How to spend one night in Tokyo?

Question

I'm stopping over in Tokyo for one night, and I'd like to see the city. I'm just a typical Canadian guy, I don't know any Japanese or anything, but I'd like to go into the downtown area and walk around, go eat some sushi, hang out at a bar with some english speaking locals, and see what ever else I should see before my flight leaves the next morning. Any advice?

Answer 1

not to be a killjoy - but getting to Tokyo from Narita and back is an ambitious excursion in and of itself, esp if you don't know the language or any locals..

That being said, I spent a recent stopover en route back to Vancouver in the old town of Narita itself. This is just minutes from the airport - so there is no risk of you getting lost, or caught in traffic and missing your flight..

I had assumed Narita would be strip malls surrounding the airport - not so! pleasantly surprised.. the old town features a lovely cobblestoned winding road through traditional Japanese style shops culminating in an absolutely amazing park/mountain. The park features ancient shrines, temples, paths and gardens - spectacular!! Seriously, a fantastic day trip - will not disappoint!!

check out some of the photos on the link:

* * * *

If you do end up pulling an all-nighter and roaming the streets of Tokyo, try and get an early morning visit to the Tsukiji Fish Market - - this is THE wholesale fishmarket for all of Japan, apparently AWESOME.. but very much an early morning (done by 9am ) thing..

Answer 2

Yeah, forget about sleeping.
If you have money to spend on a hotel, then spend it on a night out in the city.
Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku are key areas.
But as the above poster said, the subways (and all other trains) shut down around midnight (The time varies depending on the train line).

So what you have to do is do some research on Shinjuku, Harajuku, Asakusa, and Shinbashi (if you wanna hit Japanese style bars). Check out the typical tourist stuff you can do in these areas and before the trains stop, stay in one location that best suits the way you want to spend the evening.
If you want English speaking company though, I guess you can just stay in Ropponggi.

And make sure you have plenty of time to go back to the airport in the morning and try to avoid rush hour because you could....(no let me rephrase that)...you WILL get lost because of the complexity of the train system. Unless you live in NYC and are used to taking trains everywhere you go, the Tokyo train system will be a bit complicated for a novice. And trying to get where you are during rush hour is even tougher.
Think Christmas shopping and surfing contests. The crowd of people are trying to get from point A to point B. Once you get swallowed by the wave, you either ride it or you bail. And bailing can be hard.

Before you leave the airport (when you get to Tokyo) it maybe a good idea to go talk to an English speaking attendent at the airport to give you some pointers on when to leave the city to make your morning flight.
If you're flying out of Narita Airport, it takes at least 2 hrs to get from Tokyo area to the airport. And this is assuming you don't get lost and you know where to buy train tickets or know which train to take (local / express / limited express etc)
Trust me, I speak fluent Japanese and I can read/write Japanese with no problem, but the first couple of months in Tokyo I had a hard time getting places on time because I wasn't used to riding trains and I'd get lost or get on the wrong train that goes to a different place and I'd have to double back.

Answer 3

Maybe??? I'd like to know what "Luxury hotel" you can stay in for 2 months for $3000? 3000 divided by 60 comes out to $50, now I don't know of any luxury hotels that charge 50 a night, if you can enlighten me on this I'd be glad to hear it. Just curious why you plan to buy so many shoes? Shoes in Japan are not cheaper then their American counterparts, nor are electronics. Japan isn't China, if you want cheap clothes and electronics, then Hong Kong or Singapore might be better bets. 3000 a week is perfectly enough, as it comes out to about 429 a night (give or take) business hotels can run up to 70 a night or cheaper, you have plenty left over for food, or pretty much anything. I live in Tokyo and I don't spend 429 dollars day, heck I hardly spend 10-15 a day.

Answer 4

As mentioned before, stick with Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Harajuku (my favorite). In Harajuku, check out Takeshita-dori and Omotesando-dori. Be sure to catch the Meiji Temple too. It's awesome. Roppongi is too touristy. You could hit up Asakusa if you want more traditional Japanese items, because the first locations I mentioned are all pretty modern.

Be aware that while Tokyo is a huge city, the subway SHUTS DOWN from 12am-5am. Don't get stuck anywhere! Beware of places (restaurants/clubs) without posted prices. You could get yourself into trouble.

Enjoy! Tokyo is the best place on this planet!!

Answer 5

The above poster mentioned the difficulty getting from narita to tokyo. Which they would be correct. It is an hour and a half bus ride or more to get to Tokyo depending on where you go.

The good news is if you want to focus on Shinjuku/Shibuya - you can take a train ( narita express I think) straight to shinjuku train station ( which is a spectacle in itself ) - I think it is about 45 minutes. here is a link to the service:
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/nex/index.html

Also Tokyo does not have a "downtown' per say, but more like several. I would recommend taking the narita express to shinjuku and hanging out there - you will need a map, I think there is a tourist office in the station that can give you one. But you should try to collect as much info as you can before you leave, Tokyo is HUGE and it is easy to get lost.

A word of advice - I would skip roppongi , it is definitely a huge party district but it tends to be overrun with US service men going to strip clubs. in addition really annoying Nigerian guys are always trying to get you to come into their 'clubs'. It is also more difficult to get to. I stayed in this area last time and It has its good and bad , but for one night skip sleep and hang out in shinjuku. - more Japanese , more to do.

Answer 6

Tokyo is the capital of Japan, and the place where over 13 million people live, making it one of the most populous cities in the world but also, a big city to visit, find out more with hotelbye . Most of the city was devastated by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, and then again by the bombing in the WWII, however, Tokyo was able to achieve a remarkably rapid recovery both times. The main attraction of Tokyo is the Imperial Palace with its beautiful 17th-century parks surrounded by walls and moats. The palace is still in use by the Imperial family.

Answer 7

It may be typical, but Roppongi is good for people from overseas. There are many foreigners, but also many good restaurants including sushi. You'll find too many sophisticated bars there. I strongly recommend Roppongi.

Answer 8

Just what u have to see is Shinjuku,Shibua,Harajuku, u can have sushi at all these places.To have fun and meet locals and foreigners is best at Roppongi.If u have time visit Odaiba!
Enjoy!

Answer 9

I would do everything if I got the chance to go, but eat sushi first, its good, really good.
lol

Answer 10

Don't sleep, just run around do things get some red-bull in you and take off! Once in a life time!