Originally Posted by
FederalFlyer
I will check out the sites you recommend. And I agree, except that working with such a short time frame, I don't want to spend too much time looking for things to do. So, I'm at least hoping to get pointed in the right direction. In New York City, for example, I might advise someone to head to the Lower East Side in Manhattan, or Williamsburg in Brooklyn. I imagine there must be neighborhoods beyond equivalent in Tokyo?
It's way more spread out than you might be expecting it to be. I did point to Daikanyama, combine a visit there with neighbouring areas and you'll sort of find something close to what you're looking for. Eg:
http://www.whereintokyo.com/dbinx/rc-ebisu.html
Speaking for myself, when it comes to nightlife, if you start off at the right place (eg a decent record store or bar) you don't actually waste any time, a great evening just unravels from there. Perhaps you could start looking for recommendations in your own neighbourhood. If you were in London I would point you to a few record shops which have extremely close connections with their counterparts in Tokyo as well as a lot of very hip Japanese visiting clients. Have a couple of conversations, take a few notes, and you should be able to hit the ground running.