flyinbrian

I have gathered enough vacation time, freq. flyer miles and hilton points to travel with my girlfriend to Japan for the first time. Looking for any and all advice of both what to do (and not to do) while I'm there. I'll be flying in and out of Tokyo and will be there from Dec 5 - 20. I'm planning on splitting the trip between staying at the Tokyo Conrad and Hilton Osaka and taking day trips out to various locations. Of course I may add a night somewhere else if I find something really interesting.

Things I have in mind are

Tokyo
- the annual december flea market
- the fish market
- Tokyu Hands
- ????

Osaka
- Day trip to Kyoto
- Day trip to Hiroshima
- ???

I'm looking forward to getting a cross between a tourist idea of the city and the local side. Seeing the sites, eating at less toursity places, experiencing the Japanese culture...

I'd love to go see a japanese game show taped but have no idea how to arrange that!


Looking forward to any and all advice for a first timer in Japan.


Thanks

Brian

ninja138

First of all, welcome to FlyerTalk! Glad to have you aboard.

I don't know exactly where your interests lie, so I'm going to throw out some ideas based on the information you gave and let you and the others comment on them. If you want further information or ideas, just reply in this thread and we'll fill in some more details. I'm going to leave it up to you how you string them together into an itinerary.

For your time in Tokyo:
-visit inside the Imperial Palace; there really isn't much to see since you aren't allowed inside the buildings, but some people like walking through the history and serenity of the place. Reservations are required, can be done online.
-walk the East Garden of the Imperial Palace; it won't be much in the winter plus it will be cold, but Sannomaru Shozokan is a small free museum that rotates the art treasures of the imperial palace.
-dine at Tsukiji fish market; have some early lunch sushi at one of the standing-only joints.
-walk around Hama Rikyu gardens; a tiny patch of green on the bayside. Ferries leave from here for...
-a trip up (or down) the Sumidagawa to/from Asakusa. A great way to see eastern Tokyo in passing from an interesting perspective.
-pray at Sensoji temple; the walk up to the temple is a riot of color.
-look around the Tokyo National Museum; the second-best collection of Japanese history and art.
-explore the Edo-Tokyo Museum; if you can visit only one museum, I would make it this one.
-visit Kokugikan; the sumo arena in Tokyo, which has a small museum to the sport. A separate thread on visiting sumo stables exists here.
-bustle your way through Ameya-yokocho; Japanese street mall version of Walmart. Where the working-class Japanese find their deals; haggling is acceptable and even encouraged.
-goggle at the latest electronics and cosplayers at Akihabara; the electronics mecca of Japan.
-window-shop at the department stores in Shinjuku; department stores operate differently in Japan compared to America, it is an interesting experience.
-go to the top of one of the Tokyo Metropolitan Gov't buildings; great free view of the city; on a clear weekend day, you will be able to see a snow-covered Mount Fuji.
-Meiji Shrine; counterpoint to the bustling Buddhist temple of Sensoji. Wide, quiet, austere, serene.
-Roppongi Hills; the futuristic side of Japan.
-let me know if beer is your thing; I can comment on some places to hit for your fix.

Possible side trips from Tokyo are: Hakone, Kamakura and Yokohama, Nikko. A hot spring dip during the winter in Hakone will feel awfully nice, especially after walking around Tokyo so much; Kamakura is absolutely beautiful when covered with a little snow; Nikko has a lot of walking outside so it isn't so fun in the winter.

For your time in Osaka:
-during the run-up to Christmas, Nakanoshima behind the city hall is decorated; great place for couples.
-take in puppet theater at the National Bunraku Theatre; a less famous cousin of kabuki.
-chow down at Umeda; either in the basements of the Ekimae buildings or east of Hankyu department store have cheap hole-in-the-wall eateries that lots of locals go to.
-see the whale shark in Osaka Aquarium and ride a gigantic Ferris wheel at Tempozan
-party all night long at Namba; place got it all, street break-dancers, clubs, bars, late night eats, entertainment all around.
-there are other things to do in Osaka, but you probably won't have time to see them because...

