Tokyo travel review & recommendations by Father_Son_Cycle

TOKYO - JAPAN

I once lived in Tokyo (25 years ago) for a couple of years. I have been back a number of times since, so know it pretty well by now. It is probably my favorite city.

THE CULTURE

Tokyo has of course changed vastly since I firstlived here, but mostly for the better. The people are more accessible -they express opinions now and travel more. The Americanization of theculture is still apparent, but it seems to be tailing off. YoungJapanese are starting to realise that their own traditional culture hasmuch to offer and be proud of without assimilating someone-else's.

GreaterTokyo is the world's largest city. Unless you take one of the legendary'bullet trains' or fly, it seems to take forever to get out of thecity. The concrete and shopping mall streetscapes seem to go on foreverbefore you get to anything remotely rural. There are parks, but theyare few and the visitors to those parks are many - politely fightingfor a place to picnic in.

Tokyo is made up of many distincthistoric areas. There are few really old buildings that are notreproductions. This is due to the tendency for Earthquakes which may bethe catalyst for their liking for all things new, despite theirtraditional respect for their ancestors.

Japan could not be saidto be a religious country but the people certainly value a strongspiritual centre to their lives. Temples and rituals tend to be eitherShinto or Budhist. This lends itself to a liking of minimalism invisual arts and architecture which so many visitors are impressed by. Iam one of them.

For me, probably the biggest attraction to Japanand therefore especially to Tokyo is the cuisine. It is simplyexceptional. So different to everywhere else and the Japanese tendencyto do everything well (if you are going to be bothered to do it at all)provides great rewards in the way of food. I crave it and even dreamabout it all the time I am away from Japan.

WHERE TO GO

Tokyocentre is generally accepted to be around Nihon-Bashi (Japan Bridge) /Tokyo Station area. In fact, like many larger cities, there are manycentres depending on what you are looking for. Tokyo Station area is abusiness area but is also full of bars, restaurants (the businessmenhave to go somewhere after work) and close to museums and the RoyalPalace.

The young flock to Harajuku for teenage fashion shops,fast food etc and to nearby and slightly more mature Shibuya where thebig fashion houses intermix on Omotesando Dori with the usual IrishBars, Sushi Restaurants, Chic Coffee Shops and Ferrari dealers. Justeast of here is Hiro-o and then Roppongi, both well known for trendynight clubs and Karaoke bars. Try 'Smash Hits' in Hiro-o for a greatKaraoke bar with an incredible menu of western music. It stays open until around 03.30am and has a proper stage with banked seating.

Not far to theNorth West of Shibuya lies the Blade-runneresque Shinjuku. This is abusy shopping, bar and cafe area with great street food in the older areabehind the station. It also has a young hi-tech feel like Shibuya. Itis busy 24hrs a day, but then so is much of central Tokyo. The more traditional area of Shinjuku is Kabukicho, which is one of my favourite areas of Tokyo with small cafes, bars, cinemas etc. This area has changed little in the last few decades.

Withineasy reach of Shinjuku lies Ikebukero to the North and Nakano to theWest. Both vibrant areas to hang out, shop, eat, drink etc. In betweenlie smaller characterful areas such as Okubo and Takadanobaba (another of myparticular favorites).

This is just a taste of some of the morevibrant central areas. There is as much to be found in most of theother Tokyo areas like Ebisu, Kanda, Akasaka, Ueno, Otemachi, chic andtraditional Ginza, Meguro, the latest electrical gadgets shops and"Maid Cafes" of Akihabara etc before you go any further out. City lifeextends a long way and you can experience it without going to any ofthe places mentioned above.

FOOD & DRINK

As I havesaid above, Japan has great traditional food, but Tokyo caters forinternational tastes and you can find the best quality in most of theworld's cuisine here. There are many guides to help you. Time Out Guideto Tokyo is particularly good and kept up to date. There are also manywebsites and magazines but best to just ask.

I adore sushi andsashimi (raw fish). I have never met a westerner (apart from dedicatedveggies) who did not adore raw fish once they had tried it. Don't beshy. You will be missing one of life's great treats. Sorry all thoseVegans out there. Don't knock it until you've tried it. (:-)). The fishmarket in downtown Tokyo near Ginza is a great tourist sight in theearly morning but also an opportunity to eat really fresh (the best)sashimi. However this is quickly and efficiently transported far andwide so sashimi everywhere should be super fresh in Tokyo. Prices vary,sometimes only due to the kudos of the establishment in which it isserved. Take your pick. It depends upon whether the affluence of thelocation outweighs the consideration of price and quality. I likeeating in a market myself.

Sushi is similar in terms of price versus quality. You needn't pay a lot but you can if you want to eat at the most chic places.
Atthe bottom end of the sushi establishments (apart from what you get inplastic boxes in convenience stores) is the ubiquitous Kai-Ten SushiYa. These are the places with sushi on plates revolving on a conveyorbelt. You sit at the counter (or sometimes at a connected table) andpick plates off as they go by. You should also call out for the sushiof your choice once you know what to ask for. But for beginners it isgood to be able to 'try with your eyes' before you pick things. Theyare always delicious. In some places all plates cost the same (as lowas 95Yen for two pieces). In others, different colour plates signify adifferent price. Some of these can be up to 500Yen so be careful. Theseplaces are cheap but you can find good quality and they are never bad.You can often order miso soup in these places and many of them haveveggie sushi as well as cooked meat and stuff with mayonnaise etc these days whichare popular with kids.

