Spiderman's Tips on Visiting Tokyo!!
Brief introduction
On Guide Books
Tokyo's places of attractions
Asakusa
Ueno
Ginza
Central Tokyo
Shinjuku
Ikebukuro
Shibuya
Harajuku
Roppongi
Kanda and Korakuen
Tokyo Tower and Disneyland
My other web pages
Links to other sites on the Web
The bottom line
Brief Introduction
This page is not intended to replace the travel guides you see in the bookstores - I'd be a dead spider before I could amass the amount of information necessary to have the same coverage. Rather, what I want to offer you is a few personal tips on where you should go and on what you should watch out when you visit Tokyo.
As a solo traveller myself, I encourage you to explore this city just the way the Japanese from other parts of the country do - through public transportation. Therefore, I would keep referring to the 2 subway networks (TRTA, TOEI) and the Japan Railways (JR) when discussing how to reach your destinations. In fact, it may be easier for you to understand what I'll tell you below if you can get a travel guide book, which will have in it maps with extensive landmarks and a detailed map showing the network of intra-city subways and railways.
To help you navigate throughout Tokyo's public transit system, I've scanned in 2 maps for Tokyo and its surroundings, one on the Japan Railways network and the other on the 2 subway networks. Unfortunately, because of the limited server space offered to me by GeoCities (a miserly 2MB, man), I can't put them on-line for your easy retrieval. Please sign my guestbook below and indicate your wish to get them, and I'll send an e-mail to you with the zip file of the 2 maps.
So, my friends, Dozo!! (Welcome!!)
Back to table of contents
There are literally dozens of guide books on travelling in Japan, and I just don't have the time necessary to pore over each one. Also, any intention to choose a guide book that's suitable for everyone is a joke - remember the proverb, "To each, his own"? The most important thing to do if you're looking for a good book is, flip a few pages to see if the content and the author's style suit your taste.
In my search for a guide book to help me navigate through Tokyo, however, I found Kodansha's New Japan Solo and Lonely Planet's Japan: a Travel Survival Kit to be very helpful.
I like Kodansha's book more: it's got more photos in it than many others (I actually came across a few that don't have any photo); it emphasizes getting around in public tranportation just like the locals, so the directions it gives are more precise; and its publisher, Kodansha, is one of the biggest publishers in Japan and thus gives you more up-to-date information and a native touch.
On the other hand, Lonely Planet's book contains a lot of anecdotes that helps you understand the history of the sites you visit and the culture of the people you come across. Also, it offers curious advices from where you can find red-light districts to where you can buy Western medicine, and just about anything else in between. Furthermore, there is a Japanese-phrase section that helps you with the language barrier (in case you have yet to get a phrase book, e.g. Berlitz or Tuttle).
So, what's your choice?
Back to table of contents
Tokyo's Places of Attraction
Asakusa:
Asakusa is famous for its Sensoji Temple, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the goddess
Kannon (Guan-yin), and still retains the atmosphere of Tokyo's old shitamachi
(downtown). Kaminarimon Gate is the entrance to the main approach to the Temple, with the
Gods of Wind (Fujin) and of Thunder (Raijin) standing in niches on both sides of the Gate
and a 11-foot red lantern hanging from it.
Both sides of the main approach, called Nakamise-dori Street, are lined with traditional
Japanese souvenir shops decorated with colorful small lanterns. There are also shops on
Nakamise-dori which sell very delicious and cute figurine biscuits (so cute, you almost won't
want to eat them).
You can reach Asakusa on TRTA Ginza Line or TOEI Asakusa Line.
Check here for my photos on Asakusa!
Ueno:
Ueno is the cultural centre of Tokyo. Ueno-Koen Park, which hosts several museums, a
concert hall, Ueno Zoo (where you get to see, among other animals, the pandas presented by
the Chinese government) and other cultural institutions, is very renowned as a great spot for
hanami (cherry blossom viewing, which occurs only in early to mid-April).
Ueno can be reached on the JR Yamanote Loop Line, and the TRTA Ginza and Hibiya Lines.
Back to table of contents
Ginza:
Ginza literally means silver mint. Instead of minting coins for the shoguns, Ginza now
collects millions upon millions of Japanese yen (as well as other currencies) daily from the
patrons of its huge department stores, elegant shops, a variety of restaurants and expense-
account-only bars and nightclubs. This place is Tokyo's Fifth Avenue, Champs Elysees and
Regent Street.
