Japan In a Day?

[VF1-X5]

Hey 5'ers,

Im going to japan for a day on a layover from the Philipines in Nov. Does any one have any pointers or places to go see in 1 day. I'll be in Tokyo my flight gets in at around 1pm and i leave at 4p.m the next day. I'm looking for some fun adventures in 24 hours wish me LUCK

[bozo]

Depends on what you want to see of course, or what you're into. If it was me, Id be on the train straight from Narita into Shinjuku and drunk by 3. But you could get into Akihabara (electronic city) within a couple hours. If you head to Terminal 2, you could go to the US Military counter and they will hook you up with a ride into Yokosuka city, even without an ID card..They dont care. This is the Tokyo (JR East) train map, in English, to give you an idea on where your at. Narita is southeast of Tok-yo proper, but easily accessible.

Or just hitch a ride with someone anywhere. Sound like Im crazy? Its not the US - I did it ALL the time.. All you'll find that someone will be MORE than happy to give you a ride, since they can practice their English on you...Take pics!!!

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/info/map_a4ol.pdf

[VF1-X5]

Wow! thanks bozo! a friend of mine told me about electronic city..im pretty sure if i make it out there i will be filing bankruptcy buying all sorts of random electronic stuff. So people seriously dont mind giving foriegner rides? How confusing are the trains from the airport into town? i think im starting to get my itinerary in order....get in to town, hit up electric city, shibuya and then to shinjuku for the night? Do you think that'll be enough time in the day? Maybe fit in harajuku but im there on a weekday and i hear it's only exciting on the weekends. oh and about how much are the trains to ride in us dollars?

Thanks,

Mitch

[motordavid]

Yo Mitch,
Tokyo...
-Akihabara, (electric/electronic city), is indeed worth a stroll: blocks of buildings full of electronic stuff.
Careful: much of the goods are for Nippon home mkt. and many of the devices have Kana, not English
or numbers.
-Shibuya is a groovy shopping area for the younger crowd; sort of a Ginza for the under 40 gang.
-I'd rec'd, and prefer, Roppongi area over Shinjuku, for evening: Roppongi has lots of kids and 20-40
somethings, clubs, etc. Velfarre is the oldest and biggest "club"; the streets are filled, even on a
weeknight and it's jumping. Spago, Cavern Club, et al, are there,too. Weekends are packed.

Shinjuku does have the most crowded station(s) on the planet, if you want to participate in crowd
packing, espc. at rush hour, lol!

Bozo gave good advice: take the JR from Narita into one of your destinations. The "limo bus", from
Narita is good too, but the bus will have to fight the traffic. About 25-30 bucks, from memory.

In the metro area, the subways are cheap, very clean, on time and go anywhere you want to:

http://www.bento.com/subtop5.html

It looks confusing, but is easy, espc with the color coded routes. Careful, many routes stop running
after midnight/1:00 am ish, etc.

Taxis are everywhere, but very pricey and have to fight the traffic.

Tokyo, (as Bozo noted, pronounced Tok-Yo, not To Ky Oh), is 12+ million with another 10+ million in
greater metro area. Everyone "gets along" and it is very clean, orderly, zero crime, etc. But, its size
and population make for a slow slog in "touring"; thus: subways.

If you are into fish, a run out to the Tsukiji Mkt in the middle of night is worth it, to see the largest
fish mkt on the planet.

All the food is very good and safe: it can range from yakitori at a cart to big buck joints. All alcoholic
drinks are pricey. No tipping, it's in the bill.

I forget how much the trains are, (all my trips were on the exp acct!), but it's reasonable. Subways
are about 2 bucks.

Everyone speaks a lil' English, espc the under 40 crowd. They will try, but many are reticent and
demure, via the culture. All good people, however. Nihon Scammers and punques are few and far
between, in my experience...

I assume you are going to "sleep" sometime that night: good luck...most of the hotels are big
and pricey. There are some "salary man" mini sleeping pod joints, but I've never done it.

Don't cut it too close on getting back to Narita: crowds at check in, are sometimes huge and while
the place is efficient, it is packed. Most airlines frown on "late shows".

If you had a couple/three days or were there on a weekend I could point you to more joints. Enjoy
your brief stop: Tokyo is my 2nd or 3rd Fave city on the planet.
GL,mD

[skarletknite]

narita express is about 3000 yen - approx 30 bucks each way to/fro tokyo station. i agree with the above, shinjuku also is home to tokyo's red light district and there are some seedy places there that i havent seen anywhere else(although i never had any trouble at all there). rappongi is cool and very vibrant, but a lot of that comes from the large expat community there...still a lot of fun though. ps - most cab drivers are older men and hence do not speak english

[VF1-X5]

Thanks for all the input guys, im getting more and more stokked with each day, i'm just SUPER Bummed im gonna miss WF4! I thought roppongi was a little more dangerous at night versus shinjuku? im trying to get to stay a second night, i keep hearing about all the things to do, and i watched lost in translation again to keep me pumped, plus the opening scene aint to bad either Soo much to do so little time.... I'm hopin for a super fun adventure

[JonK]

Originally Posted by bozo

Akihabara (electronic city)

That was the first thing I had in my mind when I saw the post. It helps getting the better deal if you speak the language.

[bozo]

Originally Posted by VF1-X5

Hey 5'ers,

I'm looking for some fun adventures in 24 hours wish me LUCK

Fun Adventures? Take your extra 24 hours and stay in the P.I.!! You gotta hit Roppongi anyway..I always laugh when the "doorway" girls loudly offer "massagee" and begin to gesture in a way that doesnt visually equate to a massage, no matter how you look at it...

[VF1-X5]

Yeah "fun adventures" i generally end up having those for some odd reason? whether it be at home in seattle or out and about traveling. I have a tendency to run into a lot of interesting people that like to have lots of fun, one of my co workers said" you know you may not even make it back to your hotel room the first night right?" I just laughed and replied " yeah i know" I'm brushing up on my japanese right now, not too worried about my tagalog. cant wait

[skarletknite]

[quote=VF1-X5]thought roppongi was a little more dangerous at night versus shinjuku?

id say it's the opposite. the red light district is in shinjuku. roppongi is loaded with expats. these expats are not dangerous, most of them work at wall street firms nearby. its a very fun area and people party pretty hard there until all hours of the night, every night of the week. its not like nyc (where i live) - it keeps going at regular bars all night - until dawn. there are the occasional nigerian dudes on corners handing out flyers to clubs but i dont consider any area of rappongi dangerous at all. shinjuku is a place where some seedy joints exist.

to be honest, if i had one night in tokyo, i prob would not go to shinjuku, unless i was looking for something that could be found in a red light district. (ps the park hyatt hotel where lost in translation was filmed is in shinjuku, but there is really nothing close by it other than gov't buildings.)