Just found out I’m going to Tokyo next month for work. I’ll be there for work for a week and will take a week of vacation because…well, why not?
I’ve been to Asia before (China, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia), but this is my first time in Japan, and I have no idea what I should do. I pulled up TripAdvisor and the only one of the listed “Top Things to Do” in Tokyo that I recognized was…the Tokyo Metro.
So…help! I don’t have time to do a lot of research before I go, and the trip is coming up in just a few weeks. For people who’ve been to Tokyo, what would you recommend for first-timers? Should I spend my whole week of vacation in Tokyo, or just a few days there and then get out of the city?
If it helps, I enjoy history, architecture, good food, museums. I’m not much of a nature person, though I enjoy a good view as much as the next guy.
I second the recommendation to try fugu, although the one time I went to Japan it was difficult to find. I was unable to find any in Tokyo and Kyoto, likely because I was looking in the wrong places. My recommendation is to take a day trip by train to Himeji to see Himeji castle. There’s a long street from the train station to the castle and on the right side of the street (going towards the castle) is a place that specializes in fugu. They even have an aquarium with the fish on display in the front window. I highly recommend it. In Tokyo proper I would visit the Sony flagship store if you are at all into video games or cameras. It’s a really fun place to get lost in looking at all the cool stuff they have.
Tokyo is a big city with plenty to see and do, but when I visited there (more than a decade ago FWIW) I made day trips out to Kamakura to see the giant Buddha and to Nikko to see the shrine and the Tokugawa mausoleum. I enjoyed both, but if forced to choose I’d go with Kamakura over Nikko.
Of the TripAdvisor recommendations, I’d personally recommend the Tokyo National Museum, the Asakusa neighborhood and Senso-ji Temple, the Meiji Shrine, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings observatory (view comparable to that from Tokyo Tower, and at least at the time I was there had free admission).
Lived in Japan 8 years. 7 in Tokyo area and 1 in Osaka (right next to Kyoto).
You’re going to be there a week extra after a week? Get on the Shinkansen and go to Kyoto. It’s only about 1.5 hours away and you won’t regret it. Spend the night and two days there. Hit the major temples and definitely see Nijojo, which is the single most impressive tourist attraction I’ve seen in Japan: Nijo Castle (Nijojo) - Kyoto Travel
Thing is, if you are working in Tokyo for a week, you can probably get a bunch of tourism done after work and such. Here are some Tokyo specific things I’d recommend:
• Shopping in Ginza–the toniest shopping district in Japan–great people-watching, even if you don’t spend much money
• Hibiya Park
• Go to Shibuya on Friday night–you will see the real crowds of Japan–also, the famous area with the big TV you see a lot
• Ueno Park (near Akihabara if you go there) and the Ueno area in general
• Second Asakusa–that’s absolutely necessary
Eat curry at Koko Ichibanya while you’re there–cheap and good!
Wonderful food is easy to find, but I have a special fondness for the food halls found in the basements of every big department store. Pick out a bag full of things to try, just by pointing to them—but don’t eat anything then and there, or even outside on the sidewalk (it’s just not done). Instead, head to the roof of the department store, where you’re quite likely to find a lovely rooftop park and picnic area.
If you are going late in March, you might get to see some early plum or cherry blossoms in Kyoto (I agree that’s a great place to go, and I would add my recommendation of Kiyomizu-Dera, a magnificent temple on a hill, and Byodo-In, possibly the most beautiful temple I have seen). I also agree with Kamakura, which makes a fun day trip; I wouldn’t waste my time with Nikko, frankly, I found it so gaudy as to be grotesque. But if you do go, be sure to check out the sweet little temple next door to the shrine. (Note: temples are Buddhist, various sects; shrines (the ones with those red gates) are Shinto, often associated with patriotic subjects.)
