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Worth visiting if you know someone local. You absolutely need a car to get around and it can be quite confusing. No drugs (death penalty), no alcohol sold here (except in Duty Free when you arrive at the airport).

Ladies, PLEASE wear loose clothing, no plunging necklines, cover shoulders and knees. Seriously, the locals will think you’re rather morally deficient if you don’t. Sad but true.

You can get a free English-speaking guide here, through the tourist office. They will walk you through Todaiji Temple, and take you to any shops or restaurants you like. Our guide was the wonderful Yoko, she spoke excellent English and was so knowledgeable.

She showed us where to get second-hand kimonos and took us to a restaurant that specialised in Oyster Katsudon. Yum!

Oh, the food! The foooood!

I went here when I was 12, so… 18 years ago, and I’m sure it’s a lot different now :)

But yeah, gluttons rejoice!

...for the tour. Just wander round on your own. Some of the DIY houses had a definite slant, I don’t know if that was a statement of individuality or just an example of building under the influence :p Apparently Pusher Street is gone too, so there goes the main reason for visiting (for most people)! There was also a little cafe that made the best vegetable soup I’ve ever had…I’d revisit just for that, but the second time it’s never as nice as your memory tells you… Also, I have to say that as a rampant anti-hippie I wish they would just rebuild it as a nice park with some tasteful housing :)

This is the place to go to buy Cosplay outfits! There’s s store called M’s near the train station where if you pose for a photo you get 30% off. Sounds a bit sleazy but after looking at the girls on the wall it’s actually rather innocent (well, as innocent as a 4 storey “adult convenience” store can be).

The stores with anime and manga merchandise are awesome! You can get life-size dolls from anime like Chobits. A friend of mine stumbled on a “doll brothel” where you can have sex with the dolls for money. Sigh. The many faces of Japan never cease to amaze me.

This is where you want to go for electronics (well duh). If you’re a full-on nerd, and someone in our party was (you’ll just want to keep coming back here and miss the rest of Tokyo!) Electronics are much cheaper in the little back shops than the big stores, and don’t be afraid to bargain, it’s expected. (Electronics seems to be the only shopping area in Japan where you can bargain. Other places will just refuse, or take a few cents off. Bleah…)

I love Takeshita Dori, also home of a 4-storey 100 Yen shop where everything is 100 Yen including traditional wooden toys on the top floor. Great place for presents to take home :) Also just to buy funky and cheap accessories. Great sock shops and places to buy goth and emo gear. I bought a Gloomy Panda here!

Niseko for snowboarding, Sapporo for the beer festival and chocolate factory, Kyoto and Nara, Tokyo: Harajuku, Akihabara, the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka… I want to go back! The only thing is – it’s a little hard to get fresh fruit and veg when eating out, I think I might have a Vitamin B deficiency :p Oh, and everything is waaaaay too sweet. Even the bread has heaps of sugar in it. Excellent chocolate though! You must try Meiji’s Hi-milk and Crunky! And they have Cherry and Strawberry and Dark Chocolate KitKats! (Yes I am easily impressed.)

Get them at the covered markets. Oh so good…