Advantages: With a short visit you'll still be gagging for more and you get better value for money than London Disadvantages: Some may find it impersonal, my feet were so sore by the end and its another long review!
...meaning 'Gate of the River', Tokyo first became a significant city in 1603 when Tokogawa Ieyasu based his military government, or shogunate in the then unimpressive little town. Over the following years the city became a base from which the whole of Tokogawa clan ran the country, but only earned the term 'Tokyo' ('Eastern Capital') when the clan was deposed and the Emperor's power was restored towards the end of the 19th century; relocating from ... ...the Allied bombing of 1944/45, Tokyo has flourished. It is now one of the most modern and impressive capital cities in the world, with little of the old Tokyo or even Edo remaining.
My biggest regret in visiting Japan is that I couldn't spend more time in Tokyo. My friend and I had only scheduled a day and a half day there together, and one extra day on my own. My feeling is that Tokyo is much like London. You can spend quite some time there and ...
ickkate 05.09.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Tokyo (Japan)
Advantages: Exotic for people from the west, it is a very safe place, toilets :-) Disadvantages: Expensive accommodation, language barrier can cause problems, a bit crowded
...2005. We started out in Tokyo where we stayed for about a week. We used a Japan Rail Pass to get to Nagoya (the World Expo) and after that we went to Kyoto where we stayed 5 nights and we used this as a home base to see Kyoto itself, Osaka, Hiroshima, Kobe, Himeji etc. I hope that this trip report can help others that are going to Japan.
Prelude
So why Japan? Through movies and books we have become a bit fascinated by the Japanese culture. We also ... ...ended up at the HUGE Tokyo train station and we connected here to catch the subway to get to Akasaka-Mitsuke. Trying to walk through the Tokyo station, find the right line, finding out how to pay etc…and dragging along two huge Samsonite suitcases was quite an extreme sport and it's easy to get stressed out. But we prevailed and it didn't take us long before we were at The New Otani hotel. If we had done our homework a bit better I think that we ...
gard 27.07.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Tokyo (Japan)
Advantages: Very nice trip, worth going back again Disadvantages: No
...around 6 and started my Tokyo adventure after a brief break. Last time I stayed in the Ginza area which is quite commercial. This time, I stayed in Shinjuku, which is like the Soho of Tokyo. much more exciting, with lots of department stores and restaurant. One of the places that I would definitely go when in Japan is the food section in the department stores, with a wide selection of Japanese cakes/desserts on display. Apart from the cakes, the ... ...Thunder) is the symbol of Tokyo and it leads to the temple of Sensoji.At the entrance of the temple, there are shops selling charms for difference purposes-safe journey, good health, getting rich, meeting the right girl/guy etc. There is also a place where you will find buckets of numbered sticks(with each representing a fortune) where you can shuffle a bucket and the stick which drops out represents your fortune, a traditional way of getting to ...
medgenie 26.06.2008
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Tokyo (Japan)
Advantages: Vibrant city that doesn't disappoint Disadvantages: it's big busy and confusing
...visits Japan enevitably passes through Tokyo at some time. Somepeople love it and spend most of their trip there while others find it a confusing nightmare and quickly head on. It is the one place in Japan which completely encapsulates Japanese youth culture and you can find pretty much anything you want here.
Getting there- Most people will arrive straight from the airport, most commonly Tokyo Narita. The airport is a bit out of the centre so you ... ...time to each area of Tokyo and just enjoy looking around once you're there.
Ueno- Nice park and national museum which often has good displays. Lots of resteraunts and karaoke bars as well.
Shinjuku- For access to the imperial gardens, lots of night life but it can be a bit sleezy to walk around especially at night.
Tsukiji- Home to the largest fish market in the world, this is seriously impressive stuff, feel free to walk around and look at things ...
randymutley 29.06.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Tokyo (Japan)
Advantages: The world within a city Disadvantages: Easy to get lost,
...i arrived i realised that Tokyo was only the beginning.
From the plane the terrain was incredible varying from beautiful mountaineous peaks to forests and rice fields. Then arriving in Narita Aiport, (60Km from centre of Tokyo) I realised i would have to go back.
