3 Days in Tokyo
 

I'm staying 3 days free in Tokyo before beginning a longer trip to Singapore. I have the 3 days free--arriving on a Friday at NRT at 3.30PM and Leaving NRT at 6PM on Monday (although I might try to get a 9PM flight if I can swing it). I'll be traveling alone and staying in Shinjuku (1st night HyattR and next two the PHyatt).

My first question is, what should I do about getting to and from Shinjuku? I am thinking of getting the 4000 Yen return fare on the Narita Express and a taxi from Shinjuku station to my hotel. Also, I was going to get one of the two smart cards (Suica/Pasmo) for subway/train travel in Tokyo itself . Is this the way to go?

I have never been outside of NRT before so I am looking for any advice on what to do. I don't mind walking or biking and I realize that staying in Shinjuku will mean that I will be doing this quite a bit and taking transit a great deal. I love sushi (although I don't want to spend a ton every time I eat). I wouldn't mind visiting a temple or museum or two but don't want to spend all my time doing this. I'm not into the club scene but do like nice bars and restaurants where someone traveling on their own won't feel too out of place. I like shopping for things you can't get in North America. I guess I'm looking to experience and check out as much of Tokyo I can in what will be a very short amount of time. I will certainly check out the New York Bar one night at the Park Hyatt as I am staying there. Thanks.

A Suica card almost always makes sense - you'll almost definitely use ¥1500 worth of trips even in 3 days, and you get your ¥500 deposit back at the end of it. It sure beats standing in line to buy a ticket every time you ride the subway or JR.

The Narita Express should work for you, but you can also consider a Limo Bus. The train would probably be faster but might not be cheaper.

I know you tried to list some of the things you're into/not into in your last paragraph but to me they still seem a little vague. For shopping for things you can't get in NA, I guess I'd recommend Akihabara (all manner of Japanese geekery) or Harajuku (fashion). In Harajuku, you can also visit Meiji Shrine, one of the biggest but less touristy shrines or temples in Tokyo.

You can also do a lot of the standard tourist things - Tokyo Tower, Skytree, etc. - and walk away with stuff you wouldn't be able to buy outside Japan. (In Skytree Town, just for example, I bought a wax food kit like is used outside most restaurants in Japan to represent the menu - it was fun to make and sure is a unique conversation piece. But there's a lot of stuff like that there.)

Odaiba is basically amusement island, and there are also lots of novelty stores there with stuff I've never seen in North America. You can also take the Yurikamome line to get there, which runs above ground and gives you a good view of the city and Rainbow Bridge, which it runs across.

Hope this helps a little bit.

Thanks basscadet75 for the advice. I guess I was pretty vague, especially on the shopping front. I love the little cakes and sweets that they have for sale in NRT so a place or area that sells them in Tokyo would be good to find. I'm not all that into fashion but I do have a 3 year old daughter who I would like to buy a few clothes for. My wife likes all sorts of paper products and I would like to get her some pearls.

In Shinjuku, head to Takashimaya and you can find their basement supermarket/gourmet food section has a great variety of Japanese senbei crackers, wagashi cakes and confections, gift wrapped and ready to go. Bring your passport to the 2F tax refund counter, and they will give you a 5% shoppers card you can use for purchases 3000Y and above (with exclusions - i think food and certainly luxury brands). Within the Takashimaya complex is Tokyu Hands, and on the 7F or 8F is an pretty amazing stationery section. In fact, the whole store is pretty amazing, starts from 2F. Good for gifts and unique items for sure. Tokyu Hands also offers a 5% discount card for tourists, their customer service counter is right near the one for Takashimaya.

I'm not good with kids clothes, but there's a Uniqlo on the 11F, and they carry children's wear. There are larger Uniqulos in Shinjuku you will see, but it's at least a convenient one stop shopping destination.

For electronic goods, you can go to BIC Camera or Yodobashi. You need not trek all the way to Akihabara for these two stores, though there's plenty of other things in Akihabara worth a look see.

Specific to shopping, you can do it all in Shinjuku. Takashimaya Times Square is a colossal shopping complex where you'll find everything. However, in the end, I usually end up spending my money at Tokyu Hands (as brought up by fimo). Tokyu Hands is more of a less-frill place packed with all kinds of goodies that make perfect Jpn gifts including stationary, toiletries, all kinds of gadgets. There's a pretty massive Bic Camera near Hyatt Regency which should cover all of your electronic needs. Every dept store in the area (Odakyu, Lumine, Takashimaya, etc) has restaurant arcade floors. Most, if not all, should have depachikas (basement floor packed with gourmet delis)... you should go check out the one at Isetan. There's plenty of bars in Shinjuku and the nearby Shibuya. I'm no longer a nightlife expert, but my sense is that there're more bars in Shibuya that a regular tourist might feel more comfortable popping into. For Hyatt Regency, you could do Narita Express but I usually find that Limo Bus is the easiest because it's door to door and they'll handle your bags.

