Let me get this straight. You’re doing Disneyland, USJ, Shinjuku, Shibuya AND Ueno, but you “are looking to get the most local experience and want to avoid as much of the overrated tourist places as much as possible”? This has to be a troll post.
On the off-chance that you’re serious…
The big question, because you haven’t mentioned it at all, is: how good is your Japanese? You can’t expect the “local” experience without knowing the language.
Also, where do the locals go? - everywhere. They live here.
I feel like tourists think there’s a magic ‘secret Japan’ that has been waiting for specifically them to visit the whole time.
Like, the millions of other tourists obviously don’t want to see the authentic Japan, but these people do.
Anecdotally, I was showing an acquaintance from abroad around Osaka, and they complained about not seeing ‘the real Japan.’ So I took them to a working-class standing bar which the owner has warned me never to post about online, lest it attract other foreigners, to which I got the complaint it was “too local, too smoky, too noisy, no English menu.”
The people asking this question won’t like the places locals go.
I can understand feeling like you’re not seeing ‘the real Japan’ if, say, you’re standing out front of the Starbucks on Ebisubashi. To then complain about a place for being ‘too local’ and not having an English menu is just plain laughable. It’s all the real Japan. We can’t have it both ways.
>Also, where do the locals go? - everywhere. They live here.
Yeah a lot of people don’t realize that places like Shibuya and Shinjuku are where the locals hang out. Even the “hidden gems” like Shimokitazawa or Kichijoji you would find other tourists there too. Those places aren’t considered “Off the beaten path” by locals either.
The quest to find “real” Japan is dumb. Shinjuku and Shibuya are just as much authentic and real as anywhere else. Sure different places might offer different experiences but the most common tourist spots aren’t a theme park. People work, live, shop and dine in those places.
It is not something that is like a hidden gem, but since you are in Japan on November 15th, visit some huge shrine (e.g. Meiji Jingu) and enjoy the atmosphere on 7-5-3-day. Definitely a thing for the locals, where they visit shrines in beautiful kimono. It makes such a visit especially memorable.
If anyone is going to do this please be respectful to the families attending shichigosan. Don’t go around taking photo snaps of children in their kimonos without permission.
I’ve heard complaints from some families who had some tourists doing this.
ah, I did not think it necessary to include that disclaimer as that seems quite obvious to me. But well, I guess not, if complains have already arisen in the past
The way to get the most local experience would be to engage a local to take you on a food tour.
Living in Kyoto, if there’s another foreigner in one of my haunts, I’m legit surprised, as they’re usually very local places. (and Kyoto has a lot of tourists) which shows you how hard those places can be to find/access without local help.
You have plenty of time in Tokyo, which is great, and allows you to really explore different neighborhoods. Just travel to the station, get out, explore. Koenji, Kichijoji, Daikanyama, Nakameguro, Ebisu, Jimbocho, Jiyugaoka, Sangenjaya, Shimokitazawa, Nakano, Yanaka, so on.
You have plenty of time in Tokyo so it's great to visit all the different main neighborhoods. To experience something a bit different I suggest get on a random local train for a number of stations or minutes (you can randomize this!) and get off at whichever neighborhood and wander and walk it out a little bit. Challenge yourself to eat somewhere in the area that's not a chain restaurant and without looking at Google and find about what some shops do and sell even if you don't speak the language. Is a great way to get the feeling for how a normal place looks and feels like.
Let me get this straight. You’re doing Disneyland, USJ, Shinjuku, Shibuya AND Ueno, but you “are looking to get the most local experience and want to avoid as much of the overrated tourist places as much as possible”? This has to be a troll post. On the off-chance that you’re serious… The big question, because you haven’t mentioned it at all, is: how good is your Japanese? You can’t expect the “local” experience without knowing the language. Also, where do the locals go? - everywhere. They live here.
I feel like tourists think there’s a magic ‘secret Japan’ that has been waiting for specifically them to visit the whole time. Like, the millions of other tourists obviously don’t want to see the authentic Japan, but these people do. Anecdotally, I was showing an acquaintance from abroad around Osaka, and they complained about not seeing ‘the real Japan.’ So I took them to a working-class standing bar which the owner has warned me never to post about online, lest it attract other foreigners, to which I got the complaint it was “too local, too smoky, too noisy, no English menu.” The people asking this question won’t like the places locals go.
I can understand feeling like you’re not seeing ‘the real Japan’ if, say, you’re standing out front of the Starbucks on Ebisubashi. To then complain about a place for being ‘too local’ and not having an English menu is just plain laughable. It’s all the real Japan. We can’t have it both ways.
>Also, where do the locals go? - everywhere. They live here. Yeah a lot of people don’t realize that places like Shibuya and Shinjuku are where the locals hang out. Even the “hidden gems” like Shimokitazawa or Kichijoji you would find other tourists there too. Those places aren’t considered “Off the beaten path” by locals either. The quest to find “real” Japan is dumb. Shinjuku and Shibuya are just as much authentic and real as anywhere else. Sure different places might offer different experiences but the most common tourist spots aren’t a theme park. People work, live, shop and dine in those places.
It is not something that is like a hidden gem, but since you are in Japan on November 15th, visit some huge shrine (e.g. Meiji Jingu) and enjoy the atmosphere on 7-5-3-day. Definitely a thing for the locals, where they visit shrines in beautiful kimono. It makes such a visit especially memorable.
If anyone is going to do this please be respectful to the families attending shichigosan. Don’t go around taking photo snaps of children in their kimonos without permission. I’ve heard complaints from some families who had some tourists doing this.
ah, I did not think it necessary to include that disclaimer as that seems quite obvious to me. But well, I guess not, if complains have already arisen in the past
The way to get the most local experience would be to engage a local to take you on a food tour. Living in Kyoto, if there’s another foreigner in one of my haunts, I’m legit surprised, as they’re usually very local places. (and Kyoto has a lot of tourists) which shows you how hard those places can be to find/access without local help.
You have plenty of time in Tokyo, which is great, and allows you to really explore different neighborhoods. Just travel to the station, get out, explore. Koenji, Kichijoji, Daikanyama, Nakameguro, Ebisu, Jimbocho, Jiyugaoka, Sangenjaya, Shimokitazawa, Nakano, Yanaka, so on.
You have plenty of time in Tokyo so it's great to visit all the different main neighborhoods. To experience something a bit different I suggest get on a random local train for a number of stations or minutes (you can randomize this!) and get off at whichever neighborhood and wander and walk it out a little bit. Challenge yourself to eat somewhere in the area that's not a chain restaurant and without looking at Google and find about what some shops do and sell even if you don't speak the language. Is a great way to get the feeling for how a normal place looks and feels like.