Toyko travel advice

[BigTim]

I'm off to Japan with a mate in a few weeks, and have a few nights in Tokyo before heading off to Hakuba for the snow.
I've never really had any burning desire to visit Tokyo specifically, but figured it'd be a waste to travel all that way, and not spend some time checking out the largest city in the world. My plan so far includes getting wrecked on saké, getting in a drift battle, partaking in a sumo wrestling match, and getting tattooed by some of the Yakuza.

Seriously though, I have no idea what's worth while checking out while I'm there, and would love to hear from some people who have spent some time there, as far as what they thought were highlights and would recommend seeing.

Thanks in advance

[Tamika]

The Hachiko exit of Shibuya station at peak hour.

[Hopko]

*starts stalking this thread* Im doing the same thing in a few weeks too!

[fractoid]

No idea but I'm heading over at the end of the month, traveling with a friend who's been over a few times. We're meeting up to talk about the trip tomorrow, I'll see if I can come back with some suggestions.

[Professor Redfern]

Dude its Tokyo, I had no interest in it before I went there but it is the most buttfuckingly amazing city on the planet. Go head out the gaming district and all the other big areas and it will seriously bake your noodle.

[OptiC]

I'm flying out to Tokyo on Monday then off to Hakuba for 9 days. There is heaps to do in Tokyo! As for drifting good luck finding any in jan/feb unless your there for TAS this weekend. All the mountain passes are closed and the underground scene is to far from town to check out unless you know locals with a car.

Things to see in Tokyo
Harajuku (shopping district)
Yokohama (ports area and Odiba) Odiba has had the 5 story tall Gundam figure moved there recently.
Eletric town for all your geek needs
Shibuya for night life (plus hatichico exit)
Gov building roof top in the evening for amazing views of the city (shinjuku)


If your looking to buy snow gear in town left me know and I'll hook you up with the best area to get gear.

What dates you in town as the last weekend in Jan is the Nostalgia car event in Odiba (highlight of my year) if yor keen on old school cars and life style.

Any other questions let me know

Regards,
Marc

[Roger Explosion]

One oft overlooked thing is the monorail at night time.
Jump on at any station and ride all the way from one end to the other. You can even just pay for a ticket from one station to the next one, as you don't have to leave the train when it gets to the end.
Basically the best way to describe the ride is, you know the opening sequence of Blade Runner? Its pretty much that. Best of all, you sit in the front and watch out the wind screen as most of the services are automated. Its basically an insanely satisfying eye fucking session.
Jump off at Odiba station to visit the Toyota Mega Fun Time Action Centre Thingy to get a healthy robot fix and to visit a surprisingly awesome classic car (all makes, not just Toyota) musuem in the form of the History Garage level.

If I'm honest, I'm not a massive fan of Tokyo (I prefer all things Kansai), but as Redfern said, just go for a wander. It unbelievably intense.

[Cam]

As others have said, the place is intense and pretty amazing.

PM me or post up where you're staying and I'll try and give you a few cool things with some directions (if I can) to go check out.

[Viper]

ride the subway for some entertainment (in peak hour)

[BigTim]

Sounds like some great suggestions, cheers guys

Optic- I was only kidding with the drift racing, saké, sumo thing. Well, I'd probably do everything but the drift racing if I had the opportunity. The other suggestions sound really good, thanks mate. I'm pretty well set, as far as snow gear goes. I land in Tokyo on the 6/2, and am on the train out to Nagano early on the 9/2.

Cam- we're staying in Roppongi. Any suggestions would be fantastic, cheers

[spudda]

Sounds like the thing to do, I'm off to hakuba from the 20th to the 3rd. I have a personal tour guide though so very lucky. My lady friend lived and worked in Japan for 3 years when she first left school. Translator as well! Being allergic to seafood I'm gonna need someone's help!

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[OptiC]

Spudda, I'll be there from the 19th till 28th. You a proficient boarder? If so well have to meet up the prepose I'm bringing across are only just starting out!

Ill be staying about 5 mins walk from the main st of Hakuba township.

[mcmurray]

Amazing city, and even more amazing women.

If you're going without the missus, a pink salon could be worth a visit

[spudda]

Spudda, I'll be there from the 19th till 28th. You a proficient boarder? If so well have to meet up the prepose I'm bringing across are only just starting out!

Ill be staying about 5 mins walk from the main st of Hakuba township.

http://www.hotel-kuraya.com/englishmain.htm

Staying here ^^^

Proficiant wouldnt be a word i would use, only had my first boarding experience in Thredbo last year july for 3 days. I picked it up quickly as i have surfed and wakeboarded all my life but the three i went with had no clue. One broken arm, one compression cork and one cracked tailbone left me with 3 sore and useless trail buddies. The time i did spend not waiting at the doctors with said other three or waiting mid slope for them to go further than 5 metres before falling over again i did enjoy! Cant wait to hit the fresh powder in Japan! Thredbo was like ice skating when we were there, got to the point where you didnt want to fall backwards as the tailbone was hurting so bad. The three im going with this time are all pretty good so i guess i will be the one playing catch up. For sure optic lets meet up for a Sake or four!

[Barfridge]

BigTim in Tokyo? They will surely sound the Godzirra ararm.

Get used to being gawked at, you might just stand out a little

[Pkunk]

The observation towers are decent Tim. And accessible via subway etc One even had crepes at the bottom ooooo

[Cam]

Yup, delicious crepe stand at the bottom of Tokyo Tower.. but that's kinda the best part of it. Crowded and bullshit expensive to get up there, also a fairly decent chunk of time to invest if you're only around a day or two.

