Potentially taking a trip to Tokyo mid-summer. I have a few questions.

1. Is there a best place to stay? Part of town?
2. How difficult is the metro system? User friendly?
3. Side trips to other cities? Recommendations? By train?
4. Must see's/do's in Tokyo?
5. Other interests: food, capsule hotels, Mt. Fuji, parks, sumo. Thoughts?

Any information would be helpful, even if it doesn't pertain to the items above. Thanks!

Using the metro system can be difficult if you don't know where you are going. I had explicit instructions from my hotel (in very good English) with matching handout in English and japanese, and I still ended up playing the game "match the character" in the station to figure out where I needed to go and what kind of ticket I needed.

I found of all the many countries I have visited, Japan was the country that had the least amount of English spoken in "public services" (i.e. trains, airports, police). I was interrogated for about 30-45 minutes in the airport by the police about a sword I was carrying and it was done mainly through hand motions, single words and me flipping furiously through my lonely planet book looking for translations.

That being said, I loved Tokyo and Japan. The food is art. The night life is amazing. Tokyo is a MASSIVE city and it seems to never stop going.

Go to Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza and see the asia that you see on TV. It is really amazing in person. If you can make it, go to Kyoto. It has a ton of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It was spared in WWII.

The airport, Narita, is WAY out of town, but there are lots of trains to get you to and from. There is a special train called the Narita express that will get you there.

Have fun and eat a lot of Kobe beef.

ok, was going to comment yesterday but got distracted, sorry.

I lived in Japan for 5 years from the age of 7 - 12 and found that getting around town using the subways and trains was actually pretty easy, granted I didnt live in Tokyo, but Im assuming that the systems are fairly similar. At the stations above the ticket machines, there was a big map that had a layout of the different subway and train lines and they usually had the names of each stop in both japanese and english. there was also a correstponding yen value for each stop from your location, even if you needed to switch lines. You would just put in how much you needed to get to your location, press the amount needed and out would come a ticket. Also, the Japanese are very friendly and love to practice their english so you can always ask for help and more than likely will get help.

If you get a chance to travel to Mt. Fuji, do it! I was about 9 when we went and didnt make it all the way to the top and really regret it. Be prepared, it is an all day event and is very challenging, but how often will you get the chance to do something so awesome!? The gift shops are stationed along the path to the top and you can purchase a commemorative walking stick and at each station, there is a branding booth and they will brand your stick to show how far you went on your trek. (My dad made the summit twice and still has both sticks in our living room on display)

As far as food, there isnt anything I miss more that good Japanese food. The food culture there is incredible! They have vending machines for everything you could ever want (ice cream, hamburgers, beer, etc...) and the fast food scene is awesome. My favorite food was japanese curry and there was a chain called CoCo's Ichiban Curry House, it consists of a bed of rice, some curry sause (you chose the spice level) and a topping if you desire (my favorite was pork cutlet with cheese mix)

As far as things to do in Tokyo, all I remember was the Imperial Palace and Gardens (the most expensive plot of land in the world). They are very impressive.

Enjoy your trip, and if you get the chance, get out of the big city and see the beautiful mountains and countryside!

agree with FHK about the subway

I remember staring at the subway map in some city with my eyes big.

agree that the countryside is really beautiful; I wasn't impressed by the cities (but haven't been to Tokyo) but I loved the scenery

[This message has been edited by Mrs. 96CH53 (edited 1/27/2010 2:06p).]

Thanks for the info. Keep it coming.

(Sorry, this is going to be long and my train of thought has tracks everywhere.)

We went to Tokyo for the first time last summer. I really have fallen in love with the city, so we're going back in two months to see the cherry blossoms.

We haven't explored outside Tokyo yet, as we weren't there too long. The next trip will also just be in Tokyo, as we have friends going who want to keep things as cheap as possible. Gives us an excuse for another trip.

The first thing I would suggest you do after clearing customs is to head down to the train area and purchase a Suica card. I think it runs about $30 to $35 and includes a one-way ticket into Tokyo on the N'EX and something like 1000 yen is put on the card. You can use this card for getting around town (subway, trains, buses and some taxi companies) and making purchases in subway stores. You can keep the card for future visits or request a refund of the balance.

There's also a free map book in the area where the Suica cards are sold that was perfect. It's a shame I lost mine in Odaiba on our last day.

Odaiba seemed lame to us. There was a Toyota showroom, Fuji TV and two malls that I remember. The water taxi from there was nice, as it was stinking hot in July.

Shibuya has a lot to see. Harajuku (Take****a Dori) and Omotesando Hills (another mall) are fun to browse through.

Metro - Hard at first. We were looking for the Marunouchi line (red circle) and were dutifully following the red circle symbols until they just stopped. From that point, instead of the symbol, they were using the word "Marunouchi" so once we realized that, we were good to go.

Toilets - As a female, I can recommend using the toilets in the malls, as they were nicer than the one we had at the Tokyo Hilton. By nicer I mean they had more buttons. Metro toilets (for females) were either the trough or a standard public toilet that we're used to (no bells, whistles or perfume).

