Tokyo - what should i do there?

Please Reply Soon!!!!!!

06 25 2004

just came back from 8 days in Kyoto and Tokyo.
amazing.

best:
golden gai bars in shinjuku.
harajuku freaks and live music on sunday.
daikanyama.

"Also one of the thinks I found most interesting was how one block would have giant skyscrapers, the next block would be full of colorful stores, the next block would be quaint bars, the next block would be a shrine, the next block would be love hotels and strip clubs, and the next block would be a park, and then another block of sckyscrapers. (well this may be a little exagerated, but some places were like this) "

otm

got a couple of days free in tokyo this weekend.

any more non-shopping ideas?

have you been to yanaka? it's a really beautiful old part of town, lots of temples, literally hundreds of cats everywhere, huge cemetery, lots of old meiji period houses down endlessly winding side streets, lots of galleries and small independent shops. yanaka ginza is really nice on a saturday afternoon, lots of good and cheap street food. just a really nice peaceful part of the city, and still really central. you can catch the metro to nezu on the chiyoda line, or the jr to nippori on the yamanote line

from there you could walk to ueno park and see the newly blossomed lotus. there's also a zoo! ueno itself is quite a large shopping/night life district and you can walk to akiba in about 10 minutes if you get bored of too much nature

i dunno it depends what kinda stuff you're into i guess. there's a lot to do in tokyo

oh ueno also has a super bustling market as well which is worth checking out

that all sounds lovely, thanks

never been to japan in summer before..bit shocked by the humidity pheww

I was going to say just make sure to eat in the tiny cheap restaurants that are everywhere, but if you've already been to Japan you'll know all about those.

Otherwise it's the most fabulous place for walking, I thought. Tokyo suffers in tourist terms for being short on huge set-piece things, but at street level, on a human scale, the level of interest is extraordinary. It's nearly all great I thought. Yanaka is indeed lovely. I enjoyed a random walk we did which I think was Yotsuya - Akasaka - Roppongi - Harajuku but it's all good, no real point in giving recommendations. Follow side streets & alleys, and carry a map and a camera.

def agree that finding a decent starting point and just wandering/cycling around and getting randomly lost is the best way to enjoy tokyo. it's such a vast city that it's almost impossible to stray too far into the void, especially if you have a map or something

i forgot to mention the tanabata festival this weekend that runs from ueno station to akasuka (interesting downtown area w/ huge temple, quite touristy but worth a visit)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanabata

btw if you wanted i totally have a bike i'd be happy to lend you

i've been to japan quite a lot but never had any time where my colleagues have not been taking me around (they always take me to great places though) so i don't really have a good feel for the place. i really fancy the idea of just walking and exploring on my own for a day or so.

went to the tiniest restaurant (there were 2 tables i think) for lunch today near our office. loads of amazing sashimi for about £5.

thanks missingNO that's so kind but i'd get too sweaty on a bike in this weather, walking suits me fine

pee on a octopus imo

my boss is taking me for eel tonight...excited

unagi? if so you're in for such a treat

Bump? Any food / live music recs would be welcomed. Going to be there end of December / early January. Saw the PSF record store on another thread, planning to pay a visit.

bumping this thread in hopes that ilxors have been recently- a friend is hanging out there and wants to do something new- I haven't been in a few years so I just instinctively recommend Tokyo Hands and Mandarake but there's got to be newer places and things to do- holler if you have any recs . . .

fish market in the morning is cool

can anybody vouch for the Robot Restaurant? I've heard the food is terrible but that the show is kind of undeniably extreme

I'm so happy this thread was bumped because I GO TO JAPAN in November or December for I dunno a couple of months? Three months?

Should I look for a place in Tokyo or in Kyoto (or another city?) and if so, what neighborhoods? On a budget and really looking for a great neighborhood where we can walk all over the place and experience cool stuff and eat good foods for not too much moneys.

Go shopping. OKURA and GDC both are cool Japanese fashion labels with shops in fancy Daikanyama. Good cafés and atmosphere, there. Seconding Tokyu Hands for shopping, too. Parco is also pretty cool.

The music scene is ginormous so for live music you gotta dig around, b/c it depends what you want to see.

