sAmmm

Hello there,

I will be travelling to Tokyo from 22 June to 30 June with my friend for the first time. Always been wanting to travel to Tokyo and finally having the chance to.

What is best for two male young adults staying? I´ve been looking around a few and found mostly outdated forum, posts and articles stating Roppongi, Shibuya and Shinjuku (although some of my friends say Shibuya and Shinjuku is best place to stay)

We´re both in the age of 23-26 and looking for some enjoyment such as drinks, night clubs and of course amazing food.

Hotel we are unsure about, would want a clean and proper hotel with a maximum budget of $150USD per night. Any suggestions for this?

And public transport, is there a transport card that can be bought for easier transport?

Sorry, I literally don´t know much about Tokyo!

davidgrahammd

Kind of a broad question but here are my two cents. I'm actually going to be there the same time.

My preference would be to look on Airbnb if there are any good places available (time is getting short). You could potentially find something in your range. I usually stay in the Shibuya area

If you are flying into Narita, you can get the Narita Express into town and a suica card at the same time for a very reasonable price. Cards can be filled with more yen at most reasonable sized train stations. Lots of youtube videos showing you how.

Looking around, you can find organized piub crawls, etc without too much difficultuy

Hope this at least wstarts to help.

mcrw00

$150 a night max for both of you is actually a bit modest by Tokyo standards, as rooms tend to be priced per person.

I would consider the chain APA Hotel at that budget. They have locations across Tokyo, and you should be able to snag a double at one of them for about that price.

IME they are always clean and convenient, though quite small by Western standards.

ksandness

My experience with APA hotels is that they have small rooms even by Japanese standards. You will get a better deal at the Super Hotel, Comfort Hotel, or Dormy Inn properties. All are clean and safe, just not luxurious, and some of them include breakfast.

For English-language information on nightlife and organized activities, look for Metropolis magazine, available for free in areas with lots of foreigners. I also suggest buying a downloading a city guide for Tokyo. Frommer's, Lonely Planet, and Rough Guide all have volumes devoted to Tokyo and vicinity. My rule for travel is ALWAYS to read up on my destination if I've never been there before.

And yes, get a Suica card. It's good on all surface trains, subways, and buses in the Tokyo-Yokohama area. It works like an Oyster Card in London or T-Money in Seoul, if you are familiar with those. Just touch it to the marked pad when you enter and leave the platform/bus, and it automatically deducts the correct fare. Add more value at any station.

Jay71

We recently got back from a visit to Tokyo (4th or so visit) and we stayed in Shibuya at an APA. I think you guys would like staying in Shibuya as we found it lively both during the day and night. Even though we didn't book through them, I'd suggest looking into AirBNB as there seemed to be some good options when we researched it. I wouldn't rule out Shinjuku as it isn't too far away and IMO seems to have more cheaper options.

The suica card is good in that it give you access to all the key transportation options. However, I'll also suggest the 24hr/48hr/72hr Tokyo subway ticket available for visitors for unlimited travel only on the subway lines. The 72hr card at 1500yen is good value IMO. If I'm not mistaken, you can buy multiple cards to cover the length of your stay as the countdown starts when you first use the card. The main disadvantage IMO, is that you don't get access to the Yamanote JR train circle line which can be more convenient/direct for some trips than needing to do transfers in the subway.

To get your feet wet for drinks, I'd suggest checking out the Hub chain of pubs. They're expat friendly with a mix of locals.

sAmmm

I couldn´t really find anything that I wanted to stay at in Airbnb as for now, but will definitely keep looking.

Flying into Haneda Airport, is it as convenient with transport from Haneda compared to Narita?


I saw APA hotels as I was searching and it seemed VERY small even for japanese standards as you mentioned, so will look at other hotels as you mentioned.


Yeah will definitely look into some more guides when I have some spare time freed up, thanks for the advice!


I heard there was a transport card for foreigners only with a period length of 24 hour, 7 day and 14 day where we can use it unlimited for a fixed fee, is this the Suica card?

Yeah we´re definitely leaning towards Shibuya or Shinjuku as it looks like those districts fit our taste more.

Oh, we´d be more interested in looking more into japanese bar and drinking culture, any suggestion around these two areas?

davidgrahammd

From Haneda there is a monorail that takes you to the Hamamatsucho station. From there you can catch the JR Yamamoto line that does a loop around the entire city with stops both at Shinjuku and Shibuya.

You can get the transport card for lengths of time but they do limit what you can ride. If you get a Suica or Pasmo card you can ride anything short of bullet trains. In addition, you can use the cards to pay for purchases at many stores.

