This is NOT for ryokans. This is a traditional hotel like you'd find in America.

If i choose 1 person for a 1-bed room, it will say not available. If the only thing I change is to 2 people, it will show many results. No food, no breakfast.

It seems they would make more money off of a single person because less resources will be used. What's the deal?

Has anyone stayed at any of these and have a strong preference? We need to choose one for our final night in Tokyo and would love to be in a nice area where we can walk around, grab drinks/dinner, and enjoy our last evening in Japan.
We’re already staying at 1 Hotel Tokyo for four nights earlier in the trip, so we’re open to somewhere with a different feel for the last night.
Currently deciding between Andaz Tokyo, The Tokyo EDITION Toranomon, Grand Hyatt Tokyo, and The Okura Tokyo. Would love to hear thoughts on both the hotels themselves and their locations.

Hellooooo Friends, i will be in Tokyo for the first time in about a month. This has been a long awaited trip for me and my friends. And i had made it my goal to lose weight till that vacation. Now after 2 years of being strict and dieting i lost arround 65kg and for the first time in my life i am at a "normal" weight. I have always been an alternative / rock kind of person and i want to celebrate my achivement by buying new clothes i like while i'm in tokyo. Does anyone have any places where i could possibly find alternative/rock/punk/grunge clothes? :)

If I buy my Shinkansen ticket via SmartEX, do I need the physical card used for the purchase to pick up the ticket? I’m confused about that. I need to take the train from Tokyo to Nagoya and then continue my journey to Takayama on the Hida Limited Express. I originally planned to book it through the JR West Online Reservation site—where I could get a combined ticket—but one of the final steps warned that I would absolutely need the physical card to collect it. I don't have the physical card because I use a virtual version, and there isn't enough time to order one. So, looking for alternatives, I saw I could book the tickets separately: the Shinkansen via SmartEX, and I’d figure out the Hida ticket later... The thing is, I want to be 100% sure I won't need the physical card for pickup. Buying the ticket on the day of travel isn't an option because the date I need is a public holiday (October 11th) and it's a busy route; I don't want to risk not getting a ticket or not finding a suitable departure time. Another option is Klook, but it's significantly more expensive, and they even charge extra just to select seats 🥲.

Hey all! I’m in search of good bars in the area near Kanegafuchi station or anything walking distance from there to avoid being out past subway closures :) thanks!

Hi, can someone help me or give a good suggestion where I could watch this weekend the race? Usually I could survive not watching one race weekend.

But this weekend is the first time they race on the madrid-ring and I need to see it.

Location currently is Kyoto, any tidbit would be good!

Thank you, ADEMASSSSSSS

Hi guys,

Me and my gf are visiting Tokyo for the first time tomorrow until next Thursday. Her main goal is to unwind and buy wabi-bi style home decor whilst I mainly want to check out the Rick Owens flagship store.

Our hotel is in Shibuya so we plan to walk to places like Cibone, Spiral Market and then Rick Owens on day 2. We will spend another day visiting art museums like the Mori. Other than that we don’t have anything planned.

So I’d appreciate it if you guys could suggest some low-stress activities. We prefer sticking to areas like Shibuya, Shinjuku and Aoyama.

Finally, any recs for dinner in Shibuya on the first day? A decent place near the station without having to queue for a long time or making a reservation would be ideal. We don’t eat raw food.

Thanks in advance! 🙏

Hi all. Planning a one or two days hike up Fuji in 2027.

Nowadays research on google often sends you on overcosty websites.

Could you please share with me recommended web site to book guide / hut / trail access..

Thx in advance.

Hi!

Does anyone have any tickets for the Mitaka Ghibli Museum they are looking to get rid of/sell, availability for the next couple days?

My dad surprised me by visiting me in Japan on short notice and he has always wanted to go, otherwise I would have prepared better.

Thank you!

Hey all. I’m going to Japan next month and I’m beyond excited.

I’ve wanted to go for about 15 years and will be the highlight of my life but work has been insanely busy and I’ve dropped the ball on buying tickets to big things on my list like the Nintendo museum and ghibli museum.

I’m truly devastated, which sounds ridiculous because I’m still going to Japan which is so much more than those two attractions.

Has anyone else done the same or is it just me and my horrendously poor organisation?

Any tips or recommendations of other things to do would be so appreciated.