An alternative to all that is to get a 7-day rail pass and travel to a different city every day. I did that once, and the trains are even faster now and go further. You can go as far north as Aomori or Hakodate or as far south/west as Hiroshima in a day from Tokyo (which is fortunately fairly central) and walk around or take taxis to different places. The pass gets you on the slowest (most stops) and middle-fast bullet trains, but not the fastest (fewest stops; the trains travel at the same speed but the extra stops slow down the transit time some). If this sounds interesting, you have to reserve and pay for the pass before you go, so you need to start that pretty soon. After you get there you turn in your reservation for the actual pass, and it is good for 7 days starting then. Seats are comfortable enough for napping if you end up coming back in the late evening.
Re: your cell phone - the map function is very useful for getting around, everything is in both English and Japanese, but it is obviously expensive to use. Last time I was there I rented a gadget that allowed me to use my phone as if I had a local contract instead of international roaming. I can’t remember what it’s called but I’m sure you can find it by googling.
Good luck, have fun. Prices are easy to figure, just divide everything by 100 to get dollars (close enough, after conversion fees). Oh, the only place outside the airport you can use your American debit card to get cash is at a post office ATM. Bank ATMs don’t accept them. The PO charges almost no conversion fee, though, so it’s worth it to find one rather than converting at the airport.
We were there ten years ago, but got a kick out of seeing the Harajuku girls on Sunday. Go to that train station - there’s a neat stores there. We then walked (a long ways!) around and through a cemetery, where families were having picnics on the family plots, at least that’s what it looked like to us. It’s close to the Meiji shrine, and since it was Sunday we got to see a few weddings, some in traditional dress and some in Western-style bridal gowns.
We also did a side-tour to Mt Fuji and the Great Buddha, but I wish we went to Kyoto too. I spent an hour walking around the Tsukji fish market early in the morning.
One surprise was the Tokyo zoo, where their panda bear exhibit was totally empty (of people that is - the bears were there). It’s close to Ueno park with lots of museums; we went to the National Museum, and the Shitamachi Museum which shows how shops and houses operated around 1890. And of course see the Akihabara, especially at night.
Here’s a post I previous wrote for a thread. Hope it helps.
Here is a short list of popular tourist attractions categorized by type:
For souvenirs, get them at:
Asakusa - popular temple
Harajuku - popular Meiji Shrine / Oriental Bazaar shop
Ginza - any major department store / Sony Plaza
Nightlife:
Roppongi - clubs, bars, restaurants, huge shopping complex
Shibuya - same as above but for younger crowd
Shinjuku - includes largest red-light district (Kabukicho) in the country
Odaiba - great night views, good restaurants, interesting show rooms, etc.
Japanese markets:
Akihabara - electronics markets
Ueno - everything else markets
Tsukiji - world famous fish market
Japanese parks:
Ueno - park, zoo, museums
Shinjuku - Shinjuku Gyoen (Imperial Park)
Korakuen - Koishikawa flower/buddhist garden (plus Tokyo Dome)
Imperial Palace - eastern areas
Hamarikyu Gardens - formerly an Imperial park
Shopping districts:
Ginza - top level department stores
Shibuya - younger person’s shopping area
Harajuku - younger person’s shopping area
Omotesando/Aoyama - more peaceful shopping area
Shinjuku - the center of department stores
Towers:
Shiba Park - home of Tokyo Tower (the old shorter one)
Oshiage - home of Tokyo SkyTree (the new taller one)
West Shinjuku - Tokyo Metro. Office Bldg (City Hall with free observation deck of the city)
One Day Trips Outside the City:
Yokohama - great waterfront area and Chinatown
Kamakura - Great Buddha Statue and temples
Mt Fuji - One day guided bus trips to some elevations (no climbing in winter)
Disney Resort - if you’re a fan, a must visit!
