Food, Shopping, and Mistakes I made as a First Time Traveler

Hi all,

I’m currently wrapping up a 2 week solo trip to Japan and thought I’d share some blunders I made along the way as well as the highlights. I was lucky to have a friend who frequents Tokyo provide some recommendations on food, shopping and nightlife, and none of them disappointed.

Tokyo Food:

Harajuku Gyozaro – This place serves 2 things: dumplings and beer (there are a few side dishes but this is what you come here for). Great for a pit stop during lunch while doing some shopping in Harajuku.

Ichiran Shinjuku Kabukicho – This was somehow the best ramen I had on the trip (out of 7 or so spots). Maybe not the best place to go with a group of people as you are sitting in little personal booths / stalls, but would highly recommend coming here regardless especially if you’re alone. They are open 24/7 but expect a wait around lunch and dinner.

SAVOY Tomato to Cheese – Wow. I mean wow. The best pizza you will ever have in your life, hands down. Small menu, but all exceptional. You may think “Pizza in Tokyo? No thanks.” Please go. I promise you will not be let down.

Butagumi – Small joint serving Tonkatsu. Exceptional in every sense of the word. Prepare for crispy delicious heaven.

Shima – Steakhouse. If you can’t make it to Kyoto (see below) and are craving Kobe or other types of Japanese high quality cuts of meat, look no further than Shima. Depending on when you go, you may need a reservation.

Bifuteki Kawamura Roppongi – Another steakhouse option if Shima isn’t your vibe. A little more elegant, a little more pricey, but a great experience overall.

The Blind Donkey – If for some reason you find yourself craving Japanese / French fusion cuisine, this is your spot. I’m not sure how I ended up here but it was such a special part of the trip for me.

Kyoto Food:

Funaokayama Shimizu – Let the Michelin star speak for itself. Intimate omakase experience, 7 seats inside and that’s it. Make a reservation, and prepare to be blown away.

Gion Nishikawa – This experience was less intimate than Funaokayama, but wow was it amazing. Two Michelin stars and you will understand why after eating here.

MOURIYA GION – If you are looking for Kobe, look no further. This is your spot. Make a reservation and follow the chefs recommendations. I want to eat my last meal here.

Tokyo Shopping –

Watches – If you are into watches, Tokyo is maybe one of the best places on the planet to source truly authentic older gear. There are so many vintage watch stores scattered around the city it’s hard to recommend one. A good resource to start is this guy on tiktok: mikenouveau

Denim – Momotaro was the spot for me. They happened to have my sizes (I’m 6’5 \~185 lb) and the quality is exceptional. If you’re going to choose one place for denim, I would go here. Buy it for life stuff.

Stationary – If you like stationary stuff (nice pens, notebooks, etc) Itoya Ginza is a MUST hit. 8 floors of stationary heaven. I went back 3 separate times.

I found Ginza and Nakano Broadway a bit too posh for my liking. Gucci, LV, etc. I will say the Uniqlo in Ginza is a must hit though. Affordable and higher quality than stuff you will find back home, if you have a Uniqlo store in your country (USA in my case)

Kyoto Shopping –

If there’s one place I can recommend hitting it’s Ichizawa Shinzaburo. Very high quality hand made canvas bags, bucket hats, backpacks, etc. Just a gem of a store.

Shijo-Dori street is an obvious one. A seemingly endless row of shops in an in-door mall. One store I would recommend is Japan Blue Jeans for denim.

As far as attractions (shrines, museums, etc) I found Meiji Jingu was the highlight of Tokyo for me. A huge park with thick forest on all sides. Felt very Ghibli-esque. Senso-ji was just OK to me, especially after seeing all the shrines in Kyoto. It took me forever to walk down the strip of shops to get to Senso-ji, so if you do go I would recommend going early (be warned shops may not be open) or later. Mid day seemed the busiest.

For Kyoto, Fushimi Inari Shrine and Kiyomizu-Dera temple are absolute must hits. Kiyomizu was maybe the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I cried a little when I saw the view from the top. Oh and Kyoto National Museum is a must hit.

Attaching some other tips I thought would be helpful to another first time traveller such as myself. If anyone is interested in nightlife options let me know, the list I have is too extensive to add here. Thanks for reading and enjoy your travels.

Tip #1 – Be Prepared to Walk
This is such a cliché and is mentioned in every post, but I wish I would have taken it more seriously. The last few days of the trip were severely hampered by my inability to walk more than a few miles (I’m shocked my pinky toe hasn’t fallen off my foot tbh). Don’t be me and walk around in air forces all day.

Tip #2 – Spread Out Your Dinner Reservations
Don’t be me and book back to back to back Omakase dinner reservations (what the hell was I thinking, I know). First two days were heaven, but I had to bail on a prepaid dinner on the third day because my stomach just couldn’t handle more sea urchins and fish eggs. I would say give yourself at least 2 or 3 days in between meals where you are going to be trying a lot of seafood you aren’t use to eating.

Tip #3 – If you’re tall, expect to be let down when shopping
If you’re tall and thin like me (6’5, \~180) do not expect to be able to find clothes that fit you. I constantly was asking for the largest sizes they had and nothing really fit. Thankfully I was able to get the denim I was looking forward to most, but again, they were the biggest sizes in the store and I had few options to choose from.

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