Tokyo.
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Hey guys.
In Tokyo for 4 nights. (get in 4pm on day 1) have 3 full days then leave 11am Day 5.
Never been before. Not got a hotel booked or any plans (though I think I know what I want to do one of the days).
Looking for suggestions please. Where to sleep/stay/what to do.
Nothing mentally expensive please.
Mark
In Tokyo for 4 nights. (get in 4pm on day 1) have 3 full days then leave 11am Day 5.
Never been before. Not got a hotel booked or any plans (though I think I know what I want to do one of the days).
Looking for suggestions please. Where to sleep/stay/what to do.
Nothing mentally expensive please.
Mark
0
Comments
Oh yeh I know its going to be expensive. (My trip is all around the world) What I meant was I dont want a king suite at the Four Seasons.
Friendly and good-natured staff in the hotel, especially in the canteen (it does look more like a canteen than a restaurant). Like everywhere else in Japan, proficiency in English is far from guaranteed. Rooms are tiny and the one-piece moulded-plastic bathrooms are something to tell your friends about when you get back.
For the chance to see a culture which is as eccentric as I think ours is, I was happy to pay the price of staying in Tokyo.
Street and subway signs are in roman script (romaji) as well as Japanese script, and all the subway stations that I visited had one ticket machine with an English menu option.
I don't think it's possible to do justice to a visit to Japan without doing some research via the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide books.
If this visit whets your appetite to see the rest of Japan - which isn't as frenetic and perhaps stiff as Tokyo -- then great!
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3001.html
Its in a really traditional part of the city. Tiny wooden houses with Geisha wandering about.
I'd advise just for an hour or so finding an amusement arcade. NOTHING like ones in this country. Watching the sweaty be-suited salarymen boxing on large boxing rings against robotic opponents is truly bizarre. I had a shot on a horse-racing machine where you jump astride a robotic horse and whip it with an electronic crop.
Pachinko is very bizarre too.
A walk through Shinjuku is scary. The buildings are huge!!! Not one for someone with vertigo.
Ginza is a very affluent area, high class shops and a very famous Kabuki theatre. The shows are long but I'd highly recommend.
http://www.shochiku.co.jp/play/kabukiza/theater/
Roppongi is the area to go for nightlife.
For cheap filling food, find a ramen bar. Curry ramen is a thick filling noodle soup which will keep you going for a long time.
Shinjuku - The inspiration for Blade Runner
Akihabara - "Electronics town" - the latest computer gear, gadgets and "maid cafes"
Asakasa temple - A bit of historical culture and lots of souvenir shops.
Metropolis Towers - Free to go up for a great birdseye view of Tokyo
Shibuya - This place always makes it into Western films or TV shows about Japan. Has a video wall on the building. If you've seen Lost in Translation, it's where the dinosaur walks across.
JR train to Kamakura then take the cute little shuttle to Hase. 5 mins pleasant walk from there, or the muscular leather-clad gents at the station will cycle you there in their trishaws.
There's a beautiful and moving temple and shrine to babies and children who didn't make it in life on the way to the Buddha statue.
I'm thinking of heading out there and I've a few questions for those who have been there before.
- Is it English language friendly? Ie.. does public transport have english translations and can I expect people I speak to in restaurants/stores to be able to grasp what I'm saying/asking for?
- Does anyone know of any hotels with high good views of the city at night? I'm looking for a Blade Runner vibe from my hotel room.
- Any suggestions of places to go to see Tokyo culture? Ie.. arcade game places, alleys with neon lights, that sort of thing.
- Is it worth considering a bullet train day tour? I've seen one that goes to Mount Fuji.
Any other random tips or advice would be much appreciated.
Not English, but all the stations and trains, and even most of the streets for that matter have signs in 'Romaji' i.e the roman alphabet as used in English. The on board train annoucements, tend to be repeated in English (with an American accent)
As for the people, most of them won't really be able to speak much English, if any at all. But you should be able to get by pointing at things and using basic Japanese eg hello/please/thank you.
Can't help with that as I rented an apartment.
Akihabara is good for that sort of thing. Although you will see the neon lights all over the place.
Mount Fuji is great. We got a bus tour there as it is not that far from the city, but the Shinkansen would be good too. It is expensive though I believe, and usually used for longer distances.
Stay away from the trains during morning rush hour!
The train system has all of the station names written in English. I suggest having an English train map with you and if you get lost, find a station employee and just point at where you want to go. Even if they can't speak English, they're used to that now.
As for shops and restaurants, it depends. A lot of restaurants have English menus and those that don't usually have photo menus. Again, pointing helps a lot!
- Does anyone know of any hotels with high good views of the city at night? I'm looking for a Blade Runner vibe from my hotel room.
I can't help much with hotels as I live here... If you have money to burn though the Park Hyatt has wonderful views as the hotel starts on the 41st floor of a building. It's the hotel from Lost in Translation. They also do wonderful afternoon tea sessions also
- Any suggestions of places to go to see Tokyo culture? Ie.. arcade game places, alleys with neon lights, that sort of thing.
