what to do in tokyo

[kwonyong]

We are going to tokyo for 12 days in jan and have set aside 6 days for tokyo disney and disneysea. Does anyone have any suggestions what to do for the remainder of the time. My family consists of hubby, me, and 3 children (son 14 and daughters 12 and 11). Thanks

 

[lurkyloo]

My trip report's kind of a slog, but if you skim through it, we spent about 10 days in Tokyo and crammed so much fun stuff into every day. Here's the link: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2440546

Off the top of my head, some ideas are...

- Visit Tsukiji Fish Market
- See Kitchentown and the stores where they sell the fake food restaurants use
- Tokyo City View at the top of Mori Tower
- Tour the Imperial Palace - you have to apply to go, but it's free: http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/index.html
- Walk across Shibuya crossing (the main drag in "Tokyo Mater") at night when all the neon's lit up, then go visit the statue of Hachiko the Dog.
- Visit Ueno Park for its museums, lakes and zoo
- Wander around Akhiabara looking for anime stuff
- Check out the huge toy stores like Kiddyland in Harajuku and Hakuhinkan Toy Park in Ginza
- Go to the ginormous Sony store near Ginza and play with all the gadgets
- Window shop Ginza (like Rodeo Drive) or Harajuku (like... Melrose?)
- Visit a cat cafe and pet kitties
- Ride the monorail around Odaiba and get off at some of the museums or the Toyota showcase, where you can go on rides and stuff.
- Visit the original Mitsukoshi Department Store—if you get there when it opens there's an organist playing the pipe organ and all the sales clerks welcome you as you walk the aisles.
- Do karaoke
- Get a bunch of crazy unfamiliar food from a department store food hall or just 7 Eleven and eat it in your hotel room in front of Japanese TV
- Take a day trip to Hakone or Kyoto (Hakone is closer so it's cheaper)

 

[shelemm]

If you have not had your fill of amusement parks, you could always venture to Sunshine City in Ikebukuro. It is a multi-building complex that has a zoo, aquarium, a planetarium, a 60th floor observation deck, a shopping mall, and a two-story amusement park. All indoors.

The amusements at Namjatown park are mostly in Japanese, but the basic entrance fee is very inexpensive, so you could just go in and first have a look around. Inside there is Gyoza Stadium, a warren of alleyways done up to look like 1950s Tokyo. About a dozen famous gyoza (dumpling) vendor from all over Japan. Lots of good food there. Look out for the shredded garlic gyoza. Also inside is Ice Cream City in case anyone in your group likes ice cream..... bonus points for obscure flavors like wasabi and green tea. The planetarium show is ancient, so it may not be worth your time.

Also in Ikebukuro is the super-mod Toyota showroom, which even has a simulator attraction in it!

 

[scrump]

My trip report's kind of a slog, but if you skim through it, we spent about 10 days in Tokyo and crammed so much fun stuff into every day. Here's the link: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2440546

Off the top of my head, some ideas are...

- Visit Tsukiji Fish Market
- See Kitchentown and the stores where they sell the fake food restaurants use
- Tokyo City View at the top of Mori Tower
- Tour the Imperial Palace - you have to apply to go, but it's free: http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/index.html
- Walk across Shibuya crossing (the main drag in "Tokyo Mater") at night when all the neon's lit up, then go visit the statue of Hachiko the Dog.
- Visit Ueno Park for its museums, lakes and zoo
- Wander around Akhiabara looking for anime stuff
- Check out the huge toy stores like Kiddyland in Harajuku and Hakuhinkan Toy Park in Ginza
- Go to the ginormous Sony store near Ginza and play with all the gadgets
- Window shop Ginza (like Rodeo Drive) or Harajuku (like... Melrose?)
- Visit a cat cafe and pet kitties
- Ride the monorail around Odaiba and get off at some of the museums or the Toyota showcase, where you can go on rides and stuff.
- Visit the original Mitsukoshi Department Store—if you get there when it opens there's an organist playing the pipe organ and all the sales clerks welcome you as you walk the aisles.
- Do karaoke
- Get a bunch of crazy unfamiliar food from a department store food hall or just 7 Eleven and eat it in your hotel room in front of Japanese TV
- Take a day trip to Hakone or Kyoto (Hakone is closer so it's cheaper)

Awesome! THis would be my dream vacation in Tokyo. LOL.

