Sushi Zume Tokyo

A present from me to you on my 5th year anniversary with Tokyo. 50 small pleasures that make a big difference…

1. Be brave, take street snaps of funky boys and girls, ad them to your style file or blog them for us all to see.

2. Go to the conbini for the magazines not the food. Stand there ‘reading’ them cover to cover like everyone else does.

3. Walk across Shibuya crossing in awe even if you have done it hundreds of times before.

4. Have a nabe party, no matter how small your apartment is.

5. Costumed karaoke! Need I say more?

6. Ride the Yurikamome Line over the Rainbow Bridge at night.

7. Dig around in the used clothing stores of Shimokitazawa, Koenji and Harajuku gasping at the perfectly picked treasures, including the Spank! Girls.

8. Experience a Japanese bbq, the real deal, from beginning to end – the shopping, the decision making, the masses of interesting food that seem impossible to prepare at a bbq, the laughter the cans of beer and then the mass exodus…precision at it’s best.

9. Enjoy the silence of a packed Tokyo train. Or better yet download super cool podcasts onto your player to make all train rides a dream.

10. Take a new route! Get off the beaten track, stroll the back streets!

11. Look up!!! This city has it’s underground stuff but treasures are awaiting you way above street level.

12. Rent a puppy. I don’t really know how good it is for the puppies but if you are OK with it…

13. Pick a theme, any theme. Head to Tokyo’s themed restaurants.

14. Stroll the Golden Gai in Shinjuku.

15. Sip tea in the Shinjuku Gyoen tea house.

16. Get cozy with Japanese sub culture.

17. Sneak down Piss Alley.

18. Get thee to a Jingu, or two.

19. Read the used ones. You can even get them delivered to your door.

20. Meet Cherry Typhoon, your life will be better for it.

21. Hop on the big wheel, inhale and look out as far as the eye can see.

22. Rent out the old amusement park in Asakusa for your next party!

23. Try freshly cooked sembei.

24. Head off in search of fake, plastic food just like you find in front of all the restaurants here.

25. Dash into some game centers until you can’t stand it anymore!

26. Go bowling with Hello Kitty.

27. Get a bike (preferably one you have bought) and a map & ride like the wind.

28. Ride the subways and get off at random stops, explore! The joys of living in a super safe city.

29. Go on adventurous bar hops.

30. Breathe in the scent of sumo. Buy some tea seed oil and smell as sweet as a sumo.

31. Learn all about Hachiko.

32. Share the love in love hotels across the city (safely of course!)

33. Tour Kabukicho.

34. Check out thetypography.

35. Use the Tokyo Toilet Map to help you find a peaceful pit stop. Actually I think there are far better toilets in Tokyo than the map suggests, but it is cool that some one went to all that trouble. Here are some more survival tips!

36. Make a sight seeing check list no matter how long you have been here, don’t stop exploring.

37. Regular visits to the purikura booths should do the trick.

38. Stop and read the maps. The infrastructure in this city is breathtaking, it can seem so chaotic and yet so planned.

39. Learn it! You know, the language, Japanese.

40. Check out the cool buildings. Especially the new ones.

41. Head to the grassy knolls. Tokyo has some gorgeous green patches, use them!

42. Document, record, photograph.

43. Explore Ni Chome and uncover the friendly vibe of Tokyo’s LGBT neighborhood.

44. Check out the Astro Boy street art and accessories in Takadanobaba, Astro Boy was born there in 2007.

45. Learn to make tofu and ume shu.

46. Use sensu in the summer and hokairo (hot packs) in the winter.

47. Beer gardens in Summer (they are on the top of departments stores) Onsens in Winter.

48. Stop in to Ameyoko for fresh fruits, nuts and imports.

49. Dance, move, play. Give your self time to enjoy. Keep your body moving and grooving.

50. Partner up! Enjoy the company of others who are having fun in the city. Keep the good times flowing.

Thanks to Tokyo, it’s lures, depth, intriguing and captivating stimuli for housing me all this time. I came for one and have stayed for five, you have been good to me, pushed me to my limits yet allowed me to grow in such confined quarters. Now that we have learned to get along things are pretty amazing don’t you think?

Even greater thanks goes to the people that fill your streets, especially the awesome ones that I get to hang out with!

I remember exactly where I was when I started this blog so many years ago, sitting in my tiny one bedroom apartment with my brand new Mac. My goal was always to capture the happenings and record the flow of life in and out of the city.

I have spent much more time in the city than out but I am happy to share that I am heading back to Australia, not permanently yet, for 2 months from the beginning of February. Sometimes the best way to appreciate the city is to get out!