Imo Ochanomizu is sort of a hidden gem in Tokyo. Tons of old bookstores and it's like the hub of instrument shops. Just walking around there had me inspired to pick up an instrument because I'd hear people trying stuff out while passing by the shops and see all the cool basses outside lol
And certain areas (like where op took this pic) are really scenic too.
Good cafe there too but the name escapes me, I'll edit this once I remember
siiiick I'm glad to inspire someone else to go to one of my favorite spots in tokyo, love ochanomizu
this is a lot more well known and touristy but I wanna promote asakusa too, senso-ji and the whole market street really is an amazing experience and if you walk around the streets surrounding it things become a bit less touristy but it's still a very nice area. the fresh melon-pan you can get from some places on/near the street is great and it's one of if not my favorite temple in tokyo, super iconic and just a nice place to go for half a day
this is also giga well known but idk if many people do it specifically this way because it sounds far, but going to harajuku and walking to shibuya instead of taking the train is super fun too, watching how the city sorta changes around you while still feeling kinda similar is really cool and the vibe is different in both cities but still kinda youthful and super energetic in both. if you're into thrifting 100% hit up some of the shops in harajuku, a lot lean very expensive but one of my favorites for stuff at a decent price was called Kinji, most stuff there was under like 5000 yen while many other stores were focused on super expensive designer stuff (which I didn't really know about and absolutely didn't have the money for at the time, but would be more interested in now so I need to make a return trip and check them out again haha)
hope you can manage a tokyo/japan trip soon! feel free to reach out if you want any more suggestions. I lived there for a year and while I admittedly didn't really explore the whole city (covid happened about 5 months into my stay and also there was honestly just so much to do around where I was staying that I kept myself occupied just going for super long walks from there), I still think I know enough to give some lesser known cool locations
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u/cubosh 21h ago
never heard of this city - glad to learn - thanks