The Perfect Holiday Gift Gift Now

Ten out of yen for Tokyo

Irish Daily Mirror

|

January 03, 2026

Tha Japanese city is surprisingly good value says ANDY GILPIN - as long as you spend like a local

Right, let's dust down some myths and misconceptions about Tokyo. It’s not a city gridlocked with traffic, not everyone has green hair and a labubu doll tied to their waists* and giant mutated lizard attacks are not prevalent. And it's not expensive - in fact, it's pretty cheap.

The caveat is that the yen is currently weak, so money goes a lot further.

The misnomer that it's a sky-high-priced city comes from the 1980s, when it was the economic centre of the world and, thanks to the tech boom, incredibly expensive.

But the world has moved on and in many ways Tokyo hasn't. That doesn’t mean it's not still clean, functional and an assault on the senses, because it is - just not at a price.

We had a mission: see as much of the sprawling city as we could in just 72 hours.

Our base was a newly opened Yotel in the busy but sanitised Ginza district - the first to open in Japan. You may think the name and style of Yotel is Japanese, but you'd be wrong. It's a British brand created by a Japanophile who also founded YO! Sushi.

Rooms cost around €200 a night and are exactly what youd expect: small but perfectly formed.

Irish Daily Mirror'den DAHA FAZLA HİKAYE

Irish Daily Mirror

Gers skipper says Light Blues have the title in their sights with shaky Celts shipping points

JAMES TAVERNIER admits he's never known a season like it.

time to read

2 mins

January 03, 2026

Irish Daily Mirror

Movies & shakers

2026 is set to be a bumper year for entertainment, with plenty to get excited about... and we've done all the research so that you don't have to. From Catherine Zeta-Jones' comeback TV role in Kill Jackie to Lily Allen's eagerly anticipated West End Girl tour, we take a look at the best TV, music and cinema to look forward to in 2026. Here are our top picks for the year ahead...

time to read

5 mins

January 03, 2026

Irish Daily Mirror

Irish Daily Mirror

AI headset gives patients epileptic seizure warning

AN AI-POWERED headset that can predict epileptic seizures has been developed by scientists in Scotland.

time to read

1 min

January 03, 2026

Irish Daily Mirror

My lean body for a brand new year

MYLEENE Klass is all too bikini to get away from shivering Britain in the winter.

time to read

1 min

January 03, 2026

Irish Daily Mirror

Can Corc plug holes Boden will seek?

DINGLE BOSS HAS HIS WORK CUT OUT

time to read

1 mins

January 03, 2026

Irish Daily Mirror

Irish Daily Mirror

I'm not quite 70 yet but I love a nap ...we call it going for a Churchill

Gervais juggling a new tour, series & Golden Globes nod

time to read

3 mins

January 03, 2026

Irish Daily Mirror

Joel Dommett: Jonathan brings in bits from his home... but Davina's my TV mum

He may be good at keeping quiet about the identities of celebrities competing in The Masked Singer, but when it comes to spilling the beans about some of the show's other stars, presenter Joel Dommett is far from tight-lipped.

time to read

4 mins

January 03, 2026

Irish Daily Mirror

Rapper's rhyme scenes behind bars

A GANG member awaiting sentencing has launched a new rap track from behind bars, raising questions about when and where his part in the music video was recorded.

time to read

2 mins

January 03, 2026

Irish Daily Mirror

Two worlds collide

Coronation Street and Emmerdale come together in an explosive hour-long special that will change characters’ lives forever

time to read

1 mins

January 03, 2026

Irish Daily Mirror

Series could be a ward winner..

New RTE series shows daily life in one of Ireland's busiest hospitals

time to read

1 min

January 03, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size