The centre of Ginza is the intersection of Chuo-dori Street and Harumi-dori Street; the San-ai
round building and the clock tower mark this intersection. Many large and prestigious
Japanese department stores are set up in this district: Matsuya, Mitsukoshi, Matsuzakaya,
Printemps, Hankyu (2 stores), Seibu, and Sogo. Boy, I hope you still have your two legs on
after you finish this shopping (or window-shopping) marathon!! Oh, yes, inside the Sony
Building there's a Toyota showroom, giving you a glimpse of its newest models. Of course,
there is also Sony's own showroom, and you're allowed to fiddle with its demos.
Ginza is easily accessible: on the JR Yamanote Loop Line (Yurakucho Station); on the TRTA
Marunouchi, Ginza and Hibiya Lines (Ginza Stations); on the TRTA Yurakucho Line (Ginza-
Itchome Station); and on the TOEI Asakusa Line (Higashi-Ginza Station).
Check here for my photos on Ginza!
Central Tokyo:
The largest JR train station, Tokyo Station, is located here in Central Tokyo, as is the
Imperial Palace. The Imperial Palace's Outer Garden and East Garden are great to stroll,
especially in the evening with your loved ones; you may wish you can stay there forever but,
then, of course you can't. Too bad. So, at least bring you camera to capture the memories,
eh.
Marunouchi and Otemachi are the two areas sandwiched between the gigantic JR station and
the Imperial Palace. The former is where many of the world-famous (or notorious, depending
on your viewpoint) Japanese corporations place their headquarters, while the latter is more
like a information hub with the headquarters of some of the largest Japanese news and
communication services. The nearby district of Nihombashi is Japan's Wall Street: the Bank
of Japan (the national bank), the Bank of Tokyo (the country's largest international bank), the
Tokyo Stock Exchange, and the headquarters of such Japanese securities giants as Nomura,
Nikko, Yamaichi and Daiwa, are all located here. So, if some lunatic wanna blow up Japan a
la World Trade Center, you know where he'd go.
Because the JR Tokyo Station is the centre of many of JR's train lines, including four bullet
train (Shinkansen) lines, it would be next to impossible to tell you all the train routes
that pass through or stop here. Suffice to say that the JR Chuo, Keihin-Tohoku and
Yamanote Loop Lines, and the TRTA Marunouchi Line provide the local means to reach this
place. (Tell you the truth, Don't ever try to come here via the JR, for the station is a real
labyrinth. Subway is the way to go.)
Back to table of contents
Shinjuku:
Shinjuku is Tokyo's new "downtown". Western Shinjuku used to be just a small town whose
only claim to fame is the reservoirs that provided Tokyo with water. Since the completion of
Keio Plaza Hotel, however, skyscrapers have cropped up all around in the area and in 1991,
even the Tokyo Metropolitan Government moved here. Eastern Shinjuku, on the other hand,
was once famous for its inexpensive nightlife, with thousands of small bars, restaurants, snack
shops, and establishments of a more ... dubious nature. Now, the place is rather more
respectable (and, of course, expensive).
If you want to visit the most notorious of Tokyo's red-light districts, however, eastern
Shinjuku's Kabuki-cho area is the place to go, where you can find innumerable seedy karaoke
(laser-disc sing-a-long) boxes, love-hotels, porno video booths, peep shows, strip joints,
"soaplands" (massage parlours), no-pants coffee shops (no, it's the waitresses who doff their
undies, not you ...), and other "good" places (unfortunately, I heard that normally they don't
entertain gaijin, or foreigners).
The large department stores located here are Isetan, Mitsukoshi, Marui (whose logo is
"0101"), Odakyu Halc, Odakyu, Keio, Lumine and MyCity (remember the Japanese comics
"City Hunter"? The Studio Alta building is opposite MyCity, and there is a huge Panasonic
video screen on the front of the building). There are three leading discount chain stores in
this area, Yodobashi, Sakuraya and Doi, which also sell many other consumer electronic
goods such as computers, Nintendos, CD players, etc. A smaller one, called Kimuraya, also
sells the electronic gadgets and CDs, but to me the main appeal is the European brand-name
ties which it sells at something like 30-50% off the normal prices.
