Embark on an affordable and culturally rich city break to Tokyo, where a long weekend can unfold into an exploration of Japan’s enigmatic capital.

The next time you are planning a long weekend away, consider thinking a bit further afield than Taipei or Kaohsiung.

Direct flights connecting the central airports of Taipei’s Songshan and Tokyo’s Haneda take less than three hours and go for around NT$15,000 outside the peak tourist season. Coupled with the weak yen, a Tokyo trip has become an attractive and affordable option for a city break.

You’ll be sure to get more bang for your buck in Japan. Tokyo offers much better value for money in terms of food and accommodation than Taiwan’s major cities. For example, Japanese group APA Hotels and Resorts operates scores of efficiently run business hotels in the capital. The chain’s most budget-friendly rooms clock in at around NT$2,000 a night. Although on the small side, they are spotless and comfortable, and have almost everything you would need – from a yakata bathrobe to a privacy button that masks any toilet noise with a recording of flowing water.

Asakusa is a great place to stay. While more mellow and by the river, it is still fairly central and has a direct train connection from Haneda airport. The last direct service leaves at 11:10 p.m.

Meanwhile, the food in Tokyo is so good that even an average sushi or ramen restaurant rivals fancier establishments in Taipei. For example, an exquisite selection of about 10 pieces of nigiri in downtown Tokyo would cost you close to NT$500, a stark departure from the upward of NT$1,000 in Taipei. A hearty bowl of spicy ramen might run to about NT$400 – slightly higher than in Taipei but of superior quality.

The years-long decline of the Japanese yen against the New Taiwan dollar means everything is cheaper. According to Exchangerates.org.uk, 1 TWD would have bought you an average of 3.64 JPY in 2020. This year, the average rate at the time of writing is 4.76 yen. That means if you exchanged NT$10,000 for your weekend trip, you would have an extra 11,200 yen to spend compared with four years ago – enough for one night’s stay at a hotel and a tasty bowl of ramen.

Why Tokyo?

As the world’s biggest city – with a metropolitan area around 50 times bigger than Taipei City – Tokyo has a great deal to offer.

The cityscape is vast and varied. One moment you are in a forest of neon-studded skyscrapers or at the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing in Shibuya. The next, you’re meandering in a tranquil park or sleepy residential area, hiding quirky cafes and tiny Shinto shrines. Simply by setting your destination, you can choose the tone of your trip – from frenetic and exciting to relaxing and curious.

Everything is impossibly clean, meticulously laid out, and easy to navigate. There’s no need to be on high alert as the most you are likely to encounter is petty crime, making it Taiwan-level safe. As a female solo traveler, I felt completely at ease everywhere in the city.

The metro and train network maps are slightly intimidating at first – Google Maps will be your best friend. Tokyo Station (which you’ll soon master) humbles even the most directionally gifted travelers. One thing to note: changing lines usually requires exiting and re-entering the system. Each train’s arrival is announced by a symphony of distinct sounds – I recall one as a burst of birdsong, another as a cuckoo’s whoop, and yet another resembling a game show jingle. Food and drinks are allowed, though the carriages and their upholstered seats remain spotless.

Tokyo’s many parks are grand, curated affairs designed to entice the eyes with cherry blossoms in the spring and russet foliage in the fall. Its museums reveal Japan’s history, culture, classical and contemporary arts, and anime. You can clap twice at a Shinto shrine or bow your head in silent prayer at a Zen temple. Marvel at moving musical orchids above your head at an immersive art gallery or watch the choreography of tuna traders at an early morning fish market. You can even be transformed into a geisha with white face paint, a black wig, and heavy robes. And then there’s the food. In Japan, there’s always the food.

One long weekend is not enough. But it’s a start.

Below is a curated list of some highlights from a trip to Tokyo, designed to create a more mellow experience.

If you want a bird’s eye view

There are numerous vantage points to view Tokyo from above, and it’s well worth it to gain a proper perspective of this expansive city. Daytime views, depending on the weather and haze, might reward you with the pleasure of seeing Mount Fuji on the horizon, whereas nighttime panoramas dazzle with lights.

The iconic Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Sky Tree (the tallest of all, topping 600 meters), and Shibuya Sky are all ticketed. But an excellent free option is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Its observation decks (one in each of its north and south towers) stand 202 meters tall and have 360-degree views of the city skyline. The South Tower has a public grand piano painted with the distinctive pumpkin spiral motif of Japan’s most famous contemporary artist, Yayoi Kusama.

If you want to stroll through a landscape painting

Parks in Tokyo vastly differ from those in Taipei, where green spaces are cherished for weekend picnicking and rolling around in the grass with your dog. In Japan, parks are careful works of beauty where visitors stick to paved paths or concrete expanses to admire the view. Particularly beautiful is the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden, one of nine Metropolitan Cultural Heritage Gardens in the capital. It melds historical Japanese and Chinese aesthetics and dates back to the mid-17th century, making it one of Tokyo’s oldest parks. Highlights include the central lake fringed with a sweeping tree line of Pantone greens, a moon bridge, and more than 30 species of red and white plum blossom trees.

