Tokyo Superchargers: Two Stops, Two Trains, Three Beers

Spring break in Tokyo, on the way to Shibuya Crossing, I dropped into two Tesla Superchargers worth a look if you are an EV nerd traveling through Japan. One is buried in an underground parking structure under a futuristic high-tech complex. The other is tucked into an upscale suburb a short walk from a designer bookstore. Both required two trains and a bus to connect, and the trip ended with three rounds of beer I do not fully remember ordering.

I asked Gemini Pro for the best Tokyo Superchargers on the route to Shibuya. It gave me Takanawa Gateway first, and a second stop at Daikanyama. So that became the plan.

Stop 1: Takanawa Gateway underground V3

The Takanawa Gateway Supercharger sits under a massive new development the AI called “a high-tech urban hub showcasing the future of Japan’s infrastructure.” It is supposed to be eight V3 stalls. I only found four. Two Model Ys, a Model S, and a lot of confusion about where the other half of the site went.

This thing is hard to find. It is not at street level. You drop down into the building’s underground parking structure, follow the EV signage, and the Tesla bay shows up tucked into a corner with the big red wall and that backlit TESLA pylon. Modern, clean, very Japan.

Here is the part I did not expect to find on the other side of the planet. Two Model Y owners parked in charging stalls, not charging. Same exact behavior I call out at home. Shame on you, Model Y owners. Pulling that move in Tokyo, where this site is already half the size the AI promised, is rough.

I poked around the rest of the garage and ended up car spotting more than I expected. Sliding-door minivans, a Model S with the kind of curb rash I assumed only existed in California parking lots, and a few JDM oddballs. If you have ever spent any time in a Japanese parking lot looking at cars, you know how quickly that goes from “killing five minutes” to “lost an hour.”

Two trains, one surprise bus

The route from Takanawa to Daikanyama took a little over an hour. Two trains and, to my surprise, a bus. The icon in Google Maps looked like a train. It was not a train. Worth knowing if you are pulling this off without a car.

Riding the trains in Tokyo is just a joy. The system makes sense, Google Maps is integrated cleanly, and the English signage from the Olympics is still up almost everywhere. Between that and Google Translate, you can navigate even if your Japanese stops at “arigato.”

Stop 2: Daikanyama Supercharger

Daikanyama is a different vibe entirely. Quiet, scenic, suburban, and clearly upscale. There is a Tsutaya Books right next door that the AI hyped as a world-class collection of automotive design and architecture books, with a boutique Starbucks and an Ivy Place restaurant attached.

The Supercharger itself was a letdown on numbers. Listed as four V3 stalls at 250 kW. I saw two. There was one new-gen Model 3 charging when I walked up.

The pitch from the AI was that this lot doubles as an informal gallery of rare local cars because of the upscale neighborhood. On my visit, it was one Mini Cooper and a quiet street. Still worth the trip for the area itself more than the charging site. If you want a Tokyo Supercharger that feels less like an underground parking garage and more like a neighborhood, this is the one. It is the closest thing Tokyo has to a destination charger in the Tesla Diner sense, where the location does the heavy lifting, not the stalls. If you want to actually grab some free Supercharging miles back home, you know where to look.

Spring Valley Brewery detour

After the second stop I stumbled into Spring Valley Brewery just outside Shibuya and the video stops being about Superchargers. Three rounds of beer, three rounds of food. The Jazzberry was great. The After Dark was great. The third round, I told them “anything but IPA, surprise me,” and I genuinely do not remember what landed on the table. Pizza was involved. Squid was involved.

I love Tokyo. I will say it as many times as I have to. Two Tesla Superchargers, two trains, one surprise bus, three beers, and zero regrets. If I do not post a video in two weeks, cash out my Tesla and Rivian stocks and come get me out of jail.