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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/cassettinna on 2025-05-27 22:24:29+00:00.
Hey everyone! My husband and I just returned from our trip to Tokyo and I have wanted to share my trip report. I was 23 weeks pregnant on the trip and I hope this post may be helpful for any future travelers thinking about Tokyo who are also expecting a baby :)
Day 1: We flew from Seattle to Haneda Airport and arrived at ~2 PM. Customs was quite quick and took us 30 minutes in total, albeit most of that time was spent rapidly walking through the VERY long lines. Afterwards, I directly downloaded the Welcome Suica and Airalo 10GB plan while we were still at the airport. The 10GB may have been overkill but I was determined to use Google Maps for all of my navigating and also wanted to use the Papago app for translation purposes. We then Ubered to our hotel as I was a little tired and didn’t want to navigate the rail system quite yet.
We each packed a duffel bag with enough clothes for 4 days. I also chose a hotel which provided a washer/dryer for guest use because frankly I don’t like carrying luggage around and neither of us was planning on buying a lot.
We did some exploring in Ueno Park after checking in to the hotel and went to the 7-11 near by to withdraw currency.
Day 2: I had contacted a volunteer guide group about 2 weeks before our trip. I think the concept of these is awesome and I enjoyed the experience of hanging out with someone who was very confident in their knowledge of the neighborhoods. We used the SGG Goodwill Guides Group, which primarily connects multilingual retired Japanese folks to interested foreign travelers. The group’s participants can spend a max of 3 days with the travelers and it is expected that the travelers cover the cost of transportation and lunch. They don’t generally like larger groups so I would only opt for the volunteer guide option if you’re in a party of 4ish or less. You are required to fill out an application at least 2 weeks ahead of your travel date and specify what you would like to see. Afterwards, the group circulates the application amongst its members and matches you with a volunteer.
Our guide Ken was about 70, originally from the Kansai region, super fit, and worked on Wall Street for about 15 years in his youth before heading back to Japan. He met us at our hotel and we spent nearly the whole day with him and parted ways at ~4:30 PM. I had previously expressed in my application form that I was interested in seeing Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and smaller gardens in the Asakusa and Ueno neighborhoods so we did a lot of exploring there, including the Senso-Ji temple. Ken and my husband are both into trading market so they had a good time chatting about the state of American and Japanese stock markets. He was super pleasant to talk to and we ended up discussing everything from corporate culture in Japan vs America, Japanese Shinto practices, kabuki and Noh performances, the differences between the healthcare systems of both countries, and even some more spicy political topics that he brought up himself lol. We went to a lot of smaller gardens where nearly all of the visitors were middle aged to elderly Japanese people and zero tourists. Ken was nice enough to help us get tickets. He brought a guide badge so that his tickets were generally free (but FYI you are also expected to cover your guides ticket costs if they don’t have one for some reason). I highly highly recommend volunteer guide groups with retirees!
Day 3-8: We explored Shinjuku, Shibuya, more of Ginza (specifically the Seiko museum and surrounding areas) Kanda, Shimokitazawa, Koenji, Roppongi, Jinbocho book town, more of Ueno/Asakusa, and briefly stopped in Akhibara. We did not go to Tokyo Tower or Shibuya scramble but did see Meiji Shrine.
Some of the highlights:
- Meeting a group of drunk businessmen at an outdoor izakaya on Ameyoko market street in Ueno. Basically, one of them randomly tapped me in the shoulder and handed me these packaged cheese snacks and said “I love you” very enthusiastically. We thought this was hilarious so we bought them shots. Afterwards, I found out that two in their group spoke really great English and Spanish respectively so we spent a few hours chatting about work, politics, and even one of their upcoming divorces lol 😂 I didn’t think I was going to have full blown conversations with people in Japan in Spanish but hey, life is funny that way. The owner bought my husband multiple drinks and chatted with us a bit (and apologized for some of the more crazy members of the group). Apparently they were the owners friends and came to that spot regularly. Overall we had a lot of fun with them. Please check out this market street! Yes, it’s “touristy” but it’s also crammed with cool local spots and such a fun vibe.
