Possibly going to japan for a week in May

Hey guys,
Looking for a bit of help/info on this. Me and the wife will be going to visit her family in china for 3 weeks in may but we're looking at also going over to japan for 4-5 days for shopping, sight seeing and food. Since it will be our first time going, I have a few questions for the locals...

1) What's a good first place to visit: Tokyo, Kyoto or Other?
2) Is it better to go in a sight seeing tour or wonder around (possibly looking to get someone to show us around/translate).
3) Any good info worth knowing with booking a hotel/plane ticket?

If I had to put an ephisis what's more important to our trip, i'd say shopping and food rank higher (my wife for fashion, me for toys). While I think a tour could be good (and less stressful) I worry they'll barely give us any time to do some looking around on our own or to shop.

Any info would be helpful, including invitations to go drink. ^_^

 

you should check out Tokyo Akihabara Area for Shopping/Collecting and Rippongi for NightClubs if you want to go there. In Ginza you whil have nice Food too i think

Sakura-house.com
hippo-house.com
oakhouse.com 1 Month rent but they have a few Hotels too

 

Really depends on your budget, and your wife's figure. She's presumably Asian so the clothes here will likely fit her. I would say Ginza but it's just over-priced label stuff that is no doubt in Toronto, and for cheaper. The flip side is Harajuku, but that is mainly cheap shit with an expensive price tag.

Toys: Definitely Akihabara for you, if you want games. Nakano Broadway is worth a trip as well. Yahoo Japan is almost always cheaper though.

Tours suck -- don't take them. Sounds like you're more interested in embracing the madness of the city than seeing a million temples (which all look the same) anyway.

My recommendation: Forget Kyoto. Go to Tokyo. Book a cheap hotel (there are very few shit holes, by North American standards). Go to Kamakura for 1 day - that's your "Old Japan" fix. It's less than an hour from Shinagawa, and is nice. Do Meiji Shrine for good measure. The rest of the time, wander around. There is good cuisine from 1,000 yen up to whatever you want to spend.

May is absolutely beautiful, but there is one catch: Golden Week (basically the first week of May). If you're coming into Tokyo just at the end, your air fare will no doubt bend you over and make sweet love to you w/ no lube. If you're here during Golden Week, most things are easy to do, for the most part, but touristy spots like Kamakura might be crowded. After that, shouldn't be an issue.

I'm drinking a lot these days, and I don't see that doing anything but become more prevelant between now and then. So, I'm sure I could meet up at least once. Maybe Martin can grace us with his presence.

 

No point me giving any pointers. I live F*ing 500 miles away from Tokyo ;(. Mind you, I did live there for 2 years in 1998 and 1999. Shit, I've been in this country forever!

Yakumo

 

What GP said...

and I'd still recommend Kyoto (and Nara), even with an overnight stay. Check out Kinkakuji and Ryoanji in the north-west of Kyoto, stroll around in Arashiyama if you have time and continue with Gingakuji (my favorite), walk on the Path of Philosophy (tetsugaku no michi), see Kiyomizudera and then walk around Kawaramachi and Gion in the evening. Each temple is a completely different experience and well worth your time and attention.

Use Rakuten's site for hotel booking (travel.rakuten.com) or just check out the hotels and book directly on the hotel site. Anything that's around 5000 per room should be fine for the two of you. Nevermind about serving breakfast at the hotel. It's worth spending more for one night at a Ryokan (20-30000) with a nice dinner served in your room and "familiy bath" (hotel sento/onsen bath where you can book a timeslot so that the two of you can enjoy it together).

 

Thanks for all the info so far. Will respond to a few specific parts later (wife is on my ass to seek out hotels atm. =| ).

Few additional points, it seems my wife's mom and grandfather will be joining us on the trip so I am kind of looking at hotels that would be ok for them (can't have them sleeping in a cube, =P).

Anyways I have a question about what is the better general area to keep to (sure I know everything is connected by train which are pretty fast, but it would be nice to be able to just walk around near the hotel as well). The areas I see coming up a lot are ginza, shinagawa, Roppongi, Shibuya, Nihonbashi, etc...., what's a good place to be looking at the most?

 

If you have the time, don't skip out on Kyoto. One of the most amazing places to visit in Japan if you're even remotely interested in temples and palaces, not to mention a great city in general to boot. I'll probably get flamed for this but I don't particularly care for Tokyo that much.. I prefer the "Japan" outside of Tokyo.