+1. I always use the train but my hotels are rarely on the limo-bus schedule. For those that are, it is certainly convenient - ie. door-to-door. Both ways.

What hotel is OP staying at? That would determine how to get there from NRT.
1800 departure on Monday means leaving immediately after lunch for the airport.

Since OP is planning to go further afield, I'd suggest for shopping:

Bic Camera and Muji near Yurakucho. Yodobashi Camera at Akibahara. Each in its own humungous building.

Ito-ya has a shop in Ginza which is uniquely Japanese.

I second the visit to Itoya!

If you go to Meiji-shrine/Harajuku, you might want to check out the 4-5 story Daiso 100yen shop. A fun source for souvenirs and it's amazing the quality and range of products you can get for under a buck USD. Stationery, food, housewares, tech accessories, souvenirs such as Japanese-design fans, phone charms, coin purses, travel pouches, either the traditional type or kawaii cute cartoon/manga styles with Hello Kitty, Little Twin Stars etc. I know it sounds 'cheap' but the Hello Kitty etc products are all officially licensed from Sanrio.

This reminded me of series of articles on United Airlines’ in-flight magazine Hemispheres called Three Perfect Days. Tokyo was featured on October 2012 issue. Yes, this is an in-flight magazine where articles were written by heavy sponsorship. Almost certain that most restaurants, shops, and other locations mentioned on the article had some financial arrangements, hence mentioned on the article. Also, the article was back in 2012, may not be most current. However, it does not hurt to read, especially if you were stuck inside of 777-200 for 13 hours… :D

Three Perfect Days: Tokyo

Ito-ya at Ginza, every year I make visit to Ito-ya on November. I buy Christmas/New Year’s cards at Ito-ya every year. Least in the U.S. not many people do send out Christmas cards any more, especially e-mails and texts on today. However, my friends in the U.S. enjoy receiving Japanese themed pictures on Christmas cards and now my friends expect to receive Japanese themed Christmas cards from me every December. If I do not send Christmas cards then my friends think something happened to me. Yes, those Christmas cards at Ito-ya may not be cheap, but it is once a year. :)

feel free to inbox me if you have any questions....I studied there for 2.5 years previously and was able to tell my parents when they visited for 2 days, where to go and how to......

Love Ito-ya. Definitely a must for anyone who is into stationery and writing implements.

On transportation from the airport, check the limousine bus schedule for either of the Hyatts. Follow links on the NRT website to find the schedules. The website also has links to the N'EX schedule, so you can see whether the N'EX or the limo bus will work better for your arrival time.

If you want to get at least one temple/shrine visit in, the two tourist favorites (but also patronized heavily by Japanese people) are Meiji Shrine, in the park next to Harajuku Station, and Sensoji (aka the Asakusa Kannon Temple). Meiji Shrine is more peaceful, since you walk along a wooded path to reach it, but Sensoji has an arcade of food and souvenir stands. Lots of cheap junk, but you might find something interesting, too, even just to photograph.There used to be (maybe still is) a stand selling rather elaborate clothes for dogs.

For food, your most affordable-yet-edible options are found in department stores. Every department store (I've never encountered an exception) has a floor or two devoted to general and specialty restaurants, whether that specialty is an ethnic cuisine or a single Japanese food item, such as okonomiyaki. But you will also find wonderful restaurants just along the streets in shopping areas. Hint: If they don't have either plastic models or a photo menu or a chalkboard with today's specials posted outside, you'd better have lots of room on your credit card.

The Suica card is great. I'm enough of an Old Japan Hand to remember when you had to buy an individual ticket for each subway or train trip and hand it to a station employee who spent the whole day punching tickets. The turnstile areas sounded like a castanet orchestra.

Now you just take your Suica and tap it on the designated spot on the turnstile, as with London's Oyster Card, only the typical Tokyo transit ride is much cheaper than the Tube. All the trains and subways run every 3 to 8 minutes seven days a week, although they shut down for a while in the wee hours.

Wow, thanks for all the great advice--I think I will take the bus to and from NRT if the departure times make sense. All the advice on the shopping is going to be very useful.
How much is it reasonable to spend on a decent sushi meal (minus drinks)?

Dont forget doqi-hote!!!

9)

That's a hard question to answer! You can find perfectly decent kaitensushi places where a plate of 2pcs of nigiri goes for 100-150y. You can find really good quality stuff from the supermarket ready to eat sushi in the seafood section (go after 7pm and they knock down prices progressively to clear stock).

If you want a nice (but not fancy) sit down place, then a set can range anywhere between 1500-5000y, depending on the mix of seafood types and add ons you want.

Here's a link to Midori sushi, a very very popular chain with both locals and visitors. The menu is at the bottom of the page, and should give you an idea of the kind of prices you can expect. http://www.sushinomidori.co.jp/tenpo_e.html

Thanks for all the help from everyone. It will certainly be of use during my trip.