FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Where to stay for 2 nights in Tokyo. Shinagawa? Shinjuku?
Old Apr 18, 2018 | 7:57 am
  #18  
ksandness
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota,USA
Programs: UA, NW
Posts: 3,752
Originally Posted by codex57
As a first timer who just got back, Tsukiji was very underwhelming.

The area around Shibuya Station and Harajuku/Omotesando blew my mind. Take them there. Shinjuku at night too.

Tokyo Station area and Ginza weren't as impressive as I expected. Pretty meh.
I agree with those assessments. I don't understand why the Tsukiji fish auction is such a big deal, except that it's something that jet-lagged tourists can do if they find it impossible to sleep through the night. (Hint: Don't sleep on the plane.)

You can always tell the people who haven't done their research before coming onto this forum because they mention seeing "Mount Fuji and the Ginza." Ginza is impressive only if you've never seen a street of expensive stores and restaurants, although there is the new Kabuki theater, and there are some interesting shops on the side streets. But then, there are interesting shops on the side streets in just about every major commercial district.

The area around Tokyo Station is Generic International Business Land, but the last time I was there, the old brick part of the station had just been renovated after a long period of neglect, so it was fun to see what they had done.

My favorite thing to do in Tokyo is pick a named street (Chuo-dôri, Waseda-dôri, etc.) and walk its length or pick two stations that are relatively far apart (Ikebukuro to Shibuya on one trip) and plot a route for walking between them. I always find something interesting.
ksandness is offline