Tokyo recommendations?

[chazraps]

Headed to Tokyo next week from 12/30-1/5. Any suggestions/advice of what I can't miss?

[dav]

The Studio Ghibli Museum would be great, if you can get the tickets, but they have to be pre-ordered before going. The Meiji Shrine is a must, hopefully you'll get some snow for the photos. Tokyo Tower can be good fun and a wonderful view with of the city with a live band up there most nights I believe. Akibahara is the place for manga and anime collectables, and the arcades are quite fun too.

[Kalmia]

You picked a good, and bad time of the year to go. New Year is the biggest holiday in Japan, but it's not really a big party night, as it's mainly the time people go back to their families and will do their first shrine visit of the year. A lot of places will be shut on New Year's Day, but all of the crazy sales start in the new year!

Sensoji and Meiji jingu are great shrines/temples to visit, but are going to be absolutely packed out from the evening of 12/31 until around 1/3, maybe. I mean, the lines will be hours long to get in (trust me, I've done them at New Year!).

Shibuya is worth a visit if only to do the usual touristy thing of filming the famous crossing. If you like manga, anime or electronics then go to Akihabara (if there are girls with you who like anime or manga, then go to Ikebukuro instead). I love Odaiba, as it has loads of interesting places, like the 1:1 scale Gundam, Sega Joypolis (a small amusement park with tons of 3D/VR rides) etc. Ueno park is nice, as is Yoyogi. If you're willing to travel a little further out, Yokohama is worth a day trip. It has China town and the Pot Noodle factory, amongst other things! If you're willing to go even further and want some history and good photo ops, then try Kamakura.

You should do either Tokyo Tower or the Sky Tree, too. Tokyo Tower is more iconic, but the Sky Tree is waaaay taller and has a nice shopping center around the base.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

Isn't January 4th the yearly Tokyo Dome show for New Japan?

[Deleted]

Your travel period allows you one unique chance that not many travelers have:

-On January 2nd, the Imperial Palace in Tokyo is open to the public because of the New Year's Greeting:
More information here: www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-event/sanga01.html

It is unique because except for January 2nd and December 23rd (the Emperor's birthday), the Imperial Palace is closed to the public and can only be visited via a guided tour that you have to apply for in advance.

I definitely would take this chance to see the Imperial Family up close.

[Deleted]

Dec 23, 2016 13:39:41 GMT -5 El Pollo Guerrera said:

Isn't January 4th the yearly Tokyo Dome show for New Japan?

The bastard has already bragged about going to that in another thread.

And I don't intend that to be mean, I'm just jealous as hell.

[Fundertaker]

Giant. Gundam. Statue. Go. See. It.

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

Dec 24, 2016 6:18:06 GMT -5 Fundertaker said:

Giant. Gundam. Statue. Go. See. It.

Especially since it won't be up for much longer.

[Ken: The Hero of WWE]

The Toudoukan pro wrestling store is a must see.

[Deleted]

- Tsukiji fish market is popular with tourists, you have to get there very early (6ish) I think it's popularity is due to local sushi joints getting the fresh cuts.

- Tokyo is surprisingly weak for clubbing, an out of town place called Ageha might be your best bet (you can get a bus from Shibuya).

- Generalizing but I think for nightlife Shibuya favors the 20 somethings and 30 somethings might be more at home in Shinjuku bars.

- Shimokitazawa and Koenji are two lesser known 'hipster' (for want of a better word) neighborhoods that are not too far off the tourist areas if you are into fashion, small live music venues ect.

- /r/tokyo has a link to a thread in its sidebar full of ramen restaurant recommendations www.reddit.com/r/Tokyo/comments/35083x/i_love_ramen_i_want_a_ramen_recommendation_thread/. Although they are everywhere and quality is going to be good where ever, just avoid the fate of a German weeb I met once who enjoyed the instant convenience store stuff back home so much he intended to eat nothing else on his visit here, each to their own I just mentioned that's like going to Munich and drinking Budweiser.

A week is enough to do loads but you'll be back, much like London or NYC there's so much that you're left wanting more.

[MAGGLE]

You should definitely take a day and visit the five lakes around Mount Fuji. A bus takes like 2 hours to get there, but its worth it. I think you cant get near the mountin in winter, but the tourist attractions around the 5 lakes are awesome.

Like someone already mentioned here, you HAVE to go to the imperial palace, its only open 2days a year!

Tokyo Skytree is overrated and an incredible rip off. You should just go to the government building in Shinjuku, the two towers there are free of charge. I think skytree costs like 50 bucks.

If you wake up early enough you can see the Sumo Wrestlers train ( I think it starts around 6am) , you should also check out the crazy Robot Restaurant.


There is too many things to do honestly, those are just some small highlights.

[chazraps]

I'm definitely doing all of this, thanks!

Any suggestions for Roppongi? I'm staying there.

[Deleted]

Just get you a bomber jacket and go looking around for sailors and beat people up until they tell you where Charlie is.

[Deleted]

Roppongi is mostly good for shopping because it has three large department complexes with shops, restaurants etc.: Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Midtown and Toranomon Hills.

The Tokyo Tower already mentioned also lies nearby Roppongi and depending on where you stay, it should be in good walking distance.
Beneath the Tokyo Tower, I would recommend the Tokyo Curry Lab for lunch. The Japanese curry rice served was really delicious.

[crabbymelt]

There is a bakery in Shimbashi that makes Shu Cremes (sourdough cream puffs) as big as your head for a cheap 300ish yen per piece. They are immensely delicious!

 
Beard Papa

[Fundertaker]

Dec 24, 2016 6:45:54 GMT -5 Koda, Master Crunchyroller said:

Dec 24, 2016 6:18:06 GMT -5 Fundertaker said:

Giant. Gundam. Statue. Go. See. It.

Especially since it won't be up for much longer.

Yeah, that's true. Especially a bummer for me since I'm planning to go to Tokyo in June/July and it will be down by then. Hopefully I'll be able to return when a new one (possibly in 2019, what with 40th anniversary) is up.

Will still try to go to the Gundam store. Hopefully they don't take down the half-built Freedom they have there.

[chazraps]

Again, this is all spectacular. Thank you so much!

Any suggestions on where to catch some Butoh dance / theater? Been trying to find it online and nothing's coming up.

[AwamoriRock]

Look up Omoide Yokocho, or memory lane (affectionately called piss alley). It's a run down alleyway of dozens of bars and food stalls, all very narrow. It's mostly for drinking but even if you don't you can enjoy food while getting chummy with locals, and it has a really cool post-WWII Japanese atmosphere. I try to go there every couple months--it's not a must see or anything for a first-timer, but a good change of pace from touristy stuff.

[MAGGLE]

Also, if you need a Metro Ticket definitely buy them at the airport tourist center! If you show your passport you can buy a 3day toei and tokyo line ticket for 1500yen(that covers 80% of the lines in tokyo). Since you are there for a longer period, just buy as many as you need.

Also go to one of those public free wifi machines at the airport, they scan your passport and then give you a activation code for an app which lets you use over 25000hotspots in Japan

You will definitely need a tokyo subway app to plan your trips.

Thats all that i can think of right now that you should know when arriving.

[The Sam]

If you're into video games, check out Super Potato in Akihabra.