We took this trip in 2019 — our first time in Japan, together, full stop. No returning-traveler confidence, no “oh we know how this works.” Just two people landing in Tokyo with a guidebook’s worth of expectations and no idea how fast those expectations were about to get rearranged.
This is Part 1 of our Japan trip — read Part 2: Our First Trip to Japan Together: What Surprised Us in Kyoto once you’re done with Tokyo
1. A Great Meal We Almost Didn’t Have
We landed late at night, hungry in that specific way where you’ve stopped being picky and started being desperate. We found a spot near where we were staying — one of those places where you order from a ticket machine at the entrance before you even sit down. Except we had zero grasp of the language, no idea what half the buttons even were, and no clue what was actually available that late. We just stood there, stuck.
We gave up. Ducked into a convenience store instead, fully expecting a sad backup meal — and got fresh fruit, some sandwiches, a bit of sushi. It was genuinely good. Not “fine for gas station food” good — actually good, the kind of good that explains why convenience stores in Japan aren’t a punchline the way 7-Eleven is here. People there genuinely love them, and after that first night, so did we. 7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart — all of them are worth popping into, and none of it feels like the hot-dogs-under-a-heat-lamp version of a convenience store you’d expect back home. Expect genuinely interesting snacks and real fresh food options, not an afterthought meal.
That night ended up teaching us more about how we’d eat our way through Japan than any guidebook did: the language barrier wasn’t a one-time hurdle to get past before the “real” trip started; it was going to be part of the whole thing — and some of our best meals were going to come from places we hadn’t planned on at all.
2. Harajuku Felt Like Its Own Whimsical Little World
Harajuku felt genuinely whimsical — cute little shops you can duck into on a whim, cafes with more personality than square footage. These dessert spots felt designed for wandering rather than efficiency. We stumbled into a pig cafe, which was exactly as fun and ridiculous as it sounds. People-watching alone is worth the trip; the way people dress up and clearly enjoy the self-expression of it gives the whole neighborhood an energy you can’t fake. Honestly, it’s hard not to have Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Girls era running through your head the whole time you’re there — turns out that wasn’t just a music video aesthetic, it’s a real vibe the neighborhood earns.
3. The Go-Kart Streets of Tokyo
One of our favorite things we did in Tokyo: street go-karting through the city. It’s exactly as fun as it sounds — weaving through actual Tokyo streets gives you a totally different feel for the city’s layout than walking or the subway ever will. We’d recommend doing this early in your Tokyo trip, since it’s a fun way to get an overall sense of the city before you dive into specific neighborhoods. And if you can, go at night — the city lit up around you is a completely different, better experience than daytime.
Heads up if you want to do this: you’ll need an international driver’s license, which you have to arrange ahead of time through your home state — the process can take a little while, so plan for it before you leave, not after you land. We also did this again in Osaka in 2025 — that’s its own post, coming soon, and we’ll link it here once it’s up.
4. Trying (and Definitely Failing at) Sumo
We did a sumo wrestling experience in Ryogoku, Tokyo’s traditional sumo district — actual wrestlers demoed the sport for us before letting us try it ourselves. Afterward we got to eat chanko nabe, the hearty hot-pot dish that’s a staple of a sumo wrestler’s diet, and took a genuinely ridiculous photo with the wrestlers to cap it off. It’s one of those experiences that sounds like a novelty on paper but ends up being one of the most memorable things we did in the city. Ryogoku itself is worth wandering even outside the tour — it’s basically Tokyo’s sumo neighborhood, stables and all.
5. The Robot Restaurant Was Exactly as Wild as You’d Expect
We also went to the robot restaurant in Tokyo — sensory overload doesn’t quite cover it. Yes, it’s touristy, and we knew that going in, but it’s genuinely a full experience: performers walking around, snacks you can buy mid-show, lights and noise coming at you from every direction. We went as a small group of about eight, which made it even more fun to just turn to each other mid-show like “are you seeing this too?”
6. The Museum That Made Us Feel Like We’d Time-Traveled
teamLab Borderless — every single room felt genuinely different, which is rare for a museum like this. Our favorite moment came at the end: a cup of tea where a projected flower slowly bloomed across the surface as you drank it. It’s hard to describe without sounding like we’re exaggerating, but it felt otherworldly — like a small glimpse of the future tucked into the middle of Tokyo.
Practical note: book tickets ahead of time — this place is popular and sells out.
What We’d Tell Ourselves Before That Trip
Book ahead for everything that isn’t a walk-in. teamLab, the sumo experience, the robot restaurant — all three sell out or fill up, and we’d rather have known that going in than scrambled once we landed.
If you want to try the go-kart streets, sort out your international driver’s license before you leave, not after you land. It has to go through your home state and can take longer than you’d think — this is the one thing that actually needs advance planning, not something you can figure out once you’re there.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help, or just point at what you need. People are genuinely friendly about it. And honestly, this has only gotten easier since 2019 — with Tokyo having hosted the Olympics, there’s been a real, noticeable push toward English accessibility since then: more people making the effort to speak English, more English signage on public transit, more of that friction just quietly sanded down.
Don’t sleep on convenience stores. We said it above, but it’s worth repeating as its own piece of advice: a tired, hungry night doesn’t have to mean a bad meal here. Some of our best food on this whole trip came from places we hadn’t planned on at all.
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Published 2019 · Updated 2026 with a few things we’d tell our past selves
Leaving Tokyo Behind — Kind Of
Eventually it was time to head to Kyoto, which meant our first ride on the Shinkansen — and that turned out to be its own surprise, clean, considered, and honestly one of the best parts of the whole trip. We wrote all about it, along with everything Kyoto surprised us with, in Part 2.
Find out about our Kyoto side of the trip here.
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