<p>We snagged unbelievable fares from Newark to Tokyo and are going next week. We will have five full days. I have been researching like mad but thought I’d ask here if there are any places we just should not miss or off the beaten path places to go to. It will be my husband and myself and our just about to turn 18 dd (Happy Graduation and birthday to her). TIA.</p>
<p>I confess I’m a bit of a geek but if you want to see zillions of electronic devices of all types, including some that haven’t been released in the USA yet, the Akihabara district is chock full of stores full of electronics.</p>
<p>There are also temples, the Imperial Palace, the Ginza, etc. to see.</p>
<p>Nikko, with its fabulous collection of shrines, is a nice, easy day trip from Tokyo.</p>
<p>A fun thing to do for lunch or dinner one day is to go to the basement of one of the major department stores. They all have amazing prepared food selections.</p>
<p>The Edo-Tokyo Museum is great for the first day to give you a historical overview of the city.</p>
<p>Nikko is fabuous, but it is a long day trip from Tokyo. It’s certainly worth a day. Spectacular.</p>
<p>Must see in Tokyo proper:</p>
<p>a) Ginza at night.</p>
<p>b) Rappongi at night. Huge nightlife area. Crazy people watching. There’s a famous old coffee shop at the major intersection. Good place to sit and watch the world walk by.</p>
<p>c) Harajuku, preferably on a weekend afternoon. Hipster, rock n’ roll central in Tokyo. Big open air markets.</p>
<p>d) Meiji Shrine is a must-see tourist stop, right next to Harajuku. So there is a day combined with Harajuku. This area is also a couple of rail stops from Shinjuku – a major commercial, shopping, hotel district.</p>
<p>e) The Imperial Palace downtown.</p>
<p>f) Depending on what you are into, there are shopping districts. For example, Akihabara to the north of downtown is the electronics area. Block after block after block of electronics stores.</p>
<p>g) Tokyo Tower used to be the place to go up to a tall place and see a panoramic view. There may be others, now.</p>
<p>It’s an incredible city.</p>
<p>We went to Nikko when we were in Tokyo, but mostly because we had kids who were all museumed out. We went to Nikko Edomura (Edo Wonderland) which was a huge amount of fun. [Kinugawa</a> Onsen Travel: Nikko Edomura (Edo Wonderland)](<a href=“http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3879.html]Kinugawa”>Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura - Kinugawa Onsen Travel)</p>
<p>I know Kyoto is technically the place to go for this, but I wouldn’t mind strolling through one (or all) of the geisha districts in Tokyo. Shinbashi, Akasaka, Asakusa, Kagurazaka, etc. Of course all these places offer more to see than just a stroll. I’d check it out.</p>
<p>I haven’t been to Tokyo, but my youngest D has. She was invited by a good friend whose father was transferred there and begged us to let her visit (it’s my birthday, Christmas, you-name-it-present for the year). I got a great fare through JTB USA. Places and things she liked the most: the Meiji Shrine, riding in the subway, and also visiting the Harajuku. She also went on a ski trip with her friend’s international high school class and enjoyed that. They took a train from Tokyo.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. i seem to be on the right track because many of the places you have mentioned I have already written down. Keep the ideas coming. Thanks!</p>
<p>The thing to do is take your suggestions and guidebooks and start putting “x’s” on a map. Then, see how you can start grouping things into a “day” in the same general area: for example, Harajuku/Meiji Shrine.</p>
<p>Getting around on the subway is easy enough, but Tokyo is a big city so you don’t want to be doing back and forth cross-town trips. It’s really a city of neighborhoods. A lot will depend on where you are staying. The first time I went, we stayed in a Hotel two blocks from Tokyo Station. The second time I went we stayed a block from Shinjuku station.</p>
<p>interesteddad, that is a great suggestion about marking a map where everything is and then planning our days. We are staying in Shinjuko right by the station.</p>
<p>If you are into food, I second the department store basements. I would literally go there every day if I lived in Japan.</p>
<p>Also if you’re into food, it’s a lot of fun to go to the Kappa-bashi neighborhood, which is where the restaurants buy all that amazing plastic food. This is a place to get some unforgettable souvenirs (they make it into magnets, key chains, etc. that you can’t get anywhere but Tokyo).</p>
<p>^^ I think Hanna’s referring to the ‘plastic food’ that the restaurants there place in the windows of their restaurants so passers-by can see what dishes they offer. It’s pretty strange but it can sometimes come in handy because if you’re in a place with only Japanese menus and non-English speaking staff (which is pretty common for the small places) then you can always point to the plastic item you want. Go ahead and try some of the small (hole in the wall) places though - sometimes they only have a few tables and maybe some stools. Some of them have good Yakitori and other items and the owners and ambiance can be interesting.</p>
<p>Watch out for Godzilla!</p>