Ghibli Museum - mecca for the Miyazaki animated movies (advance tickets required)
Various amusement parks
Lots of good advice already, I stayed at a mate’s in Ebisu in Tokyo back in January 2008 for three weeks and had an absolute ball. Of the (many) museums I went to I found the Edo-Tokyo Museum (next to the sumo arena in Ryogoku, we caught a day of the New Year tournament the next day) and the museum attached to Yasukuni shrine (by the imperial palace) the most interesting. I’d go back in a heartbeat. Asakusa was kind of neat as well. Oh and the food was spectacular.
I agree that Kyoto is worth a trip as well, I spent a couple of nights there on my way back from Hiroshima (which is also worth visiting if you have a couple of days to spare). I was lucky enough to visit Nijo castle while it was snowing, which was amazing. The temples were cool, as was the market, but Nijo was the highlight of my entire trip.
Tokyo is a cool city. Lots of good suggestions, although during my brief visit I didn’t understand the excitement many feel for Akihabara (electronics, geek culture, souvenirs) or Roppongi (seemed pretentious), but I’m not really into anime and wanted to meet Japanese folk, not ex-pats. Check out the concert listings – I could have seen The Cowboy Junkies!
Tokyo is a city of neighbourhoods. I really loved Ueno, a beautiful park with a perfect zoo (cute pandas), good art galleries, a nice shrine, lots of nice restaurants nearby.
I didn’t expect to shop much in Tokyo, and prices can be pretty high. But not at the Uniqlo store (the Ginza store is the flagship, 12 stories) – I’d never heard of Uniqlo, didn’t know it was popular in New York and trendy in Toronto. Buy sake, great whisky, weird flavours of Kit Kat. Ginza has very expensive stores with the usual luxury goods. I didn’t buy anything fancy, but Uniqlo really has the coolest T-shirts.
Lots to do in Shinjiku which has it all. The Golden Gai area was particularly great – a very cool place to enjoy sake, whisky or weird sardine ramen (endorsed by Wayne Gretzky?) in one of 300 very random, themed mini-bars with 5 or so seats and a convivial host serving snacks. A bar is reportedly the only place some Japanese folks let their hair down. Really, the food in Japan was GREAT. There are about 30 types of restaurant but the best serve sushi (eat often at Sushizanmai, but try and get a table at one of the Kyubeys), yakitori, sake and pub food (izakayas), ramen, soba, steak or (!)organ meats. The red light district seemed somewhat sleazy, so I avoided it, except to look for a specific yakitori place which proved impossible to find. Great jazz places in Shinjuku, but the subway station has 200 or so exits and it is easy to get lost. I had a good (Michelin starred) kaiseki dinner but the sushi places were better! Don’t miss Tsukiji market!
Shibuya is good for a coffee (and who knew Japanese were masters of French baking?) and I also enjoyed going to Tower Records, 7 floors of wonderful CDs, a real dinosaur. I liked the Occitane Cafe, but can’t get excited by a crosswalk no matter how crowded. I liked Odaiba and Asakusa well enough.
It would be worth spending 2 days in Kyoto. It would also be worth skiing or hiking for 2-3 days in Nagano if there is snow (or not). Both Kyoto and Nagano are a 2-3 hour bullet train from Tokyo, and each other.
Brave the crowds and hike Mount Fuji? I’d definitely see the Imperial Palace around Tokyo Station. Really, you’ll be spoiled for choice. Not all ATMs accepted Canadian cards, but most did and I did not need to go to a post office. Free wifi is everywhere, too, despite ads trying to get you to buy a plan. I’m not into Disney, but would have liked to have gone to the Ghibli museum. Next time?
When my mother and Grandmother (age 94 at the time!) visited me in Japan we went down from Tokyo to Kyoto and then down to the Himeji Castle, one of my all time favorite places. We then traveled down to Hiroshima, visited the Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb museum, and then off to Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima.
I priced out tickets and it was actually cheaper and more convenient to take the bullet train down and fly back but that all depends on your schedule.
