Tokyo is a hundred cities stacked on top of each other: neon and shrines, ramen counters and silent gardens. A few Japanese phrases — and the confidence to slurp — unlock all of them.
- Breakfast at Tsukiji Outer Market — the inner market moved, the food stalls stayed. Tamagoyaki on a stick and the freshest tuna of your life, before 9 a.m.
- Cross Shibuya, then watch it from above — do the famous scramble once, then take it in from a window seat above with a coffee.
- Find silence at Meiji Jingu — a forest in the middle of the city. Bow at the torii, wash your hands at the temizuya, and hear Tokyo disappear.
- Eat at a ticket-machine ramen shop — press the button, hand over the ticket, say "onegai shimasu", slurp loudly. That's the whole etiquette.
- Wander Yanaka at dusk — old Tokyo: wooden houses, temple cats, a shopping street where shopkeepers still chat with strangers.
Japanese people light up when visitors try the language — even three phrases change everything. Practise with a Japanese speaker below before your flight.
