Japan - 1st time in Tokyo - 74 HRS - what to do?

Hello FT,

following the recent OS promotional sales, I'm off to Toky with the lady in two weeks - we'll be arriving Saturday morning, leaving Tuesday morning, it's our first time in Japan.

As regards accom, we booked GINZA YOSHIMIZU as it's supposed to be ^, but we have no clue whatsoever otherwise - any ideas? We're still students, though no serious budget constraints - we'd be grateful for all tips & tricks (one definite question: when / where to to visit the fishmarket for some tuna sushi?)

Thanks much in advance!

Cheers,

pcf

Calling Phred!

If Phred doesn't show up, then there's this:
http://www.hemispheresmagazine.com/3pd/three/2002/tokyo.html

The Tsukiji fish market calendar is on the official web site for the market. You should definitely check that before going there. (I think Monday morning is probably your best bet).

Calling Phred!

But 74 hours > 1.5 days. What to do the rest of the time?

What to do? Having not looked at the link, I'll just tell you what I did

Imperial Gardens, Yasukuni Shrine (for the history and to understand the controversy behind it), Tokyo Tower in Shinjuku, Senso-Ji temple in Asakusa, eating lots of food, Roppongi drinking...

That should keep you occupied...

Tokyo Tower in Shinjuku
:confused:

That should keep you occupied...
Especially if you're looking for it in Shinjuku.

But 74 hours > 1.5 days. What to do the rest of the time?
True. I guess the OP will have to resign himself to a hellishly boring 36 hours at the end of the trip.
But I guess you can kill some of that time at the RCC, safe in the knowledge that you've seen everything there is to see.

Tokyo Tower in Shinjuku
I think it will take more than 72 hours to move Tokyo Tower to Shinjuku.

Two weeks gives you plenty of time to buy either the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide to Tokyo and figure out for yourself what YOU want to see.

If you're still students, you may not be interested in the same things as some of us older people.

Both books are available at most large bookstores.

What to do? Having not looked at the link, I'll just tell you what I did

Imperial Gardens, Yasukuni Shrine (for the history and to understand the controversy behind it), Tokyo Tower in Shinjuku, Senso-Ji temple in Asakusa, eating lots of food, Roppongi drinking...

That should keep you occupied...

I would second the Imperial Gardens. Roppongi isn't just for drinking, there are small clubs that feature live music at night. Just avoid that hawkers at the crosswalks, some of them can be rather aggressive.

Tokyo Tower is a pretty long walk from the Shinjuku district, it's closer to the Hamamatsucho subway station. Are you thinking of the observation deck on the 44th (or is it the 45th? can't remember which) floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Govt. Building? That's about a 15 min walk from Shinjuku Station.

You can also walk around at look at the small electronics shops in the Akihabara district, check out the incredibly busy pedestrian crosswalk at Shibuya, see if there's a baseball game, investigate the area around Shinjuku station (Yodobashi Camera is sort of the B&H Photo of Tokyo), any of a number of things.

One thing to keep in mind if you've never been to Tokyo is that many places especially smaller shops don't accept credit cards, only cash is accepted.

I would second the Imperial Gardens. Roppongi isn't just for drinking, there are small clubs that feature live music at night. Just avoid that hawkers at the crosswalks, some of them can be rather aggressive.

Tokyo Tower is a pretty long walk from the Shinjuku district, it's closer to the Hamamatsucho subway station. Are you thinking of the observation deck on the 44th (or is it the 45th? can't remember which) floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Govt. Building? That's about a 15 min walk from Shinjuku Station.

You can also walk around at look at the small electronics shops in the Akihabara district, check out the incredibly busy pedestrian crosswalk at Shibuya, see if there's a baseball game, investigate the area around Shinjuku station (Yodobashi Camera is sort of the B&H Photo of Tokyo), any of a number of things.

One thing to keep in mind if you've never been to Tokyo is that many places especially smaller shops don't accept credit cards, only cash is accepted.

Whoops! Thanks for the corrections everyone.. FYI did the walk in 10 minutes but that's probably because it was in February... My apologies to the OP.

FYI Tsukiji was amazing, please catch it while you can. Get there early (take the first or second train in the morning) to it so you can find the tuna auction. I was very fortunate to stumble across it.

Especially if you're looking for it in Shinjuku.

Best response of the week (and it's still early)! :D

I quite enjoyed our trip to Harajuku on Sunday (which should be OP's day 2), much of which is similar to what is outlined in jib71's link. We did the Meiji Shrine (caught a few wedding ceremonies that were going on and boy did they crank them out one after another), saw some wacky goth girls on the bridge, walked Takeshita-dori & checked out the Daiso, and hiked up and down Omotesando Dori. At first glance, we thought Oriental Bazaar was pretty tacky but I've got to admit that I picked up a couple of sushi magnets there for 250 yen. They're decent looking but way cheaper than the 600 to 750 yen a lot of other places were asking. Ate lunch at this great gyoza place, Harajuku Gyoza Lou, which was suggested in Frommers (btw though overall, we really didn't like the guidebook).

