Visiting Japan? Ask your questions here!

[ukiyo]

It's not about opinions, I just showed you a video with the prices, not just a video of some guy talking..and I also posted a picture of gyoza + Ramen with the price...you don't need to take my word for it you can see it yourself in the videos and judge yourself whether it is more expensive for what you get or not. The problem is people are making bad comparisons, like Quashlo said. You can not compare NYC street food vs set price japanese restaurants to prove a point..that's like me comparing conbini bento's to NYC set price restaurants. Not a good comparison. So do you think that the $4 bento in the video is not a good amount of food for the price? If you think it isn't than your appetite and wallet is clearly different than all of us, but even so at least we have shown that the price is not $10-$15 just to each a lunch (if you're comparing to fastfood/streetfood).

[quashlo]

Originally Posted by flymordecai

Btw is the Suica NEX card worth it for only 3 days?

Probably. You get ¥1,500 on the Suica card, which only amounts to ¥500 available each day for fares. Since you'll be staying at the airport, you'll use the roundtrip N'EX tickets on it one day, but the other days, your fare to / from central Tōkyō will quickly eat up the value on your Suica card. Are you staying near Narita Station (i.e., the actual Narita City), or near one of the airport stations? I only ask because the fastest (and more expensive) trains to Tōkyō leave directly from the airport... They don't stop at Narita / Keisei Narita Station. If your hotel is near Narita / Keisei Narita, you have some cheaper options, but they take longer to get to central Tōkyō.

Anyways, if this is your first time, then I think you should just focus on the more famous / popular sites... You can always visit some of the other sites another time when you have a bit more flexibility.

Shinjuku: You can visit both the east side (Kabukichō red light district, better at night) and the west side (skyscraper district with some nice modern architecture, including the Cocoon Tower and the TMG Building / observatory, better during the day).

Shibuya: Kind of similar to east side of Shinjuku, I suppose, but the Hachikō Exit and main intersection is one of those obligatory sights. Probably best to go at night.

Harajuku / Omotesando: Shopping district again, but this area is nicer than Shinjuku or Shibuya. Can also team this up with a visit to Meiji Shrine for some culture / history. Go during the day.

Ginza / Yurakucho: I really liked going on Saturdays / Sundays, as they close the streets to traffic. You can do some shopping or explore Japanese department stores here (basement level with food is really recommended). Go during the day. What I did my last trip was walk from Ginza to Yurakucho, Tōkyō Station, and Ōtemachi, so can you get quite a bit of architecture in (both modern and old, including the International Forum and Tōkyō Station).

Akihabara: Again, I recommend going on Sundays, as they close the streets. Lots of otaku stuff here, and just fun to go into some of the stores and walk around. Go during the day or night. If you want some non-traditional food, there are food trucks selling kebab here.

Imperial Palace / Edo Castle: Nice, large park in the heart of the city, just beware of the hours (they tend to close early, like around 4:00 pm or so).

Roppongi (Midtown, Roppongi Hills): Modern Tōkyō. If you want to visit an observation deck, skip Tōkyō Tower and go here for the Mori Tower instead... Just make sure it's not a rainy or really windy day so that the open-air Sky Deck is open (you can't take anything up with you to the Sky Deck other than a camera and other things you can keep inside your hands, so don't bring any bags or lots of other belongings with you if you do decide to go there). Go during the day.

Your hotel location also limits your flexibility, although you'd still be able to do some further-out day trips if you're willing to wake up early and arrive back at the hotel late... Kamakura is a really good day-trip if you want to see historical sites, and you'd be able to get there fairly easily on JR only, but it would mean you'd have less time in central Tōkyō.

[kaspric]

Isn't better buying Keisei Skyliner round trip + 2 day metro pass for ¥4,880?

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by ukiyo

So, the food is simply not any more expensive than any other G7 nation. You can not compare NY street food to established restaurants with set prices like HKskyline did, that isn't a good comparison. You can only compare street/fast food...with other cheap food in Japan as I have done already. A meal in Japan does not cost 1,000-1,500 yen if you are trying to eat cheaply (like eating street food in NY and London)..and that's all there is to say really. Even if you find examples that are cheaper than in the video with more food in NY it doesn't matter, the point is the prices were $4 and $5..not $10-$15...so was the ramen + gyoza at a "restaurant" I showed above.

