Job Discussion Forums

[Leon30]

Hi guys and girls.

I live and teach in Korea and have decided to go to Tokyo for my winter vacation in mid January. I've done the whole beach vacation thing and would like a change. Visited Japan twice before (Fukuoka and Osaka) for visa trips and liked the feel of the place. Plus I love their aesthetic style, especially the traditional architecture, it's stunning. I had a period where I absorbed tons of japanese movies and literary books, so have my own picture of Tokyo built up in my mind and want to see how it compares with the real thing.

I know enough conversational Japanese to get around.

I have nine to ten days and want to spend around four or five in Tokyo, as close to downtown / shinjuku as possible. I'll try and stay in a cheap guesthouse - so if anyone knows any go ones or a website where they advertise (in English) that would be fantastic.

What places and things to do should I NOT MISS whilst in tokyo....? What experiences blew you away...?

And then for the next four days or so, I'd like a change of scenery. I'd like to visit Kyoto or Mount Fuji even. But I know that travelling within Japan is ULTRA expensive, so that may well not be a possibility. Again, if anyone knows any options for doing this non expensively, please fill me in...

SO, what I could do is find somewhere interesting near enough to Tokyo for a return bus / train ride not to be too expensive and near enough for it to be comfortable getting back to tokyo for my flight back to Korea. That place would also have to have available and not too expensive accomodation options (A friend stayed in a 3,000 Yen a night capsule motel in tokyo and that's the price range I'm thinking of...)

So, anyone know any interesting places to visit NEAR to Tokyo. Bear in mind I'm hoping I'll have been pleasantly awed and overwhelmed with Toyko and all the things to do and see, so will be wanting something a bit more slower paced and laid back, bit more of a traditional air and good scenery, but also things to do at night.

Thanks in advance for any ideas....!!!!!

Ps - PLEASE do not reply if you're a nit-picker with things such as "Well first tell us what kind of person you are and what type of experience you want... your post is too general....blah blah blah...." I'm up for ANYTHING...!! and enjoy varied experiences.

Cheers all.

[emypie]

I've only been in Toky for 3 months, and there are still a lot of things I haven't seen or done, but I'll throw in my two cents.

In no particular order....

1. Shinjuku Metropolitan Gov. observatory -- excellent view of Tokyo, and in the winter time with less smog, you are supposed to be able to see Mt Fuji in the distance

2. If you like hiking, check out Mt. Takao on the west side. However, I'm not sure what it'll be like in December. There is a cable car that can take you to the top, or you can hike it. Also a beautiful temple at the top. Beautiful views.

3. Asakusa Temple on the east side of Tokyo, quite amazing

4. Harajuku on a Sunday (around midday) to see the crazy costume-play, followed by a serene walk to the nearby Meiji Shrine

5. Kamakura (day trip) to see Daibutsu, the Big Buddha

6. NIKKO (day trip or possible overnight) - resting place of the shoguns, this is a MUST SEE

7. Shinjuku on a Friday night -- all you can drink karaoke at a Big Echo is also excellent, followed by a 5 am trip to Tsukiji Fish Market to eat sushi

8. If you want to make another day trip, Narita is a great area with a fantastic temple area. Not Narita AIRPORT, but the nearby Narita City.

9. Akihabara. But not if you're epileptic, ha ha!

If you stay in Shinjuku it will be easy for you to go everywhere, both in Tokyo and for day trips to closeby attractions.

Oh yeah and one thing I would recommend you DONT do is the overrated trip to the Imperial Palace gardens. BORRRRRRING. Dont bother, there's nothing to see but a big moat with rancid green water, and a lot of trees. Whoop de doo.

[JimDunlop2]

I love Tokyo.

If you're going to visit Akihabara, try to stop by one of those "maid cafes" where cuties dressed in French maid outfits call you "master," wait on you hand and foot, stir your coffee for you, etc. (That's on my "to-do" list). (And yeah, I haven't forgotten I'm married... My wife wants to go too)

Next, Yoyogi Park is good to hang out for a while. The freaks and harajuku girls are abundant. Many of them are pretty friendly too. Have chatted with some, and the really freakily dressed ones are often happy to oblige for a photo taken with them. Our city has an exchange program for American jr. high kids to come to Japan for a couple weeks, so we took one of them to "the Big Mikan" and got a brilliant picture of this pre-teen, very innocent-looking pre-teen surrounded by Shibuya-freaks. It was great! Actually, while you're in Shibuya, make sure you stop at the scramble crosswalk intersection at the Hachiko exit of Shibuya Station. It's the busiest intersection in the world and well worth just standing around and taking it all in (and snapping some pictures).

If you are here mid-January, you MIGHT make the tail-end of the New Year sumo tournament. If that's the case, I definitely recommend going. Even if you don't understand the inner workings of sumo, the bare-bones rules are dead simple and it can be a lot of fun. A friend of mine went with a group and they all sat there drinking heavily and making random bets on each match... They bet like 10 yen per bout. A great itinerary might be to hit Asakusa in the morning, and about mid-afternoon make your way to the sumo stadium, which is (almost) within walking distance to Asakusa. Top division bouts go from 4pm to 6pm.

Tokyo is rife with random museums. I've heard great things about the parasite museum! (No joke!) It's near Nippori Station I think. I haven't been yet but would like to.

I would consider a visit to Yasukuni Shrine. It's what all the international controversy and anger (mainy from countries who were opressed by Japan during WWII) is all about. That's of course if you're into international politics n' all.

Seeing that you're into Japanese culture, movies, etc. Consider a visit to Studio Ghibli Museum. They are responsible for making many anime movies that are famous even in the West (Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, etc)... It's in Mitaka.

Also, I always enjoy visiting Odaiba. There's a nice panoramic view of the Tokyo skyline, the Rainbow Bridge (prominent in a number of Japanese movies), Fuji TV 8 Building (with a large sphere at the top which you can go up into) and a futuristic shopping mall called Venus Fort. It's not bad at all.

If you want to get your Disney on, Disneyland and Disney Sea are not far either. A day pass at either place will cost you $50 roughly. I went with my wife this past summer. Didn't think I would enjoy it, but it was quite nice (Disney Sea, anyway). I found it really WEIRD to hear all my favourite Disney characters speaking in Japanese...

Also some other random things of note: the Takashimaya department store in Ginza has a well-stocked cigar shop where you can buy some nice Cubans... Not cheap, but when you live out in the provinces like me, they're rare so I stock up when I go.

The nightlife and club scene in Roppongi is definitely not for everyone. But there ARE a few gems to be found there. Especially if you enjoy Latin music, there are some decent places to get your dance on. I recommend Cafe Latino, but there are a few others nearby as well, including a Cuban joint that plays some wicked mambo. Tokyo Tower in Roppongi may be of interest... Personally, I don't care much for it -- but if I had a friend come visit me from back home who wanted to go up, I'd probably go with.

Consider visitng the Kabuki-za theatre and taking in a kabuki play. You can buy tickets for individual acts of a play, or for the whole play as well.

Finally, I came across THIS site: http://www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp/english/index.html It's Tokyo's official tourism site. It may have some things that we haven't touched on yet.

Good luck.

[ripslyme]

[bornslippy1981]