About Tokyo Local Guide
I'm Kai. I'm from Tokyo, I film its streets, and I've spent years on the concierge side of Tokyo hospitality, where I got asked the same question every single night.
The question
Guests would find me in the lobby holding a printout or a phone, and the question was never "what is famous in Tokyo". They already knew what was famous. The question was "where would you actually go?" That's a different question, and the honest answer to it was never on the first page of search results.
I answered it a few thousand times. This guide is that answer, written down properly, so it doesn't depend on me being on shift when you happen to walk past.
The walks
I also film Tokyo on foot, and I put those walks on YouTube as Japan in 4K. There are 245 of them in this guide, no cuts and no commentary, just the street at the pace you would actually walk it. Watching a neighbourhood for two minutes tells you more about whether you want to spend an evening there than any photo will.
Every pin in the guide sits in a neighbourhood I have filmed. Watch the walks by area.
What is in the guide, and what isn't
1317 places, each with the nearest station and the exit to use, what to order, the rough price and the reservation reality. No affiliate links, nobody paid to be in it, and nothing in it that I haven't been to myself. Places close and prices move, so when that happens I fix it and you get the update.
What isn't in it: everything I wouldn't send a friend to. That's most of the city, and it's the point.
Common questions
Who writes Tokyo Local Guide?
I do. I'm Kai, I'm from Tokyo, and I've spent years on the concierge side of Tokyo hospitality, answering the same question every night: where would you actually go? This guide is that answer, written down.
Have you been to the places in the guide?
Most of them. The newer ones were checked one by one before they went in, from the hours and closed day to the station exit. If I wouldn't send a guest there, it's not in the guide. That's why there are about 1,300 places and not three thousand.
Are the recommendations paid for?
No. Nobody pays to be in the guide and there are no affiliate links inside it. The guide is free, and nothing in it is paid placement.
How often is the guide updated?
Whenever something changes. Places close, prices move and I take them out or fix them. The updates show up on the site as soon as I make them.