Coffee Shops are a whole speciality culture in Japan. These vary from high-tech classy places in Shibuya where they prepare the coffee like a religious ritual to ageing wooden tree-hose style places serving home made cakes and pasta also. Many coffee shops serve breakfast food and snacks. 'Morning Set' usually consists of thick buttered toast, a small salad, eggs of some sort (often in a sandwich) along with tea or coffee and iced water. Starbucks has made inroads over the last 10 years but thankfully many of the traditional places survive.

A Japanese beer is going to cost you around 500 yen for a large bottle in a street bar and 650 in a restaurant. A draught Guinness or Bass (yuk) will cost you around 1000 yen a pint in an Irish / English Bar. In an Issakaya type street bar you will be expected to eat as well (small dishes such as barb'qued chicken - Yakitori, salad, tofu steak, fish etc).

WHERE TO VISIT

This is a hard onebecause I am not a great fan of the museum and gallery type of tourism(huge understatement). Neither is my son Sam. However, I would say that thebest exhibitions of paintings I have ever seen (Van Gough, Modigliani,Monet, Vermeer, 20th Century Pop artists to name but a few that Ivisited in the 80's) have been in Tokyo. They do it so well. As I saidbefore, if they bother to do something here, they do it well.

Onthat basis there are numerous museums, historic buildings, some of thebest modern architecture, galleries and botanical gardens etc here andthey are all done well, so it is a great opportunity. I'd just say,save plenty of time for hanging out in bars, cafes, restaurantsetc because that's where you will find the people at their most alive.

LIVING ON TOKYO TIME

For those planning to stay and maybe work for a while in Tokyo (many do) it is worth my giving you an idea of how people tend to live their days and nights here.  

WhenI come to Tokyo I switch to a totally opposite time clock. My friend Steve (who I usually stay with) &I get up at around midday, go out for brunch (often sushi, sometimes soba orquality ramen noodles - 'morning seto' if we are up earlier), go andvisit somewhere, meet someone etc in the afternoon to hang out incoffee shops or bars, then pop home to check e-mails, change clothes,watch a movie etc before heading out to an Issakaya (traditional barwith good food consumed slowly plate by plate over the evening liketapas) at around 10pm. We may go to more than one but generally we hangout here until around 3am, during which time various friends may or maynot turn up - it is generally left open as a week to week thing oncertain days, although sometimes specific arrangements are made to meeton a specific day / time. We go home at 3am (this is usually walkingdistance home. On other nights where we go further afield we tend tostay until 5.30am when the tubes start running again). We make toast,check e-mails, maybe watch another movie or UK Premiership Footballlive on cable TV then fall asleep.
Believe me my friends this is agood and healthy life. One can still find time to work on certain days and atodd times. This is quite common in Tokyo. Otherwise there would not beso many people out all night.

WHAT WE DID WHILST RECOUPERATING IN TOKYO

In the attached photographs you willsee evidence of some cultural activities to prove that it has not beenall frivolity. This has included:
The May Sumo Basho at the Kokugaikan.
'J' League Football (Saitama Reds)
The Big Budha in Kamakura
Tokyo Metropolitan Building (viewing level - 45th Floor)
The Edo Museum (Museum of Tokyo life)
A rainy day in Harajuku (young fashion district)
The Meiji Shrine - Yoyogi Park
The Palace Grounds - Yurakucho (circular walk)

GETTING AROUND

Tokyo has an excellent transport network. It is not cheap but is reasonable given the cost of living here.

The Metro maps are written in English (Roman script names) as well as Japanese. Anouncements on the trains are also in English. People are helpful and it is hard to go very wrong. There is a circle line known as the Yamanote Line then bisecting lines which head way out of Tokyo, giving tourists ample opportunities for discovering less developed places as well as known attractions.

Taxis are pretty expensive but the only option after around 1am at night when the metro closes.

Buses are a fairly cheap option but harder to understand if you don't speak / read Japanese. Try though, it can be fun if you're not in a hurry.

There are weekly tickets etc but this is more for convenience than cost since they don't generally work out so much cheaper.

A bicycle is a great way to get around Tokyo of course. The roads are congested and can be frightening on a bike but most Japanese cyclists use the pavements. Personally I prefer the road though.

USEFUL LANGUAGE

It is worth learning some Japanese. Like the English in particular, Japanese people are somewhat obsessed with politeness and formality (even young people).
Many words (nouns mainly) are adopted from English so it is easy to guess - Hotel = Hoteru, Cake = Caykie, Beer = Biru, Airport = Airporto etc (no really!).

Learning the 'Katakana' written script is useful for longer term visitors since it is used for all foreign words and is a pretty easy phonetic alphabet to learn.

Many people in Tokyo speak some English but as always, to be able to at least appear to try to speak their language will take you a long way. They will bend over backwards to help you.

BASICS:

Excuse me - Sumimasen
I'm sorry - Gomenasai
Thank you - Arigatto Gozaimas
Do you speak English - Eygo wah, hanashimaska?
Do you understand? - Wakarimaska?
I understand - Hai wakarimas
I don't understand - Wakarimasen
Hello - Konichi wah
Good morning - Ohio Gozaimas
Good evening - Konban wah
Yes - Hai!
No - (rarely used alone) Iyeh (or verb / noun plus nai)
Good - Ee des
Bad - Warui des
How much / many - Ikura deska?
What time is it? - Nanji deska?
Where is the station - Eki wah, doko deska?
Goodbye - Sayonara
Delicious - Oshi des!
1 - Ichi
2 - Nee
3 - San
4 - Yon
5 - Go
6 - Roku
7 - Nana
8 - Hachi
9 - Kyu
10 - Ju
14 - Ju yon etc
20 - Ni ju etc
100 - Hyaku
2000 - Ni Sen
10,000 - ichi man