For years, I’ve heard enthralling stories of the client dinners with obligatory raw horse sashimi, sake- and whiskey-soaked karaoke marathons, sleeping in small morgue-style roll-out compartments, vending machines that sell used panties, love motels, and so on.
The movies and media depict grown adults seemingly constantly running around busy city streets clad in furry animal suits, maid costumes, or anime outfits, street racers in souped-up Toyota Supras, katana-wielding Yakuza mobsters, and seriously overworked, suicidal salarymen.
If you’re anything like me, Japan intrigues you, but it appears overwhelmingly confusing to navigate and oppressively expensive with its bizarre culture and notorious prices.
But the reality differs from the reputation, as my friend Chris Kirkland, co-founder of TokyoCheapo.com, is here to show us. Chris moved to Tokyo in 2006, and being of British roots, has a “natural instinct for being a complete cheap-arse and spending as little money as possible” in his own words.
He says, if you think Tokyo is expensive, think again! That’s why they’re writing the definitive book on the subject to make sure you have more fun, better experiences, and top-notch eats without overpaying or missing out.
The below quick guide will get nomads who want to visit Tokyo started on the right foot, and you can preorder your copy of the Tokyo Cheapo ebook now — your full, in-depth guide to having an amazing Tokyo experience without the expensive price tag.
Kanpai!
Tokyo for Nomads
Tokyo is an international hobo’s utopia. It’s one of the safest cities on the planet, clean, convenient and “everything works” (difficult to explain this in a sentence, but come here and you’ll see what I mean!). Plus, as the world’s largest city, there’s a gargantuan amount of things to do, eat and keep you entertained. There are both beaches and mountains within an hour on the super-efficient Tokyo public transport system. And let’s not forget the absolutely world-class restaurants — Tokyo has way more Michelin-star restaurants than Paris.
Moreover, contrary to its (out of date) reputation, Tokyo is pretty damn cheap for a capital city of a major developed country.
So why isn’t it inundated with nomad workers, their laptops clogging up all the available cafe wifi bandwidth? Three basic reasons:
Not many people know it as a nomad destination (yet).
While fairly cheap, it’s still over double the price of spots like Chiang Mai.
For newbies, Japan can be difficult to integrate into and understand.
Another key factor is the fact that accommodation can become hard to find during peak tourist season.
Visa Duration
Many nationalities are granted a 90-day tourist visa on arrival (which is a visa waiver so no need to do anything in advance). Some countries, including the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, can extend the 90-day tourist visa to 180 days after arrival; it requires a few hours of form-filling and queuing at the immigration bureau, but is otherwise pretty straightforward.
Theoretically you can spend up to 6 months in a 12-month period in Japan on a tourist visa. You may be refused entry if you try and come back too early. Also, it’s important to note that you should never overstay your visa, not even for a few hours. For overstaying, you’ll be arrested at the airport, quite likely fined, and possibly barred from entering the country again.
Getting Around
Suica card – buy one as soon as you arrive
Tokyo’s public transport is probably the best in the world with one caveat (which I’ll get to in a minute). The city boasts more train/subway stations (503) than any other, and with very frequent trains running on time to the second it’s very smooth for getting around.
Don’t be daunted by the big and complex maps, or all the fiddly ticket system (which residents often don’t understand either), there’s just two things you need to know to get around hassle free:
Get a Suica (or Pasmo) IC card as soon as you arrive. You can buy one at the train station at the airport.
Use either the Jorudan Website or trains.jp app to plan out your journey.
You can also ask train staff for help (as you might expect from Japanese attention to detail, they have encyclopedic knowledge of the routes), but not that many of them can communicate well in English.
The caveat to this amazing transport system is that it completely stops at night, with expensive taxis being the ONLY possible means of getting home. So like Cinderella, you’d better get to your carriage before midnight — or even earlier as most lines stop around midnight, so if you have more than a 30-minute journey you’ll want to get on the train in good time.
