Please feel free to give any comments, first time family with a teenager boy around mid-August
First night arriving NRT 8 pm, staying at NRT, visit narita or dinner there
Second Day, check in Shinjuku hotel, visit Metropolitan Tower, Meiji Shrine, Iestan basement and Shibuya if possible.
Third Day, subway to Ueno, Senso-ji, Hoppy street, and either Electric town at Akihabara or Tokyo muesum (suggest please?), back to Shinjuku hotel
Forth Day, check in hotel near Hamamatsucho, Tsukiji fish market,Ginza, Imperial Palace.
Fifth day, early morning flight at HND
Questions: is it worth to visit Tsukiji between 10 am to noon? Family not morning person, is it worth or appropriate to visit Kabukicho, red-night district with teenager? Do I miss any Must-see in Tokyo?
thanks any feekback appreicated.
Tsukiji at noon would be a waste of your time. I avoid Kabukicho completely.
Keep in mind that it will be very hot and humid in August. I'd suggest alternating outside/walking activities with indoor/air-conditioned activities. Ueno Park is nice and makes for a pleasant walk-around but I'd plan a visit to the National Museum (in the Park) for a cool-down. Asakusa (including Senso-ji) is interesting but you'll want to get in out of the heat after. Maybe the river taxi down to Hama Rikyu garden. Your teenager will love Akihabara but I'd follow that walk-around with a short one-stop train ride to Ryogoku to see the Edo-Tokyo Museum and maybe the little sumo museum next door. Pace your activities.
Even though you get into NRT rather late, you might get more "bang-for-the-buck" tourism time by skipping the stay in Narita and just going on into Tokyo upon arrival. That puts you in the city on your first, probably early, morning. You could engage in the classic Japanese experience and buy an eki-ben boxed meal at NRT and eat on the way into Tokyo, eliminating the need to find a late dinner after arriving.
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If you're going to be traveling across many time zones, then you might as well put in an early morning trip to Tsukiji first chance after arrival, as you will not be sleeping normally at that time.
I can see no good that can come out of taking a teenage boy to Kabukicho (especially if he looks old enough to get himself into trouble!)
What sort of things are you and your family interested in? (a teenage boy would almost certainly get a kick out of Akihabara...though some areas are almost as inappropriate as Kabukicho) The sky's the limit in Tokyo, so you'll get much better advice if you help us understand what would make your trip most enjoyable.
Great feedback, agreed pacing the activities. Will google the river taxi and Edo-Tokyo museum and try to add to my itinerary.
I have been thinking about whether staying at NRT or the city. Hiliton at NRT is approx US$120 compared to Hilton Tokyo at $280 and I am sure comparable hotels at city is easily 2.5 times more expensive than NRT. Sometimes I am not sure what we are most interested. Last time when I were in Beijing with high expectation of Great Wall, Forbidden Palace, etc but it turned out what we enjoyed most is the one night (by accident) stay at a Hot Spring hotel where you can bath with small fish! Maybe in Tokyo we want to try the Onsen experience. Is there good and inexpensive Onsen within 1.5 hour from Tokyo or NRT? For Tsukiji, I really want to go. However, the boss may lose the whole day mood and sleep if I tell her we have to wake up at 5 or 6 in the morning and I cannot risk that. What is the latest (10 am?) to arrive to still make it worth? We are just flying from another Asian country and without jet lag. Thanks again
I would not recommend using NRT Hilton as a base. There's nothing around the NRT Hilton except freeways. With a base there, you need over an hour to reach Tokyo and over an hour to get back each day - with train fares adding 6,000 to 18,000 yen to the daily expenses for a three person family.
I would recommend staying at a reasonable hotel in central Tokyo for all four nights of your trip. You will find options for less than $280 (22K yen).
There are lots of onsen within a reasonable distance of Tokyo. One very accessible, but very rural option is Moegi no yu - near Okutama station. It's a nice area to go for a hike, but it's not on the typical tourist itinerary: http://wikitravel.org/en/Okutama
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Thanks jib71. I googled Okutama and it looks great. Admission to Onsen is only Yen 750 ! However, at 2 hours ony way or 4 hours RT, it is definitely a whole day thing and I can't afford to miss some other must-see in Tokyo in 3 days. Is there reasonable onsen right in Tokyo just for the sake of experiencing? I don't mind public or open onsen as long as we can wear swimsuits.
