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  • It’s Mark Wiens here, I’m in Tokyo, Japan, which is one of the world’s largest cities,

  • and there are so many things to see and do, of course, this is one of the best cities

  • in the world for food, so many awesome restaurants and delicious things to eat. I’m cruising

  • around Tokyo, and I’m going to show you what I think are twenty five of the top things

  • to do when youre in Tokyo. So keep watching this video, let’s explore Tokyo together

  • right now.

  • I am at the Ameya Yokocho market, just next to Ueno station and park. There’s almost

  • everything in this market that you can imagine, from cosmetics, I’ve seen big piles of shoes,

  • jackets, clothes, golf stores, like army fatigue stores, and also it’s very famous for buying

  • snacks, so giant snack stores. You can pick yourself up some green tea kit kats. You can

  • spend a few hours here wandering around and exploring for sure.

  • We just took a walk through the park, and now we are about to enter the Meiji shinto

  • shrine. So this is one of the most famous places to visit when youre in Tokyo. Located

  • in the center of Tokyo, yet in the midst of a quiet forested area, Meiji Jingu is one

  • of the landmarks and most important religious shinto monuments in Tokyo. When I visited,

  • I got lucky to see a wedding ceremony taking place.

  • I am at the sumo stadium. Pretty cool place to visit, I’m pretty bummed right now that

  • I’m not here during a fight time. You can come here when it’s not fight season. There’s

  • a little museum at the stadium, it’s pretty small, but there’s a bunch of photographs

  • of the different famous sumo wrestlers, as well as little three d models of basically

  • every kind of winning technique or position. After going to the museum, no visit to Tokyo’s

  • sumo town would be complete without a proper sumo feast, and a dish known as chankonabe.

  • This hearty stew tastes absolutely amazing, and it will fill your belly with extreme satisfaction.

  • We just entered the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, this is one of the famous gardens

  • in Tokyo, central Tokyo, and you actually pay a fee of two hundred yen to enter. At

  • first I wasn’t so sure about paying entrance to visit a park at first, but after walking

  • around, and seeing a few of the amazing gardens, I thought it was well worth it. There’s

  • an impressive green house, Japanese gardens, formal French gardens, and a traditional tea

  • house.

  • Ginza is one of Tokyo’s most prestigious upscale districts, there are plenty of malls,

  • food courts, high end restaurants, and boutiques.

  • And just a short walk from Ginza is Yurakucho train station. Tucked under the railroad tracks

  • youll discovers dozens of izakaya bars and restaurants, each with unique character.

  • I went to a place called Yakitori Ton Ton for a quick beverage and plate of succulent

  • grilled meat.

  • I am at the Tokyo metropolitan government offices, and there is an observatory, I think

  • it’s on the forty fifth floor, offering a three sixty panoramic view of Tokyo, and

  • the view is just unbelievable actually. And the good thing is, you can come here for free,

  • there’s a couple of gift shops it looks like.

  • At the Tsukiji fish market, walk in, and when they see you are a tourist youll get a

  • map. Basically you can only visit the wholesale area and then there’s a bunch of, a few

  • restaurants, and a vegetable area. If you come at five am, you can get in to the fish

  • auction, the tuna auction, but they only allow, I think one hundred and twenty people per

  • day I think to see the auction.

  • It can be pretty tough to get a spot to see the early morning tuna auction, plus you have

  • to wake up early and make the trip there. So if you decide to skip the auction, just

  • head to the wholesale area around nine am when it opens for tourists - I was amazed

  • at the quantity and diversity of seafood available - some things I had never even seen before.

  • When you visit the Tsukiji fish market, eating sushi for breakfast is basically a rite of

  • passage. There are famous restaurants across the street from the wholesale market, and

  • also some great places in the outer market.

  • Sashimi over rice and you can see it has the fatty tuna plus the fish roe, salmon fish

  • roe, and this is sea urchin.

  • Here I am at the Shibuya crossing, which is basically a sea of humanity crossing the street

  • at one time. It’s like fifty meters of solid people.

  • Shibuya is not only famous for its massive street crossing, but it’s also one of the

  • most well known areas in Tokyo when it comes to shopping and fashion. There are some nice

  • department stores, shops, and some good food as well.

  • I am at Sumida river and the park, it’s a good place to come if you want to do some

  • exercise, nice place to take a relaxing stroll. You can choose to do the Tokyo Cruise, and

  • it’s a little pricey, but you get to cruise along the river and see lots of sights, and

  • it’s a nice leisure experience.