Cities in the West have far more choice for fast-food and accessibility to cheap and filling food than in Japan. The dining culture in Japan is different, and these eating holes and food trucks are not so common, especially on prime real estate. Food courts and standalone holes on the street are very rare beyond the railway station. I had trouble finding many discount options in the expensive parts of Tokyo, namely Marunouchi. But I didn't have this problem in New York and London. Even on the most expensive parts of the city in Lower Manhattan, Midtown, or inside The City, the cheap options are still there with plenty of choice.

I'm not trying to compare an American burger to a Japanese burger. I'm comparing discount and cheap food that is local to that place, and just how many of such choices are available in the most expensive parts of town.

In fact, the falafel and kebab shops tend to offer even cheaper food than the burger joints these days.

[quashlo]

Originally Posted by kaspric

Isn't better buying Keisei Skyliner round trip + 2 day metro pass for ¥4,880?

Yeah, you're probably right... I usually don't bother with passes, since I rarely ever stay just in central Tōkyō. Then again, I also wouldn't have chosen a hotel in Narita... It's just too far, and you will typically lose the money you might save off hotel room rates with the time lost and the train fares to get to / from central Tōkyō.

[Kimiwind1184]

Originally Posted by flymordecai

I am a fan of J. League so one of my to do list is to go to the FC Tokyo-Nagoya game.

You are a real one lucky dude to come across such a solid big game =).
Don't miss it. Ajinomoto stadium (I think) is not far from Shinjuku.
Which team do you root for in J league? I'm surprised you are a fan . Do you come from an Asian country?

[Momo1435]

The thing about cheap food in Tokyo that you have to
know where to go.

As hkskyline mentioned Maranouchi it's indeed not the place for quick food, you really only have the restaurant floors in the big buildings but those are too expensive for the budget traveler. But beneath the elevated Yamanote Line tracks there are plenty of small restaurants that are mostly used by the normal office workers where the food is cheap. And if you walk past the tracks into Kyobashi/Yaesu areas you will find plenty of cheap restaurants with big servings and fast service.

As for the size, it depends on where you eat. I have been completely full after a 500 yen big bowl of Udon Soup. I don't really think you should compare it with American sizes which are again too big IMO. But then again I'm not a big eater myself, I can easily live on Japanese portion sizes.

[ukiyo]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

Cities in the West have far more choice for fast-food and accessibility to cheap and filling food than in Japan. The dining culture in Japan is different, and these eating holes and food trucks are not so common, especially on prime real estate. Food courts and standalone holes on the street are very rare beyond the railway station. I had trouble finding many discount options in the expensive parts of Tokyo, namely Marunouchi. But I didn't have this problem in New York and London. Even on the most expensive parts of the city in Lower Manhattan, Midtown, or inside The City, the cheap options are still there with plenty of choice.

You are still making the wrong comparisons and ignoring most of what Quashlo and I said (examples).

Anyway the point was you said a ramen meal is 700-1000 yen, when you get ramen + gyoza for 390 yen....I also showed other examples of entire lunch food for $4 while you said it should be $10-15....and they're not hard to find either they're everywhere...unless you only use Marunouchi as an example. Shinjuku another "rich" district has cheap basement level restaurants all over the place. I could agree that not counting conbini (which is a huge condition) cheap places in Tokyo tend to be more concentrated in the same areas..while in the US they are pretty evenly spread out...but I still don't see it as a problem since as Momo said (another westerner) they tend to be around stations...and the japanese urban model is centered on stations..so no big deal.

[flymordecai]

Originally Posted by quashlo

Probably. You get ¥1,500 on the Suica card, which only amounts to ¥500 available each day for fares. Since you'll be staying at the airport, you'll use the roundtrip N'EX tickets on it one day, but the other days, your fare to / from central Tōkyō will quickly eat up the value on your Suica card. Are you staying near Narita Station (i.e., the actual Narita City), or near one of the airport stations? I only ask because the fastest (and more expensive) trains to Tōkyō leave directly from the airport... They don't stop at Narita / Keisei Narita Station. If your hotel is near Narita / Keisei Narita, you have some cheaper options, but they take longer to get to central Tōkyō.

