So I recently received an email from someone who has visited Japan and Tokyo a few times and has seen many of the major tourist attractions. He had a challenging question: Where would you take a visitor to Tokyo who has seen the major sites? I'm not a Tokyo native and have only been in Japan for a few months, so I'm hoping you might leave a comment and suggest somewhere cool or off-the-beaten-path, or not obvious.
Some ideas I have are:
- the boat trip in the bay (I forget the name, but you can eat tempura and watch the fireworks in the summertime)
- the part of Tokyo that has all the commercial food service items (like all the plastic food!)
- Ueno Park (and more specifically all the motorcycle stores nearby)
- others?
Tokyo is so vast, with so many neighborhoods, and so many cool stores and restaurants, I know that there is a lot more out there but I spend most of my time near specific parts of town, so my perspective is a bit narrow. Help me out here, and thanks in advance!
"that part of Tokyo that has all the commercial food service items" would be Asakusa-bashi (???). In fact, if said tourist enjoys walking (you'd be surprised...), then I would recommend checking out Ueno as well in the same day.
However, I do think this request highlights one of the main problems with Tokyo -- tourist sustainability. In Manhattan, you have broadway shows and world-class musical performances with new programs on a monthly basis. In Europe (at least Paris, London, etc.) you have interesting and innovative museum exhibits, not to mention the musical performances, all also rotating on a fairly frequent schedule. Tokyo has too many "been there, done that" attractions. Also, this society is, dare I say, too consumerist. Newest attractions in the Tokyo vicinity over the past 5-6 years? Roppongi Hills and Odaiba. Coming up? Dojunkai Apartments (with an underground, two story mall) and the old Boeicho (complete with Ritz Carlton). Tokyo should take a serious look at how Paris reformed itself. The Centre Pompidou and Ircam are great examples.
the boats: yakatabune
why not the Museum of Emerging Science in Odaiba, with all the robots and huge LED hearth. or one hour away from Tokyo: the Sea...
Ginza Graphic Gallery, MOMAT, International Forum building, or a walk in all those small streets full of little crappy old houses and plants in the way, THE BEST being renting a bike and doing the city from East to West or following a subway line like Yamanote all around Tokyo and looking up and around.
gotta do that!!
hey hey,
matt's right in a lot of ways. the only thing "big" and "new" in tokyo now is all the shopping malls/mega hotels.
when i hosts guests now, i try to figure out what that individual is into and focus on that... they like photography, used camera shop would be heavenly. computer geek, the UNDERGROUND tour of akiba with all the used HARDCORE stuff (not all the fancy stores) it all depends. giving the person a "general tour" will just turn into seeing the "usual stuff"... gotta dig deeper than the Fodors for this place -_^
you should ask Justin@links.net since he's a frequent traveller here, ask him what DOESN'T bore him here.
Tsukiji fish market, arriving at 4 am and ending with breakfast at 6.
Thanks David, that is definitely not usually on the first stop for most tourists. I just did the Tsukiji early-morning thing 2 weeks ago and it was very cool!
It was me who originally asked Gen for some help and I'm extremely grateful for his and your comments.
The Background:
IÌm visiting Tokyo from London next Friday for ten days. IÌm English and although my wife is from Tokyo (Asakusa) she doesnÌt really know Tokyo incredibly well (donÌt ask me why not!??). Usually when we go back (this is the fourth time) she spends time at home catching up on the gossip with her mother and father and I have a bit of time to explore Tokyo on my own and discover all those little corners that guide books never mention but are such an important part.
IÌm really a people watcher and like seeing the Îevery dayÌ life of big cities.
IÌve seen the obvious attractions. Seen the slightly less obvious Ò Tsukiji market at 5am and breakfast (a MUST for everyone, I agree David), Harajuku, Laforet department store, Golden Gai, Shinjuku in rush hour etc. etc. etc.
What I'm looking for is the hidden 'gems' like going to watch the sumo training early morning, going for a coffe in the amazing Lyon coffee house in Shibuya - candle light and classical music.
It's all subjective really but I'm a people watcher and wanderer.
Paul, could you give me more info about East to West cycling please?
Andrew - could you give me the name of the used camera shop recommended please? And what's the UNDERGROUND tour of akiba with all the used HARDCORE stuff????
Much appreciated.
If you have time to go out of Tokyo, I was just in Katsunuma, in Yamanashi-ken
http://www.bastish.net/rememberwhen/002362.html
http://www.bastish.net/gallery/album85
(only 1.5 hour train from Shinjyuku). It's basically a grape town, where the streets are lined with wineries and vinyards. Almost all of the wineries have free sampling all the time (so you can get a good buzz just walking from place to place through town)
This Sunday, (I am trying to confirm this date) there is a huge festival where 500 yen will get you a cup that can be used at any winery in the city, and most of the vinyards are giving away their grapes for free.