- S Watanabe woodcut prints in Ginza. This is the real deal. I didn’t realize this when we walked in but the Watanabe family has been in the business of ukiyo-e for a long time and the service at this shop was excellent. They have lots of originals and prints reaching as far back as the Edo period. I had a little bit of an awkward encounter here (see my post history) but the experience was excellent overall. My parents are serious art and handicraft collectors so I will direct them here if/when they decide to take a trip.
- Suntory Museum of Art in the Tokyo Midtown complex in Ginza. This was another experience I walked into without much knowledge ahead of time but I’m glad I did! We walked through an art exhibit featuring scrolls dating from the 1400s depicting the tale of Shutendōji, a legendary Japanese demon and human flesh eater who is destroyed by a brave group of men. I believe that some of the scrolls on display have never been available for the public prior to this installation. The exhibition is very artfully designed and even comes with an extremely detailed audio guide that builds anticipation for the story as you walk through the museum hallways. Tokyo Midtown is an extremely aesthetic and luxurious indoor area with plenty of benches. It was especially hot on the day we came here so it was a nice break.
- Every Swing Jazz Club in Ueno! This was such a cool spot. Every patron (except for us) was actually a rotating performer and seemed to be friends going back a long time. They were all probs in their 60s and older. We paid a cover charge and bought some snacks/drinks and listened as this cool group of friends played a bunch of different jazz standards. A few people spoke a little English so they initiated a conversation with us after I explained in that my husband was in a jazz band. The bartender busted out the star spangled banner on his trumpet after he found out that we were American 😂
- Jazz Spot Intro in Shinjuku! Very different/younger vibe than the previous place. The talent here is extraordinary and we happened to stumble in on a night when a world class saxophonist and composer was playing. We met a bunch of locals and tourists alike, including a drummer from Osaka who played a few sets, and had a blast. This is a VERY tiny bar and they have no problems cramming people in so be warned if you’re a claustrophobic jazz head. The owner knows how to run a tight ship but keeps the atmosphere energetic and fun.
- Yoyogi Park in Shibuya was great! There was a big food fest AND a Lao festival while we were there. We even got to see a Japanese punk band perform on an outdoor stage for free which was cool. Ueno Park is a close second for me.
- YAYOI KUSAMA Museum! This is a small but interesting modern collection from an extremely successful artist. Some of her displays are interactive so it was a nice change of pace from the typical art museum.
- standing room only neighborhood bar in Koenji. I had a strong feeling that it was frequented by a small group of regulars who all knew eachother so we tried not to be buzzkills. We dropped a lot of money here and eventually chatted a lot with the bartender and some patrons with a mix of broken Japanese and Papago. One regular who was a fluent English speaker talked to us a lot and mentioned that he wanted to visit our home state in the US so we exchanged emails and may take him paddle boarding at some point in the future. Koenji was one of my favorite neighborhoods!
General Tips:
- I highly recommend getting a Welcome Suica and topping it off as you go with Apple Pay. It’s extremely convenient and compatible with multiple railway lines. We were frequently at the train station during rush hours so being able to tap and go instantly was great! Also my iPhone ran out of battery once before I left a train station but to my relief the fare amount was still deducted when I tapped my phone.
- Airalo eSIM was also a lifesaver, especially with how much we relied on Apple Maps for walking directions.
- Getting the ChatGPT app was great for translating handwritten menus/information from Japanese to English. This helped us a lot with eating at places which did not have an English menu and for using appliances at the hotel.
- Get some solid and comfy shoes for walking. We were hitting 20k-30k steps per day and it was frequently close to 80 F outside for multiple days of the trip.
- Try to learn a few phrases of Japanese while you are here (please, thanks, excuse me, x number of people, how much is this, this please, etc). This isn’t Paris; people aren’t going to sneer at you for trying. The Papago app is also amazing for inserting a natural-sounded translated sentence if you’re struggli…
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