A Continuous Lean

A Continuous Lean

Field Guide Tokyo

Part I.

Michael Williams
Oct 01, 2025
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Japan is a favorite (and most frequented) travel destination. It’s a place of endless inspiration for my work and life, and it has been hard to avoid. I love it on many levels, and over the past 20 years, I have been dozens of times.

It’s been over 5 years since my last trip there, and that gap made me excited to visit. One thing I always tell people is that finding locals to take you out to dinner will significantly enhance your experience. There’s so much in Japan that is hard to find for travelers who don’t speak the language. That doesn’t mean it’s a difficult place to visit (it’s actually relatively easy), but finding things off the beaten path takes special effort. Below are a lot of things I saw while I was there this month. Additionally, I shared some great places to stay, eat and shop while visiting. I have so much to share, this will likely be the first in a multi-story effort from this trip. Hope you enjoy!

Are you going to Japan? I think we should talk about it. If you are a subscriber to this site, you can book a meeting with me for a nominal fee of $5 (because they make me charge something), and we can talk about tips and some suggestions on where to shop, places to eat, and what to see. Things in Tokyo are harder to find than in most other major tourist destinations, and having extra intel really helps make the visit successful. I’ve been over a dozen times, and I have some serious advice to share. I love helping people figure out there trip so please do reach out.

Three Bars

Bar Martha (Tokyo) — Incredible cocktails and acoustics. This is a proper listening bar and there are a lot of rules. No loud talking. No photos and they watch you like hawks. That might turn people off, but I think it’s worth putting up because the music is great and the cocktails are as good as I have ever had.

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