<p>One of my favorite meals in Tokyo. We ducked down an alley off Ginza and then into another alley. There’s a whole world of Japanese restaurants. We found a little hole in the wall yakatori place. Seats for about a dozen at the bar and a couple of tables. Filled with Japanese businessmen. We sat at the bar, drinking Japanese biro, and pointing to the ingredients to be put on the yakatori skewers and chargrilled on the yakatori grills. It was wonderful.</p>
<p>idad:</p>
<p>I love doing that - such a fun way to meet people… and food is awesome!!!</p>
<p>Given the short time period, I’d suggest the Top 10 Tokyo guidebook:</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Top 10 Tokyo (EYEWITNESS TOP 10 TRAVEL GUIDE) (9780756653675): DK Publishing: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Top-Tokyo-EYEWITNESS-TRAVEL-GUIDE/dp/0756653673/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270840094&sr=1-2]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Top-Tokyo-EYEWITNESS-TRAVEL-GUIDE/dp/0756653673/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270840094&sr=1-2)</p>
<p>They do a nice job of making a variety of lists which can help you to capture the essence of a place in just a few days. The book will do things like list the top 10 overall attractions. Let’s say one of those attractions is a museum. It will then have a page with the top ten things at that museum.</p>
<p>My most memorable moments in Japan have been moments of serendipity. The amazing snacks in 7-ll. Wandering a neighborhood and stopping in the beautiful local gardens, no bigger than the site of an apartment, beautifully maintained. The shrines in the countryside. The bowing as you go into a department store-notice the high number of employees. </p>
<p>Anyplace to go and take a hot bath if you can steel yourself for a little public nudity. The most memorable I have visited is in the mountains S of Tokyo, but there are many places. </p>
<p>The lunches with impressively high quality food, for no more than you’d spend here, if careful.</p>
<p>I second interesteddad’s recommendations and suggestions for itinerary planning. I also found the Tsukiji fish market to be pretty cool. Go early to check it out, and then have a sushi breakfast.</p>
<p>DH and I just returned from visiting DS in Tokyo. We stayed in a hotel at Shinjuku. I’m quite jet lagged, so hope this is coherent.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Shinjuku is a wonderful location, but intense. I suggest splurging on one of the airport buses (about $30 per person) that goes directly to your hotel. Until you get your bearings, trying to figure out how to get there by public transport and then navigating thru the many exits at Shinjuku can be tough.</p></li>
<li><p>Clothing. We had great weather, hope you do too. We just brought very informal clothing and sneakers since we weren’t planning on doing anything fancy. Layers worked out well since the temperature ranged from about 45-70 degrees. I had a fleece layer and a water resistant light weight jacket. Was great for adding and shedding as needed. Bring as little as possible, Japanese hotel rooms are tiny by US standards. Many don’t have closets or dressers and luggage reduces the minimal floor space.</p></li>
<li><p>Breakfast. Our hotel did not include breakfast. Most Japanese hotels have electric hotpots to boil water. Many have mini fridges. We brought a cone coffee filter and paper filters, bought coffee, milk and bread in Tokyo and saved a lot of money and effort by having a light breakfast in our room. We also had more appetite for delicious lunches!</p></li>
<li><p>Feet and knees. We’re in reasonable shape. We live in a third floor walkup. Nothing prepared me for the amount of stairs I walked in Tokyo. They are everywhere. In the subways they go on and on. It was amazing to see people 70+ years old sprinting up them. The overall level of fitness in Japan should put us to shame.</p></li>
<li><p>Bathrooms. Be sure to carry around some tissue packets. I did encounter a number of places where there were only Eastern style toilets, which brings us back to knees… Many bathrooms do not have soap or anything to dry hands. May want to carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer.</p></li>
<li><p>Food. Son’s rule of thumb is to eat only in places that specialize-i.e. just ramen, just sushi, etc. Went to lots of hole in the wall places with very limited menus, but what they did, was done superbly. When we weren’t with DS, had to point, but that was fine.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>We ended up doing alot of wandering through back streets, just so interesting. You have had wonderful suggestions of where to go. Would add on of son’s favorites- 100 yen stores. They are everywhere, there’s one in Shinjuku. A different experience than the 99 cent stores here. Great place to pick up souvenirs and certainly something your DD will enjoy too.</p>
<p>I’m jealous and want to go back. Have a great trip!</p>
<p>second spring, thank you so much. You have brought my excitement level way up. where in Sinjuko did you stay? About clothing, are jeans ok everywhere since we do not plan on doing anything fancy? I am trying to figure out what to pack now. Temps at night seem to dip quite low so I will bring the pea coat along with a fleece. Were the cherry blossoms still out at all? So many questions but I will stop here.</p>
<p>PegV420- we wore jeans everywhere and were fine. We noticed some of the cherry blossoms dropping yesterday, so may be fading when you get there. The Imperial Palace is a good place for viewing. We stayed at the Sunroute Shinjuku.</p>