Tokyo Edition

A post-holiday debrief and truly useful travel guide.

Sit down with our resident Japanese native, Marina, to hear about her latest trip and favourite places in the land of the rising sun.

So, where are you taking us?

Tokyo, Japan!

Let’s get dreaming. What does your perfect day look like there, where time/money/distance aren’t objects?

I’m waking up at All Day Place Shibuya with my boyfriend AJ, then grabbing a coffee and snack at LOU to start the day.

We’d swing by Lawson for their iconic egg sandwich — honestly, the best thing ever (Anthony Bourdain approved!). I’d love to eat it with him and just chat a bit.

In this scenario it's a weekend, so from there I'd head to the Oi Racecourse for the flea market - so many treasures to trawl here! I love it.

Next stop: to Shinjuku for some more shopping, definitely visiting Beams and The Four-Eyed store.

Lunch would be at Tsujita in Ginza for tsukemen ramen.

After that, I’d swing by Atelier Matcha for an afternoon pick-me-up, then head toward Daikanyama T-Site — my dream bookstore complex filled with every book, magazine, and zine you could imagine, plus cool art and other cool random things. I could easily spend hours there. They have samples of most titles, plus an incredible archive of vintage mags you can browse at the café. I love that print is so not dead in Japan, it’s thriving.

To end the day, I'm having dinner at Tatemichiya, a punk, rock ‘n roll-y vibe izakaya with amazing food. If you look closely on the wall you’ll spot original Yoshitomo Nara sketches on the wall as well as signatures from so many rock stars. The owner is also SO iconic! You must get the avocado steak.

Adding this in here because I’m also going to assume in this scenario the amount of food I can eat isn’t an object either (importantly):

Second dinner! I'm going to Yasubei of Ebisu for my favourite dumplings and potato salad evaaaaa!

Goodnight!

What makes Tokyo so welcoming to you?

I love Japan, it’s my second home! The people are so nice and accommodating, honestly the best customer service ever. Everything is just so convenient and easy, from well designed train systems to vending machines to order food.

Where did you stay?

I stayed at All Day Place in Shibuya — I LOVE it here. The rooms are a bit small but the location and staff are 10/10. Also, the cafe and Mikkellar Beer Bar attached are some of my favourite places to grab a drink.

Did anything about Tokyo surprise you?

I’ve been to Japan a bunch of times before, but going over this time with more of a focus on fashion, I was genuinely surprised. Considering how conformist and collectivist the culture can be, it was so cool to see how many people (at least in the city) use fashion and accessories as a way to express themselves — what they love, their values, their personality, etc.

Whether it’s wearing a tee repping their favourite café, artist, or brand, accessorising bags with charms, or even displaying collectables in them, people really use fashion to communicate who they are and what they're into.

Japanese everyday street style also feels less trend-driven than it is here in Australia, it's more aesthetically-driven. People seem to shop based on specific looks or what specific brands have created, rather than chasing overarching trends. It means that everyone ends up looking a bit more unique, whereas here in Aus, it can sometimes feel like everyone’s wearing the same thing (lol).

What initially inspired you to visit?

I’m Japanese so I’ve been going since I was born, twice a year at least.

This particular trip was a holiday for my boyfriend’s 30th to share the culture with him, also to visit family!

How can someone make their experience unique? Is there a hidden gem they should seek, an authentic dining adventure to go on, maybe a vintage store to trawl?

Sorry, kind of a boring answer — I think with Japan, especially in the cities, there are just an infinite amount of delicious, cool and amazing places so I'd recommend just walking around and stumbling across the best of the best!

What are three must-haves on your travel packing list?

An empty suitcase, a strong person to carry my bags and cute shoes that are easy to slip on and off (most changerooms and some restaurants ask you to remove your shoes).

Was there anything you didn’t enjoy about Tokyo, or anything to be aware of before travelling?

Trains stop at 12pm so party where you're staying! Otherwise, it’s an expensive taxi home.

Has Tokyo influenced your creativity at all?

1000000% — there’s just so much creative inspiration to absorb in Japan! Whether it’s randomly stumbling across an incredible Tadao Ando building or window shopping and seeing how both Japanese and international brands take visual merchandising to the next level (seriously, I feel like no one really goes all out with VM in Aus). Japan just nails creativity across the board.

It makes sense though — when I think of Japan, I immediately think of precision, perfectionism, and attention to detail. There’s also such a rich cultural and historical depth when it comes to architecture, art, and fashion, which adds this incredible layer of creativity to explore. I love when creativity is paired with deep knowledge and research, and Japan does that so well.

To quote Anthony Bourdain:

Tokyo was so dense, so crowded with… stuff, so complicated, tempting, delicious, and seemingly unknowable: layer upon layer of maddeningly interesting izakayas in one building alone. One city block a life's work of exploration.

He couldn't have described it better!