5 Travel Tips from a Trip to Tokyo
Heyo!
After being in Tokyo for 8 days, I felt it would be helpful to share some learnings from the trip...
Google Maps Offline. Clutch for traveling abroad if you have limited service (though I also purchased a SIM card which was a great call). Saved maps for offline use helped us navigate easily, stress-free and save data.
Buy a book about the place you’re going, to add some character and excitement/anticipation. Studies show just the act of planning a vacation boosts happiness. I bought Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bordain. In the book, he explores the “culinary underbelly” of Tokyo (among many other places), which had me salivating at the thought of tasting ramen and fresh sushi (both of which most certainly lived up to my anticipation).
Travel books are fine (Wildsam Field Guides are my favorite), but asking people you trust for their recommendations is way better. We asked about 10 people, made a mega-google doc, found overlapping recs, and then I saved my top spots on my google map. This way, when we were at, say, Teamlab Borderless across town and needed lunch, I could pull up my map and see a Japanese curry spot nearby, and voila - bomb lunch was served! And, now I have a really well-curated google map saved, that I can share with people when they ask me for my Tokyo recs (here it is, in case you’re planning a trip!).
Google Translate, iPhone app (this week’s post is not sponsored by Google, but should be, apparently). Super easy and fun, especially at a restaurant. My go-to phrase: “Saikō no tabemono o motte kite kuremasen ka?” It means: “Can you bring us your best food?” They would typically giggle, then we’d say (or show them): “Watashitachi wa anata o shinrai shite imasu”, which translates to: “We trust you”. A few minutes later, the best dishes would start rolling out - things we never would have discovered had we not asked (in their language).
Some other quick tips:
Flight: booked through Scott’s Cheap Flights (free version!)
Sleep: Airbnb (we also did an Airbnb Experience, which I highly recommend!)
Consumed: downloaded movies/shows on Netflix, podcasts on Spotify, books on Audible/Kindle - all for offline use on the plane/without service while abroad
What are your favorite travel hacks or recommendations? Drop ‘em in the comments below or ping me directly.
My grandpa use to say: “it’s good to go away, and good to come home”. Every trip I go on, I seem to resonate with this more and more…
Until next time,
Brendan J Short