If you don't want to go out of Tokyo,
I live here for a few years, and am still able to wander around Shinjyuku (Kabuk-sho to Okubo) any night and be amazed. It's got everything there, and lots of gritty little bars and restraunts, as well as more "classy" ones if that's what your into.
Walking through Okubo the majority of people around you are speaking Korean or Thai, Kabuki-cyo has hookers and Chinese mafia. (although recently the guys standing on the street trying to get you in the strip club are way too pushy)
I'm not suggesting you go to the strip club, but it does create a unique atmosphere in the area to have the red-light district on the same street as a lot of teen game arcades, karaoke shops, etc...
I consider myself a wanderer also, and I whenever I go someplace with a special attraction or destination in mind, I am always disapointed, but when I just get off the train and walk for a few hours, I find so much.
Kichijyoji is also a great place to wander...
As someone who lived in Tokyo for 6 years, i'd have to go with Kevin's comments above. Kabuki-cho in Shinjuku a great place to spend a whole evening or two just people watching and walking around.
This is the definition of japanese culture. Where else can you find a mister donuts, brothel and batting cages right next to eachother in one place. And the people who hang out there range from 12 to 90 years old. Where in the world?
Just grab a beer from the vending machine and people watch. You'll be there for hours and be mesmerized.
Hi everyone, thanks for the comments! I came back from lunch with a bunch more recommendations:
Nogakudo (near Shibuya)
http://www.kanzekai.com/info_1.html
Edo-Tokyo Museum (this year is the 400 year anniversary of the birth of the city of Edo, which is obviously now Tokyo)
http://www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp/index.htm
Sometaro (famous okonomiyaki Restaurant in Asakusa)
http://www.yamani-shoji.co.jp/sometaro/page/sometaro%20official%20top.shtm
mugitoro (famouse mugitoro - brown rice and mountain potato) restaurant in Asakusa)
http://kanko.tabimado.net/kanko/go/resource$id=TJGR070209
Yokohama chukkagai (the big Chinatown in Yokohama)
Hi Gen!
I also endorse the early morning Tsukiji visit! In addition, here's a new one, maybe a bit too adventurous for some non-Japanese tourists, that I did the last time I was in Tokyo. I went to Oshima, a small island about 50 miles from Tokyo. I got there by fast (hydrofoil) boat, which left from Tokyo harbor. The concierge of the big Tokyo hotel I was in arranged for me to stay in a very traditional Ryokan, with hot spring, traditional baths and a traditional kind of Japanese food I have never eaten before or since. It was an incredible adventure. I speak zero Japanese, and nobody on Oshima (it seems) has more than a few words of English. But it was a delightful exercise in finding what is human in all of us and appreciating different traditions without having them "explained." I related to the food, to the ocean-oriented culture, and to the ryokan's simplicity and elegance. I probably made a fool of myself, too. Anyhow, Oshima is definitely one candidate spot for somebody who has seen all the standard sights in Tokyo.
If the timing is good you can try visiting a Japanese flea market. The things you can find there will amaze you. There is a nice one in Harajuku on the first and forth Sunday of every month. Just go up the stairs between the famous crepe shops.
Here's a link to other flea markets in Tokyo
http://www.weekender.co.jp/new/guides/fleamarkets.html
kevin,
i suspect that your wife knows tokyo a "little differently" than you do... ask her where in ginza she can get the cheapest brand X item and she'll give you highly detailed directions and traffic light timings. :) some things are taken to an extreme here.
akiba has a lot of used goods up. http://used.sofmap.com/used/ is a good starting point but there's a lot more in akiba... server and old unix of the past... even my good hacker buddy, BloodAxe, was impressed. he managed to pick up a gem of a laptop when i was with him too.
to find the used shops in akiba, gotta go off the main street and into the remote areas. used shops are not flashy and usually looks like they have a lot of junk.
used camera shops can be found in a similar area too but i haven't invested as much time into it... yet.
if you need more help, contact me off line through my site or gen.
Guys, this is great - thanks very much!
A nice to visit is the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei City, Tokyo. The address is 3-7-1 Sakura-cho, Koganei City, Tel: 042-388-3300.
Miyazaki Hayao, film director of Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away), used the museum to help inspire his images and spirits in the film. Great exhibit of some of Miyazaki-San's works.
The nearest train station is Musashi Koganei Station on the JR Chuo Line; from JR Shinjuku Stn to Musashi Koganei Stn - approx. 29 minutes. Access to museum is easiest by city bus. Most buses from the north side of the train station head in that general direction.
Hope your friend(s) can make it.
Actually, Tokyo's got a fair number of museums and art galleries with new, rotating, and permanent exhibits... but many of them are Japanese language only which may be why English speakers don't realize their existance. They tend to get very crowded during the weekends (wha, they're not going LV shopping and actually visiting museums and galleries?) so visits during the week are suggested.
A great museum is the National Museum in Ueno Park. It's vast, cannot see it all in one day. There's always a new exhibit, but a male visitor is usually well satisfied with the permanent exhibition of katanas, armours, mummies, and other really old stuff.
Enjoy :-)