Of the possible side trips from Osaka, Kyoto will take a week in itself and discussing it would a thread of its own. Himeji, Hiroshima, Nara, Mount Koya, Kobe, and Arima hot springs are other options. Kyoto is a must; Himeji, if you are interested in an authentic Japanese castle; Hiroshima, for the A-bomb history; Nara, for a history older than Kyoto; Mount Koya, a secluded community completely dedicated to Buddhism; Kobe, sake breweries, the Luminarie (another great romantic event for couples), and Kobe beef all in one; Arima hot springs, because nothing feels better than a hot bath in the winter. It's not a day trip (more like two days), but I would seriously consider Kanazawa in the winter.

Finally, I would like to point out that special seasonal events or festivals may occur during your stay and may be worth going to, like the Nakanoshima Christmas event and the Kobe Luminarie.

ksandness

No reservations are required to tour the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. You just stroll through one of the open gates (a tourist map or the Tokyo City Atlas will tell you which ones are open to the public) and walk through the gardens, stopping off at the little museum on the grounds and enjoying the plantings of trees and plants from all over the country.

You do need reservations to tour the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, but to my mind, it's not really worth it, because you never get to go inside anything. The booklet they sell at the gate gives you a better view of the palace buildings and grounds than the tour does.

But please, if you haven't bought a guidebook, do so! If you have all those months before your trip, you have time to read up on it. Then you can decide for yourself which sights you want to see. Then download the pdfs about the various sights from the Japan National Tourist Organization website.

EuropeanPete

Hey welcome to Flyertalk,

I did a remarkably similar trip (indeed, on Air Miles and HH points whilst staying at the Conrad!) in December of last year.

Some of my experiences:
- Do try to stay longer in Kyoto. It's one of the most amazing cities I've come across, and was at least as interesting as Tokyo
- I found a great way to see Tokyo was just to pick a district and wander around. I went to Ueno a bit late (museum area), but otherwise enjoyed a decent amount of time in places from the weird to the wonderful
- The Tsukiji fish market is just a few minutes walk from the Conrad. Go early (in your itinerary and in the day) to see the auctions, wander around and try one of the popular sushi restaurants tucked in the middle. Oh, and don't get in people's way or abuse the fish!
- Being British, I found good Japanese food really expensive - pay attention to recommendations on these forums of good lunch places to get good food (particularly kaiseki - Japanese formal) at a reasonable price
- Avoid taxis - the public transport is great, and taxis incredibly expensive. Even if you're tired, consider public transport to the hotel to save enough for a massve night out (e.g. at the New York bar in the Park Hyatt - over-priced, but fun, particularly for Lost in Translation fans)

jib71

Whatchoutalkinabout, Willis?

IME, eating out is more expensive in Britain at any point in the quality spectrum, whether you're comparing fine dining or budget lunches.

When it comes to good Kaiseki... I don't even think you can make a like-for-like comparison between the UK and Japan.

LapLap

Sorry, I'm going to have to butt in here too.

I can rarely afford to eat out in London (high standards, shallow pockets - it's always a disappointment when you realise you could have made it better yourself, and I am NOT a great cook) but that's not the case at all in Japan.

Even with the current exchange rate, Japanese restaurants offer blisteringly good value for money. Perhaps you just got unlucky in the evenings staying in such a swanky area (There's no doubt that there are some seriously expensive restaurants in the East of Tokyo, but even these, on a like for like direct comparison with their London counterparts offer a MUCH better deal. Nevertheless, these high end restaurants are hardly the norm.)

- Being British, I find good Japanese food to be really cheap.

SJUAMMF

Kaiseki is normally not a lunch course since it takes a long time to prepare and eat. A reduced version would be served in a lacquer box for lunch. Only once when Mrs SJUAMMF was also invited that we had a full course for lunch.

Good lunch value are frequently in office concentrated downtown where value conscience office workers go to lunch. The old Marunochi building near Tokyo Station use to offer Y350 kamameshi. Now the new building has many more restaurants but lunch went to Y1000+ but not much more than that.

In sightseeing places, going for a plate of zarusoba with beer in the summer and a bowl of udon in the winter is likely best value for lunch. Quaint places hidden down alley ways with a nice courtyard view is infinitely better than places on the main street with huge signs.

There are historical places such as the Misakiya on Misaki Harbor that was worth the extra Y1000 for lunch complete with tatami rooms and 2nd floor view.

As for cost, kaiseki is expensive anywhere but ordering a few rounds of premium sake can double the final bill similar to a bottle of vintage wine.