  • I am at the Imperial Palace and going to take a walk around and especially see the stone

  • bridge, which is one of the famous things to see, as well as try to get a view of the

  • palace. Tokyo’s Imperial Palace is the residence of the emperor of Japan. You can’t walk

  • into the palace grounds by yourself, but you can apply for a free tour on the official

  • website, and when your booking is accepted youll have the opportunity to take a tour

  • inside the gates.

  • Ueno Park is a huge public park in Tokyo, surrounded by temples and shrines, cafes and

  • restaurants, the Tokyo zoo, and a few noteworthy museums. Throughout the day youll find

  • people walking and jogging, others performing dances and playing music, and others just

  • enjoying the outdoors.

  • The Tokyo Museum, at the far north side of Ueno Park, is one of Tokyo’s most renowned

  • museum, preserving art and artifacts from Japan and throughout Asia.

  • The modern Tokyo Skytree is a six hundred and thirty four meter high communications

  • tower. Within the mega tower are a number of viewing decks and galleries - and they

  • claim that you can see a view of up to seventy kilometers in distance. At the base of the

  • Tokyo Skytree is a huge mall.

  • I’m on a street right now which is known as Tekshita Dori which is a walking street,

  • and it’s especially famous for people dressed up in animation characters, cartoons, all

  • sorts of costumes, cartoon characters, and just a very interesting place, and it’s

  • especially popular with teens and young people.

  • Along with the unique atmosphere and cosplay that takes place, Takeshita Dori street is

  • also extremely famous for the Harajuku crepes and you can choose from dozens of different

  • types. The crepe is fried thin, wrapped into a cone shape, and stuffed with whatever you

  • choose.

  • I’m about to go into Sensoji temple, which is one of the main places to see when youre

  • in Tokyo. I think this is sort of the entrance gate, and then well walk around in there

  • and check it out.

  • Everyday big crowds of both religious pilgrims and countless tourists visit Sensoji temple,

  • one of the most important religious sites in Tokyo. The temple dates back to six twenty

  • eight, making it the oldest temple in the city and a historical treasure. Surrounding

  • the temple youll find little shops and a few places to sample some snacks. I decided

  • to tried a Japanese sweet bread, which was extremely fluffly and quite sweet.

  • I am at the Edo Tokyo museum, it’s quite a structure. The real price is six hundred

  • yen, but if you have this Tokyo handy guide, I got this from the tourist center, you get

  • a one hundred twenty yen discount. So that is just four hundred and eighty yen for the

  • ticket, and that’s a good little discount. Make sure you have this handy guide.

  • Made to look like a warehouse on stilts, though I sort of think it looks like a UFO, the Edo

  • Tokyo Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of Tokyo, Edo being the former name

  • of the city. As soon as you enter, youll cross a wooden replica of the famous Nihonbashi

  • bridge, and you can then walk through the many exhibitions to gain an education of how

  • Tokyo became the city it is today.

  • As you know, I normally like to stick to street food when I travel, but there’s something

  • about Tokyo that makes you want to experience the elegant luxurious side of the dining scene.

  • Food in Tokyo is so incredibly elaborate and so aesthetically pleasing - not only to the

  • taste buds, but to all of your senses. At fancy restaurants in Japan they pay acute

  • attention to every minute detail of the atmosphere and presentation - the food will undoubtedly

  • be outstanding - but the entire experience is what really makes the fine dining in Tokyo

  • so remarkable.

  • If you have the budget to splurge on a nice meal in Tokyo, whether it be international

  • or Japanese cuisine, the experience you have will be unforgettable.

  • I am in the area of Tokyo known as Akihabara. And this is also known as the electronics

  • town, gamers town, geek town, so if you are looking for electronics or if you are a crazy

  • gamer, this is the spot youre going to want to come when you visit Tokyo.

  • Akihabara is home to electronic stores, game stores, arcades, the animation center and

  • those infamous maid cafes. It even has its own temple, where you can often see business

  • men seeking luck for their latest modern ventures.

  • One of the free things you can do here in Tokyo is visit the Tokyo Stock Exchange. So

  • you walk in and youll get a visitors pass, and then you can go through the small Tokyo

  • Stock Exchange Museum, but then you can walk around the whole edge of the floor, edge of

  • the trading floor, and you can pick up these phones and it will give you an education about

  • what’s going on and what theyre doing in these different parts of the exchange.

  • I am at Roppongi, which is a famous area in Tokyo. You can go to the Mori Art Museum,

  • which is a modern art museum, as well as the sky view observatory, which is at the top

  • of one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo, offering a spectacular view of the city. But

  • you got to go to the art museum and then you can also go to the observatory at the same

  • time. Roppongi is also a famous area in Tokyo for its nightlife, lots of bars and clubs

  • here, especially on the weekend nights.

  • I am on the monorail right now heading to Odaiba city. The monorail is really cool,

  • some pretty awesome views. The next station is Odaiba.