Anyways, if this is your first time, then I think you should just focus on the more famous / popular sites... You can always visit some of the other sites another time when you have a bit more flexibility.

Shinjuku: You can visit both the east side (Kabukichō red light district, better at night) and the west side (skyscraper district with some nice modern architecture, including the Cocoon Tower and the TMG Building / observatory, better during the day).

Shibuya: Kind of similar to east side of Shinjuku, I suppose, but the Hachikō Exit and main intersection is one of those obligatory sights. Probably best to go at night.

Harajuku / Omotesando: Shopping district again, but this area is nicer than Shinjuku or Shibuya. Can also team this up with a visit to Meiji Shrine for some culture / history. Go during the day.

Ginza / Yurakucho: I really liked going on Saturdays / Sundays, as they close the streets to traffic. You can do some shopping or explore Japanese department stores here (basement level with food is really recommended). Go during the day. What I did my last trip was walk from Ginza to Yurakucho, Tōkyō Station, and Ōtemachi, so can you get quite a bit of architecture in (both modern and old, including the International Forum and Tōkyō Station).

Akihabara: Again, I recommend going on Sundays, as they close the streets. Lots of otaku stuff here, and just fun to go into some of the stores and walk around. Go during the day or night. If you want some non-traditional food, there are food trucks selling kebab here.

Imperial Palace / Edo Castle: Nice, large park in the heart of the city, just beware of the hours (they tend to close early, like around 4:00 pm or so).

Roppongi (Midtown, Roppongi Hills): Modern Tōkyō. If you want to visit an observation deck, skip Tōkyō Tower and go here for the Mori Tower instead... Just make sure it's not a rainy or really windy day so that the open-air Sky Deck is open (you can't take anything up with you to the Sky Deck other than a camera and other things you can keep inside your hands, so don't bring any bags or lots of other belongings with you if you do decide to go there). Go during the day.

Your hotel location also limits your flexibility, although you'd still be able to do some further-out day trips if you're willing to wake up early and arrive back at the hotel late... Kamakura is a really good day-trip if you want to see historical sites, and you'd be able to get there fairly easily on JR only, but it would mean you'd have less time in central Tōkyō.

Thank you for the really detailed reply! I will be staying in Narita with my hotel having free shuttles from and to the airport, so perhaps the Suica NEX card will not be necessary? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the main selling point of the NEX card is that it saves you money taking the express train from the airport, right? I will be really far from the city center but I think I'll have to make a sacrifice and just wake up early and come back late for 3 days.

I'm liking your suggestions and I have also done a bit of research, and they seem to match. I think out of your recommendations I will be going to Shibuya, Ginza/Omotesando, Meiji Shrine, and perhaps Akihabara on Sunday. Ginza and Omotesando have some really great modern architecture jam packed into one street or area, but I can't decide which one to visit. Perhaps since Omotesando is near Meiji Shrine, I can visit both? I will most definitely be going to the FC Tokyo/Nagoya game!

As for transportation between these places, I saw something about an unlimited all-day pass for JR lines. For 780Y it sounds like a good deal. What do you think?

Originally Posted by Kimiwind1184

You are a real one lucky dude to come across such a solid big game =).
Don't miss it. Ajinomoto stadium (I think) is not far from Shinjuku.
Which team do you root for in J league? I'm surprised you are a fan . Do you come from an Asian country?

Yes, very lucky! I cannot miss this game! I love J. League, although I'm more of a Japan NT follower since it's a little hard to follow the league outside of the country. I'm from the US, although I am Filipino in background.

[quashlo]

Originally Posted by flymordecai

Thank you for the really detailed reply! I will be staying in Narita with my hotel having free shuttles from and to the airport, so perhaps the Suica NEX card will not be necessary? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the main selling point of the NEX card is that it saves you money taking the express train from the airport, right? I will be really far from the city center but I think I'll have to make a sacrifice and just wake up early and come back late for 3 days.

