Anyone here been to Japan

[the_only_turek_fan]

I am heading over there at the end of August. What are the must see things in Tokyo?

[Canada 02]

Akihabara, if you like electronic toys

[Traditional_Ale]

- everything.
- pachinko.
- hot girls everywhere (that want you cause they know its bigger than the local fare for the most part...).
- how everyone smokes but there aren't any butts anywhere.
- endless vending machines on the street with everything from smokes and booze to hot meals and car keys.
- any car dealership.
- tourist stuff.

whatever you do, don't hit the button on the arm of the toilette that feels like your in Captain Picard's bridge chair. Its shoots your @$$ with water.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Asakusa - Old Tokyo, where the Kaminarimon and the large temple are
Odaiba - The artificial island in Tokyo harbour. Go spend some time at the Oedo Onsen Monogatari, which is the traditional Japanese bath-house is. Also, Fuji-TV is there. It's an awesome building.
Akihabara Electric Town- The electronics/arcade district. Also home of Yodobashi, the largest electronics store in Tokyo. There's also a good conveyor belt sushi place in the main JR station
Harajuku - The youth fashion district. Brand name stores and teens dressed in insane outfits heh
Ginza and Shinjuku - the more mature modern shopping districts. Mitsukoshi is in Ginza, where the world's first department store was set up. Oh and if you're in Shinjuki, careful not to wander into the red light district, unless of course you're into that stuff lol.
Ueno - Ueno Park is the thing I remember about this area. Plus it was where I stayed. Cheap Ryokan for 2500 yen a night!
Ikkebukuro - The cheap clothes and shopping district. Engrish clothing EVERYWHERE. Plus my favourite anime paraphrenelia store, Anime, was located there, if you're into that stuff hahah.
Roppongi - Bar district. And the Japanese girls there love the white folk heh.

I could seriously go on forever. Tsukiji fish market, the parks. Tons to do. How long do you have there?

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

whatever you do, don't hit the button on the arm of the toilette that feels like your in Captain Picard's bridge chair. Its shoots your @$$ with water.

u made me lol .... i soooo remember that. man that toilet had buttons! the carriage was well looked after.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

- everything.
- pachinko.- hot girls everywhere (that want you cause they know its bigger than the local fare for the most part...).
- how everyone smokes but there aren't any butts anywhere.
- endless vending machines on the street with everything from smokes and booze to hot meals and car keys.

- Well, the TOTF is asian too, don't know if being brown gets you the fabled gaijin power but it probably does a better job than being something like Chinese and blending in.

- Everybody has a personal ashtray they carry on their person, it's pretty neat

- Those vending machines sure sell some weird stuff. I think alcohol and tabacco through those machines are going to require special cards though starting sometime this year.

[Ozy_Flame]

Take the JR Line out to Nikko, which is Japan's answer to Banff, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Beyond that, almost every inner city district in Tokyo is worth checking out. Make sure to do the Tsukiji Fish Market at 5 AM. One of the coolest places to visit in Asia.

[Ozy_Flame]

Oh yeah, in Odaiba, check out the Toyota MegaWeb, which is an awesome museum / expo to check out, not to mention the Museum of Science and Technology, where you can see the infamous robot Asimo give demonstrations.

The mall is cool there too! Check out an awesome store called Go! Go! Laundry, and check out Ueno for AWESOME shops located under the elevated rail lines.

[Muta]

Buy and smoke R-Type cigarettes from the vending machines on the streets.

I was cool for 10 days when I went there because of it.

Also, check out the top of the Roppongi Tower for the best views of Tokyo. Awesome art gallery up there, too!

[RedMan12]

Been to Japan 3 times with my wife. I haven't really been around Tokyo but here are some suggestions of places to check out that can be be found pretty much anywhere.

Do:
Izakaya: Traditional Japanese bar. Have a liter of beer and some hot sake. Shochu is also very good. It is pretty much Japanese Vodka.

Temples and Castles: They can be found pretty much anywhere in Japan. Check out what is around on the internet before you go.

Adult Toy Department Store: A multiple level store of shock value. Contains anything and everything you could imagine. From Japanese size condoms to American size.

Konbinya: Japanese convince store. Its weird walking into a 7-11 without a slurpee machine, however buying beer and alcohol 24-7 is awesome. Alot of the snacks are really tasty. I recommend Giant Cup Noodle and all the different flavours of potato chips.

Smoking and Drinking: If you smoke enjoy Japan. You can buy smokes for under 3 dollars a pack and can pretty much smoke anywhere. Drinking in public is also commonly accepted. I also heavly indulge when I visit.

People and Fashion: Ride a train and you can see some interesting fashion. The girls who dress up like French Porcelain Dolls or Little Bo Peep are kind of creepy.

Restaurants: I alway have Katsu. It is deep fried pork with cabbage and rice. Deep fried anything is good. It's also neat to check out Japans take on Western food like Pizza and Pasta.

Jidohanbaiki: Vending machines! Anything you can imagine come in these machines in Japan. Smokes, Beer, Drinks, Eggs, Underwear, Hotdogs, Frenchfries, Dildos, DVDs, Porn and soo much more! Convience at it's finest.

Video Game Arcades: The arcade in North America is almost dead, not in Japan. Enjoy many awesome games we will never see over here.

