I SAVED ₹27,000 in Tokyo with one HACK 👀

Hi, it’s Aakanksha 👋

Confession: I HATE cities. I spent a few years in Delhi and that sealed it. I’m a mountains girl…give me nature, trees, silence 🏔️

And then there’s Tokyo.

GUYSSS. One month felt like NOTHING. It might be my favourite city in the world…and not for the reasons you’d expect. Not Shibuya Crossing. Not Shibuya Sky. Not the stuff every two-day itinerary tells you to do.

It’s the subcultures. The hidden little worlds you only find when you actually stay. Monks running bars. Mario Karts driving down the road 😭 Female wrestling matches with fighters in full anime outfits. Slurping ramen in a tiny spot where nobody talks, because that’s just the etiquette!!!!!

Every single day felt like waking up in a new place. For someone curious and a little nosy like me, my brain was lighting up constantly 😭

So when Julian and I got back, I couldn’t shut up about it. Everyone goes to Tokyo for two days, does the same five things, and misses the best parts. So I turned that little list I kept sending friends into a real guide 🤍 100+ spots I actually went to, each linked to a real video, a full Tokyo map (vegan spots included), and the itineraries I’d give my own best friends.

Not going to be salesy about it 😛 But if your brain just went “okay YES,” grab the full guide here → One Stop Tokyo Guide

First, here are 5 sneak-peek experiences from inside 👇🏽

(And if Tokyo’s on your list, save this email. Right NOW is the best time to plan…September to November is the sweet spot 😌)

🔮 1. The Bar where a celebrity magician does close-up magic at your table: Toto’s Magic Bar, Ginza

Okay, did you know Japan has a whole CULTURE of magic bars?? Because I did NOT. The concept is wild: the bartenders are magicians, and they perform tricks right in front of you all night 😳✨

And I don’t mean a pigeon popping out of a hat (okay they do that too 😂). I mean insane, complex, how-is-this-physically-possible tricks that completely scramble your brain.

One of the best places for this is Toto’s Magic Bar in Ginza. Toto is basically a celebrity magician, he’s performed in the US and all over the world, but here he is in this tiny, totally unassuming little bar that you’d walk right past from the outside.

You go in, and it’s just five or six people inside because it’s so small (you NEED a reservation). You get your drink, you sit down, and the magic begins 🤍 He makes things appear out of thin air. I’m not even going to reveal the tricks because honestly? That night almost made me believe in magic. And that’s exactly what I love about it, you sit there going “but HOW” and you genuinely cannot figure it out.

Toto himself is SO fun. You actually get to chat with him, which is rare in Japan because the language barrier is real, but he speaks English and the whole thing just feels warm and personal. Magic, good company, a good drink. 10 on 10 😭

And for someone like me who doesn’t drink? I had a mocktail and had the BEST time. Don’t let that stop you 😌

⚔️ 2. The workshop where you learn to fight like a samurai: Samurai Experience, Tokyo

Okay, you’ve probably watched some anime, or at the very least you KNOW about samurais and how iconic they are in Japan.

But did you know you can actually learn to fight like one? 😭

There’s this workshop where, in about 90 minutes, a real samurai master teaches you how to handle a sword. And it’s SO cool. They show you their own tricks first, and watching them is unreal…these are people who’ve trained for YEARS, and they’ll cut through bamboo at the speed of light right in front of you 😳

And that’s the part that got me: the discipline. The practice. The sheer commitment. It’s so core to Japan, the way they treat their art forms with this level of seriousness and respect. You feel it the second you walk in.

Then YOU get to learn the moves yourself. And honestly? This is exactly the kind of travel I love. You go to a new country and come home with an actual SKILL, not just a basic fridge magnet 😌 Like…how many people in the world can say they’ve trained as a samurai?? I think you want to be in that 1% 😛

This is just ONE workshop I’m sharing, but I’ve packed about 10 of these into the Tokyo guide that you NEED to check out 👀

🎮 3. The futuristic AI arcade hiding inside Tokyo Tower: RED° Tokyo Tower

Everyone goes to Tokyo Tower, stands outside, takes the photo, leaves. But did you know what’s INSIDE? 👀

It’s this insane futuristic arcade called RED° Tokyo Tower, and I’m telling you, you walk in and it feels like you’ve teleported to the year 2050 😭

We’re talking games powered by AI. VR headsets. Full-on immersive experiences that genuinely blow your mind. You can even play a real-life version of the Squid Game one…you know, the giant doll that whips her head around while you try to cross 😳

Honestly this was one of the most fun dates Julian and I have ever been on. I’m SO competitive, so if you’re someone who loves a bit of healthy competition and gaming, you HAVE to go. I genuinely don’t think any other place in the world has something this crazy.

