Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Chicago, IL., U.S.A.
Programs: Global Entry · WN, UA, AS, AA, DL, NH; IHG, Wyndham, Hilton, Best Value Inn, Marriott, Ramada
Posts: 649
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Wow. 
I missed this thread initially. (Flyertalk is so vast; it's rough for somebody on a v.92 modem to hit every rubric.)
I have not been in Japan since December 2012. I just independently had my pricing bot out here looking for a solid cheap airfare. I finally got a message about non-stop flights from ORD to NRT for much of early Spring.
What I booked was MAS 9389 & 9426 (which is a codeshare for AAL 153 & 154) for 13 and 26 April; which just sinks me into Tokyo during the weekend of the DO. I paid $1075.20.
If you have more time and want to explore more of Japan, I'm still finding this ORD-NRT airfare for 13-28 April.
This will be my 10th visit to Tokyo. I've been to a lot of spots there. But my most recent trips have found me staying in Yokohama (at a cheap, but captivating, hostel), and I've been exploring more of Kanagawa.
Nonetheless, thanks to the new through-routing of the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line with the Tokyu Toyoko Line, getting from Yokohama to Shibuya and Shinjuku is swift and less-costly than J.R. [40' - ¥420 to Shinjuku-Sanchome].
Let me toss out these other options. The J.R. packages get a lot of the print; but the other private train carriers have deals.
The one which I am considering doing this time is the Keikyu One Day Ticket to the Miura Peninsula. This is the area of Japan where is Misaki, which you have may seen Andrew Zimmern visit for its tuna on an episode of Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel. From Yokohama, this costs ¥1400, from Shinagawa = ¥1900.
If you enjoy craft beer, you must, must, must hit Beer Club Popeye in Ryogoku. If you have opted for a J.R. pass (I never do. I feel it introduces the mentality, "Must ride J.R. - only J.R.".), it is staggering distance from the west exit of the Sobu Line's Ryogoku station.
Finally, I must put in a word for the area known as Shimo-Kitazawa. It is worth a day of exploring just itself. Again, I think this place does not get an overload of travellers because it is not on a J.R. line. From Shinjuku, take an Odakyu train. From Shibuya, the Keio Inokashira line.
If you want to read my zine from 2013 about Tokyo, download and save this file.
Last edited by pudgym29; Jan 30, 2016 at 8:30 pm
Reason: new ISP hosting 'Japan Jaunt'.