Here’s a fun way to start off your Nippon-infused 2016: with everyone’s guilty pleasure—a list post—of our favorite Tokyo tweeters (or at least Japan related) broadcasting their opinions, anecdotes and banter unto the twitterverse.

I’ve assembled this higgledy-pickeldy list of who I find most interesting, insightful, on topic and funny. Some of the tweeps below have very deep and in-depth knowledge of Japan whilst others are newer, but for their anecdotes I click the heart button in equal measure. I’ve also bunged the lot into a list for ease of following/trolling.

So without further ado, in no particular order:

Suggested Activity
Get Tickets To the Samurai Restaurant in Shinjuku (Up to 30% Off)
Experience one of the craziest, most colorful places in Tokyo — the all-new Samurai Restaurant, from the creators of the Robot Restaurant. Get your tickets and sit back for a wild show of lasers, lights, samurai, dancers and other uniquely Japanese weirdness.

Tokyo Cheapo Recommended People Tweeting About Tokyo/Japan

the tokyo files @thetokyofiles
Salaryman. A biographer of cities, interested in history, art & architecture, Japanese film, cartography, urbanism and mass transit.


St Stev @ststev
Best avatar eva. British scientist based in Kyushuu. Funny.


Photo by Brian De Hues

Brian @Briandotjp
Occasional drunk tweeter, semi-regular tech tweeter and plenty of fun Tokyo/Japan anecdotes.


Mulboyne @Mulboyne
Our favorite tweeter of late: funny, interesting with a healthy dose of cynicism.


kimiecat @kimiecat
Self-proclaimed “tiny cog in the Hollywood machine” + fun anecdotes from Tokyo.


Tokyo Architect @martintokyo
Dutch architect based in Tokyo.


Greg Lane @cheapogreg
One of our founders, and veteran Tokyo Cheapo.


Vivian Morelli @lostinseoul
A new mom who will hopefully get back to a normal sleeping pattern soon so she can return to her regular job of reporting on the smells on the Keio Line. Also a talented freelance writer who we are unfortunately too cheap to afford.


Alisha (アリーシャ)@ArishaInTokyo
More fun Tokyo anecdotal tweeting.

Suggested Activity
Official Street Go-Kart in Shibuya
Dress up in costume and drive through the famous Shibuya Crossing, Harajuku and Omotesando. You'll get a whole new view of the city. This is one of the most popular activities in Tokyo!

mrkirkland @mrkirkland
Me! Sporadic pictures of dogs in coats, Engrish and pseudo-philosophical musings.


Joseph Tame @tamegoeswild
Our favorite British eccentric based in Tokyo. Watch out for the neon flashing head gear/full body apparatus.


JapanCheapo @JapanCheapo
Our sister site for the rest of Japan.


Ako @AkoKitamura
Language teacher tweeting a daily dose of topical Japanese vocab.


Rekishi no Tabi @RekishinoTabi
Long-term foreign resident in Japan who really likes Japanese history and taking photos.

Suggested Activity
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With mobile data packages from $US3.99 for 1GB to $US22.99 for 20GB, Saily has your Japan data needs covered. Saily is brought to you by the people behind NordVPN. Use TYOCHEAPO5 at checkout for a 5% discount.

Philip Brasor @philipbrasor
A writer-for-hire living in Japan and interested in the 4 Ms: movies, music, money, and media.


Alan Nishimura @AsiaChaos
Nice avatar.


Journos/News/Politics

Less on anecdote, but more on fact and analysis, below are our journey tweeps:

Tobias Harris @observingjapan
Vice President, Teneo Intelligence. Japan analyst.


William Pesek @WilliamPesek
Barron’s Asia executive editor, author of ‘Japanization’, pop culture junkie.


timhornyak @robotopia
Tokyo writer focused on tech, biz, travel, occasional book reviews for @JapanTimes; author, Loving the Machine; ex-IDG, CNET, Lonely Planet.


Justin mccurry @justinmccurry
Correspondent for the Guardian & Observer.


Hikosaemon @hikosaemon
Veteran bilingual YouTuber and tweeter, a good all-round Japan expert and entertainer. Originally from NZ.


Richard Lloyd Parry @dicklp
Asia Editor, The Times. Author of ‘People Who Eat Darkness’ and ‘In the Time of Madness’.


Hiroko Tabuchi @HirokoTabuchi
New York Times reporter, awesome journo. Now based in New York, but continues to drop gold nuggets of Japan wisdom and analysis.


Michael Thomas Cucek @MichaelTCucek
A long-term Japaneer and academic with political insight, observation and comic flare for sarcasm.


Michael Fitzpatrick @fitzp
Tokyo-based freelance journalist. BBC online, International NYTs, The Bookseller, and others.

Written by:
Chris's Tokyo favorites are: Tomoe Sushi, Borne, Udagawa Cafe Suite
Filed under: Editorial
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