Well, if you don't mind the extra time, but want to save money, then just take the local trains. Keisei out of Keisei Narita Station is generally faster, cheaper, and more frequent than JR out of Narita Station. Once you get to Keisei Ueno Station, you can just transfer to Tōkyō Metro. In that case, you should probably get one of the Metro open tickets that kaspric mentioned:
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/v...vel/index.html

You can get them at the airport.

Originally Posted by flymordecai

Perhaps since Omotesando is near Meiji Shrine, I can visit both?

Yeah, they're right next to each other.

Originally Posted by flymordecai

As for transportation between these places, I saw something about an unlimited all-day pass for JR lines. For 780Y it sounds like a good deal. What do you think?

Are you referring to the Tokunai Pass?
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/

This is only the 23 wards. Narita is in Chiba Prefecture, well outside of the 23 wards, so you wouldn't be able to save money getting to / from Narita (unless you want to get off somewhere in the middle, specifically Koiwa Station, to exit the station and reboard with the Tokunai Pass). It's also only good for JR, which does not have as good coverage within central Tōkyō as the subway. All the places in central Tōkyō you listed are reachable by JR, but if you make last-minute changes to go to places like Roppongi, etc., JR will not be able to take you there.

I think your best bet is to just take Keisei to Keisei Ueno Station or Oshiage Station and then use one of the Tōkyō Metro passes above. You should also know that none of these passes will get you to Ajinomoto Stadium—that is located outside of the 23 wards, and the closest station is on the Keiō Line, a private railway. You will need to get to Shinjuku Station and purchase tickets separately there.

[flymordecai]

Originally Posted by quashlo

Well, if you don't mind the extra time, but want to save money, then just take the local trains. Keisei out of Keisei Narita Station is generally faster, cheaper, and more frequent than JR out of Narita Station. Once you get to Keisei Ueno Station, you can just transfer to Tōkyō Metro. In that case, you should probably get one of the Metro open tickets that kaspric mentioned:
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/v...vel/index.html

You can get them at the airport.



Yeah, they're right next to each other.


Are you referring to the Tokunai Pass?
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/

This is only the 23 wards. Narita is in Chiba Prefecture, well outside of the 23 wards, so you wouldn't be able to save money getting to / from Narita (unless you want to get off somewhere in the middle, specifically Koiwa Station, to exit the station and reboard with the Tokunai Pass). It's also only good for JR, which does not have as good coverage within central Tōkyō as the subway. All the places in central Tōkyō you listed are reachable by JR, but if you make last-minute changes to go to places like Roppongi, etc., JR will not be able to take you there.

I think your best bet is to just take Keisei to Keisei Ueno Station or Oshiage Station and then use one of the Tōkyō Metro passes above. You should also know that none of these passes will get you to Ajinomoto Stadium—that is located outside of the 23 wards, and the closest station is on the Keiō Line, a private railway. You will need to get to Shinjuku Station and purchase tickets separately there.

Thanks so much! I think you saved me half a day at least of my trip!

BTW, I checked out your thread. Beautiful pictures! What kind of camera/lens did you just get?

[quashlo]

Originally Posted by flymordecai

BTW, I checked out your thread. Beautiful pictures! What kind of camera/lens did you just get?

Nikon D3100
I got both a 55-200mm and the standard 18-55mm.

[Dilaz89]

Hey there friends! I've just come back from a day in Tokyo, and I fell in love with the place. What an amazing, vibrant and interesting city. I went there with no plans or real expectations. It was tough at first, but I managed to see heaps of the city in a short time. Can't believe how amazingly big the train system is, and how everything is so seamless.

Anyway, I'm lucky enough to be coming back on Friday night, so I booked myself a pod hotel in Shinjuku. Hoping to catch a bit of gay nightlife and I heard Shinjuku Ni-hon is the place to go. I'm hoping someone on here might be able to point me to a club that is friendly to foreigners, but has a good amount of local people. Also, if anyone is aware of any venues related to the manga/kemono subculture, please let me know where they are.

Origato!