 

There is no real central area in Tokyo. It's more an accumulation of urban areas which form around the train stations - kind of like cities within a city. Some cool spots relatively close together are the Yoyogi, Harajuku, Shibuya areas. Don't know about hotel prices there though.

Personally, I'd stay in Ueno in the north-east and tavel from there. It's convenient if you're flying via Narita, a nice area in itself that you can discover on foot and space to unwind after a day of sightseeing (Ueno Park).

Two other tips: get the Lonely Planet guide for Japan and look into the Japan Rail Pass if you decide to travel outside Tokyo by Shinkansen.

 

You can walk from Shinjuku through Shibuya to either Akiba or Rippongi it'll take ya about 90 mins.

I would avoid the Lonely Planet guide, it's good reading but not useful, arm your self with a Time Out: Tokyo guide

Heck I'll loan you mine :thumbsup:

 

I've always found Ebisu quite nice. It's in the city and extremely convenient (1 stop to Shibuya, 2 stops to Shinjuku or Roppongi, 3 stops to Ikebukuro or Nakano, 2 direct lines to Akihabara). There's a place called Excellent Hotel which is right in front of the station at around 10,000 per night. If you're a baller, you can go for the Westin up the hill.

 

I used to live in Naka Meguro which was next to Ebisu. It is a nice place but a little expensive.

Yakumo

 

At the moment, i'm looking at a hotel in ginza called "Hotel Monterey Ginza". Seems to be a swanky place (at a reasonable price) and in a reasonable location to get around.

 

You could also try the 'Grand Arc Hanzomon' as it is usually cheap and not badly located.
it is quite 'central'

 

What about the Shinjuku area? Wife's mom found a travel agency that includes hotel & flight but the two hotels offered are in Shinjuku (Hyatt & hilton). I'm personally not sold on the area atm.

Also how complicated is it to survive in japan for 4 nights when the only languages known are English & Chinese (mandarin)? I'm wondering because now it seems that my wife's aunt will be joining (making us 5) but I really can't see dragging around my wife's mom, aunt and grandfather to random places in tokyo. So i'm kind of wondering about them going off for a day or two and me and my wife going to see stuff on our own.

 

Shinjuku is good for the following

Nichome - gay area - if that is your thing. So a bunch of bars and clubs
Kabukicho - red light area - not as seedy as it sounds though especially if you are with your wife. Worth seeing as there is lots of neon.
GoldenGai - about 5 streets with 200 bars in them. Worth seeing
There are a ton of clothing shops so good for your wife.
Bic Camera and Yodobashi Camera are two big electronic stores.

You can take a train (yamanote line) to Harajuku where there is a lot more shopping (good to go sunday too to see yoyogi park and the cosplayers).

Also a short ride to Shibuya - more big fashion shops.

From Shinjuku you can take connecting train out to Kamakura to get your old Fashioned Japan fix

Your wifes family can read Kanji a little bit so they will be fine (and can speak english?).
Which Hyatt? The Park Hyatt has the New York Bar and is amazing (it was in Lost in translation)

There are a couple second hand game places but for real hardcore stuff you have to go to Akihabara.

If I were in Tokyo I would show you around - I lived for a bit in Shinjuku

 

Shinjuku is where I stayed and enjoyed it very much, I stayed here

 

The problem with Shinjuku is that being this is your first time in Japan, the station is extremely crowded and confusing. The Hyatt and Hilton are both a fairly long walk from the station and the popular areas as they're more in the business office district. Unless, your wife is really into spending big money for couture at the big department stores, I'd say there isn't much shopping to be done in Shinjuku. For gamer stuff, there are only a few stores left (Trader, Sofmap, Animate) and 3 of the legendary arcades (PlayMax for Tekken, More for Capcom, Mikado for retro) have closed down leaving Club Sega.

 

It's fucking brutal. It was dubbed "the busiest station in the world" at one point. Not sure if it still is. But, it's a pain in the ass. And, each exit of the station opens the doors to a new world. Walking around to another side possible, but timely, as is walking through the station. You won't experience that with any of the other stations.

Shinjuku is cool, but it is kind of the epitome of Tokyo. Skyscrapers, Neon, Vomit... it's got it all.

 

Let me know what kind of fashion your wife is into and I will help you out - it can be a bit overwhelming without a bit of direction.

 

I hate Shinjuku Station and I can speak Japanese. I can imagine for someone who can't it would be a complete nightmare.