Go to Shinjuku by taking the JR Yamanote Loop and Chuo Lines, the TRTA Marunouchi and
TOEI Shinjuku Lines.
Check here for my photos on Shinjuku!
Ikebukuro:
Ikebukuro is one of Tokyo's largest shopping and nightlife district. At night, this area is
filled with young people hanging out and having a good time, as well as quite a few
establishments which offer those people ... the "good" time they come to look for. The
prices, however, are known to be less expensive than Kabuki-cho, primarily because the area
lacks the prestige of Ginza and the panache of Shinjuku.
A must-go for visitors to this district is the Sunshine City. Its Sunshine 60 Building is one of
Japan's tallest buildings, and its observatory commands the best panoramic view of Tokyo
(Tokyo Tower, eat your heart out). The elevators that bring you up to the observatory were
once the fastest in the world, I was told. Meanwhile, its World Import Mart Building
contains an exhibition of international products imported into Japan, as well as a planetarium,
an aquarium, and a branch of Mitsukoshi department store. The place you should also visit is
Toyota's AMLUX showroom, however; here the company shows off its newest models, and
even offers a futuristic car-design workshop, called Mirai-Koubou, where you get to design
your dream car (sort of) with computer-aid technology.
The largest store among the department stores in Japan, Tobu, is here at Ikebukuro, together
with other such as Seibu, Parco, Mitsukoshi, Tokyu Hands and Marui.
Besides the JR Yamanote Loop Line, Ikebukuro is served by the TRTA Marunouchi and
Yurakucho Lines
Back to table of contents
Shibuya:
Once known for its inexpensive shops, restaurants and pubs, Shibuya is now a fashionable
shopping and entertainment hub. Seibu, and its three Parco fashion complexes, and Tokyu,
with its Tokyu Plaza and Tokyu Hands (a do-it-yourself store), are the two largest department
stores in this area. The others present are Marui, Loft and Shibuya 109.
For the young (or the young at heart), there are clothing shores catering to their taste along
Shibuya Center-gai Street, as well as arcade game centres and karaoke boxes. On Shibuya
Center-gai Street, there is a 3-storey Japanese comics bookstore which I would highly
recommend. Its name is Manga no Mori, meaning Forest of Comics, and if you want
to find out why Japan is the country that consumes the most comics in the world, I think this
is the right place to start. By weekends it's so stuffed with comics fans, you can barely get
in!
So Shibuya is just a place with shops, shops, and more shops? Nope. One of the television
station, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), has its studio right here, and tourists are
allowed to watch from above as the crew go on making the shows. Admission is free, but the
displays are only in Japanese. Have fun!
Reach Shibuya by the JR Yamanote Loop Line, or the TRTA Ginza and Hanzomon Lines.
Check here for my photos on Shibuya!
Harajuku:
Harajuku is home of the Meiji Jingu Shrine. Emperor Meiji was responsible for Japan's
modernisation in the middle of the last century, after almost three centuries of self-imposed
isolation from the outside world. In memory of his great leadership and vision, the Japanese
come here to pay their respect to him.
Harajuku is also an attraction centre for teenagers. On Sundays with good weather, crowds of
Japanese youngsters, many of whom dressed like Elvis Presley and James Dean, would turn
on their ghetto-blasters and dance the day away on the street right in front of the entrance of
the Meiji Jingu. The nearby National Yoyogi Sports Centre, built for the 1964 Tokyo
Olympics, is often used to hold concerts as well as sporting events. Last but not least, there
are many small boutiques, fashion shops and a full time fashion item flea market packed
along the few alleys leading right from the JR Harajuku Station (the only way to reach
here).
I highly recommend a specialty which you can try cheaply only from here: ice-cream crepes.
The Japanese would put a ball of ice cream onto a pancake-like crepe, and then roll the crepe
into a cone. You can then take it with you to eat as you visit the bazaar. Try it, it's cheap,
and it's yummy!
Check here for my photos on Harajuku!
