follow up episode covering more of Japan, be it another city's sights (Kyoto/Osaka) or just whether going to certain areas are worth it or overrated

[@lazyhusband]

Menya Musashi is NOT overrated! 😛

[@aidahoe2946]

Yuta is sooo cute

[@watermage25]

Its my second time in tokyo in a year and i think i am done with this place.just too damn crowded and it feels like any other city just japanese. I actually prefer New York. I much prefer kyoto to tokyo as well. Think next time i come to Japan i will skip Tokyo altogether, and venture to less visited places like Sapporo or Hokaido. Also Sensoji temple is not worth it at all.

[@geneharrogate6911]

Hitachino Nest Beer - NOT overrated..

[@xichael]

the Kawaguchiko chapter time starts too early

[@iaoshua]

golden gai is good for finding other english speakers . and alcoholics like me

[@grannysint1625]

Overrated is telling there are cheap0 places in Tokyo.

[@elizavatsky3262]

tell us about fukuoka/kyushu! Seems like such a great area that is little discussed

[@nateshf9303]

My wife and I have been to Fukuoka/Hakata 10+ times in the last 25 years and it is one of our favorite stops on the way to other parts of Kyushu like Beppu and Nagasaki. Not only it is a great little city to walk around in, hotels are also newer and way cheaper than other big cities.

[@elizavatsky3262]

@@nateshf9303 Yeah! I've been once. Its where my ancestors came from in the 1890s! Very very cool area, and people seemed really friendly and lively, similar to osaka.

[@complicatedtopics2468]

Tsujiki is such a tourist trap. It is overrated and it is a trap. Walkthrough and see what is going on. But not much food worthy for the buck. Tamago i guess you can't go wrong...

[@CarlosContreras]

Shibuya and Don Quijote super overrated.

[@borg386]

I just want to see a Japanese person in real life. Especially the pretty girls❤❤

[@GrR-c4s]

You can only say something is ovwrrated if you experience it. This video doesnt make sense if you are a first time traveler because you want to see all

[@lazyhusband]

They, having experienced it, are providing their opinions to the first timers. Capice?

[@GrR-c4s]

@@lazyhusband EXACTLY. THEY. Capice?

[@lazyhusband]

@@GrR-c4s Providing their opinions…

[@mrfweeis]

as someone looking to travel there for the first time, i find this video very helpful. it helps me identify what attractions are always crowded and how to avoid wasting time stuck in crowds vs actually exploring tokyo!

[@gonzarellious6102]

Would it be possible to at least make the attempt at pronouncing these places accurately? I'm looking at you, Yuta.

[@internet.cookies8531]

Don Quijote is overated.

[@bhlasvegas990]

when you say expats you mean migrant workers? haha

[@RedZ1900]

Kyoto is overrated in my opinion