i was just there in nov. look up hotel stuff on tripadvisor.com. find out your budget b/c that can affect your hotel/restaurants. there are some cheap noodle houses that are good. you have to go to the tsujiki (sp?) fish market like at 6 am and eat sushi!!! it's sooooooooooooo good! i promise it'll be the best and most def the most fresh sushi you'll ever eat in your life. also, a bar called 300 bar that is awesome! cheapest drinks you'll find in town and a bit of a hole in the wall but very nice ppl!!! we stayed in the hotel right next to it. i recommend kyoto too for the traditional flair of japan. it was the old capitol for years so lots of history, temples and traditional restaurants. oh and you have to eat at freshness burger! it is good! and the mcdonald's there is the best i've had in the world. every single thing they make there looks like the ones in commercials. we loved the noodle houses tho, since it was rather cold when we were there, the broth was soo good and the miso soup. man, i want japanese food now. have fun!!
I used to live and work in Tokyo .While the city is cool, I would absolutely go somewhere outside the city as well. Shibuya (shopping district) is pretty neat. It's the one where you have thousands of Japanese people crossing the street all at once. I am sure you have seen it on TV. Even if you don’t like shopping, it’s a cool experience. Roppongi- Depending on your age and if you’re in the night life kind of mood, you should at least go there once. This is also known as the “party district”. Be aware that this district will be swamped with guys from the US Navy base in Nagasaki and surrounding areas during the weekends. It can get kind of ugly with a lot of bar fights. *jerks* Asakusa -This is a district where you can still find "old Tokyo". A more traditional place, unlike sky scrapes and busy streets. Tsukiji Market- I never went there, but I regret not going. This is the world's largest fish market. Also..one of the few things I miss about Tokyo is this place: Monsoon Cafe I would also make sure to buy this book. We always tend to buy the Eyewitness travel guides for the places we plan to visit. By far the best guide out there! http://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-EYEWITNESS-TRAVEL-GUIDE-Publishing/dp/0756632285
the tsukiji fish market is incredible. you have to go there pretty early to see the action. i think i got up and headed out from shibuya around 4:30 to 5AM. there are quite a few tourists there watching the fish auctions happen and walking around looking at the fresh seafood. the size of the fish are incredible, and there's a lot of cool stuff to look at. the best part about the market is the fresh sushi of course. as fresh as it gets. there are a whole bunch of sushi restaurants across from the fish market. they are traditional sushi bars, and they are VERY small little bars. i'd say only about 8 to 10 people fit in there. i'd recommend ordering the set menus they have that day, and the chefs will just keep giving you sushi as you go. so fresh and so amazing. the best sushi i've ever had. harajuku district has shopping too. more street shops and boutiques/sneaker stores. the place is famous for these japanese girls that go out there dressed very flashy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harajuku i forget where it is, but there's this restaurant, i think near shibuya, but i forget, that serves all you can eat food AND alcohol for like 60 bucks.
I'm definitely going to be all about the Udon noodles. I don't mind eating at the cheaper, more hole in the wall joints so I'll check those out. Right, so I think I'm going to stay smack dab in Shibuya. Preferably as close to the Shinjuku station as possible. I don't want to drag our bags down the street around amidst a mass of thousands of people. Isn't this the liveliest area pretty much all hours day and night? As far as Roppongi, I hear the clubs there are pretty good. I'm prepared to pay ~$8 -10 for an Asahi. : ) I'm also going to try to do some karaoke up there as well. I hear good things about the fish market, but I just don't know if I can make it out of bed at 4:30AM after boozing the night before. The fresh sashmi sounds badass though. I live a few blocks from Fisherman's Wharf here in SF and I hope that Tsujiki isn't the same kind of cluster.
I frequently go to Japan, but I have never actually been to Tokyo... I always visit the inlaws who live in Kyushu... the one thing I will mention though is that going through immigration at Narita is hellish. Everytime I go there, I have to wait 90 minutes to 2 hours in a standing line that is in a room with no air conditioning. It is always the worst part of my trips to Japan. If you are on a tight schedule, please plan accordingly.
That's so different from when I went to Tokyo. Flashed my passport and got through customs in about 10 minutes. It's all changed today for reasons we all know, and it is a real bummer.
I'm in Tokyo right now. Any additional tips? Baqui99? I'm in the Shinjuku area. I decided to to waste some Hyatt points and rent a 100 sqm suite in the Park Hyatt (Lost in Translation hotel).
Awesome city to visit. I was there 9 years ago. But I had a friend to stay with. I can't imagine paying for a hotel there, you're on your own there. If you get a chance, take the train to Kamakura. (I think I'm remembering the name right.) Beautiful, tranquil setting, south of the city---temples, woodland, views of the sea, a big ole Buddha statue. If you do all the walking I had to do, and if you avoid American "cuisine" while you're there (translation: if you like Japanese food and don't try to find McDonald's to sate your need for a taste of "home", no matter how tacky), you'll probably lose weight while you're there. I pigged out but still dropped an inch off my waist in the eight days I was there. Go to Yokohama. It has a great Chinatown. Thing is, no matter where you go there, no matter what you do, it's just incredible. Tokyo is immense, and it seems no square foot (er, squared meter) is wasted. Have a great time. And remember: Kamakura. OR AT LEAST get on a train to get outside the city a little. Night and day.
ATW, I was just in Tokyo in March (in fact, I posted in this thread a couple days before I left). You have to try this yakitori restaurant called Fuku . It's very decently priced, and the quality of the yakitori is amazing. We actually went there twice while in Tokyo. There's a little sushi place in the Tsukiji fish market called Sushi Dai that was really good. I did the same as you while in Tokyo and redeemed my Starwood points (stayed for free at the Sheraton for about 10 days)...if there's anywhere to redeem hotel points, it's Tokyo.
Other things I just thought of... Go to Yoyogi Park on a Sunday afternoon, the people watching there is something to see. The shops in and around Harajuku (next to Yoyogi Park) are pretty unique to Japanese youth culture, and are definitely worth checking out. Oh, and buy shoes from here and resell in Europe for double.
