FlyingHighlander

I disagree. I stayed here last month on my first visit to Tokyo. I bought a 3-day subway pass at Haneda airport. With the Subway station being in the same building as the hotel, we found it exceptionally easy to leave the hotel and jump on the subway to any area of Tokyo we desired. I would recommend that method to any first time visitor.

thbe

You may find excellent sushi outside of Japan. But from my point of view it's really hard to find taxis in the rest of the world, which are as excellent as in Tokyo.

And I really enjoy, when the doorman at the Conrad Tokyo check the airline baggage tag, when the baggage is still in the taxi's trunk and dispatch the guest's name to his colleagues, who welcome the guest by his name.

Red259

Right. You had to go and jump on the train. My point exactly. I can stay somewhere where it takes me 20-30 minutes to get to tourist attractions or I can stay close by to the area where those attractions are. Add in the fact the trains stop running at a certain time of night and you have use cabs to go home instead of simply walking back to the hotel. For me having been to Tokyo a number of times it does not matter because I am not hitting up all those tourist spots every trip and often I am frequenting the nearby neighborhoods in the evening, but my comment was about a first time traveler to tokyo where I think being closer to the areas they would be visiting the first time makes a bit more sense.

Red259

Not really disputing the quality of taxis in Japan. Its nice to get into a car and not have to argue with a driver about using the meter. Be aware though that some drivers will still try to milk the fare by driving a bit further just like any other country, so they aren't the end all be all of taxis, although by and large they are less likely to give you a hassle compared to their counterparts in other countries. Its just much cheaper and pretty simple to take the train, so I wouldn't use a cab unless I had no idea how to get to the hotel and/or had lots of luggage.

FlyingHighlander

I didn't quite get what you meant by "tourist central" in Tokyo. We visited tourist spots in many different areas of the city, so even if we stayed at a hotel in what you call "tourist central", we would have still taken many subway rides to places in other areas of the city, therefore making the overall "first time visitor" experience broadly similar to what we experienced being based at Conrad Tokyo (which is right on top of a subway station).

teemuflyer

If you stay out late enough (hello, karaoke in Shinjuku ), taxis, ubers are the only options available. The good news is that the Conrad will actually pay for the taxi and charge your room if you are low on cash and they will not take credit cards..

Red259

That is a useful tip to know.

hfly

Actually that is something that almost all high end hotels in Asia will do if you are stuck.

anabolism

While there is much to admire about taxis in Japan (the seat-covers, the automatic door opening/closing, the gloved drivers), the two main flaws are that most do not accept credit cards, and you are likely to get in one that reeks of tobacco smoke. This last one is a deal-breaker for me.

I suppose it depends on where one is visiting. The Conrad Tokyo is walking distance to Ginza, but requires a subway to get almost anywhere else, and the Tokyo subway system seems quite difficult for many people to understand.

I find this to be the case at most hotels anywhere in the world. The hotel often imposes a surcharge, though.

smithrh

It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure this out... it's a nice touch.

Red259

[QUOTE=anabolism;31709465]While there is much to admire about taxis in Japan (the seat-covers, the automatic door opening/closing, the gloved drivers), the two main flaws are that most do not accept credit cards, and you are likely to get in one that reeks of tobacco smoke. This last one is a deal-breaker for me.

I haven't had the tobacco smoke issue. Not all drivers wear gloves. What I often do in cases where I am taking a cab from a hotel is telling the hotel to call me a cab and that I require a credit card reader. Yes this won't help if you are getting a cab from a taxi stand, but for cabs from the hotel they have always been able to accommodate the request. In large cities like Tokyo most cabs accept credit cards. You can check for the decals on the window. They often take the IC cards as well if you have enough loaded on to them.

FlyingHighlander

I'm surprised at this claim. With all signage in English, and stations having ID codes, and a typical subway line coloring system, I found it intuitive and easy to navigate. For what it's worth, I'm not a regular train/subway user in general.

anabolism

I suspect it's the number of different lines and systems that gets confusing for people, and the fact that without a SUICA card or similar, one must buy separate tickets for each operator. Most city subway systems have fewer lines, and almost all of them are operated by a single entity, with fares being zone-based.

Probably not too many people run into it, but transferring can be a confusing in some cases when different lines have stations that are not connected to each other, so people transferring need to go out to the street, walk to the other line's station, and enter.

Red259

Different lines operated by different companies that apparently shutdown at different times as I discovered on a recent trip I can see how that may be a lot to process for people who are not experienced in dealing with mass transit. Having an IC card like SUICA is essential in my opinion, since it simplifies things quite a bit. Once someone is on the trains navigating them is pretty easy. I think the hardest part is what happens when you get off the train. Getting to the correct station is one thing. Picking the correct exit is a whole other story and I always tell people to figure out the exit number they need in advance because of the size of some of the stations. I agree that making connections can be a bit convoluted at times. A good tip for Tokyo is that when you are in doubt simply look down. Many times they draw lines on the floor showing you where you need to walk for your connections. I know in New York we are used to looking up for the signs to get directions, but with Tokyo its just better to check the floor first. There is a tokyo subway app that will calculate the route for you, tell you how much time for each train is needed and even price it out for you. I use it all the time in Tokyo to get around and it works pretty well.

teemuflyer

Thus the tip..