So you've got Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday to kill in Tokyo.

Monday I'd probably just get you settled in to your hotel and have a wander around Roppongi. Plenty there to blow your mind a little. I'll have a look around and see what's on Tuesday and Wednesday morning that'll be simple to get to (the rail system is *amazing*, but a bit daunting the first couple of days), Wednesday afternoon and evening is definitely the time to hit up Shibuya and take in a restaurant and a club or two. Gas Panic in Shibuya has 300Yen drinks all night on a Wednesday from memory. Table service drinks in a club for about three bucks fifty? Bargain.

Will bash up some more detailed stuff a bit later today after checking some calendars

[Cam]

First up, Hyperdia is your best friend in the world. Trust it, it's bloody great. Bash in a start point and an end point and it'll take care of the directions. Public transport is amazing. The guards at any of the stations will go incredible lengths to help you out as well. Lots of smiling involved.

Hyperdia | Timetable and Route Search in Japan.

Okay, not a whole shitload going on then that I can find as far as little cultural festivals or anything, but here's how I'd waste a couple of days in your shoes.

Monday: Check into hotel / hostel. Bum around Roppongi. Find a bar to drink in and a noodle bar to eat in. Be merry. Learn this phrase: "Watashi-wa Australia-jin desu". Alternatively "America-jin, de-wa arimasen", roughly "I'm Australian" or "I'm not American". Everything else can be done with polite pointing, bowing and just being Australian. They will love you. After you've had a small fill of 'crazy', get some sleep.

Tuesday:
Kick off with Akihabara. Go check out the nutty electric area while you're fresh. Find some breakfast either along the way at one of the million cafes or 7/11's, or pull up for some eats when you get to Akihabara.
Electronic goods *everywhere*, tonnes of duty-free places, cafes, arcades and general nutty shit. A couple of hours here will fill just about any curious void. I wouldn't go here at night. That's when the hyper nerds come out.
Tokyo/Akihabara - Wikitravel

After you've looked at all the fighting robots you can handle, head back to the Yamanote line and ride it around to Harajuku.
Harajuku is really interesting. Tonnes of great places for a coffee (tip: If you order an "ice coffee" anywhere, you will literally get black coffee with ice. Order a "blendy" if you want something resembling ice coffee here, I only made that mistake once), and a heap of stuff to check out. Takeshita Street is pretty cool to see, there's a very nice temple and Yoyogi Park is right next to the train station.
Yoyogi is a really nice stroll, the Meiji Shrine is one of the largest and busiest in the region and can easily kill a large chunk of your day.
Tokyo/Harajuku - Wikitravel

If you're still looking for rad stuff to see after this, check out Asakusa. Outskirts of Tokyo, bit of a trek but some awesome temples and restaurants, lots of stuff to keep the tourist entirely absorbed. Sensoji kicks ass.
Tokyo/Asakusa - Wikitravel

Wednesday: Big day, party like a champion.
I'd start off heading to Shinjuku. The place is massive, mind can pretty easily be blown. Massive camera stores, gadget stores, clothes, jewellery and all manner of gizmos.

The Shinjuku train station is mind boggling. It's stacked with stores and restaurants of every kind, sees over three million commuters each day. Pretty easy to waste an hour or two just poking around it looking at stuff.

In Shinjuku, take a walk down to the Government offices. Free to get up to the viewing platforms and take a look around the city. There's some really nice park lands at the base of the buildings also.

Also in Shinjuku it's worth taking a walk through the club and entertainment district, there's also "America Street", where you can celebrate everything tacky and horrible.

You'll also find a *massive* TAITO Station here. Seven or eight floors of video games, pachinko, air hockey and claw machines. The total immersion virtual reality pods are friggin' awesome too.
Tokyo/Shinjuku - Wikitravel

When you've had your fill in Shinjuku (it'll take a while), jump back on the train and go a few stops up the line to Shibuya. Get ready to have your mind blown.

If Shinjuku is the business hub, Shibuya is the entertainment hub. It's like Super Mecha Godzilla Spec Northbridge, but without the junkies and the stabbings. Pubs, clubs, restaurants, shops, crazy shit going down, live performances at Shibuya 109, restaurants themed like mental hospitals and prisons, it's awesome and my favourite spot in Tokyo to kill an evening. Wednesday nights are extra special because of the amazingly cheap drinks at Gas Panic and the massive hawaiian looking dude that runs the bar, who is more than happy to give you table service.
Tokyo/Shibuya - Wikitravel

Anything more specific you might like dude? Do you have a list of stuff you want to do while there? Eat puffer fish? Do something really whacky? Just absorb a totally bat-shit insane cultural melting pot?

Any specific questions I'll answer as best I can, but otherwise you'll very easily kill your Tokyo time in those spots and I think you'd be hard pressed to be too disappointed.

**edit: And she isn't Yakuza, but I'll happily recommend somewhere to get tattooed in Shibuya if you're keen

[BigTim]

Oh wow, that's pretty goddamn fantastic, thanks so much, mate That all sounds like exactly what I was after. I definitely owe you a beer or three, next time I catch you out somewhere.

The only other thing that I would really like to do is catch a sumo wrestling match. Is there anywhere specifically I should be looking for something like that, or would I be best off just asking around when I get there?

[Cam]

Sadly no matches on when you're there mate.

Sumo calendar is a pretty odd thing, I've not managed to catch a match myself yet