Where to go in Tokyo?

[Zycuron]

Hi!
After a long time of dreaming and saving money
I can finally travell to Tokyo. I know a lot of
you will think now: "Bad idea!"
So next month I will be there for about 2 weeks.
I have just started to plan my days there and
thought since a lot of you live there I could get
some insider-tips. For example things like:
If you are at saturday night in Roppongi you
could get an autograph from Rob Pongi or
visit the Skyscraper in Shibuya to have fantastic
view over Tokyo.

Thank you in advance!

[Kuang_Grade]

[Caustic Saint]

If you want a really good map of Tokyo, get the free one the Tourist Information counter at the airport gives out. It's a great city map, with nice close-ups of key areas. It's also good for admission discounts at most of the major museums.

[IkemenTommy]

Some time long ago, I made a quick gaijin crash-course tour to see the entire city in one day. It involves a trip to the favorite gaijin spot..roppongi hills (I know.. it's quite trite and overrated but..) and going to the very top floor to see the entire Tokyo. Being somewhat centrally located, you can see EVERYTHING, including Shinagawa, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Ueno, Odaiba, etc. You can even see as far as Yokohama and Makuhari Messe. The best part of all is that it only costs 1500 yen. It is pretty good to go when it is not fogged out.

[Mulboyne]

a trip to the favorite gaijin spot..roppongi hills (I know.. it's quite trite and overrated but..) and going to the very top floor to see the entire Tokyo. Being somewhat centrally located, you can see EVERYTHING, including Shinagawa, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Ueno, Odaiba, etc. You can even see as far as Yokohama and Makuhari Messe.

I like the view from the Tokyo Metropolitan Tower and the nearby Park Hyatt but Tommy is right that you can pick out more familar Tokyo landmarks from Roppongi Hills.

What do you like to do? Tokyo is a bit light on tourist attractions - Meiji Jingu is impressive but Tokyo Tower is underwhelming. The usual Tokyo run takes in Asakusa which is close to Kappabashi where you can find all the plastic food samples and good, cheap pottery]Yomiuri: Disappearing fans force sumo ticket rethink[/url]

Slumping demand for seats has forced the Japan Sumo Association to hold back nearly half the tickets for the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament for same-day sales. The decision, made ahead of Saturday's release of advance tickets for the Sept. 11-25 tournament--held at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan--will see tickets for 4,000 to 5,000 of the arena's 11,000 seats sold at the door. For May's tournament in Tokyo, about 1,000 tickets were sold in this way...the sumo association also is making tickets available over the Internet, at convenience stores and at the Green Counters of JR East stations.

Also, as a foreigner, you can get half-price Kabuki tickets for the 4:30pm performances from Sep 23rd-25th at Tokyo's Kabuki-za (Usual price 14,700 discounted to 7,350). Send an email to iti@ceres.dti.ne.jp with name, address, phone number, email address, nationality number of tickets and preferred date. Or call 090 4396 268 for enquiries in English between 11 am and 7 pm Japan time.

Yoyogi Park and Shinjuku Gyoen are probably the bests patches of greenery although you can get part of the way into the grounds of the Imperial Gardens. Akihabara is the centre of the world for geeks and otaku while Shibuya, Shinjuku and Shimo Kitazawa are regular stops for hanging out.

There is a good live music scene. Foreign acts will generally cost you around 6,000. Japanese bands usually come in at a more reasonable 2,500-4,000 except for the very biggest names and venues. Nightlife has a lot to offer depending on your interests, budget and language skills. Friday sees the free english language Metropolis magazine appearing in bars and shops which has a good listing section. It's also online here

If you only have time for day trips rather than the a few days outside Tokyo then the weather should still be good enough for the beach which you could combine with a Kamakura visit. Nikko is easy to get to as is Hakone where you there is a good sculpture park and, sometimes, decent views of Fuji. I quite like a walk up Mt. Takao which is an hour out of Shinjuku. There is a good restaurant nearby called Ukai Toriyama (free bus from Takaosan guchi station on the Keio line) but that might not be much fun on your own.

You can get interent access via numerous internet cafes - the ubiquitous manga kissaten - where you also play games, watch DVDs etc which, however, may not be the most effective use of your time in Japan.

If you are a nightbird then you might not see much daylight since you can easily hang out most nights until 5:00am without having to struggle to find an open bar. With a little more effort, you can extend that considerably.

Give us a few more pointers, especially if you know your dates, and I'm sure we can get a bit more specific.

[IkemenTommy]

It's so god damned hot these days that the only places I will recommend are indoor if you're out during the day or just wait till the night to go out.

[Zycuron]

Wow! Thank you for all this information.
I hope that the jetlag won't really take a whole day.
Allthough I am sure looking funny while watching at a compass at the subway station I am going to take one.
I was at the JNTO here in Frankfurt and got about 4 different maps of Tokyo now.
Sumo sounds interesting and allthough 4000 are somewhat expensive i'll try to get a ticket but Kabuki isn't that interesting for me.
I am no nightbird and my main interest lies in seeing all the famous places and buildings, experience the pop culture and spend some time for the "Real Japan" too. So all in all just being able to say 'I know Tokyo!'.
My airplane lands sept. 10th midday and I am leaving again on sept. 26th. I think I am going to spend a day in Kamakura since my budget doesn't last for a trip to the Kansai area.

Thank you again!


EDIT:
Do you think i'll be able to achieve some tickets for the final sumo match after the 10th september?

[Kuang_Grade]

If video games are your thing, the Tokyo Game show is happening out in Chiba on the 17th and 18th of Sept.

http://tgs.cesa.or.jp/english/

It is an interesting event to visit, if a tad deafening (40 odd booths squawking loud music and talk in two massive concrete boxes) and exhausting due to the crowds. I would expect that the Xbox 360 should be available for hands-on use by the masses.

[Mulboyne]

Do you think i'll be able to achieve some tickets for the final sumo match after the 10th september?

There's a chance they will still be available. Check at a convenience store when you arrive.

[Papa-Lazarou]

Yeah Tokyo tower is the crappyest tourist attraction in the history of errrm tourism

What was the point in building a slightly bigger replica of the eiffel tower?

The best tourist attraction in Tokyo?

Womb on a friday night