Visiting Japan

[Buffalobiian]

I'm looking for recommendations on what to do in Tokyo. Myself and around 5-8 other friends will be staying there for a week or so.

There seems to be some folks here who have had first hand experience (or are well informed of it), so I'm all eyes and ears.

[Psyke]

I would have went into a maid cafe in Akihabara if not for the fact that it was full of creepy otakus. Another good reason was my wife was with me and if you can't speak Japanese it sort of defeats the purpose since the main thing there is to interact with the maids and get high when they call you Master.

[rockmanj]

I would have went into a maid cafe in Akihabara if not for the fact that it was full of creepy otakus. Another good reason was my wife was with me and if you can't speak Japanese it sort of defeats the purpose since the main thing there is to interact with the maids and get high when they call you Master.

See, I'm not alone in this! And yea, it was one of the ones in Akihabara that I stepped into. Also, I didn't feel like eating or drinking anything in there because of price and atmosphere.

[Animeniax]

It's still worth experiencing a maid cafe at least once regardless of price or weirdness.

I had a $150 steak dinner in Kobe just so I can cross it off my list of things to do in life. You should also play Pachinko at least once, go to a hostess club at least once (might be difficult unless you can speak Japanese and have money to burn), bathe in a Japanese public bath at least once, stay in a capsule hotel at least once, and eat ramen with gyoza at a ramen stand at least a dozen times.

[Archangel]

I would like to experience a capsule hotel too, it's just one of those things that sounds fun to do as long as you don't have to do it

[Sapphire]

Are capsule hotels cheaper or more expensive?

[Animeniax]

The usual ones are about $40/night, plus a couple dollars for a locker to store your stuff. They have some high end ones that are really classy but their price probably defeats the purpose of staying in a capsule hotel. I could be wrong but for some reason I recall most of them are for men only.

Here's a site for one in Akihabara that's coed:
http://www.capsuleinn.com/

[Sapphire]

I am sold. Definitely sleeping there!

[masamuneehs]

I have to second a bunch of the things Animeniax said, particularly the bath houses / hot springs, ramen + gyoza, and the nice, high-end dinner (I'd say traditional Japanese over steak, but that's just me). I have no love for the capsules, and would say, if you want to try sleeping in a weird place, that you do an internet cafe.

First thing's first. It's nice to lose yourself in fantasies, but you need to budget and plan. ("Those who fail to plan...") Traveling is a tiring thing, and I can't imagine you want to spend half the time on trains/planes, building up a huge cost, just to be too tired to enjoy what you see. Get a list in mind and be ready to compromise for feasibility.

AVOID OBON, AVOID GOLDEN WEEK, DONT GET RIPPED
it's already going to suck paying for this with the Yen beating up on the Dollar, and then you will be paying much more for hotels and transportation (Get that rail pass) and competing with all the other travelers for the few good deals, not to mention the crowds.

I would recommend:
Tokyo, particularly Meiji Jingu (and right near Cosplayer Corner and the super trendy Harajuku), Asakusa, Shibuya (to glimpse the night clubs / popular scene). If you want a major club, try Ageha out in Shin Kiba.
Around Tokyo there are lots of things to do for one day trips. Nikko, Yokohama are the top two I'd suggest. Natural beauty and urban delight, respectively

Osaka / Kyoto
For your base of operations in the south / old part, you can use either of these two. Kyoto has lots of temples and traditional stuff(daytime), but if you're feeling more Big City (nightlife), Osaka is better. No matter what, get to the big forest/river area outside of Kyoto, and see the temples there.
Not so much to do in Osaka as far as culture goes.

Hit up Nara for a one day trip from Osaka / Kyoto.
Hit up Himeji for the castle, then check out Kobe for afternoon / night. Some nice shopping, a decent China Town, and good food.

The rest:
hokkaido is beautiful if you like the outdoors, and it will be nice and cool during the summer while you sweat like hell in the rest of Japan. But it is a bit out of the way, and, really, unless you like hiking and the outdoors, not recommended for a short trip. Sapporo is considered the biggest city up there, but unless it's the time of year they have the Beer Gardens open, not very good at all (the cultural village nearby it is pretty cool though)
Biei / Furano are beautiful, but very simple. Outdoors
Hakodate is in the South of Hokkaido, and it's the place I liked the best. You can do some hiking in the mountain area, and it's just a really quaint kind of town.

Don't know much about the southern islands, so can't really say.

Food: Mandatory stuff is Kaiten Sushi (revolving sushi bar), Ramen, Okonomiyaki. You'll probably be finding yourself at the cheap 24/7 places too. Eat from a convenince store at least once. I also recommend Takoyaki while in Osaka/Kyoto, and you should absolutely hit up Sukiyaki or Yakiniku for a nice dinner too.

have a good trip!

[Animeniax]

All good stuff masa, including some that are worthy for a list of "things to do before you die". Definitely avoid visiting during holiday weeks and Christmas/New Year's. Prices are higher and I've heard cities are relatively empty because people make trips to their parents' home towns or just stay at home.

As suggested, an expensive multi-course dinner at a traditional Japanese ryokan is important but that Kobe steak dinner is also necessary, considering how famous Kobe is for steak.

A nice long trip on a Hikari class train is something you can enjoy and a good place to take a nap and enjoy an "eki-ben" train station boxed lunch. I like to use my digital camera to record video of the scenery outside as we fly by.

In Osaka, if you like street live performances from amateur musicians looking to be discovered, go to the overpass outside Umeda station on a Friday or Saturday night.