If you like getting your feet wet

TeamLab Planets is a playful and eminently photographable take on a traditional art gallery. You’ll find yourself rolling up your pants to wade through water, which creates the soothing illusion of dancing koi. Imagine lying in a garden of real suspended orchids that release a divine scent and gently quiver overhead or walking through the world of Alice in Wonderland filled with bulbous, metallic globules. And my personal favorite – leaping into a womb-like room enveloped in black fabric-draped foam. It’s great fun, despite the crowds. Book your ticket online about a month ahead.

The group behind this gallery is teamLab, an international art collaborative and interdisciplinary group founded in 2001 in Tokyo. The group is made up of artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians, and architects who call themselves “ultra-technologists.” The group has set up permanent installations in Japan and Singapore, with pop-ups worldwide (including Taipei).

If you grab a slot timed around 9 or 10 in the morning, you can pair your visit with a sushi breakfast at any of the many restaurants next to the Toyosu Fish Market, a mere 10-minute walk away from Planets. Toyosu is the site of the early morning tuna trade between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. (The famous Tsukiji Market closed down in 2018.) For the best views from a lower-floor vantage point, you can enter the market’s tuna auction lottery or watch for free from the second-floor observation deck.

If you like samurai swords

Tokyo National Museum is the Japanese equivalent of Taiwan’s National Palace Museum – a repository of great art and treasures of elegance throughout the ages, housed in a magnificent building in Art Deco design. The samurai room features rows upon rows of blades, some hundreds of years old, yet as shiny and sharp as if they were forged yesterday. There are examples of elite warrior clothing – a helmet with a head of fake hair and silken jackets with intricate chain mail. The curved blades, called demon chasers, look like wicked grins.

But the absolute highlight is the first-floor collection of religious statues. Deft use of shadows and lighting creates a dramatic theatrical backdrop to giant Buddhas and Guardian Gods. Tickets can be bought at the door.

If you like polka dots

The kaleidoscopic and trippy art of Yayoi Kusama is instantly recognizable – bold, brightly-colored works, usually involving dots, pumpkins, and the theme of mirrored infinity. Kusama has been acknowledged as one of the most important living artists to come out of Japan. She is credited with having influenced the works of renowned artists like Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg.

The Yayoi Kusama Museum, founded by the “Princess of Polka Dots” herself, is a fantastic opportunity to get up close to her work. Kusama, now in her 90s, lives nearby and continues to transform her hallucinations into creations in her home. Photography is prohibited inside this small art gallery, but you can sneak a few shots in the mirrored and polka-dotted bathroom for fun. Buy your tickets for a time slot about a month in advance.

If you like jazz and Murakami

Another of Japan’s most famous contemporary artists is celebrated nearby at Waseda University, an easy 20-minute stroll from Kusama’s art gallery. The Waseda International House of Literature is a tranquil shrine to the work of novelist Haruki Murakami, of Norwegian Wood and Kafka on the Shore fame.
Pluck a copy of one of his novels from the first-floor library, curl up on a sofa, and read to the sound of jazz playing from a record player. The records here are all donated by the writer. Then descend the central staircase – an arched corridor of books – to the Orange Café, where you can peer through a glass wall to see a replica of Murakami’s current writing room setup.

Ironically, Murakami has expressed discomfort with his own fame. His preference for a quiet, solitary life, which he says enhances his focus on writing, has often led him to reside abroad or in more secluded areas of Japan, away from the media spotlight. But since he’s known to avoid public appearances and literary events, this library might just be the solution for satisfying both fans and creator.

The library is free from the usual tourist crowds and a truly special experience for any Murakami fan. No entrance fee or advance booking is needed.

If you want to get rich

There are many famous places of worship in Tokyo, but Gōtoku-ji Temple is where you go to pray for money. And you’ll need some if you visit this Buddhist temple’s busy gift shop, which sells merchandise in honor of the star of the show here – the maneki-neko, or “beckoning cat.”

Gōtoku-ji, established in 1480, is said to be the birthplace of this famous lucky cat. Thousands of ceramic cat figurines – each wearing a scarlet collar, a baleful expression, and one paw raised to beckon in good fortune – are lined up around the back of this temple in a sleepy Tokyo suburb. They range in size from thimble-sized to as big as a real cat. You can buy your maneki-neko from the gift shop (rationed to one per visitor because demand outstrips supply) and make a wish.

Coming home

First-time visitors to Tokyo will probably notice how much it reminds them of Taipei – although a faster-paced, busier, and cleaner version. Some of the familiar aspects include the ubiquitous 7-Elevens and Family Marts, the efficient public transport system, traditional Chinese characters on signs (actually the Japanese writing system of kanji, bearing likeness to signage in Taiwan not always, but often, with the same meaning), bike lanes, politeness and orderliness, and even those substandard, green-painted sidewalks.

But after a while, they will likely feel that despite being smaller and messier, Taipei actually does many things better. The climate here is lusher, causing tumbledown walkups to spill over with pot plants. English is more widely spoken, and any foreigner looking lost will quickly find a friendly local to help them find their way. Parks in Taipei are for picnicking, and Tokyo’s Docomo public bike share system is not a patch on the beloved Taiwanese YouBike.

That’s what I find myself thinking as I return home. While I appreciated all the ways Tokyo was different and exciting, the experience also deepened my love for Taipei. Coming home has never felt sweeter.