Tokyo

Thirdfox

Hi all,

Haven't really posted in this area before... I'm going to Tokyo in January so I would like some advice as to where to go, and especially if there are any bargains to be had in Japan...

Thanks all!

(I'm 19 - but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in culturally interesting things - in fact the nightclubs don't appeal to me that much to be honest :eek: )

Darren

I was in Tokyo earlier this year for a couple of days and I really enjoyed it.

If you are flying to Narita, it is a heck of a long way from central tokyo. There is a high speed train link and it's not too expensive. I found the trains really confusing in Tokyo trying to work out which line was which and I couldn't get the machines to show English so i wasn't sure whether I was buying the right tickets or not. From what I remember a train trip was about 80p sterling.

I stayed in an area called Ikebukuro at a hotel called the metropolitan, It was only about £40 a night. For gadget shopping I went to an area called Shinjuku, I was going to buy some nintendo games for my sisters/nephews etc but they were all in Japanese. I would recommend a trip to the palace gardens and I went and checked out the Shink.

I'm sure there are some great trips to places like Kyoto and Osaka etc but I was only there for 2 days. I got the flights gratis form work, first out, club back. Nice!

Benedict XVI

Firstly get the Lonely Planet, it always a good guide.

There is a section of Tokyo with nothing but electronic shops and markets, but if I recall the prices are not that competitive compared to other places. Details are in the Lonely Planet.

Get a Japan rail pass, that will save you €€€€s is travel around Tokyo and Japan in general.

Tokyo is a big place and rather than having one city centre there seems to be loads of smaller centres dotted throughout the city.

Two good places are Roppongi and Shinjuku.
Roppongi is where all the tourists go out, lots of international restaurants bars etc, Shinjuku is mainly a Japanese place to go out, and things are cheaper there

Outside Tokyo, the Mount Fuji area is nice, not sure about the weather this time of year thought, and Koyoto which has loads of temples etc is only a few hours on the train.
Hiroshima is 555km away from Tokyo but only a few hours away by train, and there are train every 30min or so, as I said above get the rail pass, well worth it.

Thirdfox

I might go take a look at Hiroshima, Kyoto and Osaka too so I think a 44100 yen pass might just be the ticket.

Does anyone know if there are student discounts available? (Just in general for entering things...) For example on the Japan Rail website they only had Adult/Children tickets...

Don Diego

There are different ways to travel around Tokyo. JR is the over-ground rail, usually more expensive. The subway is the best way to travel. A day pass for the subway is 1000 Yen, which is about 7Euro.

Akihabara is Tokyos electric town. If electronics are your thing Akihabara has it:D . Asakusa is an intresting place to go. Theres a temple and shrine there worth visiting. The Flea-market at its entrance has lots of cool stuff aswell:cool: .

As already mentioned Shinjuku is pretty cool as well and worth checking out. Check out a restaurant called the "Asian table". If you go at night you will get spectacular views of the Tokyo skyline including the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower.

If your feeling a bit more adventurous you could travel down to Kamakura ( South-West of Tokyo ) and visit the giant Buddha. Beautiful area and lots of eagles as well.

To the north is a place called Nikko. Here you can visit the mausoleum of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The mountains west of the city are part of Nikko National Park and contain some of Japans most spectacular waterfalls and scenic trails.

Anyway, if I think of more stuff I'll post it later. Good luck and enjoy Japan. It's a great country:D

silvo

I was in Tokyo about 2 months ago and stayed in this hostel
http://kshouse.jp/tokyo-e/index.html
Really liked it and it was very resonable in price (less than 15 e if i remember right) - in fact it was one of the best i stayed in in my round the world trip. It is a good 90 minutes by train away from the airport and about 20 mins by train from Shinjuku / Shibuya but the place is spotless and new, and the people who run it are very helpful. It was in the old / traditional district of Asakusa where there is a massive temple and lantern which is worth seeing.

davros

If you are going to take the shinkansen from Tokyo to Hiroshima, you could stop off in Nagoya to visit the Toyota factory. One of the best things I did there.

Thirdfox

I think I'll be there for two weeks but the point about only buying a week JR ticket does make sense (I'll probably be spending a lot of time in Tokyo) - my roommate is going back to Japan too and we can meet up for a few days in Tokyo.

Thanks for all the help already given!

What was everyone's budget going over? (For a student staying in Japan for 2 weeks.... E1500 enough?)

Don Diego

Hi. If your looking for a map of the Tokyo subway/JR rail routes just follow this link.

http://www.tokyometro.jp/rosen/rosenzu/pdf/rosen_eng.pdf


Its a PDF document in English.

finbarrk

Make sure you get a Japanese massage when you are there, it will put a smile on your face!