  • Made it to Odaiba city, and here at Decks. There’s a couple of things to do here including

  • Legoland. A bunch of different restaurants and cafes, actually I saw a couple of Hawaiian

  • restaurants. You have a beautiful view of Tokyo Bay, and Tokyo skyline. So yah, Odaiba

  • city, kind of an entertainment island.

  • Odaiba is also home to the famous Fuji TV headquarters building and the mega ferris

  • wheel at Palette Town.

  • I am walking around Yoyogi Park which is one of the main central big parks in Tokyo. This

  • is a favorite spot for people doing dances, exercising, walking dogs, and it also seems

  • to be one of the favorite spots for these giant sized, chicken sized crows. Which, yah,

  • theyre like dinosaurs. It’s a nice place to walk around, and a place to people watch,

  • especially on the weekends. I’m here on Tuesday, so there aren’t that many people

  • doing their like dressed up and doing their dances and costumes and stuff like that, but

  • on the weekends, youll see a lot of that.

  • Another very cool area of Tokyo to explore is called Nezu and also Yanaka, which is kind

  • of an old historical area of town. It’s a really quiet area, right now I’m at the

  • Nezu shrine. It’s a really peaceful place, feels like youre far removed from Tokyo.

  • Nezu and Yanaka, two neighborhoods located next to each other, make a great area of Tokyo

  • to just walk around and explore. It’s an area of town that has retained a lot of its

  • traditional charm and Japanese culture. Don’t forget to walk down snake road, a small neighborhood

  • alley that weaves back and forth to earn its name.

  • Walking around Yanaka, youll find little stores as well as restaurants selling meals

  • and little Japanese street food snacks. Thats kind of interesting, I don’t know if it’s

  • sweet or salty.

  • It’s a cold and rainy day here in Tokyo, so it looks like my perfect opportunity to

  • try out my very first onsen, or a Japanese public bath. That was quite an interesting

  • experience. Basically you walk in there, and you pay your fee with a vending mating, and

  • it costs four hundred and fifty yen entrance. And from there you get a locker, and you strip

  • down completely naked, and then you can go into the the series of jacuzzis. There was

  • one indoor jacuzzi with a view of Mount Fuji painted on the wall, there were another couple

  • of baths outide.

  • Today were taking a little day trip to Mount Takao, which is about fifty kilometers

  • outside of central Tokyo, but it feels like youre far removed from the city. Were

  • going to climb the mountain and will be great to get some fresh air and get a little exercise.

  • Located just about fifty kilometers from the center of Tokyo, mount takao is an extremely

  • popular destination for hiking and exercising, and it also doubles as a sacred religious

  • mountain with a number of shrines and temples. If you go on a weekend or holiday, the amount

  • of people can get a little crazy, but I went on weekday morning when it wasn’t too bad

  • at all. The air was fresh, and we got good views of the mountains on one side and Tokyo

  • on the other side.

  • There are a number of different trails you can take, one of them that takes you by the

  • Biwa waterfall.

  • Eating food and exploring the everlasting supply of delicious edible things, is without

  • doubt one of the best things to do when youre in Tokyo, and for myself I can safely say

  • that food was the reason I visited Tokyo.

  • Navigate your way to the bottom of a department store for a culinary frenzy that might will

  • make your head spin from the variety of food at hand. Not only does it taste amazing, but

  • Japanese food is easily some of the most beautiful looking food I’ve ever seen on the planet.

  • So much care and thought are put into each morsel of cuisine.

  • With over one hundred and sixty thousand official restaurants in Tokyo alone, you essentially

  • have a never ending choice of delicious dining spots that will never run out. You could easily

  • spend your entire life discovering Japanese food in Tokyo, and that would be an awesome

  • life too, but just do your best to eat as much as you can during your stay. From the

  • moment you step foot in Japan, your mouth will begin to water, and I’m here to tell

  • you, your taste buds won’t be let down.

  • So that wraps up twenty five of the best things to do in Tokyo when you visit, it’s a city

  • that never gets boring and there’s literally always something to do, see, and eat. Your

  • next step is to get yourself to Tokyo and start to discover it for yourself.

  • Hey it’s Mark Wiens here, just want to say thank you for watching this video, I’m glad

  • you enjoyed it, and I hope it will inspire you to not only visit Tokyo, but also to travel

  • more.

  • Make sure you click thumbs up on this video, and also subscribe to my youtube channel for

  • more food and travel videos.

  • Lastly, check out my freeTokyo travel guide for food lovers”, just click the link

  • below in the description box.

  • Thanks again for watching.

It’s Mark Wiens here, I’m in Tokyo, Japan, which is one of the world’s largest cities,

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