Akihabara is the go to place for arcades and manga/anime culture. You should go to Shibuya too for the scramble crossing and video screens everywhere. Shinjuku's Kabukicho district is a lot of fun at night (but don't follow anyone that's trying to get you into their bar...) Harajuku's Takeshita Street is the best place to see young (and often crazy) fashion and culture. Try Asakusa and Harajuku for the best temples in Tokyo (Sensoji and Meiji Jingu respectively). My favourite part of Tokyo is Odaiba though - it's a man made island full of weirdly shaped buildings, a life sized Gundam, a shopping centre in the style of a medieval Italian city and some of the restaurants have spectacular views of the Tokyo skyline.
- Is it worth considering a bullet train day tour? I've seen one that goes to Mount Fuji.
Fuji isn't that far from Tokyo. I imagine that a bullet train tour there would be needlessly expensive. You can probably do it cheaper via a bus tour. On a clear day, you can see Fuji from some parts of Tokyo anyway (because it's huge, mainly)
Speaking of Lost in Translation, don't suppose you know anywhere in Tokyo that sells those stuffed owl type toys do you? The one he gives Charlotte. I've a friend who has wanted one ever since the film came out and it's something I'd HAVE to find if I visited.
For cheapish hotels look to the chains like Toyoko Inn or APA. Capsule hotels are cheap too and not at all as bad as they might first seem, I'm pretty tall but handle most with no issue.
No bullet trains go to mount Fuji. One goes to Fuji city but that's a rather grim industrial city at the bottom of the uglier and less touristy slope of Mt Fuji. You can however take conventional local or express trains to the Kawaguchiko/Fuji Yoshida, which is the nice and naturey side of the mountain.
There's not much to see unless you have a car or plan on actually climbing the mountain though.
Harajuku is a tourist trap. The actual fashion stuff moved on long ago.
English is EVERYWHERE in Tokyo. It really is crazy how many people speak English and how many English signs there are. People live in Tokyo for years without ever learning a lick of Japanese.
For a good view of the city go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building near Shinjuku station. It is free. Excellent place to take girls.
Tokyo Tower has rather crappy views these days as it is surrounded by tall buildings and the Sky Tree, though nice, costs a lot and has a big line.
Do not go to Roppongi at night. By day it is a rather posh and up-scale neighbourhood but by night it is a cess pit. Tales are abound of guys there getting their drinks spiked and being robbed blind. Not to mention the sheer amount of American guys you'll run into there.
Much better for night life is Shibuya.
Overall Tokyo isn't so great for tourists IMO. There's not really all that much to see. Kansai is much better.
Places to go:
Ueno: Its stuck in a timewarp. Its like 1960s-80s Japan. Really cool. Though gets a little seedy a night.
Asakusa: Down the road from Ueno, typical touristy area with a rather nice old temple and old buildings and stuff...oh. The sky tree is there abouts too.
Shimo-kitazawa: The hipster neighbourhood of Tokyo (though it is getting a bit too well known and expensive so things are changing...) some nice pubs and weird people and cool shops. Feels kind of like a small town of its own.
Shibuya: Shibuya, Chiyoda and Shinjuku are the three main big city parts of Tokyo. Chiyoda (Tokyo Station area) is mostly offices, Shinjuku is a mix of offices and yakuza, Shibuya is more of a regular big city work and play place. Lots of nice bars and clubs.
Kokubunji: Student area. Quite outside the centre yet rather busy and cool. Also has the Ghibli Museum.
Koenji: Shimo-Kita is the hipster area, Koenji is the more established alternative area.So many live music venues.
Yokohama: A really nice city where even the people seem friendlier than in Tokyo despite it being a few minutes train journey away.
To avoid:
Ikebukuro: Where most of the "Yankis" (Japanese version of chavs) go. A crappier version of Shibuya. See also Saitama/Japanese Essex.
Roppongi: Where Americans go to get drunk on overpriced, watered down booze in overcrowded and overly loud bars; and shady characters go to prey on them.
Akasaka: Its not actually that bad an area. It has the only Hooters in Japan IIRC. But it isn't Asakusa nor is it anywhere near it. Many a man has got the two mixed up.
Harajuku: Really. Its over-crowded and over touristed and there is no reason to devote much time to going there. Nearby is Meiji Shrine which is a must see and Yoyogi Park is a nice place for a party but Harajuku itself isn't great. It is the only place in Japan I've ever been robbed too. And I've spent time in some pretty Yakky places.
No, the stores are still there. You just don't see the cosplayers and Lolitas there en masse anymore unless there's a Fashion Walk planned. Blame the police for that one.
The Ghibli Museum is in Mitaka, not Kokubunji. But anyway, the Ghibl Museum needs booking several weeks in advance so it's an irrelevant point.
It's also the female version of Akihabara, and has all of the stores selling female orientated manga/anime. That's it's main draw now. It does have the Kit-Kat store though
I was there quite late last night... It's fine if you stay around the Hills area but not a place to go clubbing or bar hopping, definitely. The Mori Tower is expensive to go up, but gives good views and if there is an event/exhibition on that is of interest, it's not so bad. There are Pokemon exhibits and a Pikachu themed cafe up there at the moment
Shibuya has one now. But yeah, Akasaka is dull apart from the nice theatre and live venue there. One of my offices is there, I tend to leave asap after finishing work.
I second Yokohama, especially the area around Sakuragaicho station on the bay.