If you are looking for an interesting cocktail experience, try and get a reservation at Bar Gen Yamamoto He does 4-6 drink tastings using very fresh and seasonal ingredients. He also uses very few ingredients per drink. Truly exceptional!

http://www.tokyopubcrawl.com/ does regular crawls with reasonably good reviews but I have not tried them myself.

ksandness

Flying into Haneda Airport, is it as convenient with transport from Haneda compared to Narita?

Yes. For one thing, Haneda is more or less within the city limits, while Narita is about 60km (40 miles) outside the city. If you're staying in Shibuya, just take the monorail to Hamamatsucho (the station where it terminates) and then either transfer to the Yamanote Line (silver JR train with a green stripe) and ride five or six stops for Shibuya or, if it's rush hour, grab a cab for about US$30.


I heard there was a transport card for foreigners only with a period length of 24 hour, 7 day and 14 day where we can use it unlimited for a fixed fee, is this the Suica card?

There are two transport cards, one for JR East (JR trains only) and one for the Tokyo Metro (one of the two subway companies). I do not know of any time-limited all-you-can-ride transport card that covers all urban transport.

The Suica is available to everyone, and it is a debit card that covers all means of transport that you are likely to use.




Oh, we´d be more interested in looking more into japanese bar and drinking culture, any suggestion around these two areas?

Be careful where you go. Any place that is crowded and full of young people should be OK, but those quiet little places on the side streets may 1) not be friendly to foreigners, 2) may have exorbitant cover charges or liquor charges.

That is not true of restaurants, which generally display their prices outside, either as window displays or on a picture menu. If a restaurant does not display its prices outside in some form, you probably can't afford it. It's the old "If you have to ask..." syndrome.

davidgrahammd

I hear what you are saying, but I think there are some adventures to be had there.

Many neighborhoods have areas called Yokochou. Probably the most famous is Shinjuku's Golden Gai, an area with literally dozens of bars that seat 5-8 people. Many of them do have covers but we are usually talking around 10USD with drinks around 6USD. If tehre is a sign in English, you should be fine going in.

I have "investigated" not only Golden Gai but a number of other yokochou and have never really run into a problem. Learn a few words of the language (good evening, please, excuse me, thank you), be respectful, and have an open mind when you go in and you'll probably be ok. I have spent many a night in a small place where I was the only english speaker. It's a blast

sAmmm

That sounds good, I´m more leaning towards Shinjuku these days... How is it with the train transport considering I will be carrying luggage and all? Would it be quite inconvenient?

Oh might check these out, thanks for this!



Yeah I re-read it again and it was for JR Trains only, would it be wiser to buy a Tokyo Metro card considering I will be only staying in Tokyo and would only use the public transport there to move around?

I saw it was 1,500YEN for 72 hours or so. I don´t know how big of a network Tokyo Metro is.

Or would the Suica card be a better option but more expensive??


Will definitely check out Shinjuku´s Golden Gai, sounds like a very nice experience.

Yokochou can be found anywhere? As I am leaning towards Shinjuku I would probably be hanging around the areas of Shinjuku and Shibuya!

sAmmm

Another question,

Any of you guys been in Korea?

How does the convenience store in Japan compare with Korea? Is there any seating inside/outside the convenience store with small chairs/tables?

abmj-jr

I can't speak for Korean convenience stores, but for Japan, the answer is no. A common brand konbini in Japan is 7-11. If you have ever been to a 7-11 in America, you will feel right at home in Japan. The biggest difference is that the prepared foods are far better. Packaged sandwiches and specialty breads are fresher, bentos can be warmed in the microwave. The clerks are almost always friendlier. But, they are mini-mart-type convenience stores, not restaurants.

Jay71

I have been to South Korea a couple of times a few years ago and remember the GS25 stores. Not sure what specifics you're looking to compare with 7Elevens or Lawson's in Tokyo. I've gone in both to get snacks, drinks, buy an umbrella, etc. Nothing really stands out from a comparison perspective other than I do admit I'm a bit addicted to the egg sandwiches in Japanese convenience stores.

Also did run into an oddball 7Eleven in the Ginza district that did have seating.

nishimark

More and more conbini, at least around here, have a small seating section to eat/drink something.

davidgrahammd

Answering whether the Suica card would be more expensive would depend on whether you are riding the trains that the once price card covers extensively or whether you'd be using other systems a lot. If you have to pay for cabs or separate train fares because you aren't on the train system covered by the card then yeah, Suica is likely to be more cost efficient for you. Also remember, you can use the funds loaded on the Suica for other purposes (like convenience store purchases, etc) so the money isn't necessarily lost.

Many neighborhoods have Yokochos. A nice review is Yokocho Alleys