A Guide to Your First Hour in Tokyo, Japan

All info is 100% my personal recommendations, none of this is sponsored content (although tourism Japan, I am open to your funding).

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[ThatJapaneseManYuta]

I'm so impressed that you are able to make high-quality videos in a short amount of time while having a family and a job.

[adtiletile]

No one ever mentions that bumping into a trash can in Japan is equivalent to finding a shiny legendary pokemon.

[peterfoss]

Very good. I agree with everything you say but I'd add one more warning about trains. If a train turns up at your platform 1 minute before your train is due, it's probably the wrong train.

[jemand]

My first hour advice, if you arrive in Haneda at least:
stroll through the restaurant "district" and all the shops in the lower floor and soak in the feeling of being in japan. I loved this first hour. Just sat in a random restaurant, pointed at a random dish and ate my way into japan.

[rowbearly]

I came to Japan, reluctantly, for a holiday, in 1999. Been here 20 years. Careful, it gets under your skin.

[christinegmcintydfre]

This might just be the most useful video for me on youtube. Thank you. You likely just saved my husband and I some serious melt downs when landing in tokyo with two excited and jet lagged kids. .

[myfriendwolf]

The quality of this video is exceptional. I can't imagine how long all the research/planning, footage, and editing must have taken. Amazing job! 😁🇯🇵

[Dragonnox]

I'd also add that even if something happens and you get lost or aren't sure what train to get, the locals are very friendly and are usually more than willing to help. I visited Tokyo last month and people were often coming up to me when they saw me looking at a metro map and pointing me in the right direction. I didn't feel stressed about it at all.

[justin]

For your first hour *after* leaving the airport, I personally recommend making an earnest attempt at just getting lost, though within a reasonable context.

For the more open and adventurous types, it's a no-brainer why that's a good option; but I also think the non-adventurous types would get a lot out of it. I took the train straight from Narita to Shinjuku, and just wandered around with my luggage "trying" to find my hotel. My main focus wasn't actually trying to get to my hotel, but to take in the sights while being ready to settle in if I actually found it. It was a great first 2 hours, where I immediately got immersed in the culture and got to interact with the locals.

[hgxnorton]

First thing that happened to me when I got off the plane was being interviewed for TV lol

[briandemodulated]

One small detail I learned through trial-by-fire was that you're supposed to pay some cashiers by placing your money in a small bowl. Don't hand it to the cashier, even though they will hand your change back to you. I got a bit of a scowl from a cashier for not being aware of this custom.

[LifeWhereImFrom]

The one where I spend just under 17 minutes explaining how to tackle your first 60! And even then, I know you kind viewers will tell me all that I've gotten wrong :-) But seriously, what are the things I've missed? More importantly (because I can't change this video anymore), what would you like to see if I created a video on how to survive the next 23 hours?

[noyler]

I travel to Japan often and know how all of this stuff works. With that being said, I just want to say this video is very accurate and so so helpful for anyone that is new to all of this. I really loved how efficient and calmly you explained everything. Awesome stuff. I'll definitely be sharing

[colinduran]

I just arrived in Tokyo yesterday!!! I will be here for a month and I’m so excited!!!

[kiminopeters]

Hi! I'm a wheelchaired person and my dream is to travel to Kyoto but I'm afraid that I won't be able to go there because all the shrines and monuments that I've seen have a lot of stairs...
Could you make some video with wheelchair friendly turist spots? I would be very gratefull!

[conjestion]

This is really well researched! But I just want to add that in case you're in Tokyo for a short trip (like 3 days) and want to make the best of it, I highly recommend the Tokyo Subway Ticket (24, 48, 72hrs). You can use it on all the subway conpany but not on JR trains. I was able to go to all of the popular tourist spots in Tokyo and didn't spend a ton of transpo money coz of this. They also have a tourist train map that will show where you can go down to visit a tourist spot.

[slloo]

Wonderful guide ! Just wanted to share my experience in getting out of narita airport travelling with children and luggages. I opted to book a hotel which was served by the airport limousine bus to avoid the transfers between the train lines and climbing up and down stairs and get point to point with less hassle. Just an option to consider for those with young kids and luggage.

[gideonroos]

My aunt and I were in Japan beginning of December last year, and we did almost everything you mentioned in this video, save the wifi. We just used public wifi.

Also, regarding the wifi, Japan has this app (I can't remember the name) that has an internal list of all the free wifi points in the country. You just download the app, register once, and then click logon in the app. It searches for an availible free wifi network and logs you in. This made it very easy to get wifi, since you don't have to search through your wifi network list and guess which might be a free system. And also, in most free wifi systems you also need to register with your email adress before you get access to the itnernet, with the app, you only have to register once, and it handles everything else.

[noneedtoknowme]

Google maps saved me so many times, but has also confused me many times.
Another recommendation is bringing a coin purse or something to hold all your coins. LOL They add up.

[Paktoy_]

I’m doing research about being an exchange student. My final choices are France and Japan. It seems stupid, but I think I prefer Japan over France, mainly because it has a lot less pickpockets. (But I am aware of how rigorous school in Japan can be.)