Getting Connected
Sadly getting internet access is still not as simple as in most of the rest of the world. For short stays, the easiest option is getting a “tourist” data SIM from Bic Camera in Shibuya, Shinjuku, or Yurakucho (assuming you have an unlocked smartphone). Wifi in cafes is getting better, but still not a sure bet; check out this list of good cafes with wifi and this list of drop-in coworking spaces. Also all Starbucks have free wifi (which you’ll be best off registering for in advance)
There are also wifi routers for rent at the airport, but these are pricey for more than a few days.
It’s not easy to get a local phone number in Japan as proof of residence is technically required. Nor would I recommend it, since mobile phone plans are expensive in Japan, if you really need a local number get a “Skype In” or VOIP number.
Where To Stay
Photo by Marieve 瑞香 Inoue used under CC
The best area to base yourself is somewhere within 5 miles of Shibuya. Most of the fun happens in this area. The downside is that it’s also quite tricky to find cheap accommodation here. Most of the budget options (hostels, etc.) are on the other side of the city in Asakusa, which is a beautiful historical neighbourhood, but a little quieter and old fashioned.
The absolute cheapest accommodation option is to stay in a “manga cafe” or internet cafe, but this will probably get tiring after more than a few nights. You can still find reasonably priced hotels in central Tokyo, though they get booked up quickly in peak seasons (spring and autumn). Even the cheapest hotels in Tokyo are very clean and comfortable, if a little small.
Staying Longer Term
Longer term guest/share houses, AirBnBs or serviced apartments are more economical. For share houses, you can try this website, also craigslist. For English-speaking serviced apartments, try Sakura House, Connect House and MyStays.
Being Productive
Downstairs Coffee
Tokyo has a wide range of places to work from. Let’s start with coworking spaces that accept “drop-in” visits:
Coworking Spaces
Co Edo
Very friendly coworking space on the east side of the city, 1,000 yen/day, 500 yen/2hours
Open Office-Copernica
Casual coworking spot on the west side of the city in Koenji, 1,000 yen/day, 500 yen/2 hours
N.B. It closes at 5 pm (and turns into a bar)
Creative Lounge MOV
High-end uber cool coworking space in the heart of Shibuya, 800 yen/hour, initial member card fee 600 yen
N.B. They have monthly memberships which are much better value
Shinjuku Travelers Coworking
Very foreigner friendly spot in Shinjuku, 1,000-1500 yen/day, 600 yen/2hours
Co-working & Cafe Beez
Good value coworking in Shibuya, 400 yen/hour
Compass Habitat Coworking
Multi-use space – bilingual staff, gym, cafe, coworking and lounge, also mention “Tokyo Cheapo” for a free trial 5,000 yen/day, 2,000 yen/2 hours (plus tax)
See this article for a comprehensive list of coworking spots that accept per hour/day visitors.
Cafes with Wifi
With the notable exception of Starbucks, Tokyo is still a bit of a wifi desert. Here’s an article with a long list of nice cafes you can plonk your laptop down and work in, and I include a handpicked list of favourites below:
Downstairs Coffee – Mercedes Benz Connection (cafe)
Good coffee, free wifi in Roppongi opposite Midtown
niko and … Tokyo (cafe)
Power outlets, nice workable tables right in the middle of Harajuku, on Meiji Dori.
EA Gran
Cafe conveniently located in Roppongi Hills, quiet in the mornings with drinks starting from 320 yen.
Sign Cafe, Gaenmae
Small chain of stylish cafes, here’s the Gaenmae shop just by Gaenmae Station. The also have a few other branches of cafes and restaurants with some other brand names as well.
Apart from cafes and coworking spaces, convenience stores often have both seating and free wifi, albeit sometimes for only 15 minutes at a time. If you come during the right seasons (spring and fall), you might find the cheapo gold an outdoor terrace convenience store with free wifi.