You’ll lose three, four hours in there easily and have the absolute time of your life. And yes…even as a fully grown adult, it’s SO much fun 😂

🥷🏽 4. The restaurant where Ninjas serve you dinner: Ninja Tokyo

Okay FINALLY, let’s talk food 😋 And this one is honestly less about the food and more about the entire EXPERIENCE.

So picture this. You get an email with a secret location. The place isn’t really on Google Maps, so getting there genuinely feels like a little quest 😭 You find it, there’s a secret passcode, you get a key…and then a ninja appears (an actor, obviously, but SO funny) and guides you down this dramatic maze-like hallway before seating you.

Then it begins. A multi-course meal served entirely by ninjas while they do tricks. A magician comes out and performs right at your table. And every single dish is ninja-themed, black bread shaped like ninja stones, food being set ON FIRE, just chaos and magic happening while you eat 🔥

And honestly? This is Japanese dining in a nutshell to me. They do EVERYTHING to perfection. So of course if they’re going to do a themed restaurant, they’re not going to half it, you genuinely feel like you’ve been transported to an older time in Japan, sitting in a ninja village eating your dinner.

This is exactly what I mean when I say you can actually SEE Japanese philosophy at play through these experiences. A must-try 🤍

💴 5. The hack that saved me over ₹27,000: Japan’s tax refund

Okay so those are the four experiences 🤍 But I didn’t want to leave you with JUST that. I also want to put you on a way to save a LOT of money while travelling in Japan, because I see SO many people miss out on this 😭

Here’s the deal: in Japan, tourists get a full tax refund on what you buy. You just show your passport at checkout at major stores and department stores, and they take the tax off right there. No forms, no airport queues, no “claim it later” nonsense 🙌🏽

And trust me…you WILL shop in Japan. The quality is insane, the stuff is just on another level. I saved over ₹27,000 this way just on shopping 🥹🛍️

One rule though: always carry your passport when you head out. (Learned that one the hard way lol 😅)

And honestly? My Tokyo guide even includes a full shopping guide, which stores to hit for what. That’s the kind of depth I put into it. Everything you could possibly need is in there 😌

🗺️ Like I said…Tokyo isn’t a city. It’s a feeling.

And if I’ve convinced you to go (I think I have 😛), then right NOW is honestly the perfect time to start planning.

September, October, November is one of the best windows to visit, which means now is when you check flights and start mapping it out. And something I say in my guide over and over: reservations matter SO much in Japan. So many of these spots need booking in advance. Planning ahead isn’t optional there, it’s the whole game 😌

I just launched it a few weeks ago, so I’m running an early-bird discount ONLY for you guys 👇🏽

→ Get the One Stop Tokyo Guide here

And if you grab it and love it? Reply to this email and tell me what you’re most excited to experience in Tokyo 🤍

Unpacking Your Question 💌

DAMN That’s amazing!!! So glad to hear you’ve started building products!!

One test: Would I send this to my best friend going to Tokyo tomorrow?

If yes…in. If it’s “worth seeing once” or “fine”…out. I take travel SO seriously, and I would genuinely never recommend something to you that I wouldn’t recommend to my own family or friends 😌

And here’s the part I’m really proud of: I had my friend Ru, who I met in Japan and who’s been living in Tokyo for 8+ years, go through every single spot on the list. She checked each one as a LOCAL, would she actually recommend it? Is it a tourist trap? Is it worth your time? Only if it passed that test did it make the cut.

That’s the kind of honesty that goes into it. Nothing in there is filler 🤍

One Cool Thing I Did This Week 💕

Flew all the way to Toronto to celebrate my little brother…he just graduated woohooo! 🥹 Since I was a covid graduate, I could live vicariously through him 😅

Tell me…is Tokyo on your list? And if you’ve been…what was the most unexpected thing you found there?

Hit reply. I read everything 👇🏽

That’s it for this week’s Unpacked…see you next Wednesday with something new to unpack 👋🏽

Lots of love & sunshine,

Aakanksha