Tachishon: Public urination by men. I am not sure if this happens in Tokyo but in the countryside of Japan where my wife is from it is not uncommon to see a man pulled over on the side of the road peeing. This also happens at bars where you can see guys standing outside in suits using nature freely. If you are a man do not be ashamed to participate.

Speak Japanese: Even if you have a tourist book and are speaking Japanese out of it most people will try to help you. Also lots of people speak a little to alot of English so communication is not always that big of a problem.

Do Nots:

Old Style Squat Toilets: Very akward and messy for a taller person like myself. Look around and you can usually find a high technology self cleaning, heated, scent spraying, bum washing, sit down super toilet.

Samurai Swords: Do not try and smuggle a real sword out of Japan since it is a national treasure.

Natto: Fermented Soy beans. Looks like soy beans covered in mucus and I would say it tastes how it looks. My wife will eat this for breakfast sometimes. Not really for me.

Japan is a fun place to visit and I always have a great time when I go there. It always turns into a 2 week beer and liquor festival for me. Hope this helps.

[TheCommodoreAfro]

I think I'm the remaining Tokyo CP poster. How long will you be in Tokyo - I could knock out a good mix of local/tourist things to do for you if you like. My suggestions:
In Tokyo
Asakusa - cos' you got to see temples and old Tokyo at some time, and it's the best way to do it.
Meiji-Jingu Shrine - nice walk through an ancient forest, and you come out and exit directly into Harajuku
Shinjuku Kabukicho at night - the red light district that, while a little dodgy, is pretty safe as long as you don't do something stupid.
A Maid Cafe in Akihabara - all the guests I've had in Tokyo enjoyed this.
Sunshine City in Ikebukuro - to view the entire city this is one of the better lookouts, though nowadays you can also head to Roppongi Hills to do the same thing
Eating - this place is insane for food. Probably the foodie capital of the world, alongside Paris.
Enjoying - lots of clubs to enjoy yourself. People are great, and crazy things seem to happen here. As an example, work sequestered a club for an event we were doing for a client in Aoyama, and a bunch of us stuck around post-event for a few drinks. Who walks in the door 30 minutes later? Bono. I was walking from a client's place back to my office a couple of months ago and who do I see walking down the street on his own - Jack Nicholson.
Let your guard down - Tokyo is incredibly safe, and while it's a little expensive, everything here works, and if you avoid hotel restaurants you'll find it's not that much more expensive than back home.

Day trips:
Kamakura / Enoshima - Big buddha, temples, and beaches.
Nikko (someone also mentioned this - worth the trip)
mt.Fuji - if you are in around the end of August, there is a wild fire festival in Fujiyoshida - the city at the base of Mt. Fuji - to mark the end of climbing season that I would recommend attending.
Matusumoto Castle - a bit further out, but the only "black" wood castle in Japan.
Tokyo Disneyland or Disney Sea - kind of freaky but a good break if you're tired of temples
Fujikyu highland - if you're in Fujiyoshida to see Fuji, this amusement park has the sickest, fastest rollercoasters in Japan.
Yokohama Chinatown

Normally I'd volunteer my services as the official CP tour guide for Tokyo, but as we're expecting our second kid at the beginning of August, it may be a bit hard to do. PM me if you want any other suggestions.

[Thor]

I'd love to work/live there for a year or two, besides teaching is there much demand for whitey out there?

[HOZ]

Originally Posted by Thor

I'd love to work/live there for a year or two, besides teaching is there much demand for whitey out there?

Translators: Though that would mean you would have to become fluent in Japanese.

Business: A few of my friends are White-Salarymen but again you need to be fluent in Japanese to really operate well.

Entertainment: Disneyland, Disney Sea, USJ are always looking for performers, but they work your butt off. You could work the nightlife if you have some talent.

Bartending(good way to get fluent in Japanese and Japanese pick up lines).

[HOZ]

Forgot to add sports. If you have some decent background in playing/ coaching sports that could also be a way to make a living. I coach youth hockey here in my spare time, though not a living, it pays a few bills and is a lot of fun.

[TheCommodoreAfro]

In Tokyo most of the traders are non-Japanese speaking, as they deal largely with foreign clients. That, and the fact that 70% of the trade volume in Tokyo is done by overseas clients!

[Muta]

Originally Posted by TheCommodoreAfro

In Tokyo most of the traders are non-Japanese speaking, as they deal largely with foreign clients. That, and the fact that 70% of the trade volume in Tokyo is done by overseas clients!

By the way Commodore, good posts. I'm extremely jealous you live and work over there... lucky guy.

[Flaming Choy]

I really thought the Tsukiji Fish Market was awesome. Get there early!

Nikko is also amazing, loved it there.

Food is great, everything from Sushi to the ramen/udon/soba stands in the streets.
Itsakaya is cool too.

If your into the tech/gaming/anime culture, Akihabara is a must.

Shibuya crossing is cool to see as well, so many people.

Don't know if Tokyo has many, but try a night at a ryokan (traditional hotel/hot springs), was a really cool experience.

[SteveToms]

Watch out for them giant Japanese hornets.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by SteveToms

Watch out for them giant Japanese hornets.

[Byrns]

Lots of good stuff already posted. While you're there, and if one is going on, check out a Sumo Tournament! Pretty cool and a lot of fun! Tickets available at the local Family Mart.