Local Business Meetups
The expat business/internet scene is still quite small. There’s a few meetups on Meetup.com and some others on Doorkeeper.jp. They vary in quality, but generally more niche and specific themed events tend to be better than generic “business” meetups, which can often feel like a flashback to the ‘80s. Of note is the Tokyo Start Up Circle, Tokyo Bitcoin Meetup, Tokyo iOS Meetup, UX Talk Tokyo and the Hacker News Meetup if you’re a hardcore dev.
Another interesting event that’s usually full of creative types is Pechakucha Tokyo.
Gyms and Fitness
Tokyo has its fair share of gyms and exercise facilities, though to a new visitor they can be tricky to find!
Firstly, in true Asian style there’s lots of parks with exercise areas, both running tracks and exercise equipment. With the help of Google maps or just wandering around your neighbourhood you’ll probably be able to find a good spot within walking distance suitable for some sort of basic outdoor workout. It’s also quite an experience because the exercise areas are almost only used by local pensioners!
If you’d like to use proper gym equipment or swim, there are two options. The cheaper option is to use one of the government-provided centers like this one in shibuya, this one in Shinjuku with a squat rack, and this swimming pool in Meguro. The government facilities are typically 300-500 yen per visit.
For a more high-end experience, Golds Gym is probably the most foreigner capable commercial gym in Tokyo, plus they have a drop-in rates and a much more economical single month membership offering. Although their website is in Japanese, they usually have English-speaking staff, so the best bet would be to find the nearest gym using this map and pop down.
Things To Do
As you’d expect from the world’s largest city, there’s more than enough to keep you busy when you’re not working. To get you started, here’s a list of 101 free and cheap things to do in Tokyo. Here are some more specific ideas:
Festivals
Pretty much every week of the year, but particularly in the summer, you can find a traditional festival in Tokyo. These are a real treat—always free, good fun and a great taste of Japanese culture. We usually list all the major festivals in the events section of Tokyo Cheapo.
Nightlife
Shibuya – a halloween mayhem
Tokyo has a rich and varied nightlife, though it can get a bit pricey going to clubs with entry fees often over 3,000 yen. Time Out and iFlyer are good English-language sources for nightlife listings. In general, I’d recommend Shibuya and surrounding Ebisu, Daikanyama, Nakameguro as the best areas to go clubbing. Roppongi, whilst at night is full of expats and foreigners, tends to be a much less satisfactory experience.
Also worth checking out is Golden Gai in Shinjuku; it’s a series of alleys lined with tiny ramshackle bars, many friendly and accustomed to English-speaking tourists. If “hole in the wall” watering holes are your thing, then be sure to check out Nonbei Yokocho in Shibuya as well.
Finally if you happen to be in Tokyo during Halloween, you are in for a massive (trick or) treat!
Eating Out
I strongly advise eating at a Japanese eatery, i.e. Japanese food. Firstly, you can eat with impunity because pretty much all the Japanese restaurants in Tokyo are amazing, you really don’t need a recommendation. Then there’s the fact that Japanese food can be extremely cheap in Tokyo, of particular note are soba, udon and ramen noodles, stand up or conveyor belt “kaiten” sushi, “teishoku” fish meals and the Japanese pub style dining called an “izakaya”. If you need some specific recommendations, Tokyo Cheapo has numerous good value eating options and Bento.com caters for all tastes. There’s also some great foodie apps for Tokyo, albeit in Japanese! Tabelog is probably the best, I’d avoid the Gurunavi English site, since it’s listings are usually more expensive restaurants and all are paid listings rather than community rated.
Further Resources
(Shameless plug) Check out TokyoCheapo.com for endless reams of advice on life in Tokyo with an eye for good value. And order our book here — it’ll pay for itself many times over in the time and money it saves you.
Timeout Tokyo has good English info on things to do.
Gaijin Pot has some entertaining and sometimes practical content about life in Japan.
Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: Taking on Tokyo: The Nomad’s Guide
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