I found Tsukiji really chaotic during our recent morning visit (particularly compared to my afternoon visit about 5 years back). We were going to do this tour (http://homepage3.nifty.com/tokyoworks/TsukijiTour/TsukijiTourEng.htm) but they were booked up. You really have to be on your toes in order to stay out of the way, avoid carts, avoid getting splashed, avoid slipping, etc. We only stayed about 15 mins before we made our retreat to the outer areas

Thanks so much everyone!


But 74 hours > 1.5 days. What to do the rest of the time?

... but, I wonder, what's the Phred references all about (sorry my cultural ignorance in this part of FT :o...)

pcf

I found Tsukiji really chaotic during our recent morning visit (particularly compared to my afternoon visit about 5 years back). We were going to do this tour (http://homepage3.nifty.com/tokyoworks/TsukijiTour/TsukijiTourEng.htm) but they were booked up. You really have to be on your toes in order to stay out of the way, avoid carts, avoid getting splashed, avoid slipping, etc. We only stayed about 15 mins before we made our retreat to the outer areas

Where is this and how far is it from Shijuku? I want to do the fish market and want something like this!

Thanks so much everyone!
... but, I wonder, what's the Phred references all about (sorry my cultural ignorance in this part of FT :o...)

pcf

Phred had his 15 minutes of fame in this forum a few years back when he posted, and defended, his position that there was nothing to do in Tokyo and that a day and a half was enough to do everything that anyone would ever want to do there.

Where is this and how far is it from Shijuku? I want to do the fish market and want something like this!

The more knowledgeable members of this forum can probably better answer but...
Are you referencing the tour or the market itself? There's obviously lots of info on the fish market if you query Tsukiji in the forum or do a Google search. If your referencing the tour, it's website has all the info you need.
Shinjuku is on the western part of town while Tsukiji is on the east side along the water. I'm guessing it's a 20-30min subway ride including a transfer. Out of the Tsukiji subway station on the Hibiya Line, it's another 5 to 10min walk to the market. There are the odd tourist street signs on posts that guide you a bit. You may have to take a taxi to make the tour though.

If you do go on your own instead of a tour, you seriously have to keep your head on a swivel in order to stay safe and stay out of the way. Walking through a kind of parking area and/or lanes, you'll need to navigate around parked cube vans while avoiding bicyclists (though this seemed to be the case everywhere in Japan), forklifts, and a tonne of guys whipping around on carts. Inside the market, the walkways were pretty narrow and people were constantly hauling stuff around. Very interesting stuff to see though from all the different kinds of fish and sea creatures to the people at work processing the stuff. It's somewhat dark in there though so it's kind of a tough shot if you don't use a flash.

I believe the Oedo line takes you directly to the Tsukiji area from Shinjuku without requiring a transfer.

If you do go on your own instead of a tour, you seriously have to keep your head on a swivel in order to stay safe and stay out of the way. Walking through a kind of parking area and/or lanes, you'll need to navigate around parked cube vans while avoiding bicyclists (though this seemed to be the case everywhere in Japan), forklifts, and a tonne of guys whipping around on carts. Inside the market, the walkways were pretty narrow and people were constantly hauling stuff around. Very interesting stuff to see though from all the different kinds of fish and sea creatures to the people at work processing the stuff. It's somewhat dark in there though so it's kind of a tough shot if you don't use a flash.


I would use a tour for sure!

i was just curious how to get from Shinjuku to the tour.. seems too far for taxi ... would the subway run that early?

I believe the Oedo line takes you directly to the Tsukiji area from Shinjuku without requiring a transfer.

JR East line or? I can't find it on that line :(

JR East line or? I can't find it on that line :(
The Oedo Line is a subway line. You can catch it in or around Shinjuku at either Shinjuku Nishiguchi or Higashi-Shinjuku Station. It is then about 15 stops to Tsukiji-shijo Station near the market. Perhaps also of interest, this is the same line that you would take to go to Ryogoku for either the sumo stadium or the adjacent Edo-Tokyo Museum.

The Oedo Line is a subway line. You can catch it in or around Shinjuku at either Shinjuku Nishiguchi or Higashi-Shinjuku Station. It is then about 15 stops to Tsukiji-shijo Station near the market. Perhaps also of interest, this is the same line that you would take to go to Ryogoku for either the sumo stadium or the adjacent Edo-Tokyo Museum.

Thanks that really helps... found it here with your help
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toei_%C5%8Cedo_Line#Route_information

Great site too!

Never been to Tokyo so nervous about getting around but I think once I get there and see these signs it will come alot easier than being 7000 miles away

I would use a tour for sure!

i was just curious how to get from Shinjuku to the tour.. seems too far for taxi ... would the subway run that early?

Subway won't get you there in time for the tour. From Shinjuku it's about 8km. Expect 20 mins and >3,000yen by cab.