**🏯 Tokyo insider guide only locals know🏯**
**"Really useful tips for living in Tokyo that tourists never notice"**
Today, we will introduce you to some insider tips for Tokyo that only locals know about and that you will never find in any tourist guide.
### **1. Make use of convenience store "hidden menus"**
・You can add "lemon salt" to Lawson's "Karaage-kun" (just whisper to the waiter, "Please give me lemon salt")
・You can change your coffee at Seven-Eleven to iced or hot, but so many people don't know this
・You can drastically change the juiciness of Family Mart's meat buns by heating them for an additional 15 seconds in the microwave
### **2. Secret ways to ride the Yamanote Line**
・"Transfer at Nippori for the inner loop" → You can completely avoid the crowds at Ueno Station
・At 8am at Tamachi Station, the **benches outside the ticket gates** are empty (a sacred place to pass the rush hour)
・The shortest route to Matsuya Ginza is via "Ginza 1-Chome Station" on the Yurakucho Line (90% of tourists get off at Ginza Station)
### **3. Restaurant tips that we absolutely don't want to share**
・"10 pieces of chef's choice" at Tsukiji outer market If you order this way, they will only give you seasonal ingredients (not on the standard menu).
In Shinjuku Golden Gai, avoid places that ask you "How much do you want?" first (you will be charged three times the market price).
At long-established Japanese sweet shops in Asakusa, if you go after 3pm, they may give you free leftovers.
### **4. Tokyoites' travel tips.
If you want to cycle around the Imperial Palace, the best time is 5am (the security guards are still asleep).
If you want to use a taxi cheaply, take advantage of the late-night surcharge between 11pm and 5am (there are some sections where the starting fare is actually cheaper than during the day).
At Disneyland on a rainy day, start with attractions that you can ride while holding an umbrella (all the locals do this).
### **5. Ultra-local event calendar**
・**Late night in May**: Watching fireflies at Meguro River (a spot only locals know about)
・**August 16th**: "Ura Bon Odori" at Sensoji Temple (locals get excited only after the tourists' Bon Odori ends)
・**December 31st at midnight**: "Mysterious mochi-pounding event" held under Tokyo Tower (a strange custom that has been around for over 60 years)
### **[Locals' secret] "Crowd avoidance map"**
▶️ Shibuya Scramble Crossing → Use "**Miyamasuzaka Crossing**" instead
▶️ Harajuku's main street → The parallel "**Ura-Harajuku Back Alleys**" is empty
▶️ Shinkansen ticket gate at Tokyo Station → The shortest route is "**Yaesu Underground Central Exit**"
**A local friend told me not to spread this information on social media, but
please use it as a special piece of information just for you! **
Next time, I will reveal "**Rental tricks that Tokyo's landlords will never tell you about**".
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**[Credibility of this article]**
The author is a true Tokyoite who has conquered all stations in the 23 wards, has the record for transferring all subway lines (5 hours 28 minutes), and drinks 1,200 cups of convenience store coffee a year.
**"What other insider information about Tokyo do you want to know?"** I'm waiting for your requests in the comments!