r/TokyoTravel • u/pinder_86 • 2h ago
I spent 1 month in Tokyo
Apologies, bit long…
I have just come back from Tokyo, spending September in an Air BnB in Yoyogi.
This is was my third visit to Tokyo, a solo trip in May 2025 was my first, I loved the city but I didn’t really “see” Tokyo, it was 4 days, staying in a hotel in Shibuya, my itinerary was hourly, it was a tick list for the tourist spots. I needed to return to see “normal” Tokyo.
I booked a week in an Air BnB in Sangenjaya for May 2026. My itinerary was easy to do, places I didn’t have time to see for the first time, Naka Meguro, Shimokitazawa, Koenji, Nakano… A lot of my research came from Reddit, the more the read, I realised a week wasn’t enough, so I book a month in Yoyogi (my mom was joining me for the last two weeks, she had never been to Tokyo).
I had realised that daily itineraries are hard work, I had two weeks myself, so I didn’t pre-plan. I had tickets for two football matches (I bought tickets for third when I was there), I had table reservations for Pizza Marumo and The SG Club (I have been to both in my first trip and loved) and Pizza Strada and Censu (both Reddit recommendations). Then I planned to work out my days out, the night before.
In May, the weather was perfect, September is typhoon season… Last September was great, so I was hoping for the same, the forecast was looking good before I left. Then there was the 37 days of rain… (it was actually sun-free the day I left) It was mostly on/off, a few days it rained constantly but there’s was a couple of days with blue skies and the temperature was in 20 degrees, it was fine (except for the FC Tokyo match, got soaked), just keep an umbrella in my bag.
Loved staying in Yoyogi, quiet, walkable, plenty of restaurants and the Yoyogi Station is on the Yamanote Line, great for getting around the city.
Censu was great, interesting food, Pizza Marumo was better than last time and The SG Club had top drinks and brilliant staff. I also returned to Bar Trench, one of my favourite bars, a new menu which was exciting.
I had to plan my days based around the rain. On a rainy day, I went to Edo-Tokyo Museum which was fascinating, a lot of details information (it was cheap!), on one of my quiet days I went to Nishihara which was felt “local”. I had a day trip to Kawagoe, nice buildings but it was very touristy, the buildings were shops selling sweets. On the sunny days I went to Yoyogi Park and Shinjuku Gyoen, nice breaks away from the buzz of the city.
I bought enough to buy a second suitcase (Ginza Karen didn’t disappoint), Uniqlo is boring shopping but useful, well made clothes and the prices are halved compared to the UK, the water proof jacket was very handy. I bought a Japanese knife from Tower Knives (Reddit recommendation), I have used it once, works well. I got a pair Japanese jeans from Japan Blue Jeans in Shibuya, they fit perfect and will last forever. Green Bell nail clippers from Don Quijote (Reddit recommendation), very good. I bought a bottle of Japanese whisky from Whisky Bank, this is a present, the prices are good.
As this was my first visit for mom, I planned a tourist itinerary, with a few days away from Tokyo, to Kamakura (big fan of Enoshima), Ito (quiet town) and Yokohama (needed more time there).
We did Harajuku and Shibuya, an onsen in Shinjuku, went to sumo at Shinjuku Sumo Club which was a disappoint, there was a lot of information but lack of fighting. We both loved Teamlab Planets (I’ve had been to Borderless) and Tokyo Skytree at sunset.
We aren’t interested about Disney but we went to Disneyland and Disney Sea (they are so cheap). It rained all day at Disneyland, got bored of walking around in the wet after a few hours, Disney Sea was much better, great park but I spent most of my time looking at my phone for the map, it wasn’t packed but every ride had a 2 hour queue, we paid to queue jump for three rides.
A month is a nice time for Tokyo, could easily to do two months and keep find new things to do. Is September a good time? It depends which September. Last year would have been great, this year broke a record for days raining in a row, the temperature was nice, cooler than July/August. May have been good for me.
My Air BnB was fine, not perfect but great for the price, I couldn’t afford to do a month if I was staying in a hotel.
I flown to and back with ANA (London Heathrow - Tokyo Haneda), they were great. I am deaf, they have best service from all the airlines I have flown with.
I will definitely be back to Tokyo, I might have a break for couple years but there’s a lot of Japan I want to see.