[ukiyo]

I'm not sure if there's any gay japanese forum members here to help you with that. Also there isn't really a kimono subculture...kimono is our traditional culture not really a "subculture"...you can find people wearing them in many places..most japanese own at least a kimono but it's luck on whether you will see it or not. Best chances are around temples and other traditional areas...or in shitamachi. If you go during new years or when adults turn 20 you can see many kimono. If you go during summer festivals you can see many yukata.

[inefekt]

A couple of things to add about cheap food in Japan.........I was there in Sept/Oct 2010 and pretty much lived on convenience store and grocery/dept store food (Being a lone traveler I, regretfully, wasn't game enough to venture into restaurants or izakaya!). The big grocery/dept stores (Maruetsu, Don Quijote) heavily discount their bento type meals after the standard meal times have elapsed ie after 2pm for lunch, 7 or 8pm for dinner. These can be discounted by as much as 70% and I often paid under 200Y for a full bento 'box' (they're presented in clear plastic covered trays). You'll find a vast array of instant ramen too, MUCH more than you find in western countries and they often include vegetables and meat, you'd be really surprised at the variety and most hotels have hot water urns in the rooms so you always have boiled water on hand. Speaking of groceries, I found food from grocery stores to be cheaper than in my home city (Perth, Australia) and I always bought cereal/breads/fruit to have for breakfast......that's if my hotel didn't provide breakfast and most hotels do give you that choice, in fact my first hotel offered free breakfast AND dinner (Dormy Inn Meguro).
Yoshinoya, as mentioned a few times in this discussion, offer ramen for as little as 280Y a bowl. You can find stores all over Japan.
Beer is also cheap and can be purchased for as little as 100Y a can from grocery stores and even in vending machines. Same with soft drinks.

[Kimiwind1184]

Good point. The only issue here is some kind of these snacks are really bad for health. Personally, I would starve and not eat instant noodles, or how they call them in Japan (capu ramen). They are cheap and delicious, but they can really rot one's health. Although I don't have no idea if bento boxes compose the same problem. I hope they are not bad for health too.

[FML]

Originally Posted by Dilaz89

Also, if anyone is aware of any venues related to the manga/kemono subculture, please let me know where they are.

Dilaz89 perhaps did mean kemono (獣) rather than kimono. In Western otakudom, kemono means anime-style furry characters.

The possibility of Japan hosting a venue entirely devoted to kemono subculture is close to none, since this moe-genre doesn't really exist in Japanese otakudom. (There's even no common Japanese name for this genre. In Japan, the word kemono just means "animal".) There might be, however, some conventions or maid-cafes that feature kemonomimi ("animal ears") or nekomimi ("cat ears") humans, as these traits do exist as moe-genres, albeit very niche.

-As for manga in general, now THAT may not really be a subculture since everyone read them in every convenience stores / book stores. For otaku shopping venues in Tokyo, you may want to read this as a starter.

[Dilaz89]

FML- Yeah, that's what I was looking for. Thought it would be big over in Japan. Never mind.

Ahh ok, thanks guy. Looks like I'll just have to make the most of Shinjuku.

Also, I wouldn't mind checking out the area that has that very busy pedestrian crossing. Do you know where this is?

[inefekt]

Originally Posted by Dilaz89

Also, I wouldn't mind checking out the area that has that very busy pedestrian crossing. Do you know where this is?

Shibuya, right outside the main station, you can't miss the neon and giant video screens.

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en...1,2.7,,0,-9.43

[inefekt]

Originally Posted by Kimiwind1184

Good point. The only issue here is some kind of these snacks are really bad for health. Personally, I would starve and not eat instant noodles, or how they call them in Japan (capu ramen). They are cheap and delicious, but they can really rot one's health. Although I don't have no idea if bento boxes compose the same problem. I hope they are not bad for health too.

Bento meals are undoubtedly healthier than instant ramen, of course you could get several instant ramen for the price of one bento. For me personally, being on holiday is about freeing yourself from everyday restrictions and that includes normal healthy eating, it's not as if a week or two of not-so-healthy food is going to kill you, just exercise a bit more than usual when you get back home!
Besides, the amount of walking that you do on holiday is already very good exercise in which to burn off those excess calories gained by eating less healthy during those few weeks.
So let yourself go when on holiday