Originally Posted by
tripweb
Any suggestions and tips on what to do and see next week?
I think it will be raining off and on with temperatures around 68°, so I want to see things that will still work out well even if it's raining. I think the bike tour of Tokyo sounds really interesting but six hours may be too long of a ride since I haven't ridden a bicycle for years plus it may be raining and that could make the ride a complete disaster.
I heard that the airport limousine bus is about ¥3000, can you prepay online with a credit card?
Do prepaid rail or subway passes make sense if only in Tokyo less than a week?
Does Shinjuku make sense as a good home base to see the rest of the city and do at least one day-trip? if I only have time to do one day trip, is Mount Fuji the best choice?
Will it be easy and economical to get laundry done at a laundromat near or inside hotels?
I don't have an international phone, so I plan to forward my cell phone to Google Voice voicemail and return calls via Skype from my laptop over WiFi if there's anything that can't be handled by e-mail and cannot wait for a callback until I return the next week.
I also need to find economical places to eat that don't require chopsticks.
I'll need to be brief and I'm typing one handed
The bike tours aren't of central Tokyo. Save it for a future visit.
I'd recommend you kept your options open with the Limousine Bus. They are more regular to some hotels than others. It could be that you'll clear immigration at an inconvenient time, rather than wait 90 minutes or so for another bus, give yourself the option of getting a train (the NEX/Suica deal is a good alternative).
I don't think a prepaid inclusive 'pass' (like the JR pass) makes sense, but a preloaded prepaid train ticket (like SUICA or PASMO) does.
Shinjuku should be fine as a base, particularly if you want to be up and about late at night. Don't feel you need to stick to it though should you find a hotel deal elsewhere.
Mt Fuji, day trip, early June? Sounds miserable to me.
Kamakura, Takao, Hakone or Nikko would be 'better'. But for four days I'd leave the day trip option as a standby - you won't even make a scratch on Tokyo in that time. Try changing the pace of your visit by exploring the Yanasen area - the downtown districts of Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi - or/and Kagurazaka.
There are cheap and easy to use laundromats all over Tokyo. Your concierge can help you locate one, many can be found at the entrance of public baths. The cheaper hotels often have this option, with more expensive hotels you'll pay per item at a huge premium.
Take cutlery with you and go anywhere you like rather than feel compelled to stick to Italian or Yoshouku restaurants. Or you could invest in the adult version of these:
http://trainingchopsticks.com/ and go native
Tokyo is full of economical options, you'll be spoiled for choice.