JonathanIT

I can't believe what is happening in Japan, and just a week after I left Tokyo.

I wonder when things will be back to normal in Tokyo... I know most of the devastation happened outside the city but I wonder how the infrastructure held up. It doesn't seem like a tourist trip to Japan will be a good idea for a while.

The images of the destruction are mind boggling.

tokioblue

Here in Tokyo, all the infrastructure is fine "so far". I say "so far" because you never know when the power will be cut. As you may know, Nuclear Power Plants in Fukushima which is about 250km/150miles north east of Tokyo are almost out of control. Therefore, power supply is drastically low and scheduled power outages by region are conducted from today. While the central Tokyo is not affected today, you never know when we will be included. Because of the power shortage, many companies/services are limited. Train services are severely limited and are trying to save electricity. Other businesses are also voluntarily saving electricity. Rollover power outages may cause a lot of disruptions.

The explosion of nuclear power plants is still on the table. We have been earthquakes still here in Tokyo every hour or so.

In conclusion, I think it's better not to come to Tokyo right now until things are getting calm. You don't want to be stranded and miss your flight back to your city from Tokyo, you know. This is something we have never experienced in history so there are a lot of uncertain things including whether traffic signals will work fine during power outages and etc. (maybe not) so if you can cancel your trip to Tokyo, you should and go to Kyoto or Osaka.

JonathanIT

I noticed a few unfortunate travel dates to Tokyo this past weekend... I hope everyone is okay? Please update us with your status and how it was in Tokyo!

tokioblue

I had a few drinks with LHR/MEL/Europe FF last night. He was pretty much alive and I assume he is boarding the plane right now to get out of Japan

I heard from him that the other guys were stuck on the train for 22 hours due to earthquakes? I hope they were able to go home.

The radiation level in Tokyo rose to 0.809 micro sievert. 20 times higher than the usual. But the current level is now down to 0.151 micro sievert in Shinjuku, Tokyo. 5 times higher than the usual level. I cannot get pregnant now

IndyDavid

For those of us in the U.S., it's sobering to realize that Tokyo and Sendai are the same distance apart as New York and Boston! Sending all good thoughts to the people of Japan.

David

JonathanIT

Thank you for all the info, tokioblue. I hope you and yours all fared well during this crisis.

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

thaks for the message jonathonIT - and as yes, as tokioblue mentions we managed to catch up on Monday night for a, ummm, 'few' drinks (the Japanese counting system must be waaay different to the rest of us ) We had a great time drinking, eating and singing karaoke late into the night. (I oficially became an organ donor - handing my chicken heart, lung and intestine yakitori sticks to tokioblue).

Flights out were all fully booked/oversold. A couple of people turned up without tickets. Others had managed to secure flights and were paying for their tickets on check-in. Huge queues, long waits, but very orderly.

tokioblue

Oh, right. I should totally appreciate I am a lucky recipient of organs

Yay. You are safe and sound at home. that's great. Thanks for being calm during your stay in Tokyo despite too many earthquakes and nuclear threat. You were totally great. I wish every tourist would act like you do but I know it's difficult so I wouldn't expect them to behave that way

Peace!

DCartist

We made it out as scheduled on Monday, March 14th. We arrived 20 minutes before the quake and were at the bus counter buying a ticket to downtown when the quake hit. All transportation shutdown, so everyone at the airport had to spend the night. No hotels available, so all had to sleep on the floor. Police passed out I would guess 5,000 sleeping bags, water, and some dry snacks. Had electricity, bathrooms kept clean, and free airport internet worked.

Booked hotel near the airport for Sat/Sun and cancelled Tokyo hotel. Thought it was too risky to go to town and maybe have trouble getting back on Monday. Stayed at Radission - where 300 Delta flight crew stay per night. Nice indoor pool, good restaurant, and sports bar in the hotel.

The airport was packed on Monday but flights were leaving on time. What a relief when the flight took off.

thepointsguy

I'll be in Tokyo for the first time next week- I arrive Sunday at 5am and leave Wednesday afternoon. Are there any Sun/Mon/Tues night spots that I should be hitting up? I already have my days planned for the most part, so just looking for evening suggestions.

If anyone is in town, let me know- I'm flying solo on this trip!

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

Hmmm - you have seen tokioblue's guide at post #42... but then i see you are there for s/m/t ... this could be a problem as it will likely be very very quiet (unless there's a public holiday I guess??).

I went to a couple of bars in shinjuku with a friend of mine on a sunday and there were five people in one place, and we were the only ones in the other... maybe GBs would have been more busy (we went to Japanese bars).

Being with someone Japanese we also made it to some pretty cool (tiny) eating places which I never would have gone into without being able to speak the language. How's your japanese?

kyushuman

Coming to Japan again next week! Got the $580 MSP-DTW-Haneda flight, plus Double Miles on DL (in addition to my already-double miles being Gold Elite, that's 41,000 miles for $580!)
Anyway, I'm going down to Fukuoka where I lived for 3 years, for a few days too.
Looking at hotels for my first and last nights.... DL flight arrives Haneda at 22:30, and departs at (gulp) 06:55.
Which means that the earliest I'd be at a hotel is like midnight, assuming I can catch the last trains/monorails into town. And I'd have to check out of the hotel around 4AM. Doesn't really seem worth spending US$100-200 per night, which leads me to this question:
Has anyone here spent the night at 24 Kaikan in Shinjuku? I'm tempted since it's only 2800 yen/night, and leaving bags at the station would be another 600 yen, so I'd save a bunch of Yen... but get no sleep.

jamesteroh

The DTW/HND flight was a great deal. $565 RT. And the double miles make it even more valuable.

holtju2

Is that the "bathhouse"? If it is then I know nothing about it.

Q Shoe Guy

Not saying you won't have fun...but you might not ! It might be dead on a weekday evening and also uncomfortable as the aircon might not be on at anywhere near full blast(due to power conservation, and this applies to all areas of the city). So if you like it hot and sweaty (before you get hot and sweaty) then go for it !