Oh, and I wasn't able to go because advance booking was req'd, but I hear the Studio Ghibli tour is awesome.

And Quincie, renting in Japan is a pain in the ass for foreigners, due to language/cultural barriers and lack of anti-discrimination laws. Google around for the gaijin-friendly apartment rental services to help you find a place. They'll speak English and do this all the time. I would rather live in Osaka than Kyoto, just because it's livelier. It's generally more amicable and laid back than Tokyo and would put you in closer range to visit Nara, Kyoto, and Kyuushuu. Staying in Kyoto would be better if you want a slower pace/smaller city.

Going in April, looking for record shopping tips.

I intend to devote an afternoon to it, not rare Western music but 90's/2000's Shibuya Kei, older Technopop, stuff like that.

Is Shinjuku still the place to go?

Question: this is not actually for travel but for work research -- I noticed Tokyo addresses come up on google maps with japanese characters in them. Is there any way to find english "translations" of these addresses?

think if you just paste into google translate it gives you transliteration

http://romaji.me

i am currently in tokyo

I am currently envious.

Although I am currently in Portugal so can't really complain.

how long are you going to be here

I’m visiting Tokyo for 10 days in early March with my wife and two kids (ages 7 and 10).

I’d *love* any and all recommendations anyone might have. Absolutely anything goes. Food, shopping, history, nightlife, arts, nature, etc.

Here are some things on the list already ... nothing terribly surprising:
We'll do two days at Disneyland/DisneySea
TeamLab Borderless and Museum Ghibli
walk around Shinjuku, hope to eat good stuff in the little alleys and whatnot
go to the Meiji shrine
maybe attend a sumo match and the Robot Restaurant
go up somewhere very high for the views (360-degree museum?)
eat as much good ramen and sushi as possible

What else? What's amazing that we're missing?

go up somewhere very high for the views (360-degree museum?)

tokyo tower

The Mori Art Museum/Roppongi Hills tower (very high up observatory)

Ameyoko Shopping Street (and the big food halls in the basement about one-third of the way in before the road splits on the right)

If you're going to Ghibli walk there from the train station instead of the bus and get a feel for what a W.Tokyo suburb is like.

Shiodome and Shimbashi are high tech areas, not a whole lot there but great for a wander and restaurants at the Carreta Shiodome complex, lotsa skyscrapers, looks great at night, take the Yurikamomi Metro Train that goes out across the river to Odiaba, unmanned, like a little rollercoaster.

Shimo-Kitazawa for boutique shops and retro things, nice food and coffee places.

Yanaka, beautiful old district, lots of amazing cemeteries, little temples/shrines, backstreets.

Record shopping in Shinjuku.

The basement of Isetan Dept Store in Shinjuku has a massive food hall, if that's your thing.

Remember to get your tickets for the Ghibli Museum in advance! :)

Harajuku and Akihabara for full-blown cosplay/J-teen craziness, the kids might enjoy it there.
Shibuya, for the predictable but impressive crossing.
Asakusa for the big lantern shrine.
A cat or owl cafe, depending on your ethical standpoint (the cats just seemed bored at the one I went to).

tokyo tower

The trouble with going up Tokyo Tower is that you can't see Tokyo Tower from it, although you can see the Sky Tree. This problem, is, of course, reversed if you go up the Sky Tree.

get a hot canned ginger beer from a vending machine

leave your family behind and visit a sketchy looking bar with a wide range of whiskies that has ashtrays everywhere

visit the Japanese equivalent of a CVS and spend a brief moment marveling at the hair dye section

walk past a cemetery without realizing it at first

Maresn3st OTM re: Yanaka

don't forget udon (muragame is a great chain) in addition to ramen. Is anyone vegetarian? There are, oddly enough, only a couple of ramen places that do vegetarian.

Shinjuku Gyoen is also a really nice park ( I think there is a tiny entrance fee).

Where are you staying?

there are also the rockabilly groups (not going to say gangs) dancing in yoyogi park on sundays that I think has become a thing.

