One of the main questions we get from our readers who are about to visit Japan is how to enjoy the authentic Tokyo nightlife. With so many options out there, we understand the concern: do you book a tour or do you go on your own? Do you engage with locals? Do you need to speak Japanese for an immersive experience? Since we’ve asked ourselves all these questions before, we decided to write you a guide on how to best enjoy an epic Tokyo nightlife experience. So let us take you on a virtual Magical Trip to get you ready for an adventure of a lifetime.
What’s Magical Trip?
Magical Trip is providing foreign-friendly businesses to engage with tourists and showcase the true authentic adventures you can partake in during your time in Japan. They don’t just promise authentic experiences, but they sure deliver as you can tell from their overwhelmingly positive reviews. In fact, they are number 1 on top things to do for nightlife in Shinjuku and second best on TripAdvisor. With dozens of tour guides who speak English and Japanese is easy to see why tourists and travellers pick them for an immersive cultural experience.
Do you even need a guide?
So what’s their secret? What sets Magical Trip apart?
Magical Trip was created to help travellers feel like locals. We all know that many destinations have the so-called tourist traps in contrast to traveller needs to feel included and be able to immerse in the local culture to learn, understand and experience. That’s where Magical Trip came into the picture: to allow local guides to take tourists to places which are not usually made available for foreigners. Without speaking the local language, there are several establishments which may look somewhat unapproachable: Magical Trip wanted to change that. With a Japanese guide who speaks English, there is no doubt that all tourists can access off the beaten path destinations and be able to ask questions and engage with other locals. It’s like having a friend, translator and guide, all in one, with you.
Our Favorite tours
When it comes to classic tours, Magical Trips offers two epic options: a foodie tour and a bar hopping experience. Since we are foodies and we think Japanese food is best in the world, we strongly recommend starting with a food tour. You will start with a visit to a Kappo restaurant that has over 80 years of history. You’ll be served delicious Japanese cuisine which sources its ingredients fresh, first thing in the morning from the fish market. Then you will visit an oden restaurant to sample a few local flavours and finally, you will end your 3-hour tour in a relaxing cafe where you’ll get to try unique sweets.
For those interested in trying local brews, love drinking and got a bit bored with the typical Japanese tourist places Shinjuku bar hopping tour is for you.
This tour was created so you can enjoy an authentic Tokyo nightlife. You’ll sample three different drinks accompanied by three small dishes. There are over 30 different kinds of recommended foods and drinks and there are also vegetarian options available. Magical Trip handcrafted the best foods and drinks for you, enough for a full dinner meal. The best part? The guide will take you to really interesting spots you wouldn’t normally be able to find on your own so you can enjoy the Tokyo nightlife like a local. The third stop of Shinjuku bar hopping tour was especially worth visiting, where you could see tones of different types of sake and taste them.
This is a small tour where you can learn more about the culture without any language barriers and make new friends.
It is definitely a must if you love Japanese sake, feel like trying the local izakaya bibes. If you are a solo traveller, you could also find drinking buddies for a fabulous night!
And hey, after the party, wake up with the purpose of exploring some of Tokyo’s most interesting neighbourhoods during the day. Get your guide to take you on an off the beaten path adventure along Asakusa, Akihabara or Shibuya.
How does it work?
The concept of MagicalTrip’s tours is simple. Do you want an authentic experience? Pick a tour which interests you (e.g. food tours, bar hopping or cultural affairs), pick the tour guide you want and book online. They also offer tailored tours (like a vegan food tour which we think it’s fantastic) so you will be spoiled for choice.
As you know, one of our favourite districts in Tokyo is Shinjuku, usually famed for its Kabukicho and adult-only entertainment. We always tell you to get a guide in order to explore the area, because it’s always better to have a local know where to take you to fully enjoy your experience. For example, there are so many things to do in Shinjuku, like the Memory Lane or Golden Gai. Without a guide, I wouldn’t be able to tell you where to go, as each place is unique, some more foreign friendly than others. Magical Trip is there to facilitate this for you, so you can experience things which otherwise you might miss during your trip to Tokyo.
For example, we learned from our guide that the memory lane is the area having a long history that originally started as a black market after the WW2.
If you want something even crazier, don’t forget to visit the Anata No Warehouse located just an hour away from Tokyo.
Thank you Magical Trip for making this post possible. We are really excited you now offer an array of awesome tours for tourists and travellers interested in a true Japanese cultural experience.
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