I will only stay at NRT hilton for first night mainly because of price. the second 2 night at Sninjuku, last night at Courtyard Marriott Ginza to catch an early morning flight next morning at Haneda? Any suggestion for better hotel on last night within 15 or 20 min from HND, comparable to Couryard Marriott?
thanks again, try to make the trip as perfect as possible
Is there reasonable onsen right in Tokyo just for the sake of experiencing? I don't mind public or open onsen as long as we can wear swimsuits.
If you want to wear swimming costumes you're looking for a "kurhaus" type spa - not a typical onsen. I went to one years ago at Heiwajima: http://www.heiwajima-onsen.jp/
Alternatively, the "baden zone" at Toshimaen might meet your expectations: http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/featu...kyos-top-onsen
Spa LaQua is one of the most central / easiest to access places. It has some sauna and massage zones where people wear pyjamas, but no clothing is allowed in the bathing areas. http://www.laqua.jp/spa
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Originally Posted by rtang1
I will only stay at NRT hilton for first night mainly because of price. the second 2 night at Sninjuku, last night at Courtyard Marriott Ginza to catch an early morning flight next morning at Haneda? Any suggestion for better hotel on last night within 15 or 20 min from HND, comparable to Couryard Marriott?
I still don't understand why you need to change hotels so often - so perhaps I'm not the best person to advise you. If price were the most important factor, and proximity to Haneda another factor, I might opt for something like the Villa Fontaine Shiodome for all three nights. I expect the rooms are smaller than the Marriott (I haven't seen their rooms) but it's "nice for the price".
LapLap has posted some bargain hotel advice for the Prince properties around Shinagawa station which is also pretty handy for Haneda. Need to be careful you get the right rooms IIRC.
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I'd agree with the suggestions to try to stay in one hotel for your entire trip, rather than three. I think the convenience of being a little closer to Haneda is more than offset by the inconvenience of having to move hotels in the middle of the day. As for hotels I think Villa Fontaine in Shiodome is a good choice, but there are lots of other options.
OK, followed some suggestions here. I will not staying at Narita the first night and will stay near Nippori ( which I can take the inexpensive Keisei Rail) With arrival 7 pm at NRT, i think I will check in the hotel around 10 pm. Any suggestions for late dinner or late night snack? We would love to go to street vendors which is crowded with stalls and local people. I found a street call "Hoppy Street" at Asakusa where you can have many local eats. Does anyone know if they are still open after 10 pm or before midnight? If anyone has been in Hong Kong, I am looking for the "Temple Street" equivalent which will still be busy past midnight!
OK, followed some suggestions here. I will not staying at Narita the first night and will stay near Nippori ( which I can take the inexpensive Keisei Rail) With arrival 7 pm at NRT, i think I will check in the hotel around 10 pm.
Hmm. If you're going to base yourself around Nippori, best to splurge and take the Keisei Skyliner into town. Although it's twice as much as the regular (very slow) Keisei train, the Skyliner takes 36 minutes and has space for luggage while the regular train takes twice as long and is a standard subway car (no luggage space). Then, you'll arrive into town about 8:30 instead of 10PM.
There are several "working class" type restaurants in the area around Nippori Station. I have stayed at the budget Tokiwa Hotel there and found someplace to eat every night, although I tend to be in bed by 10:00 pm so cannot comment on that hour. If you have a little time while there, I recommend a walk over the pedestrian overpass near the station into the large, cool cemetery and adjacent temple. You can then take a walk around the old-town area for a nice break from the hustle of Tokyo.
We would love to go to street vendors which is crowded with stalls and local people.
That's not really a common thing in Japan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rtang1
I found a street call "Hoppy Street" at Asakusa where you can have many local eats. Does anyone know if they are still open after 10 pm or before midnight?
Yes, you should be able to find a restaurant in Hoppy Street that's open after 10pm. Or in many other parts of town too. You can find "local eats" in tens of thousands of restaurants in Tokyo.
We would love to go to street vendors which is crowded with stalls and local people.
As lobsterdog said, that's not all that common in Japan (the stalls, anyway -- crowding of people is very common).
If you're going to be here in mid-August, the chances are very good that you'll be able to see fireworks and the accompanying festivities somewhere in or around Tokyo. There are usually many food stalls set up near places where people gather to view the fireworks (along the riverbank or on the coast near where the launch them). If you can let us know when you'll be here we can give you more detailed suggestions.
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, is it worth or appropriate to visit Kabukicho, red-night district with teenager? Do I miss any Must-see in Tokyo?
