Add These 10 Activities to Your Tokyo Itinerary for a Bonzer Boys Trip

Whether it’s schoolies, a bucks party, or just a good ol’ boys trip—Tokyo is bursting with unique, wild and often ridiculous(ly fun) experiences, and is begging you to come and join in the craziness! Tokyo is the ultimate boys trip destination—it has a great nightlife, delicious food, quirky experiences, cultural experiences like sumo and drumming and so much more.

Fulfilling your entire Tokyo itinerary can get costly and time-consuming, but the Tokyo Klook Pass makes travelling around the city much more convenient and more cost-efficient. Get access to two, three or four of Tokyo’s top attractions with just one pass, including Tokyo SKYTREE, teamLAB Planets TOKYO, and the Tokyo Tower Observatory.

If your boys trip has some time constraints, don’t worry. We’ve got an all-in-one guide for getting the most out of your Tokyo trip—even in just five days—from buying your travel tickets to the essential landmarks you need to visit during your trip. 

Here are our picks of the 10 best activities for a boys trip Tokyo itinerary (aka bro-cation):

Kick off your boys trip to Tokyo by testing your strength against samurais and ninjas. Well, not exactly, but you’ll learn their enigmatic ways, history and culture, and even how to throw Shuriken in this Ninja Experience in Tokyo. 

A guide will take you through the city of Asakusa in your Ninja cosplay to some of its most popular destinations such as Sensouji and Kaminarimon. Strike a pose like your favourite anime ninja characters for ‘gram-worthy photos! Train like a ninja, eat like a ninja. Your tour includes a delicious lunch at the NINJA Cafe & Bar, which includes a tea ceremony.

Meet real-life sumo wrestlers and learn all about the 1,500-year-old sport in person in this quintessential Sumo Experience. Listen to the athletes talk about their experiences and what sumo wrestling really means to them. The sport actually began as a religious performance for Shinto deities, and therefore, has several religious rituals tied to it. 

Because there are no weight classes in sumo, it is important for athletes to gain weight and grow bigger as part of their training. For this experience, you’ll be able to dine just like a sumo wrestler with a Chanko lunch made by the wrestlers themselves! Fill up on a delicious Japanese-style hot pot that is said to provide a lot of stamina, so you can show off your strength.

While you can tour Tokyo’s most popular landmarks in the daytime, the city is a whole other experience in the nighttime. Add Local Bar Hopping to your Tokyo itinerary to get an authentic experience of the city’s nightlife. A guide will take you to the popular local haunts, and all you have to do is make sure your glasses are bottoms up! You’ll also get to try out different delicacies that locals love to munch on as they sip on spirits at Izakaya restaurants, such as a variety of skewers and sashimi. There are also plenty of friendly joints in which to sample some local Saké, beer and whiskey, and a general up-beat, social vibe to kick your night off on the right foot.

If you end up having a little too much fun, it would be a shame to spend the next day recovering in your hotel room. Luckily, we’ve got a guide for the best places to find a hangover cure in Tokyo.

Part workout, part music experience—the Taiko drum experience is the perfect class to let out your inner macho, and learn the war history of the drum. In modern times, the Taiko is still a huge part of Japanese culture and is commonly found in Japanese theatre. It’s even featured in a Nintendo Switch game where you can play the drum virtually to score points and reach targets based on your accuracy with hitting notes and rhythms.

If you prefer to hit the beats yourself, take part in this Taiko drum class in Tokyo! This is  more fun when done in a group because you can get a bit of exercise while bonding with your mates and learning a new skill at the same time. Your mates  back home will be so impressed (and have serious FOMO). 

Now that you’ve tried your hand at conquering this traditional instrument, you can compare your skills with those of the professionals at 2022 Shinjyuku LIVE, performed by DRUM TAO.

This performance offers a spellbinding combination of drumming, dance, and visual effects that will leave you mesmerised. It is famed for the use of a traditional instrument reimagined in a contemporary fashion, accompanied by multi-talented performers dressed to impress in suits and leather costumes. In this show, Japanese instruments blend with EDM to create a jaw-dropping experience that will leave you raving. 

Shinjyuku LIVE makes for the perfect pre-dinner show to get you pumped up for a big night out, and with two shows per day, there really is no excuse to miss it.

Shinjuku’s Robot Restaurant is an other-worldly, bizarre, and frantic explosion of colour and glitz that you simply can’t miss when planning your Tokyo itinerary. Japan is chock-full of uniquely-themed cafes and restaurants with even more interesting food, but this robot restaurant really takes the cake.

Part restaurant and part theatre, this experience is one of Japan’s most popular tourist attractions for its no-holds-barred funfest. Guests are treated to performances featuring dragons, ninjas, futuristic animals, horned beasts and, of course, robots, while bento boxes, drinks and snacks are available to enjoy during the show. A truly one-off experience, the Robot Restaurant in Tokyo is something that has to be seen to be believed.

Looking to try some more Tokyo delicacies? Check out our list of delicious dishes every foodie will love.

If you’ve ever dreamed of being the ultimate in sword-wielding fighters or have always been curious about sword-fighting and martial arts, you won’t want to miss the chance to be a samurai for a day. Hone your skills with a two-hour Kendo class that’s perfect for beginners and guests of all ages. You’ll be introduced to the basic etiquette and skills of the martial art form, along with the proper way to wear the armour and use the bamboo sword. Show off your strength with one of the most fun and impressive things to do in Tokyo. 

Looking for some more cultural experiences in Tokyo? Try out a manga drawing workshop, a Wagyu kaiseki cooking course, and more as detailed in this list. 

Japan and cosplay go hand-in-hand, as do holidays and being waited on hand and foot. At Maidreamin Café, you will step into an ethereal world where you are the master and a maid in costume will serve you cute, insta-worthy and delicious meals!

The experience begins with an ‘opening ceremony’ where the gorgeous maids entice you into a dreamworld before serving up your meal with super kawaii quirks along the way. It is a more wholesome experience than one might expect on a boy’s trip away, but it provides a sure-fire way of indulging in something you definitely cannot find in Australia or New Zealand, being doted on by a cosplay maid!

You’ve probably heard that there’s no better spot to party than Japan. So, how does an all-you-can-drink Saké tour sound? Japan is well known for its love of whiskey and beer, but for an authentically Japanese alcohol, you can’t go past Saké.

An acquired taste for most, Saké is a rice wine with a fairly high alcohol content, sitting at at least 15% when diluted. Fortunately, the clear beverage is designed to sip, not shot, so you can savour it and relish any aromas that might be present. Saké, like all wines, comes in a range of different qualities and price points and is readily available as a single drink or mixed into cocktails if that is more your taste. But for the ultimate experience and a fun night out, a great way to understand Saké better is to take advantage of a Saké tasting, where you will learn more about its origins and how to spot a superior offering.

Shinjuku is one of Tokyo’s most vibrant neighbourhoods. It has some of the world’s best food, plenty of bars and nightlife, and the energy a city as bustling as Tokyo can provide. It’s a popular place for visitors to stay as its train station sits on the same line as the airport. It is central, safe, clean, and features a bit of everything for every taste, age and budget. For a boys trip, it is a must-visit in your Tokyo itinerary. The buzzing nightlife, street food and izakayas make for a great night out, but if you want to dive in and feel like a local, head to Fumotoya for some soba and kaiseki.

There you have it—the best activities for a boys trip in Tokyo! What are you waiting for?