Mori Art Museum in Roppongi has the very best observation deck to see the whole city (incl Tokyo Tower). Or the municipal govt building in Shinjuku
Edo-Tokyo museum is really great for history
Ueno Park is lovely and there are lots of great museums around it
Asakusa has a lot of great restaurant supply stores including the fake food you see in the windows
Nakamise shopping street leading to Sensō-ji temple
Any one of the multi floor toy stores - there is an amazing one over the road from Ueno station, and Omotesando Kiddy Land near Harajuku
I’ll think of more I’m sure!

oo - go to the baseball if it’s on, the Japanese fans have fantastic chants and rituals which make it an absolute blast

bookmarked, im over in april meself

I am posting the peter bjorn and john video of japanese rockabilly in yoyogi because...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rIguM71LQI

holy shit, y'all have got the goods! i haven't looked in since i posted ... thank you SO much.

i will check all this stuff out (had heard about the rockabilly dancers, but none of the rest of this)

keep it coming, of course... not just for me but also for darraghmac :)

ILX rules

A trip to the Ghibili museum is a chance to go to my favourite Ramen Shop Hashi to Renge in Asagaya. They specialise in Sansho flavours and their Sansho omiyage are great to pick up as well. A lot of th shops under the Chou line are pretty nice. JR has been doing a massive project making these nice little malls under the train line and three are some great restaurant along there.e

https://goo.gl/maps/bVRPjLnF7CuPQW1w9

Another thing to make sure you tickets in advance for is the Teamlab exhibit. I haven't been to the new museum but when they were in the Mori art museum they were pretty cool (and I second going to the Mori art museum as a great place to get a high view.

Also child friendly is the JR East Railway museum in Omiya, trains to drive, models to play with. It's a fun day out.
Try a boat trip to Disney or up the river.

If you are there very early in march (As in it finishes on the 2nd) D & Department have a cafe and shop going on the 8th floor of the Hikare Building in Shibuya. They are featuring meals and produce from all over Japan and the food is both cheap and excellent (kid's menu too IIRC). It's got a great view of the Shibuya crossing.

Following one From Tom's suggestions I have a ton of great spots to hang out and drink sake. None of them child friendly but worth abandoning your kids for. My two favourite cheap but amazing dinners are at つらつら (tsuratsura) in Shibuya and at まごわやさしい　（Magowayasashi) in Mita. The later one is a recent find a ¥3000ish course based on the Japanese food pyramid (beans, sesame, seaweed, vegetables, fish,　mushrooms and potatoes). They might be able to accomodate children but call and ask (or find someone who speaks japnanese too all and ask because they speak no English)

Do forget to eat soba as well , soba a nd seaweed are where you get your fibre in Japan.

Another tip is that right now the banks and Japanese government are on a big push to move businesses to cashless transitions and a lot of shops and restaurants have discounts for paying by some methods. The one that is Ost accessible for foreigners is the Suica transit card which you can either load at stations or set up on your mobile phone. Discounts are 5% in a lot of places which is worth having.

https://atadistance.net/2019/08/16/ios-13-set-up-a-suica-card-in-apple-pay/

Animal cafes - not a fan all the animals look sad and stressed and the owls I find particularly distressed.

Also teach your kids hiragana (and learn it yourself) they’ll have a blast reading signs and other stuff.

Dr Moku seems well regarded for that sort of age. I watched some of their YouTube and it seems solid.

Some basic Japanese, hello/goodbye/please/thank-you always goes down well. You’ll run into a lot of people who don’t speak any English. Worth learning your food allergies if you have any. People can be very accommodating if you do.

Fun food recs, though a lot of these places will involve some queueing unless you go early or at odd hours (like 3pm). Some branches are more popular than others as well.

- Fluffy pancakes: https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/restaurants/best-fluffy-pancakes-in-tokyo
- Gigantic bowls of udon at TsuruTonTan in Ginza: https://matcha-jp.com/en/5461
- If you eat meat, gyukatsu or deepfried beef was easily the best meal I've had in Japan: https://www.gyukatsu-motomura.com/en/

Apart from those, it's fairly easy to get good tempura, ramen, udon, soba, sushi etc anywhere. In three trips to Japan, I think I've only had a couple of legitimately bad food experiences and it was always at one of those tourist trap restaurants that's just outside a popular temple or something.

For mobile coverage, getting a pocket wifi is worth it... you don't need a SIM card, can connect to 4-5 devices, coverage is great, and way cheaper than roaming. You can rent them at the airport.

