Tokyo: Day by Day

In another time, Tokyo: Day by Day would be an amazing guidebook to use to prepare for a visit to one of the world’s most vibrant, exciting cities. These days, it’s more of a wish book and a reminder of what it was like to be able to travel.

Either way, the book promises “356 Things to See and Do!”, and it provides. Each day is a page that highlights a restaurant, a unique store, a museum (for snowglobes! or beer! or the police! or architectural models!), a performance, a shrine, a place to sightsee, or some other tourist attraction.

Each has a gorgeous picture (with a cheeky word balloon caption), a paragraph of description, information on how to go there (address, nearest train station, hours — no web addresses, though), and a couple of visiting tips, such as “a good place to bring your parents” or “open during peak cherry blossom season”.

The sheer scope is overwhelming, and there are so many interesting-sounding places to go and things to do. I recommend pacing yourself in reading, or it quickly becomes too much. The day-by-day format makes it fun to look up special days, though — what’s recommended for your birthday? Mine is sadly, not sushi. (The publisher provided a review copy.)