If there was a destination where I had no idea of what to expect, that would have been Tokyo. I always found Japan and its exotic culture extremely fascinating. When my Japanese friend invited me to spend a week in her parents apartment in Tokyo, I didn't have to think twice. Here you'll find sights, activities and everything you need to know.

What is there to know

I was lucky to have someone by my side who grew up in Tokyo as I would have been completely lost otherwise. Signs, menus, products in the supermarkets - everything is written in Japanese letters.

There are more than 13 million people living in Tokyo and not many of them speak English. People are very interested and helpful anyways and not at all distant, as I had thought in the beginning. My abilities to talk with hands and feet were limited though and I was happy to have a translator with me. The downside was, that I didn't get any picture of the city's structure as I was only following my friend. But as I had only one week, which isn't enough for a city like Tokyo, it was fine.

There are flights from Germany to Tokyo that cost you only 300 Euros both ways. Just keep in mind that Tokyo is a super expensive city and you will spend most of your money for accommodation and food.

Tokyo transportation

Tokyo's railway system is huge and only few signs are in English. The plan is pretty clear anyways, which makes it easy to get from one station to another. You should avoid public transport during rush hour (in Tokyo around 10pm!). Buses and trains are so crowded by then, that people can't even get in anymore. There are no seats from the beginning in most of the trains and you see many Japanese sleeping, while standing in the trains.

Tokyo is the city with the highest suicide rate in the world and so there is a barrier in every station, that only opens when there is a train standing there.

Things to do in Tokyo: Karaoke

If you only have one week in a city like Tokyo, you need a tight schedule and so I stumbled from the airport right into Karaoke Kan, a karaoke bar in Harajuku. Even Bill Murray was singing here already in Lost in translation. Again I was surprised, as karaoke bars for me meant a pub with a big stage in the middle. Japanese people like to keep it intimate though and only sing in small cabins for up to eight people. There are sofas there, a tv and a phone for your orders. You can easily spend all night here with a group of friends and knock yourself out with all the different titles from English classics to Japanese folk music.

Harajuku

Harajuku is located between two of the most popular districts of the city: Shibuya and Shinjuku. At Takeshita-dori, the main street, you will find everything, from great sushi places, to accessoires and snack stands. Harajuku is the center of the typical Japanese teenage fashion, street culture and the pop-punk cuteness of the Kawaii culture.

Only few minutes away, you will find Meji-jingu, the park with the famous Torii gate as an entrance. Immediately the noises stop, it gets greener and a couple of degrees cooler. A nice change after forty degrees in the city center.

Food in Tokyo

To get yourself into the right mood, there is only one option for a first dinner in Tokyo: a nice Sushi bar. We learned how to eat soup with sticks (by eating the noodles with the sticks and sipping the rest - without making any noise of course). The food is amazing and doesn't taste anything like Sushi in Europe. Even as a vegetarian there is a great choice of Temaki and Maki variations. I also loved Nasu no Tsukemono, a kind of pickled eggplant. To drink, you get cold, green tea - matcha. The very thick and very green drink is the perfect refreshment in summer.

Disneyland Tokio

To get from the city center to Disneyland, you have to take the Keiyo line until Maihama station and walk a couple of meters to the entrance. Tokyo was my first Disneyland experience so I don't have any comparison but the colorful, corny Japanese culture fits perfectly to Disney. You can easily spend all day there or even stay the night.

Shibuya

In Shibuya, all the girls around me suddenly looked like right out of a Manga comic. It is funny how every single one of the 23 districts of Tokyo seem to have their own, unique style. In Shibuya's streets there was no one without perfect hair, make-up and outfit. Just look and get lost.

Tokyo Tower

The first thing I do, when I arrive to a new city, usually is to find a place for an overview. It took us until the last evening to go up to the Tokyo tower and down at the bottom, I felt for a minute like I would be standing at the lighted Eiffel tower. It looked so similar. The Tokyo tower is 400 meters high though and actually is a tv tower. The floor of the upper platform is completely out of glass, so you can look down 400 meters into the ground. If you dare to go out, you will be rewarded with the best view over Tokyo.

Sensoji temple

The Sensoji temple is the oldest buddhist temple in Tokyo and despite 30 degrees in the middle of the night, it reminded me of a Christmas market. There were candles lit everywhere, glowing lanterns and the five-storey pagoda smelled like incense. Especially impressive is the "thunder gate" at the entrance. The buddhist structure is a big paper lantern in red and black, that symbolizes lightning and thunder.

There is Tokyo's biggest Matsuri (Shinto festival) happening in Sensoji every spring. It lasts three days and cuts off the traffic of the whole district.

Tsukiji fish market

At first sight, there are so many better things to do at five in the morning than to visit a Japanese fish market right after breakfast.

It was interesting to see though, how tons of fresh fish were cut into pieces and ended up on the counter within seconds. Some of the fishes were even sold still alive.

The smell of blood and all the fish heads on the floor didn't really help to make the whole thing more appealing.

By now the world's biggest fish market has moved and Tsukiji is now a theme park for food.

Tokyo sights and activities

Here are some ideas about what to do in Tokyo with a little more time.

- visit a Sentō, a traditional bath house (but be careful: tattoos are not allowed in there)

- play Pachinko (a mix of vendor machine and bagatelle game in big gaming halls)

- get lost in Shinbashi, Tokyo's fancy business district