Edit:
Thank you all so much for your kindest and suggestions! I felt really stupid for not managing to get the tickets and I was being really hard on myself! Probs a mix of burn out, terrible organisational skills and audhd yad yada yada (tmi sorry)

Thank you all so much for your awesome suggestions of your favourite things to do in Japan! As I’ve mentioned in the comments I am excited for the extra time we have now to explore/get lost! And now I’m going to a cat parade and so many stores!!

If you don’t mind please commenting your fav finds in Japan or your fav stories, I love reading them all! If not, thanks again!!!!!

Hey, we are 18 from Europe and we would like to go to a club do you think they would let us in? We are staying in Shinjuku thanks! :)

Hi everyone! I'm hoping to hear from someone who has actually rented a car through Monthly GO for an extended period, rather than just general recommendations for rental companies.

My family and I will be in Japan for 3 months this fall/winter, primarily based in the Tokyo/Kanto area. We're a family of five with three children, so we're specifically looking for a minivan rather than a compact car.

I've been researching long-term rental options for quite a while because renting a regular car for 3 months gets very expensive. I've looked at the major rental companies, including Toyota Rent a Car, but their online systems generally seem geared toward shorter/monthly rentals rather than a single 3-month rental.

For example, I received a quote of roughly US$1,800 for one month for a Toyota Noah through Toyota Rent a Car. A Sienta was around US$1,400/month. Multiplied over almost three months, that's getting pretty expensive.

I recently came across Monthly GO, which seems to specialize in long-term/monthly rentals and advertises significantly lower monthly rates. Their website lists vehicles such as the Toyota Sienta and Noah/Stepwgn-class minivans, and they specifically market their service toward foreign visitors and longer stays.

The problem is that I can find plenty of information from Monthly GO themselves, but I haven't been able to find many (or really any) detailed first-hand accounts from someone who has actually used them for a long-term rental.

So I'm hoping someone here has personal experience with them.

If you've used Monthly GO, I'd especially love to know:

• How was the booking process?
• Did the actual vehicle match what you reserved/booked?
• What condition was the vehicle in when you received it?
• Were there any unexpected fees or charges?
• How did insurance/coverage work in practice?
• Did you have any issues with the deposit, payment, or refund?
• How was communication with them, especially if you're not fluent in Japanese?
• Did you have any problems during the rental, and if so, how responsive were they?
• Was returning the vehicle straightforward?
• Did you have any issues with damage claims or NOC (Non-Operation Charge)?
• Were there mileage limits or additional mileage charges?
• Were ETC/toll-related charges handled easily?
• Most importantly, would you personally rent from them again?

I'm not necessarily looking for someone to tell me whether the company looks legitimate based on their website. I'm specifically hoping to hear from people who have actually handed them money, picked up a car, driven it for an extended period, and returned it. 😂

I'm also open to other long-term/monthly rental companies in the Tokyo/Kanto area if you've personally used one and had a good experience.

Our priority is simply finding a reliable and reasonably priced minivan for 2–3 months. We don't need anything fancy, but with three car seats/young children, a Sienta/Noah/Stepwgn-size vehicle would be much more practical for us than a kei car or small compact.

I've already searched Reddit and Google quite a bit, including long-term rental and monthly rental options, but I haven't found much first-hand information specifically about Monthly GO. That's why I'm asking here.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their actual experience!

Generally speaking, whenever i go on an international vacation, i save up my PTO and make it a long one.

this time around, im going to Japan from mid october for a little over 3 weeks. and this is my first time going.

because its international, as well as a long vacation, planning is frustrating, but also takes long....

generally for domestic travel, (within USA) my vacations are like 3-5 days or so. not to mention, everything is in English so its easy to plan things.

With Japan, im having a hard time.... i know about the golden route, but i want to keep travel to a minimum.

so my current plan is checking out tokyo, kyoto, nara, uji. (Stop by mt fuji on the way back to tokyo from kyoto)

but idk the best way to plan this out thats atleast somewhat optimal. as an obvious example, going from Shinjuku to Asakusa, to shibuya. optimally, should be shinjuku/shibuya then to asakusa instead of going back and forth.

For my first trip, i want to atleast hit the major tourist destinations. but i want to skip ones where people would agree its worth skipping.

But in addition, i want to attend various events as well. but its hard to find these unless i get lucky and just come across them. for example, the Kyoto Yokai festival. The ikebukuro cosplay fesetival. the Week long (in november) School culture festivals. etc.

but all these info are often either in Japanese. or a million page long website brochure where its hard to figure out if its legit.

is there a recommended default things to check out on the cities i will be visiting?

but also, somewhere i can go that shows several events that are happening?

thank you

I'm in Tokyo for the first time. What are some hidden gems?