Neon Lights in Tokyo: An Insider's Guide to the Best Places to Eat, Drink and Explore

by Ben Groundwater

An insider's guide to the best places to eat, drink and explore.

Tokyo is a city of almost 40 million people. A metropolis so densely packed with cultures and sub-cultures, with fashions and trends, with traditions and rituals and norms. Japan's capital is big, bold, and often highly intimidating to the uninitiated. But this needn't be the case. Neon Wonderland in Tokyo is your guide to navigating the colossal world within a world that is Tokyo, to discovering the village-like atmosphere of its smaller
suburbs, to finding the best restaurants, the best bars, the best shops and the best attractions hidden within this urban jungle. This book is also a guiding hand through the intricacies of Tokyo culture and its residents' obsessions, from craft beer to coffee, baseball to ramen noodles. Tokyo is the most exciting city in the world—and it's time to dive in.

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction, Travel

232 pages, Paperback

First published February 8, 2022

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gets an extra star for the photographs.
Concerned about some of the advice. Japan has rules and you need to follow them.
For authors who say they love the country as much as they say they do, there is a lot of negative energy.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biggest takes for me here are:

Happo-En - a teahouse set in a Edo-style garden
Nezu Museum
Bear Pond Espresso - a surly owner passionate about good coffee. I don't drink coffee but I still want to go.
Inokashira Park - nature
Todorokikeikoku Park - nature

[Katie Steuerwald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Ben Groundwater's articles in the travel section of the newspaper so was excited to read this book.
I added more places to my list for Tokyo. I like the set up and pictures in this book and the writing was enjoyable

[Barbora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent guide with some very cool places you won't find recommended elsewhere, but the quirky section divisions are massively frustrating! I don't want my city guide divided by 'vibes', I want clear sections for restaurants, bars, etc. or by town neighbourhoods.
There is a list of places by neighbourhood at the very beginning, but it only gives you the name and the page number/section, so you are no wiser as to whether the place is a cool shop or a cafe. It makes it less useful (and more irritating) as an actual companion when travelling, but it's still great for desk planning ahead of the trip.
But despite all that, every single recommended place we visited was great, and there are also some pretty good one-day itineraries, so I would absolutely recommend for planning your trip to Tokyo.