I would give one-day tours of Tokyo to a lot of our overseas visitors. Start in the morning with the Tokyo Metropolitan building for the view from the top. Then, a short taxi ride to Meiji Shrine over near Yoyogi, hit the rockabilly dancers (on Sunday morning), go through Takeshita Dori (if you don’t mind crowds), catch a metro up to Shibuya and look at the Shibuya crossing. Then take the Ginza line up to Akasuka to see the Senso-ji temple. From there, you can catch a river bus to the Hamarikyu gardens.
Keep in mind that most Japanese don’t speak English, but many can read it. Whenever I would help friends, I would write things for them in Japanese to that they could show people. Smart phone can google translation can be useful. Younger women are more likely to speak English then men.
My mother also liked Kamakura and the giant Buddha there. There is also one in Nara, near Kyoto.
If you have a whole week, I echo what Aeschines said. Get on the shinkansen to Kyoto for a night or two! If you can afford it, I’d highly recommend staying in a ryokan (traditional hotel) in Kyoto.
You could visit an onsen (public bath) - ask colleagues for a recommendation. Relish the food - there’s fantastic food everywhere!
Also, another cool thing to do in Tokyo is to go to a show at the Kabuki theatre. You can get headphones to translate what’s going on (though it still might not make any sense to you ). Still, it’s a really interesting slice of Japanese life and culture.
If the fugu there is really good that’s one thing, but I wouldn’t go to Himeji for the castle. The only draw is that it’s an actual centuries-old castle; there’s not much in the way of exhibits inside, just a death-march in a dense, slow-moving mob up steep, rickety stairs to the highest lookout in the tower. If the OP has to see a Japanese castle, I recommend Osaka castle instead; it’s a reconstruction (WW2 was not kind to the original), but the interior was made as a museum packed with exhibits that tell you the history of the area and the castle itself. Note that Osaka is three hours from Tokyo by bullet train, so if OP wants to see the castle, he/she would be smart to plan one or two nights in either Osaka or Kyoto (these cities are only 20 minutes apart by bullet train).
If you do get to Kyoto, you can spend an hour just exploring the massive Kyoto Station. Take the stairs/escalators to the rooftop on the west end, and enjoy the view. Find your way to the catwalk across the north face behind the glass, and come down on the east side. Look underground for the shops of The Cube and Porta. Get to Fushimi-Inari shrine and take a quick hike through the hundreds of orange torii gates; there’s a nice loop walk through the hills, probably take you about an hour. Halfway up, there’s a shop that sells ice cream and tea and provides a nice vista of Kyoto. Kiyomizu-dera is worthy too, but last fall the main Hondo was under construction and was draped in canvases. Still a nice walk up the hill from the bus stop, and a nice walk back down among all the tourist/souvenir shops. You’ll be there in the off-season, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was still crowded. Arcade shopping? Teremachi has it all. If you’re less interested in clothing and pharmacies, you may still want to head to that area for Nishiki market, a long, crowded arcade that sells lots of fresh/pickled produce, seafood (fresh and dried), tea, and candy. Tons of restaurants in the Teremachi/Gion neighborhood.
Tokyo? I’ll suggest the following:
-Tokyo SkyTree, the tallest view in town. Get there early in the AM on a weekday; lines on the weekend will be insane. The Sumida Aquarium is a nice adjunct to this visit.
-Asakusa/Sensoji area is one train stop away from the SkyTree. Lots of little shops and restaurants, including Nakamise-Dori, a pedestrian avenue leading to/from Sensoji lined with souvenir shops. the B-Conte is a small, tourist-friendly hotel in the neighborhood. The rooms are small, but you can get a top-floor room with a view of the SkyTree, and you can also get a room with a washer/dryer so you can do some laundry. One block to the west in the basement of the ROX building is a full-size grocery store; in addition to fresh fruit and ready-to-eat foods, you can also get single-serving packets of laundry detergent, perfect for a tourist doing hotel-room laundry. Akihabara is just a train hop away; the place is dead during the day, but lights up in the evening.
