Working Remotely in Tokyo, Japan

This is part of my remote work travel series where I review places I visit as a digital nomad. Check out the rest of my posts and follow me on Instagram, YouTube, Substack, or on TikTok for more travel content!

Listen: I am a city girl. I am a pavement queen. I love the hustle and bustle and I’m-walkin’-here energy. I thrive on it.

But I didn’t really thrive in Tokyo.

So, I’d like to preface this blog post by saying that most of my travel guides for digital nomads are helpful! Some even call them legendary. But today’s blog? I’m sorry to say there were a few things that really kept me from digging into Tokyo.

First, I was spoiled silly by Seoul, South Korea when it came to my favorite activities: writing in coffeeshops, drinking coffee in coffeeshops, living and breathing in coffeeshops. Seoul has an ungodly amount of cafes and coffeeshops that are cute, vibey, and feel like home to my writerly brain.

Tokyo — and Japan as a whole, with a few rare exceptions in Kyoto — hasn’t really embraced coffeeshop culture. Or, at least Western coffeeshop culture, where you sit outside on a patio (in Europe) or inside (in the US) and just read a book or work on your laptop and just vibe out for an hour or six. I remember being at a cafe in Milan where people just camped out with their friends all day going from drinking coffee to wine: the relaxed atmosphere and cozy seating open to all.

In Tokyo, coffeeshops are often small and cramped. It’s also rude to walk down the street and drink a coffee (scandalous!) or a drink of any kind, so you’re stuck awkwardly standing on the side of a busy road drinking your coffee in order to adhere to local etiquette. Not really my favorite way to start my morning.

Japan is also getting the full force of the hype train on social media. It feels like everyone and their cat is in Japan. Are you in Japan, too? If so, would love you to hit me up on Substack and let me know your honest thoughts.

I also want to say that Kyoto is probably one of my new favorite cities in the whole wide world, and I’ve been to quite a few places. So if you’re wanting to read an epic travel guide with some good writing vibes, maybe skip to that blog post instead.

But if you want some candid opinions on Tokyo, then read on.

Where to Stay in Tokyo, Japan for Digital Nomads + Remote Workers

My partner and I shared the largest room we could find in Hotel Cen, one of the highest-rated Hostels on Hostelworld. Normally, we stay in Airbnbs or hotel rooms, but Tokyo was a challenging place to book. Hotel Cen is a solid hostel: the rooms are tiny but it’s well located, has a good cafe and some quiet co-working spaces, and everybody who works here is super friendly.

A few of our friends stayed in Hotel BaliAn Glamping (make sure you look for the glamping one, not the other location) and they raved about it. If you really want to travel on a budget, you can stay in a Pod Hotel where you rent a pod that’s just a bed.

Tokyo is made up of tons of different neighborhoods, and we picked Shinjuku because it was central and was near a lot of restaurants and places we wanted to try. I’ll be honest, I can’t give you a gold star for any neighborhood in particular, but Shinjuku was solid and very central to lots of things, so it’s a good place to stay if you can’t decide.

RELATED: The Best Travel Cards for Digital Nomads

What to Do in Tokyo, Japan for Digital Nomads + Remote Workers

Our main event in Tokyo was going to Tokyo Disney and Tokyo Disney Sea. While Tokyo Disney felt like a smaller version of Disneyland in Anaheim, Tokyo Disney Sea was worth the visit. I’m not the biggest Disney fan on the planet, but I like walkable places and cool rides.

Tokyo Disney Sea has a main area that’s modeled after Italy, and it has lots of nooks and crannies of impressive set design. However, the food and coffee in these parks were lacking, and I found that my trip to Orlando’s theme parks was more fun. But Disney Sea is still a novelty and neat to see.

A few of our friends made the long journey to Mount Fuji, and there are lots of companies that arrange day trips to Fuji from Tokyo. If you’re up for the long bus ride, this could be a good way to see Mount Fuji, although I think it’s probably better treated as a separate trip rather than a day trip because you’ll miss out on your time in Tokyo.

There are lots of touristy things to do in Tokyo, and TeamLabs Borderless is one you’ll want to book months in advance. We missed this one, and it’s a highlight of most people’s trips to Tokyo.

What to Eat in Tokyo, Japan for Digital Nomads + Remote Workers

If you have your eye on any restaurant or dessert places, make sure to book them in advance as they fill up fast. Like I said, the hype train has choo-choo-choo’d all through Japan and it’s not stopping anytime soon.

However, if there’s a place you want to go that’s full, you can try showing up the same day and ask for a reservation later on. My partner Kyle did this for a few places we were unable to get into.

Also, you will ~ not ~ be able to book for big groups. The only big group reservation we got for our group of 8 was Sakura Tei, an awesome make-your-own okonomiyaki that was vegetarian-friendly. The all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink menu came out to be something like $20 per person, and we had fun making our okonomiyaki on these griddles built into the table. Is it a bit gimmicky? Sure. But it was a neat thing to do on a Saturday night, and most of our friends had never tried okonomiyaki (an egg-based dish) and it was a fun thing to do in Tokyo. Just be sure you book in advance (like everything else!)

Pizza in Japan is also quite good, and PST Pizza was the highlight, but if you don’t have a reservation try and get there early to get your name on the list.

For dessert, we were able to snag a same-day spot for Azuki to Kori, an awesome shaved ice dessert place where they counterintuitively whip out a blowtorch to finish off a creme brulee top to some of their desserts.

Overall Thoughts on Tokyo, Japan

You can probably tell that I’m not the biggest fan of Tokyo.

It’s a city of organized chaos. Spaces are small, sidewalks are crowded, and the architecture feels stuck in the ‘80s — but not in a good way. Public transportation is efficient but hard to navigate: if you’re unable to download a Suica card on your iPhone (as some of our international friends and friends with Androids couldn’t do!) you’re going to have a difficult time getting around. This was made worse in part because there was a shortage of physical Suica cards when we visited. Taxis are expensive but pretty easy to find.

Spend a few days in Tokyo, but get to Kyoto to experience more nature and beauty.

My Ratings of Tokyo, Japan as a Digital Nomad

Affordability: ⭐️ (1/5 — accommodations are super expensive and very small, and I wouldn’t recommend Tokyo as a place to live for nomads.)

Food Quality: ⭐️⭐️ (2/5 — the food is super solid, but the produce isn’t as high-quality as other places I’ve visited, and Kyoto had better restaurants overall.)

Vegetarian Options: ⭐️⭐️ (2/5 — restaurants are accommodating of vegetarians, but it’s still a pretty meat-heavy scene.)

Adventures/Day Trips: ⭐️⭐️ (2/5 — Mount Fuji and Tokyo Disney are both accessible from Tokyo!)

Cafes/Co-Working Space Availability: ⭐️ (1/5 — cafes are small and not very remote work friendly.)

Digital Nomad-Friendly City: ⭐️ (1/5 — the accommodation cost is pretty prohibitive for long-term stays, and most nomads here are just passing through.)

Value of Accommodations for Remote Workers: ⭐️ (1/5 — too expensive for anything other than just a quick sightseeing trip.)

Air Quality: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 — Japan has good air quality most days.)

Water Quality: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 — the water quality across Japan is good.)

Overall Rating: ⭐️ (1/5 — while it’s worth visiting, I wouldn’t recommend Tokyo for longer stays.)

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