On a budget the best way to get into Tokyo i have been told was the Narita Express which takes you from the Airport directly to Tokyo. I did not use this route however and instead used ... ...I decided once in Tokyo to split up my travel into 3 sections and spent Day 1 in Central Tokyo, Day 2 in Western Tokyo and Day 3 in Northern Tokyo. Day 1 - Central Tokyo
At the top of my list was the Imperial Palace Gardens as I was concerned about the lack of culture i would experience being in a commercial city (although the longer i was there the more quickly i realised it was all part and parcel of the magic of Tokyo). The gardens are definitely ...
zodiakclare 03.03.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Tokyo (Japan)
...around the world, to me, Tokyo is like on another planet! Be careful if you are gonna arrive late or on the weekends. If it happens in another country, probably you would be safe as long as you find an ATM. But Tokyo is different! There are thousands of card symbols on the board by cash dispensers ( that’s how they call ATMs), but you would never find “Cirrus”, “Maestro” or “Plus”. Even with the credit cards there are problems, for example, they ...
me_envies 20.07.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Tokyo (Japan)
Advantages: lots to do Disadvantages: very busy, hectic city with very little green space
...Ueno, home to the famous Tokyo Zoo. We did visit the zoo, but I wouldn't recommend it. The main attraction is the pair of giant pandas, which weren't on display when we went. The other animals are held in very small enclosures and look depressed. The zoo gets incredibly full and the whole experience was rather depressing. The national museum is also in Ueno and is more relaxing. They have a good collection of japanese artefacts such as pottery, swords ... ...shopping area in Tokyo is Shinjuku - home to the busiest undergreound station in the world. There are several huge department stores here which are fun to look round. Another place for car nuts is the Toyota Amlux - a large car showroom where you can't buy a car! All the current production models are there for you to crawl all over. If you have kids, Tokyo Disneyworld is a short train journey away. it's small enough to see the park in a day, and ...
moraghewat 30.06.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Tokyo (Japan)
Advantages: Friendly, clean, totaly different culture Disadvantages: Language barrier, heat/humidity in summer
Coming from England, on a semi-organised tour, Japan (particularly Tokyo) is an amazing place to visit. The first thing to hit me was the heat and humidity, rapidly followed by the problems of the language barrier, and then the completely different culture. We actually came over to do a short tour of a university play, so accomodation and a fair amount of our time was already organised for us, which in many ways made life easier. We also had immediate ... ...what might be good things to do with our spare time.
For someone coming over under their own steam, I can strongly recomed reading guide books before coming over, and bringing at least one with you so that you can find your way around and pick out some of the best bits to visit. The public transport systems (especially train and underground) are very useful - always on time, and not too expensive so it's worth mastering how to work out how to get ...
DaveT 29.07.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Tokyo (Japan)
Advantages: Great city, very busy Disadvantages: Can be too crowded, expensive
Tokyo is one of the cities in the world which truely excites me. Perhaps it is my love for technology. It has the hustle and bustle of most major cities and it is so clean and efficient as well. It is amazing to see the great constrast of the city and the secluded temples. The Japanese gardens are the most beautiful in the world. Look out for the fish ponds.
Tokyo has a tower like a lot of cities and it is packed with things to do. Try the local ... ...happy with the raw sushi, then you could try Tereaki. There are often models of what is serve in the front of the resturant so you can always point and choose.
Other sites are the fastest lift in the world, and believe me when I say it is fast. There are the beautiful side street and the huge shopping plazas. Take care when buy electronics, they may not be compatible when you take them home. If you get a chance jump on the bullet train for fun. ...
jonyee 09.07.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Tokyo (Japan)
Advantages: exciting, night life is fab Disadvantages: more expensive than other east-asian countries
Many tourists will be attracted by temples and shrines of the historic cities, as for me, I prefered to have a look at the modern side of the town. Shibuya Shinjuku and Ikebukoro are the main "young-people's" places, have a walk in "Tokyo Hands" see those toys man, they won't be out in europe for another 5 years. Shibuya is like the core spending area of tokyo, All the latest Japanese brands sold at less than the price of when they might come out ... ...biggest arcades in asia, just pick a game you are good at and prepared to get slaughtered by those Japanese games freaks.^_^
OK, clubs, bars, pubs... well you will find one on every street in Shinjuku and Shibuya, and getting around is not that difficult, just take the train! keep on the circlular line and explore every station! ...
cykosinon 27.10.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Tokyo (Japan)
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times