-A little walk west of Asakusa is Kappabashi-Dori, a street lined with shops selling all manner of kitchen wares. Look for Maizuru, one of the leading manufacturers of the fake plastic food seen in virtually every Japanese restaurant window; you can buy sushi fridge magnets and similar items there. Worth browsing the whole street just to appreciate the quantity and variety of kitchen goods being offered.
-Ikebukuro Station. An acquaintance said he once was unable to find the exit, and resorted to taking a train to escape. It’s big alright, but if you keep pushing in one direction, you’ll eventually find the great outdoors. Head to the east side. Plenty of shops and restaurants to browse, but in particular look for Tokyu Hands, a store that sells everything from kitchen and bath wares to tools to art/craft supplies to sporting goods. 8 floors of stuff, and if you like cats, look on the top floor for “Nekobukuro,” a densely-populated cat playground. Sunshine 60 Observatory is in the area, and makes a tolerable substitute for the Skytree; since it’s on the west side of the city, you’ve got a somewhat better chance of seeing Fuji. Also in the area: Taishoken, a pretty good ramen shop.
-A walk down the main drag of Ginza is pleasant (start and/or finish at Yurakucho Station). Tsukiji is something to see. There’s an outer market with a lot of vendors marketing fish, produce and other goods to the general public. You can also get in to the inner market, where fresh/live seafood is generally marketed to restaurateurs; try not to get in the way, and watch out for working folks who are moving goods around at the speed of sound. You’ll be amazed at the variety and quantity of seafood available. While you’re wandering Ginza, I recommend stopping in the basement of the Mitsukoshi department store. Most department stores sell food in their basements, but Mitsukoshi’s offerings are top-notch. Rows and rows of glass cases selling sushi, salads, desserts, sandwiches, pastries, and a zillion other items. Grab a few items for lunch, and then head up to the 11th floor, where there are indoor and outdoor dining areas, along with a coffee shop to slake your thirst. If you like ramen, I had some good stuff at ABC Ramen, a little hole-in-the-wall place in a tiny basement a couple blocks west of the main drag on Chuo Dori.
Don’t know how tightly you plan your trips. I’ve found it helpful to arrive with a list of potential things to see/do, along with some instructions for how to get to those general areas from my hotel. Google Maps is great for this; it will tell you exactly which subways/trains to take, so you don’t spend precious vacation time trying to make sense of the symbolic maps in the train station, wondering which other station is nearest your final destination.
The Japanese are very organized and book every restaurant meal and activity before or at the beginning of a trip. For that reason, events, restaurants and hotels book up quickly. If there something special you want to do, like a fine restaurant, consider booking it now. This goes very much against my personal style but things fill up. The best sushi is at Jiro and they reserve 16 months in advance!
You can pay more for bullet train reservations but you probably don’t need them outside of peak hours.
Japanese appreciate basic efforts to speak their language, many speak little English or spent years learning it, but are very self conscious and challenging to understand.
If pressed for time, you don’t really need to see any shrines in Tokyo if going to Kyoto – more impressive. If going to Nagano region, there are many great onsen, a type of hot spring bath.
Also in Kyoto: Arashiyama, a historic district on the west edge of town, pressed up against the mountainside. You’ve probably seen pictures of the Sagano bamboo forest, a grove of gigantic green bamboo trunks with a paved pedestrian path through it; that’s in the area, along with several temples, shrines, and shops. Consider a short hike up the mountain to Iwatayama monkey park: a large troop of Japanese macaques inhabits the area, and you can walk freely among them, or enter a fenced-in hut where you can buy nuts and fruit to pass through the fence to monkeys on the outside. Don’t touch, and do NOT stare, or those monkeys will go all Travis Bickle on your ass.
Kinkakuji, the “Golden Pavilion,” is also in Kyoto, and is also worthy.
). Still, it’s a really interesting slice of Japanese life and culture.