Badminton star Viktor Axelsen’s Tokyo tips

Take a walk in a Tokyo garden

Tokyo is full of beautiful gardens and parks that offer a relaxing and revitalizing retreat from the lively city. My favorite is the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, which has a traditional Japanese garden and tea house. Go in the morning when the air is cooler.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Immerse yourself in Japanese history

The Ohya Shobo Bookshop is a trip back in time, stocking a large selection of books from the Edo period (1603-1868). If you’re lucky, you can also find valuable art prints here from renowned and contemporary Japanese artists as well as antique maps and historical treasures.

The Ohya Shobo Bookshop

King of street food

Yaki-imo is Japanese baked sweet potatoes, for sale all over the city. Keep an eye out for the yaki-imo men, grilling potatoes over portable charcoal burners mounted on pick-up trucks or bikes. They have several varieties, including satsuma-imo, which is yellow, the purple ­beni-imo or murasaki-imo.

Get new badminton gear

Japan is home to one of the world’s biggest brands, Yonex, which is also my sponsor. There are plenty of sports shops in the Ginza and Chiyoda districts if you prefer other brands, but I would recommend checking out the Yonex Showroom in Akihabara where you’ll find the latest models of shoes and rackets.

Yonex Showroom

Raw like sushi

Eat sashimi at Sushi kan, one of my regular haunts. Have whatever the chefs recommend, let them tell you what is in season or good right now. On your way here, stop by the famous Tsukiji fish market nearby – a perfect warm-up for this fish feast.

Sushi kan

On your toes

Explore the city on foot. You’ll find a lot of hidden gems that way, everything from Japanese temples and gardens, to small pedestrianized streets dotted with souvenir shops or great restaurants and bars.

Feed with weed

Stock up on nori. I really enjoy eating seaweed, and getting it in Japan is a great bargain compared to the heavily overpriced stuff you can find at home.