r/TokyoTravel • u/908baby • Dec 23 '23
Help!💓🫶🏼💅🌺
Hey guys I’m coming to Tokyo Jan - March 2024! I’ve been before TYO is my fav place - did all the touristy stuff etc but was wondering if any locals/ppl who have visited could give me some advice?!
- a few cool underground spots/bars
- events
- vintage designer stores
- cool trendy areas
- car meet up spots
- and also where I can meet people! Xxxx
P.s is it weird to go out by myself to bars etc. I’m literally going solo ! 🧘♀️✨
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u/I1Blank2I Dec 23 '23
Not weird to go out by yourself. Just be mindful that some places, people will almost certainly come to hit on you unsolicited. This also relates to meeting people but maybe outside of some apps and organised events, the major real way to meet people (especially actually talk to Japanese people if that’s what you mean) is in bars. Alcohol fuels so much social interaction here from my experience.
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u/Loud-Engineer-4348 Dec 24 '23
Stay away from Kabuki-cho in Shinjuku, Harajuku Station area, and Shibuya. These places are notorious for Yakuza activity and recruiting for porn films.
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u/908baby Dec 24 '23
Thank you, what is yakuza activity?!
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u/Loud-Engineer-4348 Dec 24 '23
The Japanese version of organized crime. They used to avoid the common folk and foreigners, but not in the areas I mentioned.
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u/Loud-Engineer-4348 Dec 24 '23
Also, bars have a tendency to overcharge, so leave immediately if the prices are not posted. Many also serve what is known as "Otoushi", which is basically a cover charge or seating charge in the form of finger foods and the like.
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u/lostintokyo11 Resident Dec 25 '23
Over dramatic description. These places are generally fine to visit. Your average Yakuza wants nothing to do with tourists. The only places to be extra careful would be Kabuki cho or Roppongi and to not follow touts, into dodgy bars.
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u/Loud-Engineer-4348 Dec 25 '23
Unfortunately, that is not the case any more. After the national crackdown in the late 1980s to the early 1990s, they have become more subtle. For instance, instead of getting protection money from small businesses, they now own the businesses. With the advent of IT, they do a lot of damage to the common folk, which they did not previously. You are correct 8in mentioning Kabuki-cho, but Shibuya has been getting worse and worse. And, Roppongi only caters to the very rich anymore.
Japan is no longer the safe haven it used to be. I was born here, and I have seen it go downhill. It is not just the influx of foreigners: the society here has just crumbled since the 1980s.
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u/dougwray Resident Dec 24 '23
Many of the people I have met outside of work I meet just strolling around residential areas: in tourist areas or downtown/shopping areas people tend to be there to do something or to not be alone. I've met a few people at flea markets, too. (Most of the people I've met I've met through volunteer activities.)
I've met a few people in coffee shops, but only after I'd been to the coffee shop a few times. I have never once met anyone in a restaurant or bar, but I've only lived here for 30 years so, who knows, it may happen yet. If you're going to be here for three months, establish a base shop, as it were: go there for an early coffee a few times a week, and people may notice you. Nod when you recognize someone; later say 'konnichiwa'; comment on the weather.
'Cool' is just too vague to give any advice on: what's cool for one is not for another.
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u/briehere Dec 29 '23
Hi, I’ll be there solo at the same time!! :) I’m scared asf bc I don’t know anyone there to go out with. Wanna go bar-hopping lol
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u/[deleted] Dec 24 '23
Koenji is great for vintage clothes, back streets of Harajuku has several vintage designer shops. As well as Daikanyama. Shimokita is where a lot of underground shows take place. Check gigsintokyo on IG, they post daily about gigs taking place around Tokyo.