On the simpler side of things a double order of gyoza with beer for dinner can cost less than Y1000.

ksandness

And I'd like to add that unlike some other Asian countries, standards of sanitation are pretty high, so you can go to cheap restaurants without worry fear of catching nasty digestive ailments. I love going to little tiny places in real neighborhoods and getting a great meal for between �1000 and �1500.

Sanosuke

So do I. I don't mind occassionally splurging on the occassional Sizzler meal in either Shinjuku or on Odaiba.

Sanosuke!

Jay71

I've gone only twice myself but some general comments...
- Recommend doing your A-list items in Tokyo and Osaka but try to make an effort to do easy day trips or overnighters outside the bigger cities.
- Personally, we really enjoyed Kyoto and would recommend a few days there (versus say if you were going to do a week in Osaka).
- We actually found the tour around the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto quite nice (tho not spectacular). Way better than the tour of the Palace in Tokyo.
- Others can probably advise better but I think a day trip from Osaka to Hiroshima for a day trip might be exhausting. We did somewhat similar leg (albeit on slower trains) doing an overnighter and back traveling from Mt Koya to Kurashiki with a stop in Himeji. Found that to be pretty grueling.
- We found everyone (save maybe 2 people) we interacted with extremely friendly and helpful. Highly recommend learning a few simple phases. Check out this thread started by laplap.
- Lots of "quirky" and specialty places/activities that depend on your interest... Food floor in dept store, dept store at opening, kitchen specialty shopping neighbourhoods, food markets, etc. All discussed in most guide books I figure.

SJUAMMF

Never stayed at the Conrad Hilton but been at the Osaka Hilton a few times.

There is a very nice teppanyaki restaurant in the Hotel Granvia across the street on top of the JR Osaka station, great beef.

http://www.j-hotel.or.jp/hotel/HOTEL...html#restarant

There is a large block of restaurants and drinking places just to the south in Kita Shinji.

To the north across the JR Osaka station, there is a Yodobashi store.

Sanosuke

Hmmm.. $1000 for beer and gyoza? I'd be outta there in a Tokyo second if it really cost Y100,000 for beer and gyoza for dinner!

Sanosuke!

SJUAMMF

You got me. Use to be Y150 and went up to Y200 per order. Beer is Y500 which cost more than two orders of gyoza. A little bit down the street from the gyoza place is a Kyushu ramen place.

Last week the yen rate went crazy, from when I arrived on Monday to when I left on Saturday.

EuropeanPete

I guess YMMV on this one then. I think that at the exchange rate 1-2 years ago that was true, but at the current rates I think Tokyo's the most expensive place I've ever been (beating Stockholm and Oslo by a little way).

The quality is indeed excellent, but no matter where I went we couldn't seem to manage a bowl of noodles for much under �10.

At the top end of the scale (and you're right, kaiseki isn't a fair comparison, so let's not go there), taster menus came in at 20-40K (e.g. Ramsey at 18K and 36K at Robuchon), which is 50% to 100% more than the most expensive dinners money can buy in the UK (e.g. Fat Duck at �130, Ramsey from �80-�130).

I'm not exactly complaining, as places in Japan often achieve a level of excellence beyond what you can get in the UK (the Conrad's walnut pastries in the lounge.. wow), but we had to be very careful to stay in any kind of budget, even with free flights & hotel.

LapLap

Perhaps it's familiarity coming into play. I was in Tokyo last November, exchange rate was just as it is now (under 130yen to the pound). Sure it was more expensive than other times, but we had no problems finding delicious meals for 1,000yen and under (around �7). For 800yen we had a truly stand out multi- course lunch in the Shimbashi area that still makes my mouth drool.

1,300yen and above for noodles is something I've certainly paid, and willingly, but this generally gets me freshly milled, hand made, hand cut noodles - gourmet fare from a true master of his craft.


By the way, my Tokyo born husband wants to know what kind of noodles you were getting for 1,300yen, his assumption is that they must have been bl**dy special.


(And it's perhaps worth pointing out that it is currently impossible to eat a meal at the Fat Duck. Molecular gastronomy having claimed yet more victims... I refer here to a previous report on this forum about how a techno-emotional tasting session led to hours over the crapper)