As per title really - I've had a wedding in SE Asia sprung on me at short notice, so the missus and I are thinking of stopping in Tokyo for a couple of nights as it's en route for us. Without knowing a word of Japanese between us, what is there to do? Apart from wander round in wide-eyed amazement, obviously.
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What to do in Tokyo in 24 hours?
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Posted 1 year ago #
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Buy me some Hello Kitty tourist tat!
Oh no go on, please.
Why not try to find out where the quietest place in Tokyo is? Could be quite a challenge!
Posted 1 year ago # -
First thing's first: Don't let the missus catch you gawping at the Japanese totty. The ladies genuinely do walk about wearing naughty schoolgirl outfits as everyday clobber.
Tokyo is frickin' gigantic, so don't expect to do too much in 24 hours.
Highlights for me were:
Tsukiji Fish Market - get there REALLY early to watch the restaurants bidding silly money for tuna. All finished by about 6:30am.
Sumo - Up the road from Tsukiji. We were in Tokyo at the start of a national Sumo championship, so got lucky. Dunno if it's on all the time, but worth an hour or two of your time if it is.
Akihabara Electric Town - More lights than you've ever seen, bazillions of electronic gadgetry outlets, and sleazy cafes that I'm sure doubled as knocking shops given the way the punters were leering at the waitresses.
Shibuya - MASSIVE tv screen on the side of a building, lots of ladies in skimpy outfits (plus a few men...
) and loads of tiny ramen bars: imagine a room 6' x 12' with a kitchen, six stools and a long thin table.
Park Hyatt Tokyo, New York Grill - Spectacular restaurant on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt (the one in Lost in Translation). They did an a la carte menu for not too much, maybe £75 each, that resulted in us eating sushi, tempura, Kobe steaks and sipping Yoichi Whisky whilst looking down on the nightlife of Tokyo. Absolutely magical place. It's not too far from Shinjuku station, which is pretty central from a sightseeing perspective. We went in on the morning and booked a table for the same evening - try and get one at a window, and time it for sunset.
Roppongi - for the night out. Varies from the mentally expensive to the just expensive, but worth it to see the pretty young things in action.I guess it depends on what you & your wife's preferences are. You could do a lot worse than buying/borrowing a copy of the Lonely Planet's Japan guide - there's an excellent section on Tokyo there.
If you get lost or stuck, approach some younger looking people. Under 30s generally have an excellent grasp of English and are very willing to help, whilst the older generations look at you in terror if you so much as attempt speak to them. Some will go as far as pretending not to understand your efforts at asking for a phone card and some Pocari Sweat in your best Japanese, just to avoid speaking to a gaijin.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Cracking write up Flying OX- I want to go there now!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'd go to a shibari or S&M club
Posted 1 year ago # -
I spent a week there in 98, cracking place.
Public transport is amazingly good so if you want to get out of town it's quite easy. Narita town, near Narita Airport, has a very impressive temple complex.
If you can extend your stopover DO IT. There's way too much there for just 24 hours.Posted 1 year ago # -
i spent a weekend there a few years ago & would have loved to have stayed longer - fantastic place.
Posted 1 year ago # -
And if you want to raise your trip above the navel at any time, I have heard that the Edo Tokyo museum is very good. Lots of informative stuff with nice blend of out there crazy Japanese surrealism. And English speaking guides. Not been there this is from somebody at work. Might be quiet !
Posted 1 year ago # -
Went with work for a week this year.
Things I did that were good: backstreet sushi place, posh sushi place, backstreet noodle bars, shopping in Shibuya (the place with all the big crossing and tv billboards), Shinjuko (electronics), Harajuku (for the schoolgirl types and other freaks), Roppongi (for drinking and flirting without success)
Things I did that were not good: Walked too far, spent too much cash.
Things I wished I had done: Seen some culture (no time), gone biking (according to collegues there is good MTBing ~1 hour from city with lifts)
Posted 1 year ago # -
Excellent - thanks for the suggestions. The OH has decided we need to stay for 3 nights (ie 2 days), and she's right, so hopefully we can get to see a fair amount.
I have no idea what Roppongi or Harajuku are, but I've no doubt I won't be allowed anywhere near them
Posted 1 year ago # -
Second Flying Ox, but also find an okanomiyaki restaurant. Tastiest use of eggs and miscellaneous ingredients ever - like a drunken attempt at making savoury pancake. Look for the spatula symbol and you get to cook it yourself at a hot plate on your table.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'd recommend staying in the suburbs, that way you'll get a taste of 'normal' Japanese life. I stayed 5 nights in a business hotel in the Koiwa district that let some of it's rooms through the hostelling international network. Each night I ate in a small cafe bar close by and was made very welcome by the owner and regulars there. Rail links to the city centre were excellent at all times of the day.
Posted 1 year ago # -
It is a massive place, I spent a week there a year ago, loved it, wish I could have stayed longer. If you want to go riding with a good NZ guide then get in touch with MTB Japan, Benny is a top bloke and the riding is amazing, so so natural, none of this man made stuff. His place is 1 hour north of Tokyo on the bullet.
The gang
Natural trails
Hmmm, rice balls
There's also a bike park / DH place that I didn't manage to get to this time but apparently is good, just over an hour west from Tokyo.
Lots more riding too, just search around Google and there's lots of hits.
As for in the city, I did the vague walking thing around the palace etc, did about 6 hours of walking and got to see a few nice back street type things. Also bumped into the Hello Kitty type concert or equally bonkers, lots of young girls dressed up like god knows what, mad as a bag of cats.
Can't wait to go back...
Posted 1 year ago # -
bit late to the post... but
we had three nights there last year on way back from Oz, had an amazing time, 3 days is just a taster and really isn't enough.We stayed here: http://andon.co.jp/index.html
Modern interpretation of the traditional Japanese guest house, somewhere between a hotel and hostel. Individual rooms a couple of tatami mats big and it was super reasonable for accommodation in tokyo. Easy enough to get into town and handy for the airport.day 1 We took one of the shortest bullet train journeys (15mins) to yokohama, so we could go on the shinkansen (ace!) and go to the ramen museum, the basement food hall was great, and so I could visit the Ferry Terminal by foreign office architects.
day 2 we got tattoo'd and went out that night with the tattooist for a locals tour
day 3 we tried to do the rest of tokyo, it was hectic...
Asakusa - massive lantern, loads of stalls to get your souvenirs, some tat but I mostly thought it was all amazing.
Akihabara - electronic district, not only (mostly young) girls dressed as maids etc. but also people stood outside their shops reading lists of what they sell with loud hailers - worth a bemused look.
Yoyogi park - we missed the rockabillys, think they're out on sundays
harajuku - kind of like camdem but on really strong japanese acid
Arranged to meet an old school mate by the Hachiko dog statue outside of Shibuya station (the one with that crossing) at 6 o'clock on a sat night, was pretty busy.Had an amazing time looking forward to going back, but with more time
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'd get the raas out of Tokyo asap and head to Nikkō.
As fun as Tokyo is its just another big dirty city; bigger and dirtier than most!I wouldn't bother trying to find anywhere specific to eat if you get recommendations as the addressing system is incomprehensible and it tends to take forever to figure out where you're supposed to be.
Sumo tournaments only happen 6 times a year in Tokyo so you'd be lucky to catch one - if you do, turn up early to get yourself into the cheap seats.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Well it is simple...
Buy some dirty used knickers from a vending machine and retire to your hotel.
Posted 1 year ago #
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