I have been burned many times by following blogs who give you the “top things to do in [place]” and ending up at the most touristy or inauthentic spots.
This series of blogs works to give you alternatives to the overdone, over-touristed activities.
Without further ado, here are the top things not to do in Tokyo, Japan (that everyone tells you to do) plus what to do instead.
Go to a maid cafe
Hands down the most uncomfortable experience from my month in Japan was going to Maidreamin’ Maid Cafe in Akihabara.
What are maid cafes?
Based on the Japanese idea of falling in love with a fictional character or being, all the waitresses at these cafes dress like French maids and have fake backstories and imagined lives. If you ask, they’ll explain them to you.
At some, they call men “master” and welcome them home from a long day.
While Maidreamin’ was more along the lines of kawaii (the Japanese word for “cute”) than fantasy-fulfilling, it was still awkward.
You’re meant to get in the spirit of this false world they’ve created, so to call your maid over, you have to put your hands up like paws in front of your face and say nyan, nyan (sort of like saying “meow, meow”). You can only use their cutesy codenames for the bathroom, elevator, and stairs, and have to sing a special song to get your food.
That’s all fine and good, and I would’ve been happy to play along, but I couldn’t get past the other clientele.
Besides myself and two friends, the patrons were single men ranging from a socially-awkward 20-something to two leering older men.
I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t to sit for an hour watching creepy men play out their fantasies in real life. All three of them had the songs and words memorized, and seemed to recognize some of the maids (i.e. they were regulars here). The younger guy also picked out what appeared to be a “baseball card” of his favorite maid.
You’re given a 90 minute time frame before you have to pay to stay longer. The guy with the trading cards was there before we got there and extended his stay as well.
All-in-all, it was a very creepy place.
What to do instead of visiting a maid cafe
Eat at a different, less objectifying and creepy theme cafe. Tokyo is brimming with fun theme cafes, like the Kawaii Monster Cafe, the Ninja Cafe, or the Vampire Cafe.
Visit an animal cafe
After the maid cafe, visiting the Shiba Cafe in Harajuku was our second worst decision.
Every list seems to include going to some sort of animal-themed establishment, so we tried it. Animal encounters at these cafes range from hedgehogs to owls to snakes. We chose the Japanese Shiba dog breed (it felt fitting at the time).
These animal cafes are so popular, they charge you for entry based on the half hour. This particular cafe was 880 yen per person per half hour time slot ($8.04), which included a drink.
The dogs were super cute, but incredibly lethargic. It was sad. They looked like they dreaded being touched, with most shirking away from people petting them and trying to lie near the edges of the room or under the tables.
Based on the size of the cafe and the amount of people who must come through every day during opening hours, we realized quickly that these dogs were sad and overstimulated.
All in all, not a great life for a dog.
From what I’ve read and heard from others, most of these cafes are similar. In the rabbit one, you can only have one rabbit out at a time or they’ll fight. For the hedgehogs, you can only hold it for so long. So basically, people go for the ‘gram and the animals suffer for it.
Again, what started as probably a good idea from a good place has turned into something bordering on (or already at) animal cruelty.
What to do instead of going to an animal cafe
Go to an ethical animal cafe (Tokyo contains a few) where the dogs, cats, and other critters you sit with roam freely and are up for adoption (if you’re a Japanese resident).
If you can’t make the trip to one of these, then I’d suggest skipping animal cafes altogether. The less demand, the fewer cafes like this will pop up.
Ride up Tokyo Skytree
Tokyo Skytree is the third tallest structure in the world at 634 meters, and Tokyo’s tallest building.
Every single blog or “top 10” list of things to do in Tokyo includes riding the elevator up it to get views of the city.
To put it honestly: those people either haven’t done it, or don’t care that it’s both expensive and pointless.
A regular ticket costs 3000 yen (around $30).
You can buy a tourist fast pass ticket for about $42 that lets you skip the ticket line, but you’ll still have to wait for the elevator.
When we arrived on a weekday in the early afternoon, the line just to get tickets was an 80-minute wait. Once we had them, it would be another 20-minute wait to get on the elevator going to the top.
If that sounds worth it to get a view of the city, through glass, with loads of other tourists surrounding you, then go for it.
What to do instead of going up Tokyo Skytree
Go to the top of one of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building’s observation decks. Though not as tall as Tokyo Skytree, the view from here is just as comparable (you can see for miles and even see Mt Fuji on a clear day).
And it’s free.
We waited for maybe 40 minutes max (only because it was a national holiday) to get the elevator up to the top of the south observation deck, and once we were up there, we could spend as much time as we wanted looking at all the views.
Buy expensive sushi
Before I went to Japan, I assumed sushi would hardcore break my bank during my stay (because I love it so much, and because other blogs said it’s so spendy).
While you can blow your budget on some ultra high-class raw fish, you’ve got options if you’re a budget traveler, without sacrificing quality.
What to do instead of buying spendy sushi
Stand up sushi: The Japanese often have this “fast food” version of sushi over their lunch hour. There are no seats, just a sushi counter that you stand next to. You order directly from the chef, and pay by the piece, which he keeps track of on a board.
It’s high quality, and a great way to try multiple kinds of sushi without having to order an entire roll. I went with four friends, and spent less than $15 trying about 10 different types of sushi.
Conveyor belt sushi: At these restaurants, sushi chefs work behind a big circular counter. Patrons sit at booths surrounding the counter.
As the chefs make sushi, they put it on plates and then onto a conveyor belt that circles the counter slowly. You can grab whatever sushi looks appetizing as it passes your table, and you simply pay per plate (which can range from 110 yen to about 450 yen).
You can also special order items from a tablet at your table.
It’s a great bang for your buck since you can set your budget, though the sushi wasn’t quite as high quality as the stand up sushi we ate.
Supermarket sushi: Our saving grace in Tokyo was the fact that supermarkets begin discounting all the fresh, delicious sushi they made that day around 6 or 7 p.m. You can pop into big supermarket chains (Seiyu is a big one in the Asakusa area of Tokyo) and get a full platter of sushi for about $7-8.
Slap on a kimono just for the ‘gram
I’m not throwing the “cultural appropriation” card, so hear me out.
If you want to dress up in a kimono while in Japan, do it! Renting a kimono supports Japanese business owners, and many Japanese like seeing foreigners appreciating their customs.
But do it right, and be respectful. Kimonos have a rich history, so if you plan to wear one around town, make sure you appreciate how significant they are.
Also, it’s very, very important to wear it right. Certain customs exist on which side folds over the other, the height of the collar, and so on. Have a professional dress you, and learn from their attention and care about the importance of kimonos in Japanese culture.
Japan is the weirdest and most wonderful country I’ve ever visited. Hopefully this list will help you plan your visit to its capital city.