🇯🇵 Tokyo

Neon canyons, hidden shrines, ramen counters — discover Tokyo at human pace.

What you can do in Tokyo

CityCompanion has audio walking tours, scavenger hunts, 4 curated local food signatures, multi-day itineraries, and a daily morning briefing for Tokyo. All free, no app store needed.

🎙️ AI-curated walking tours — coherent district-based routes (3h to 5 days)
🎭 Cultural scavenger hunts — narrative quests with questions, hints, rewards
🍽️ Local food signatures — 4 dishes with history and best places to try
☀️ Daily morning briefing — 1–5 min audio: weather, today's plan, a fresh story
♿ Accessibility routing — wheelchair-accessible, step-free, stroller-friendly
🗺️ Offline maps — cache for travel without data

Must-try local food in Tokyo

3 signature dishes every visitor should try. Each has its own history and the best places to find it authentically.

🍣 Sushi (Edo-mae) Must try

lunch / dinner · ¥-¥¥¥¥

Vinegared rice + raw fish, perfected in Tokyo over 200 years — eaten with hands, dipped fish-side, in 2-3 minutes.

Edo-mae sushi began as 19th-century street food — fast, vinegar-cured fish from Tokyo Bay served on rice for hungry workers. The fish was preserved (cured, marinated, simmered) before refrigeration existed. A high-end sushi-ya now serves "omakase" — the chef's choice — over an hour-long performance at the counter.

📍 Where to try (3)

Sushi Saito — Roppongi, Tokyo
3 Michelin stars — book months ahead
Sushi Dai (Toyosu) — Toyosu Market, Tokyo
Famous market sushi, queue at dawn
Numazuko Honkan — Shinjuku 3-34-16
Conveyor-belt high quality, no reservation needed

🍜 Tokyo Ramen Must try

lunch / late night · ¥

Soy-based broth with thin curly noodles, chashu pork, menma, and a soft egg — Tokyo's defining ramen style.

Tokyo's shoyu ramen was born in Asakusa in 1910 at Rai-Rai-Ken. After WWII it spread via American wheat aid. Each shop guards its tare (sauce base) recipe. The proper ritual: slurp loudly (it cools the noodles), eat in 5-7 minutes before they go soft.

📍 Where to try (3)

Ichiran (Shibuya) — Multiple, Shibuya, Tokyo
Solo booth ramen, customizable
Tsuta (Sugamo) — Sugamo, Tokyo
First Michelin-starred ramen shop
Afuri (Ebisu) — Multiple, Tokyo
Yuzu-shio ramen, bright citrus broth

🍤 Tempura Must try

lunch / dinner · ¥¥

Seafood and vegetables in an impossibly light batter, fried in sesame-and-cottonseed oil to golden translucency.

Brought by Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century (the word comes from "tempora" — fasting days when meat was forbidden). Edo street vendors industrialised it. The lightest tempura batter is whisked with chopsticks, lumps and all, kept ice cold, fried for 20 seconds.

📍 Where to try (1)

Tempura Kondo — Sakaguchi Bldg 9F, 5-5-13 Ginza
Vegetable tempura mastery, Michelin starred

Also worth trying

🥩 Tonkatsu

lunch / dinner · ¥¥

Panko-crusted fried pork cutlet, served with shredded cabbage and tonkatsu sauce.

Born in 1899 at Rengatei in Ginza when the chef adapted Western cutlets for Japanese tastes. The breakthrough was using panko (lighter than European breadcrumbs) and slicing the cutlet so it can be eaten with chopsticks. Best with a freshly-toasted sesame seed dressing.

📍 Where to try (1)