Tokyo

[Jason]

So going to Chiba on business at the end of Feb, and am going to have a few days (3) of downtime in Tokyo. I have never been to Japan, so looking for some guidance on what area of Tokyo to stay and what to see.

Any sugestions would be appreciated.

[gioarmani]

#1. If you're into electronics & watches, check out the Shinjuku district. Akihabara district is also HUGE on the latest electro toys & gadgets.

#2. If you're into shopping, the Ginza district is the place to be. Found some fantastic clothes at the Mitsukoshi department store there.

If you're American or Canadian, you'll enjoy the Roppongi district, definitely. In Roppongi, you'll have to check out a pizza joint called "Nicola's Pizza"; it was started by a gangster from the Gambino crime family in NY, who left NY after WWII to make a [censored]-ton of money off the post-war Tokyo black market. He was involved in a ton of shady deals with the Yakuza, and eventually became the richest white-guy in Japan. Long story short, he was a stupid gangster who made some wrong friends, hired the wrong lawyers, had some real-estate nightmares that went [censored] up when the bubble burst, and died penniless as his ex-wives took everything from him on his death bed in the late 90's; I think his last wife still owns it. Good pizza though.

If you're into the old culture, make sure you see Mt. Fuji in the day, and a Kabuki show one night. Uenno Park has zoos, gardens, museums, etc. Some great restaurants & little shops in Omote Sando. Ameyoko is the "black market area", that is tourist & Western friendly, where you'll find some items that you'll find here on RWG. Tokyo tower is cool too--looks like an Akira version of the Eiffel. Velfarre is probably the biggest nightclub in Tokyo--generally for the under 30 crowd, but Thursdays are for 30 & over--more of a sophisticate & professional crowd rather than teenage & 20-something clubber types.

Chiba's right outside of Tokyo--dated a foreign-exchange girl named Satomi there when I was in highschool--talk about beautiful. Depending on your budget, the Park Hyatt is one of the nicest (modern) hotels I've seen in all of Japan. Everything in Japan is expensive (as I think Tokyo's the 4th most expensive city in the world, behind Oslo, Zurich, and I believe London), but the Park Hyatt is up there--good thing it's off season when you're going.

Some other nice hotels--in order from most to least expensive--are:

The Imperial Hotel

The Keio Plaza Inter-Continental

and the Crowne Plaza Metropolitan

You might even want to spend one of those off-nights in Kyoto--only an hour or two on the bullet train from Tokyo. We stayed in a traditional style "Ryokan" Inn--looks like something out of a Kurosawa film, but service for an Emperor, and food that will literally make you weep it's so good--they serve it and cook some of the dishes in your own room. You're waited on hand and foot by Geisha types, and you get a kimono and geta, th wooden clogs to walk around in. And peaceful (even in the proverbial Zen sense), like you can't imagine. We stayed at one called the "Gion Hatanaka". It's the stereotypical old-world Japanese experience, but quite good.

[gioarmani]

Oh yeah, and if you've never had sukiyaki (light beef dish you cook yourself @ the table, in a sauce of soy, mirin, sakes, & brown sugar) you have to eat it at Ran-Getsu. It's phenomenal.

[Jason]

Thanks for the advice. I am sure it will come in handy!

[swdivad]

Thanks for the advice. I am sure it will come in handy!

... and if you get sick, please visit the hospitals and return a full report (sorry guys, I had to )