Below are parts of what I sent to our friends who will be coming with us in April:

Tokyo Food Show is located under Shibuya station. Anything you would ever want to eat (or possibly not) is located there. Downside is that there's no seating, eating on the street is frowned upon, so it's 'eat at home' food.

I hate to admit it, but we spent some time in various Starbucks around Tokyo as a rest stop. There's one at Shibuya crossing that's particularly good for people-watching. Fantastic people-watching, actually, since it's right above the pedestrian scramble.

The trains can get pretty crowded. I had one lady sitting on my left who (I think) kept talking to me in Japanese. She might have been arguing with the guy on her left, but I just ignored it. Perverts happen on the trains, but as gaijin, I doubt we have to worry.

Taxis start at around $7 and go up. Language can be an issue, but if you have an address or a map, they can get you to the area. Japanese addresses work differently. It's something like the neighborhood, the block, then a building number. There aren't street numbers, and the buildings are numbered in the order they were built. x| The cab doors open and close automatically and there's lace on the seats. Just fyi.

We didn't do Tokyo Tower last time because we were dog tired and it was about $18. We also didn't go up to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building's free public viewing floor, even though we stayed a stone's throw away. We might be able to see Fuji-san from there, since access is only available to him July-Aug.

Asakasa was interesting and photogenic, so I'd like to go back. Odaiba was overrated and deserted, although the Rainbow Bridge and water taxi were nice. Shibuya, Ginza and Akiba are definite, have-to, must-sees. I'm sure the Imperial Palace's East Gardens will be gorgeous and good for a few pictures.

Our sushi dinner (and we ate quite a bit if I remember correctly) came to about $40 total (two people, salad, lots of sushi, beers...sushi). There was a language barrier, but we got through alright with smiles and charades.

There are plently of cheap food options, though. There were some American crap chains (McDonald's, Wendy's, TGIFriday's), but there are also Japanese ones (Mosburger, Yoshinoya). 7-11's over there are nuts. They sell sushi, but it's not like the rotating hot dogs of questionable age that we deal with over here. Add 7-11 to the must-see list.

Also, very important. When you check into your hotel, have everyone in your party take at least one business card for the hotel that is in japanese and put it in your wallet or wherever you feel is most safe keeping, so you can show it to the taxi to get home at all costs. This is very important.

quote:

---

Also, the Japanese are very friendly and love to practice their english so you can always ask for help and more than likely will get help.

---

True. However, most of the time, this is Smile - Please, Please, Thank You Please - Smile.

quote:

---

They have vending machines for everything you could ever want

---

This is true and it was just amazing.

Oh yeah, that reminds me. You'll want a Western hotel room and a Western toilet. It's funny, in the train station, you'll see toilets that are marked - Japanese Only. Of course as others have mentioned in the Train Station, you won't see much else in English except the name of the destinations for the trains.


A couple other funny things that fghtntxaggie's story reminded me of.
1. The toilets in the hotel room. I stayed at the Prince Hotel in Akasaka. In Osaka, I think I stayed at the New Otani Hotel. All I'm going to say is that you push the buttons on the toilet at your own risk.
2. Japanese businessmen reading porn on the train. I was blown away. Can you imagine the lawsuits if American businessmen tried that on the airplane in the US?

If you're riding on the Shinkansen, you'll want to get a First Class ("Green Car" ticket. Very nice.

FHKChE07 - damn. That's a great idea about getting a business card from the hotel. I wish I would have thought of that. I'm going to add that to my travel repertoire.

The last and most important difference between Japan and say Europe is that not every ATM is an International ATM. International ATMs are few and far between. As soon as you land, you'll want to get about $400 USD worth of Yen from an ATM at the airport. That should last you a few days Or at least until you can find an International ATM near your hotel.

quote:

---

All I'm going to say is that you push the buttons on the toilet at your own risk.

---

Freaking Hilarious! My wife and I were there visiting my parents a few years ago over Christmas break. We stopped at a rest stop/convenience store on the highway. I was using the restroom and saw all of the shiny buttons. I couldn't help myself. Hilarity ensued an extremely loud warbling alarm sounded. I walked out soon after as the alarms was still sounding. I was greeted by my father and brother rolling on the ground outside laughing at me. Then a little Japanese lady comes scurrying around the corner giggling, and shuts off the alarm.

I think it took about 10 minutes for the red to leave my face. One of my favorite travel stories.

Re: the toilets

I was reading something before we went that said, "When in doubt, press the red button to stop everything." LOL.

Re: ATM availability

There are a few Citibank locations (which I happen to bank with), but every post office branch has ATM's that you can use in English. Once you find the symbol used for advertising the post offices (looks like a red T with a horizontal line over it), you'll realize they are everywhere.

We went to the National Diet building (Japan's version of the US Capitol building). It was interesting.

