Tokyo・東京
General wandering around town
Shibuya・渋谷
Shibuya station (JR Yamanote line)・渋谷駅（山手線）and many other lines.
Hachiko exit:
- Shibuya scramble crosswalk
- Dogenzaka/Love Hotel Hill
Harajuku・原宿
Harajuku station (JR Yamanote line)・原宿駅（山手線）
Jingu-mae station (Chiyoda line)・神宮前駅（千代田線）
Meiji Jingu Mae station (Fukutoshin line)・明治神宮前駅（副都心線）
Directions below are given relative to JR Harajuku Station on the Yamanote line since it’s the easiest option.
Main exit:
- On the bridge just to the right as you exit the station, you’ll find tons of people dressed up on get-togethers each Sunday.
- The entrance to Meiji shrine is also right there.
- A bit to the left of the entrance to the shrine is Yoyogi park, where lots of locals go to relax on weekends.
- As you exit the station, cross the street to the left, and walk down Omote-sando to see a bunch of trendy shops. The trees are lit up at night. At the next big intersection, you can enter Omotesando station（表参道駅）and take the Hanzomon line（半蔵門線）back to Shibuya station（渋谷駅）.
Takenoshita exit:
- The really well-known Takenoshita Street and all its fashion shops are to the east of the station. It’s easier to exit through the Takenoshita exit, but you can go out the main exit and do a U-turn to the left, and follow the station along till you get to the Takenoshita exit.
Shinjuku・新宿
Tokyo’s most famous business district, packed with skyscrapers and neon. Lots of dining with good night views over the city on the upper floors of skyscrapers.
North of the station’s East Exit（新宿駅東口）there’s Kabuki-cho（歌舞伎町）, Tokyo’s most famous red-light district and sort of a tourist attraction in its own right, just don’t agree to let touts on the street take you anywhere. There’s a fairly well-known scam in which foreigners are enticed with promises of all sorts of things, only to find they’ve been served a spiked drink and had their wallet emptied out. Wandering around can be quite entertaining.
On the eastern edge of Kabuki-cho is Golden-gai（ゴルデン街）, a small series of alleyways full of tiny bars that fit 4-8 people, each of which specialises in some very specific drink.
Ginza・銀座
Ginza is Tokyo’s luxury shopping district, in particular along Chuo-dori（中央通り）. Also home to the Kabukiza theatre where you can check out a Kabuki show. If you like stationery shops, Itoya is 12 floors high and probably one of the biggest in Japan.
On the water, there’s Hama-rikyu Gardens (浜離宮）which is a nice Japanese style garden surrounded by skyscrapers.
Naka-meguro・中目黒
Naka-meguro is a laid-back sort of hipster neighbourhood with lots of small cafés and restaurants, as well as the well-known Meguro canal, lined with cherry-blossom trees in springtime.
Azabu-juban・麻布十番
Another laid-back neighbourhood which is a mix of cobblestone streets, traditional shops and trendy restaurants and cafés. It’s also where a ton of foreign embassies are and is a relatively popular neighbourhood to live for European and North American locals.
Sports
If you’re into baseball, consider booking tickets to a Yomiuri Giants game.
If you’re into football/soccer, consider booking tickets to a J-league game.
Anti-recommendations
- If you’re planning to visit Kyoto, get your temple/shrine fix there, and skip Sensoji/Kaminari-mon in Asakusa.