Roppongi:
Roppongi is another high-class night spot, popular with the young sophisticates and "artists",
as well as many of the foreign residents of Tokyo. This part of town has become so caught
up in nightlife, it's no longer much of a residential area but a very enjoyable hang-out for
urban night owls. When all its lights are switched on, you can also take a great photo of the
Tokyo Tower from here at night (it beats paying the admission fee to go up that now-shabby
tower). Most people come here for the discos, the bars and the ... fun that follows.
Two advices: 1) watch your wallet; 2) go to Seryna Restaurant to try its shabu-shabu,
where you get to dip thinly-sliced beef and other goodies into boiling water in a brass pot,
and then eat them after dipping again into a special sauce that's served separately. It's
chopstick-licking good, but make sure your wallet can support the goodness.
Roppongi can only be reached by the TRTA Hibiya Line.
Check here for my photos on Roppongi!
 Raving about ramen noodles!! Remember, SLURP to show appreciation when you eat!! |
Kanda and Korakuen:
Akihabara is the world-famous discount paradise (with a catch: you gotta bargain HARD) for
electronic goods. The variety of electronic gadgets for sale here is so dazzling, you
practically can lose your mind! Watch out, though: many of the models here are for use
within Japan only, and you might end up with a gadget that has features totally useless to
you. Also, many of the stores jack up their prices in anticipation of hard bargaining, so you
should shop around for prices after you decide on the model. I bought a Walkman from a
shop called Nishikawa right outside the JR Akihabara station, and I found its price to be
reasonable and its trading practice more honest.
Jimbocho, once synonymous with bookstores, is gradually losing its status as Japan's book
centre (except for dirty mags, maybe). This is a sad development, since here was the place
where knowledge by way of the written word, first from China and then from the Occidental
world, entered Japan. Also, if you're looking for out-of-print Japanese books, here's probably
your safest bet. A few of Tokyo's largest bookstores are here, so if you wanna catch some
Japanese bookworm come here by the TRTA Hanzomon and TOEI Mita and Shinjuku Lines
(Jimbocho station).
Ride the TRTA Marunouchi Line to Hongo-Sanchome station, walk five minutes and you'd be
at Tokyo University. "Todai", as the locals call it, is the most prestigious and influential
educational institute in Japan, and every Japanese kid goes to school and tutorial with the
dream of entering Todai and then becoming Japan's elite in bureaucracy, politics and
business.
There are two attractions at the Kudanshita station (arrive by the TRTA Hanzomon and Tozai
and the TOEI Shinjuku Lines): Budokan Hall, where martial arts competition, concerts and
boxing matches take place, and Yasukuni Jinja Shrine, where the spirits of 2.5 million
soldiers who died since the Meiji Restoration are enshrined (including such class-A war
criminal in World War II as the war-time prime minister Hideki Tojo). Every time a
Japanese cabinet member goes to the shrine, uproar would arise from the left-wingers from
within Japan and other Asian countries from without. They claim that such visit to pay
tribute to the war dead, is an act of revitalising Japanese militarism and chauvinism and an
insult to those who suffered under the Japanese invasion during WWII. You may want to
visit the Yushukan War Museum adjacent to the Yasukuni Jinja, just for the hell of it. You
can find in it, for example, airplanes and "human torpedo" mini-submarines with which the
Japanese soldiers undertook the kamikaze, or Divine Wind, suicide missions.
Check here for my photos on Kanda and Korakuen!
Tokyo Tower and Disneyland:
Tokyo Tower can be reached by taking the TOEI Mita Line (Onarimon station). Its Special
Observatory still commands a very extensive view of Tokyo, but the structure is so old I find
it not as comfortable staying in there as the Sunshine 60 Building at Ikebukuro. The ticket
price range gives me more reason not to recommend a visit there. On the second floor of the
Mori 32 building right opposite to the Tower (watch for the number "32" at the top corner of
the building), there is a clinic with doctors who speak English.
Tokyo Disneyland is located at Urayasu, a city that's actually outside Tokyo's metropolitan
perimetre. To go there you'll have to take the JR Keiyo Line to Maihara station. That place
is packed, pal, and to make things worse the crew who serve as guides at various
attractions speak only Japanese. Unless you've got a lot of time to waste or you've never
been to another Disneyland before, I wouldn't recommend it to you.
Check here for my photos on Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Disneyland!
Thank you for bearing with me. Now, I'm just gonna get myself a glass of water ....
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