Asakusa is worth checking out. You'll see the much photographed red gates with the large hanging lanterns. It has a temple, but it's mostly a shopping area. The spaces between the gates are lined with shops.

We stayed at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel (in Shinagawa, of course). It's a good, central location right off the subway line. I think the prices are competitive.

Enjoy your trip! I've been trying to come up with a good reason to get back ever since I went in 1999.

IACE Travel
http://www.iace-usa.com/us/index.php

You can book your air travel through them, they usually have pretty competitive prices. You can buy your JR Pass through them (cannot be purchased in Japan). They have tours available, that you can sign up for, but I don’t have first hand experience with them, so don’t know if they are any good or not.

Suggestion: since you are looking for tour info, go to their tour tab, and look at what they have to offer. There you will get an idea of all the touristy type things as a first pass for your research.

Getting around town:

Most common mode of travel other than walking will be subway, tram, bus(will be harder since none of that will be in English), local commuter train, and bullet train if you are going to venture further out. Go to the JR Pass information tab on the above website, for more information

http://www.japanrailpass.net/ has further information and maps of the system. When you purchase your pass, IACE will also send you a train schedule for the bullet train. You can plan you

the above link has pictures of what the signs will look like at the larger stations, so you can become familiar with how to get around. Not hard once you get used to it.

For venturing outside, as someone mentioned, going to Kyoto is probably the most bang for the buck that you can do if you want to get a feel for what Japan was like in the past. Several castles (Samurai style), temples, etc that you can go to.

If you are traveling there with out anybody familiar try getting a book. I prefer the Eyewitness Travel Series by DK. They have one just on Tokyo as well as Japan. The nice thing about these, are the photographs which would probably help you decide if it is something you want to see.

You indicate that you are going August. Obon is during that time, so you might be able to catch that festival. Check it out as different regions celebrate it at different times of the summer.

Hotel rooms are generally charged per person, so be aware of that. They also are pretty strict about occupancy limits, so stuffing as many people in the box as possible is frowned upon.

Japanese people are general are pretty proud, and unless they do it very well, they don’t want to let on. This is true of them speaking English as well. They have to start learning English at a young age, but there generally isn’t much chance to practice. So they will say they don’t speak English when they might know some.

I would try to catch a baseball game while you are there.

I have never spent much time in Tokyo other than transiting through to get to Hiroshima to see my family , so I can’t give you any specifics hints on that city.

My fiancé has been relocated to Osaka for work. I am looking for any and all tips regarding Osaka/Japan in general.

How hard is it to communicate in English?

Has anyone ever worked in Japan before? I am considering looking for an opportunity to teach English.

I have been granted a tourists visa but not a work visa. Is that something I need to obtain prior to finding a job?

If anyone knows any aggies currently living in or near Osaka I would love to get their info. We know no one in Japan so we would love to make as many contacts as possible before we go.

I was in Kyoto for work last month, for a few days, so that's my only point of reference for these comments.
How hard is it to communicate in English?
It's not easy - I couldn't wing it like I did in Italy. But the people are very friendly and willing to help. My Japanese colleagues could read English better than they could hear it, so showing them things in writing helped a lot. Also, they had one of those transator devices / translator on their phone, which was not only helpful, but provided hours of entertainment. Just like any country, it helps to learn the basics.
My only other comment on Japan is learn some about the culture and read about etiquitte. My Japanese friends said they have low expectations of Americans and it's true, but I "impressed" them just by knowing how to use chopsticks, bowing, etc. It's not that hard, you just have to put forth some effort.
I didn't go to Osaka but Kyoto was awesome. I would go back to Japan in a heartbeat!

I am actually currently living in Japan. I live in Yokohama, which is about 30-40KM south of Tokyo, but a very quick 30 minute train ride into Shibuya. I have been here since January, so I have a fairly good working knowledge of how everything works.

I do like it here and once you get used to it, it is pretty easy to get around. Like some of the others have said, the train stations have the stops written in English as well as Japanese, so you can fairly easily find your way around. I do have some train maps of the JR East line, which are the ones that run through Tokyo.

The restaurants here are endless, you could be in 1 city and eat out every meal for a whole year and not even come close to eating at all of the restaurants. They have everything from Sushi, Tonkatsu (Deep Fried Pork), Okonomiyaki (Japanese Style Pancake) and tons of other things.

I have climbed Mt. Fuji, got to the Summit, visited Kyoto and Hiroshima, visited the Tsuji Fish Market in Tokyo and most of the other things in that area.

Japan is very clean and the people really respect and take care of their country. Needless to say, it is very very expensive to live here and or visit. The best way to save money is to take the train system and not cabs. Cabs are about $8 USD just to get in them. If you are going to exchange money to Yen, do not do it at the airport, do it at a major bank or when you get here. IAH will hose you.

Overall Japan is a very nice country with plenty to see. I would recommend anyone taking the opportunity to visit it.

I have plenty of information if you need it. Let me know if you have any more questions or if I can help.