I am going to Tokyo with my wife and two other couples at the end of the month and could really use some travel tips and suggestions. We are planning a day trip to Kyoto at some point, but are exploring other day trip options. Tia.

Just got back from Kyoto last week

It is the old capitol of Japan. I would spend two days there if possible. Lots of Temples and Shrines to see. Easy to get around if you understand Subway, Train and Bus system.

I am definitely trying to wrap my head around the transportation system. Did you have and use the JR pass? If so, can you explain basically how it works?

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I was in Tokyo in March for a couple of does. I had a fantastic time. We stayed in the Shinjuku area, easy walk to Shinjuku Train Station which was where we met up with the Subway, take the Subway everywhere.

I recommend Shibuya at night, kinda times square-ish, lots of young people, lights, things to see. Walking around Harajuku on a weekend afternoon is also something that was cool to see, so many people walking around and shopping, the Meiji Shrine was there, and that was probably my favorite shrine. I also did Tokyo tower at sunset, that was really touristy but I enjoyed it. Ginza is a big shopping district in Tokyo, we walked around some of the department stores, which are really unique. I recommend picking some food and eating at a department store, in the lower levels of most of them they have a food court type thing where you can pick some food out and eat it. Finding a place to eat it is kind of tough though. We went upstairs to a restaurant in the department store and ate some tempura and udon noodles. I wasn't a big fan of the Roppongi area, it seemed to me like it was a really international area, like the area where you find a hard rock cafe and stuff, a good place to go if you start needing some American food. Food wise, my three favorite meals were:
1) Shabu-Shabu - you get raw meat and have a pot of broth to boil it with vegetables and some sauces. This was my favorite, I loved it. We were definitely confused as to how to do it at first, but just be creative and watch how people around you do it.
2) Went to a restaurant in the Asakusa area and had a "beef-cheek hot pot" it was delicious, and came in a pot with literally fire keeping it warm underneath. It was also delicious.
3) The Udon noodles and tempura at the department store.

Eating can be tough as many restaurants' names are in Japanese, and many don't have English menus. This was definitely the most challenging part for us.

HollywoodBQ gave me lots of good info too, more-so than I have provided, I'm sure he'll see this thread and respond.

thanks for the suggestion. I will be sure to report back here after the trip.

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The JR rail pass as the name implies is available for tourists to take any form of transportation that JR runs. This will include the majority of bullet trains, surface trains, street cars and buses that a typical tourist would encounter. You must buy the pass outside the country. I use IACE travel for these, and be sure to remind them to send you the bullet train schedule in English. You can also get these when you redeem the ticket as well, but it would be helpful to have one ahead of time. If you only plan on going to Kyoto, then you might not actually use the full value of the rail pass if most of your travel is around Tokyo.

The rail pass cannot be used for the Nozomi which is the super express with limited stops down past Hiroshima. If only going to Kyoto or Osaka, it doesn't make that much difference. Being this seems to be your first trip, it's probably worth getting the pass for your convenience in not having to worry about how much it costs to get from one place to another. You just show the conductor your pass.

I would second the suggestion to see kyoto. It's setup nice for tourists.

I don't have much suggestions for you on Tokyo, as all my experience in Japan is in Hiroshima. For the little but I was in Tokyo, you will see most major things in both japanese and in English which should help you out significantly. Also, another quirk is that hotels charge by the person, not the room.

As I will be living in Tokyo this summer I guess I could share a little.

JAPANiCAN is a good tourist website with a lot of deals, in English.

The Sky Tree just opened and is the new 450m TV Tower, I will be headed there. I would suggest staying in a Ryokan, a real one, no beds, no toilets in the rooms etc .. Im forcing my wife to do it, it will be totally weird, but thats what travelling is about.

Other than that, the rail passes you have to be careful about, you need to reserve seats because otherwise you really need to rush in and know where to get in, otherwise you wont get a seat and of course that costs money. Japanican offers packages with Shinkansen tickets and would probably be better than getting a rail pass on its own, particularly because you likely are headed somewhere and need a hotel when you get there .. maybe even a Ryokan

Hope you have fun.

agree with AustinAg, you really want 2 days in Kyoto if you can do it. there are so many temples and shrines there to see that you can't begin to hit them in a day. check out roppongi hills and hirajuku in Tokyo.

I got back from my trip yesterday and want to give a brief run down of what we did. For a little background, I am at the end of a 6 month deployment in Okinawa, and myself and two other Marines had our wives fly from the states and meet us in Tokyo for a week. We were able to stay in the New Sanno hotel, which is for DOD personnel only. We spent the first day seeing Shibuya, Meji Shrine, Harajuku, and Shinjuku. Day two was at Ueno, Asakusa, and Roppongi. Day 3 was a day trip to Nikko. Day 4 was Tsukiji fish market and Ginza. Day 5 Harajuku (again for the wives to shop), TMGO observation tower, and Akihabara.

We had a very good trip, and if this thread ever gets searched for in the future for recommendations, feel free to PM me for additional details.

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