Also Google Maps is your best friend. Aside from very good directions, it will inform you of train delays and even tell you which platforms / coach car for you to board or get off, so that you won't accidentally go out at the wrong exit (which happens often at the bigger stations).

Yeah, the phrase - kono chizu de ima dokoni imasu ka - served me well.

If you get lost though, people, in my experience, were super kind. A young student girl walked us all the way from the rear of the Nanzen-Ji temple to the front, which was right out of her path. An older gentleman took us to the gate at Tsukiji Market at 4am, he was leaving a conbini and already heading in the opposite direction, probably put a good 20 mins on his morning walk.

I went to Kamakura for the beaches, which were not that great (even in July) but my kids wanted to say they'd touched the Pacific Ocean. The monorail getting there was very cool though, like a roller coaster kinda!

I'm trying to figure out the best non-flying way from Kyoto to Seoul. I may end up flying but the other possibilities are intriguing too.

Lawson>>>>>7-11

and natural lawson is the god tier konbini store

also, missed some vegan discussion. it's tough to find things but not impossible.

there are vegan cafes here-and-there. komenoko (米の子) in suginami and nezunoya (根津の谷) in bunkyou are both v much worth a stop if you're nearby.

for vegan ramen, try chabuzen (薬膳食堂ちゃぶ膳) in setagaya or t's tan tan in tokyo station. both quite good.

and quality is generally so high across the board, that ime, it's hard to strike out just tying out random spots that look good.

hi, most recent thread reviver here ... our trip is starting to take shape.

we arrive on a Thursday (2/27), will just chill / stay close to home on Friday. Saturday and Sunday are open.

Monday (3/2) we have tix to the Ghibli museum.

Tuesday is open.

Wednesday/Thursday (3/4-5) are Disneyland and Disneysea.

Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon open. We leave Tuesday (3/10).

I've compiled this entire thread into one document and am trying to figure out what else to do. I'm sure I'll be back with questions.

Also, I missed early on that Yerac asked where we're staying. It's the Hotel Sunroute, very very close to Shinjuku station: https://sunrouteplazashinjuku.jp/ (although we will move over to a Disney hotel for our Disney nights.)

I am also hoping to see live music at least one night! I even FB messaged Leo Takami and he wrote me back and said he might have a gig on 3/4 ... one of my Disney nights. :(

More soon ...

im also headed to tokyo for 4 days in march, so thanks everyone for bumping this thread, I've found some great suggestions reading it.

our trip seems to be trending in a bad direction w/r/t postponement because of coronavirus. :(

i recognize that our chances of having any trouble are very slim, but my wife has a chronic disease (she is no immuno-compromised at the moment), we have two kids in tow, museums are starting to close for the next few weeks, Disneyland Shanghai and Hong Kong are already closed (so would Tokyo be next?), travel advisory just moved from level 1 to level 2 ... things are starting to add up.

if anyone has any thoughts, i'm all ears.

I'm going there in early April, and won't change my plans unless my flight is cancelled. But I'm going solo and have no chronic diseases.

just to close the loop, we delayed our trip at the last second. now going in late September / early October.

they announced Disneyland and DisneySea closures when we would've been on the plane heading that way.

i feel very fortunate with how the timing worked out and look forward to going later this year.

Definitely for the best. It looks like I’ll have to postpone my own trip from late April to October.

our flights are cancelled with a decent chance of rebooking, with a further decent chance in turn of cancellation as far as i can tell

Oh! I stayed at the Sunroute Plaza on my first trip there, so sorry that it's having to be delayed :(

how did you like it, Maresn3st? we just moved our March reservation there to September.

It was only one night but if memory serves it was perfectly decent.

However, if you can be arsed and the money is the same I would stay here, lovely hotel in an interesting area, great views because it's the top 15 floors of a tower, similar to the famous Park Hyatt. Shinjuku is very central but boy it's hectic, Shidome/Shimbashi is much more chill.

https://parkhoteltokyo.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBgHhEskLMU

You could check out the Ghibli Clock and the Nakagin Capsule Tower.

You can do monthly rentals in the Nakagin capsule tower which I might do next time I long stay in Tokyo.