I think this list is really good.

6 days at TDR? My first thought was, "that's a lot", but I guess it depends on the season. January is pretty slow, from my recollection, but if your family is a bunch of die-hards you probably won't be able to get enough!

Have fun!

 

[nytimez]

The New Year Grand Sumo tournament will be held Jan. 9-23. I highly recommend it.

 

[jsilvers]

If you have not had your fill of amusement parks, you could always venture to Sunshine City in Ikebukuro. It is a multi-building complex that has a zoo, aquarium, a planetarium, a 60th floor observation deck, a shopping mall, and a two-story amusement park. All indoors.

Note that the aquarium just closed for a year-long renovation. (A general Tokyo tip is to double-check anything and everything online; English-language guidebooks tend to be updated infrequently, and thus often include obsolete information.)

 

[DizneyDogs]

Asakusa and Meiji are also popular tourist destinations

Here's a website that describes some of the previously mentioned ideas
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2164.html

 

[nytimez]

If you really want to venture off the beaten path, you could go here.

 

[Vallie]

I just got back from Tokyo 2 weeks ago! We did 9 days total, 3 days at Disney.

Besides Disney we really enjoyed Ueno Park, Shibuya, Electric Town, Ginza and Harajuku.

You should also really try and get to the Ghibli Museum! It was Fantastic!!

You will love Japan! It's amazing!

 

[DreamSweetsLove]

We are going to tokyo for 12 days in jan and have set aside 6 days for tokyo disney and disneysea. Does anyone have any suggestions what to do for the remainder of the time. My family consists of hubby, me, and 3 children (son 14 and daughters 12 and 11). Thanks

What are your interests? Besides Tokyo I really recommend taking one day to go just outside of the city to Kamakura. It was one of the capitals before Kyoto and has some really lovely temples and scenery. So close to the city but so incredibly different!

Kamakura info in English

 

[Noah Mads]

Now a days Japan or Tokyo is in touble, because of 11 March 2011 tsunami and earth quake. It was a natural distaster. Japan's economy going down and Japan,s Nuclear plant has damaged and radiation leakage did not stop.

 

[Noah Mads]

Now a days Japan or Tokyo is in touble, because of 11 March 2011 tsunami and earth quake. It was a natural distaster. Japan's economy going down and Japan,s Nuclear plant has damaged and radiation leakage did not stop.

 

[mytripsandraces]

If your kids like Hello Kitty, there's an indoor Sanrio theme park in Tokyo, plus, there's a daibutsu in Tokyo, too. All of the above suggestions are good, too, but my must-do stop is Mitsukoshi! Get the creme brulee macaron at the Pierre Herme station. Best macaron I've ever had!!

 

[Gala]

http://www.puroland.co.jp/english/welcome.html

thats the link for the hello kitty theme park

 

[DisCopper]

A visit to Tokyo is going to require a lot of research. There are so many options, it can become completely overwhelming. You really have to to spend some time looking at a lot of travel books, websites, etc.. to get an overview and then try to narrow it down to the things you're interested in.

So my one thing that I thought was really interesting in Tokyo was the Meiji Shrine. It's a beautiful Shinto shrine in the middle of park. There were all kinds of tourists who wandered around, but we had a guide who knew that you could actually sign in, and go sit in on a short service. It was fascinating. They spoke our names in the service, thanked us for coming, and encouraged us to continue our own religions at home. We also got (for free) a small blessed "charm" a cup of sake. Look them up online... it's something that I highly recommend, and most people just walked right by.

 

[Mrsjvb]

If you really want to venture off the beaten path, you could go here.

been there!

 

[Mrsjvb]

Yasukuni Shrine. The Japense Arlington national ceremony. VERY moving.

there is a museum whos ename escapes me that is nothing more than one man's private collection of old toys..mostly Western.. from the like 30s on up to the 50s and 60s.

it is a moral imperative to go into the basement of a department store and get lunch. Might I suggest one of the bakeries....

 

[lurkyloo]

We enjoyed quite a few meals from the basements of department stores, but what we couldn't figure out is... where the heck are you supposed to EAT these meals? There were never any benches, let alone tables and chairs. We ended up eating them in random subway stairwells or dragging them all the way back to the hotel...

 

[Mrsjvb]

you eat them at home. most people pick them up just before getting home.