Tokyo

A city that had always been on my bucket list, but one that I'd always put off visiting due to the distance and the perception of it being wildly expensive.

Unable to find a suitable Airbnb for a longer stay, I opted to condense my visit into a packed 8-night hotel stay.

If on holiday, 3+ days feels like the bare minimum needed to make the most out of the trip. Anything less than a week and I felt like I wouldn't have had enough time.

Finding suitable accommodation would be the only thing that would deter me from booking or advising on a month-long stay, as the constraints of a hotel experience can begin to wear thin after a while.

During my time there in late May/early June, two days were almost complete write-offs due to intense rain, two days were beautifully clear and sunny, and the rest were a mix of hazy sunlight with warm temperatures at all times. The rainfall is a massive hindrance and does remove your ability to comfortably explore the city.

From everything I can gather, March/April & September/November ranges manage to strike a balance between the seasons and mitigate some of the worst climatic events throughout the year.

Prior to visiting, it's hard to know where to start when looking at the map of Tokyo. The metropolitan area is enormous and also incorporates gigantic independent cities like Yokohama and Kawasaki.

If you're only staying for a couple of nights and want the most intense experience possible, you may want to pay the premium and immerse yourself in the unrelenting hubs of Shibuya and Shinjuku.

However, if you're staying for a week or longer, basing yourself a few stops away on the metro will give you better value, a more flexible space to explore from, and ultimately a more restful stay.

You won't struggle to find somewhere to work from in Tokyo. WeWork has 29 sites across the city, and having the All Access Pass is an ideal way to see as much of the vast city as possible. Chain coffee shops are open late, and like the country as a whole, WiFi was generally excellent.

Tokyo is a truly cosmopolitan city, especially in the main hubs mentioned above. However, you don't have to venture far into more residential areas for that international feel to soon fade.

The high accommodation costs, in comparison to somewhere like Bangkok, make it problematic for conventional month-long stints for digital nomads. Instead, you are more likely to encounter long-term expats or holiday makers from all corners of the world.