I have recently returned from a work related trip to Asia, my first stop on the three-week trip was Tokyo. I have to say this was by far the best place I visited and I hope one day I will return.
I had read a Rough Guide travel book and some Ciao ops to prepare me for what I expected to ... Read review
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Advantages: Many, a wonderful, cultural experience Disadvantages: None I can recall
...which is a district of Tokyo dominated by hotels and restaurants. It was a great base for a stay in Tokyo. My hotel, Shinagawa Prince was in an ideal place, right by the train station and central to many restaurants. My room was on the 29th floor and I had great views of the skyline. Just through the train station was the business district where my company’s office was, so I had a leisurely 15-minute walk to the office every day. With regard ... ...thing that hit me about Tokyo was the sheer volume of people; it's a busy place. You quickly learn to keep up with the pedestrian traffic and weave in and out of the slower movers. After a restless night getting over the jet lag (Japan is 8 hours ahead of us here in the UK) I decided to go walkabout. I felt very safe in Tokyo, the only major difficulty is that many signs are only in Japanese and English isn't widely spoken, but if you are brave enough ...
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Advantages: Culture. Interesting Disadvantages: Difficult for foreigners to understand the cultural significance
...in countless streets of Tokyo and any other of Japan’s major cities. If you take a peep into the windows of the noodle shop, eateries of all types and stores, you will come across the Maneki-Neko grinning somewhat impudently at you from the counter and inviting you into to savour the produce of the shop. In business, the Maneki-Neko is believed to bring success because her raised paw beckons in customers. It also welcomes in personal happiness ... ...even has its own pet cemetery. The Beckoning Cats of Japan that you will see in Tokyo to this day remain a fascinating Japanese artifact with their roots in ancient Japanese culture and links to that most basic of human desires, the acquisition of wealth and prosperity. ...
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Advantages: Nowhere is like this city Disadvantages: Long flight from Europe
...Japanese food. Eating out in Tokyo can be cheap, reasonable or expensive. Here are some tips from me for you to enjoy the city more without being able to speak or read Japanese. Japan is well known as “non English speaking society”, even in the big international city Tokyo. On your arrival you will realise that not everything is sign-posted in English but probably very basic information for transports and tourist spots. As transports in Japan is ... ...you? Well, eating out in Tokyo could be one of the most interesting ways to experience Japanese culture. Here I am not going to name any restaurant for your recommendation but can give you general information on how to approach reach restaurants which I divided into three main categories. Before I start with restaurants, generally, shops and restaurants including cafes are opened till very late. You could visit tourist spots during day and do shopping ...
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Advantages: An amazing, fascinating city. Great food. Disadvantages: Too much concrete.
...– Akihabara (2 stops from Tokyo on the clean/fast/reliable subway system) is one of the essential Tokyo experiences. Electronic goods are previewed here up to 18 months before release in the UK. From recordable DVD players to playstation 2 – this is where you will see these things first.
Sightseers should avoid Ueno zoo – for anyone who hasn’t worked in a vivisection laboratory this will be an intensely depressing experience. Still, you don’t fly ... ...in the Ginza area.
Tokyo is also a brilliant starting point for some excellent day trips – Nikko, Kamakura and Hakone (where you can climb Mount Fuji if the weather / time of the year is right).
All in all, a fascinating city well worth a few weeks holiday at anytime of the year. ...
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Advantages: Friendly, loads of things to do, good public transport, Disadvantages: expensive, expensive, expensive
The last time I visited Tokyo was way back in 92 - a flying 3 week trip through Japan spending 7 days in the capital.
Even though Tokyo is (was) a hugely expensive place to visit you simply must take in the sites at least once in your life. Tokyo is a heavily populated concrete jungle of a place, that doesn't have the openess of a London, the style of Milan or the chic of Paris.
What it does have is a kinetic energy that surpasses all three cities ... ...it.
You can find cheaper places to visit but they're ususually off the beaten track and you can end up getting lost.
Overall then Tokyo at night is a beautiful place to visit, just make sure you have a huge overdraft facility at the ready before you go!! ...
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