A week in Tokyo, what to do?

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dafman

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#250928 1-Jun-2019 10:13

We have a week in Tokyo coming up (staying near Shimokitazawa station).

So far we have booked Studio Ghibli, but nothing else planned. It's my first visit, so I'd appreciate any suggestions for things to do, day trip options, places to eat etc.

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#2249462 1-Jun-2019 10:13

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We hope to see you there!

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frankv

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#2249464 1-Jun-2019 10:22

It's been a couple or 3 decades, but...

Ride the bullet train

Ride the subway during rush hour

Tokyo tower

There are/were bus tours, taking you to pearl culturing places and tea ceremonies

Tokyo Disneyland (if you like the incongruity of American-saccharine culture in Japan)

freitasm

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#2249468 1-Jun-2019 10:31

@sbiddle will have some things or two to suggest.

taneb1

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#2249469 1-Jun-2019 10:32

I'm planning a similar trip at the moment - These are the things on my list to do/see

TeamLab Borderless - https://borderless.teamlab.art/
Metropolitan Government Building - https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3011_tocho.html (Great view and free)
The Godzilla Head in Shinjuku - https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/godzilla-head
Tokyo National Museum - https://www.tnm.jp/?lang=en
Nakamise Shopping Street - https://jw-webmagazine.com/nakamise-shopping-street-in-asakusa-f1a67909bdde
StreetCart - https://kart.st/en/faq_akihabara.html
And possibly Tokyo Disney Land

AirBnB experiences also has a bunch of tours, as well as a website called Klook that you can book in various palces as well

Any comments made are my personal views and does not represent those of my employer

Batman

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#2249490 1-Jun-2019 10:53

there is a sushi shop in Shinjuku that has all you can eat in 2 hrs. but you need to book.

Batman

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#2249492 1-Jun-2019 10:54

sorry i read that somewhere on google when i was there but i missed out as i didn't realise that all the good places require booking a day in advance.

the other type of good eating places is first come first serve and either is queued up (you write you name and wait your turn), or the wait is 1-2 hrs long.

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#2249494 1-Jun-2019 10:57

i also dare you to do this. take any train to tokyo station at rush hour. don't bring your 6 year old twins. don't bring luggage. don't ask.

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#2249495 1-Jun-2019 10:59

Skytree is amazing to go up

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#2249496 1-Jun-2019 10:59

do the shibuya crossing at night (warning the toilets at the train station is the worst toilet in the entire japan)

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#2249498 1-Jun-2019 11:01

and if out of food and out of ideas, the supermarkets have the most amazing foods, better than random joints, but perhaps YMMV.

Tzoi

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#2249503 1-Jun-2019 11:06

I've been to Tokyo a few times, these are the things I generally recommend in addition to some of the ones above:

There's both Disney Land and Disney Sea - Disneyland has similar stuff all around the world, including in Japan, while Disney Sea is somewhat different so could be good if you've been to Disneyland elsewhere.
Sensoji in Asakusa and Meiji Jingu in Harajuku are cool temples to go to.
There are some nice parks in the city to get away from the skyscrapers such as Shinjuku Gyoen and Yoyogi Park
Robot Restaurant is supposed to be an amazing experience (I haven't been yet)
As well as Akihabara for anime/manga sort of stuff, Nakano Broadway can also be interesting
Yokohama is interesting to walk around for the day (and the cup noodle museum is interesting). Alternatively, Kamakura is nearby to Yokohama and supposed to be nice
Could also do a day trip to Kawaguchiko to see Mt Fuji

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#2249512 1-Jun-2019 11:19

Browse Geekzone

engedib

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#2249551 1-Jun-2019 14:33

taneb1:

I'm planning a similar trip at the moment - These are the things on my list to do/see

TeamLab Borderless - https://borderless.teamlab.art/
Metropolitan Government Building - https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3011_tocho.html (Great view and free)
The Godzilla Head in Shinjuku - https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/godzilla-head
Tokyo National Museum - https://www.tnm.jp/?lang=en
Nakamise Shopping Street - https://jw-webmagazine.com/nakamise-shopping-street-in-asakusa-f1a67909bdde
StreetCart - https://kart.st/en/faq_akihabara.html
And possibly Tokyo Disney Land
AirBnB experiences also has a bunch of tours, as well as a website called Klook that you can book in various palces as well

Thanks, TeamLab looks pretty good, we are there in about a week's time :)

insane

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#2249601 1-Jun-2019 15:54

Was there for a week last month. Suggestions above are good. I'd add Golden Gai in Shinjuku for a more traditional dinner experience.

Also if you do go up the Sky Tree, go in the day, at night you can't barely make anything out as it's so damn tall.

By all means go to TeamLab Boarderless, but don't get fooled into waiting in a long time for the Nest exhibit. Waited an hour and it was the worse one of them all.

We also got a free travel guide for two days, I highly recommend you do that to get extra local context to your experience!

Geektastic

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#2249603 1-Jun-2019 16:02

Go and buy a Grand Seiko watch at the Ginza GS Boutique.

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