One thing I like to do in Japan is visit places I've seen in J-dramas (or anime), music videos, or mentioned by celebrities I'm interested in. Particularly I've visited all the places that were meaningful to YUI in Fukuoka and some in Tokyo.

[Psyke]

I worked on an itinerary a while back as an entry for a contest (which I didn't win), so I'm not sure if it would be any use for people wanting to visit Japan. Bear in mind those timings are really just thrown in and can definitely stretch way beyond my estimated time, particularly with transport. If any one wants the full high res version just PM me.

[masamuneehs]

one thing that, after yesterday, i simply have to add.

if you're in town when there's a sumo tournament going on, go to one. do it.
there are six tournaments spread out over the course of a year, and each tournament goes every day for two weeks. every sumo wrestler wrestles everyday, so even if you go on a Monday or Thursday, you will see all the wrestlers.

English Page, with dates and venues
http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/

I went to the Kokugikan in Ryogoku Japan, and I went on a Sunday. Unreserved tickets were available up until 9am (we got there at 7am anyway), for 2100yen (about $21 USD). The tickets themselves are only for the absolute back row. Front tier seats are almost $100USD a person, and they are "boxes", on the ground, which I would not recommend. The second tier ranges from $50 - $30, and will sell out in advance for weekends. You can get your hand stamped and re-enter once after you initially go in. We used it to get lunch and some cheap beers.

The tournament itself runs from 840am until 6pm or so. Again, ALL the wrestlers wrestle. The place will be relatively deserted for the first bunch of hours, and (in Ryogoku at least), you can go down to the premium seats and watch from up close. Sure, it's the scrubs going at it, but it's still awesome to be right there in the front. Both Japanese and foreigners were watching from up close until about 1 or 2pm. The better matches start at 2pm, the top matches at 4pm, and you don't want to be sitting in some big-wig's box seat when he rolls up. English radio coverage starts from 4pm, and you can rent a radio from the information desk for 100yen (with a 2000yen deposit)

About Ryogoku. The stadium is a minute from the JR Ryogoku station, five from the subway station.
There are some restaurants nearby (many where you can try Chanko, the traditional food of sumo wrestlers (although you can try a small cup of it at the venue, for just 240yen)), and there are two nice, small parks nearby.

There is also the Edo Museum right on the other side of the sumo stadium. It's 1000yen entry, but it's packed. It's a full day of stuff. If you like history, you should go to see it anyway. If you're not interested in watching the earlier matches, I would recommend going there, then coming back for the top matches at 4pm.

[Animeniax]

I'd rather watch a live MMA event in Japan from Dream, K-1, Sengoku, or one of the other orgs. Sumo is the more traditional sport outing of course, but Japanese MMA is more entertaining and I actually know who some of the fighters are.

I also plan to pick up ball caps from each of the Japanese pro baseball teams, though that will have to wait for another trip when I have the time to visit each city and maybe see a game there.

[shinta|hikari]

Tokyo?

Go eat good Japanese food, like sushi. For relatively cheap but good sushi, there is a sushi place on top of the 109 building in Shibuya. Try their blow torched salmon nigiri zushi (forgot the actual name EDIT: researched a bit, and it may be SushiTsune). Beware of ko gals though. Not sure if the place is still there though. You like ramen, so you should try a good place where people line up. That is always a good sign when it comes to stores in Japan.

Go to a maid cafe in Akihabara, and stroll around the area. You buy anime figures, so you should enjoy that place a lot. There might be cosplay events if your lucky.

For Joshikousei in mini skirts, Ikebukuro's shopping malls are a good place.

Harajuku is a date place, so that might not work. Has a lot of good clothing stores though. The place is quite interesting, with some cosplayers just walking or hanging around.

Shinjuku has a lot of shopping malls and restaurants. I never really liked it much though.

I'd go visit the Kyoto/Osaka/Nara area if I had a week. 2-3 days there would be worth it since you can check out the temples and whatnot.

BTW, take rides in the ferris wheels. They will show you a great view if the weather is good.

[Buffalobiian]

Shinjuku has a lot of shopping malls and restaurants. I never really liked it much though.

I'd go visit the Kyoto/Osaka/Nara area if I had a week. 2-3 days there would be worth it since you can check out the temples and whatnot.

We've got a fair amount of girls in our group, so I think Shinjuku is a must-have there.

We're planning a few days (2-3 like you said, but it may be 1) in Kyoto too, but we had a forced flight-schedule change, so we're still looking at that.

[Animeniax]

I hear Japan is lowering earnings requirements for Chinese to enter the country on tourist visas. You have to make something like US$20k a year or they'll deny your visa request. This is to keep poor Chinese from visiting and staying illegally.

You should go to the Cirque du Soleil show in Tokyo, girls love that stuff. I think it's foreigners performing, but still. Also, depending on when you go, catch a concert or street live in Osaka near Umeda JR station (these are usually free). Nothing as cool as a Japanese street musician. Also, be sure to visit Meiji Shrine and the Snoopy/Peanuts store in Harajuku.

See if you can convince your group to go to an onsen. They are mostly single sex these days, but if you can find one that's unisex and has no bathing suit requirements....

Kyoto is overrated unless you're into historical sites. Depending on the time of year, they have cool festivals that might be fun.

[David75]

See if you can convince your group to go to an onsen. They are mostly single sex these days, but if you can find one that's unisex and has no bathing suit requirements....

Aren't those ones difficult to enter for non japanese people?

[Animeniax]

Aren't those ones difficult to enter for non japanese people?

No, most of them cater to tourists. Onsen are one of those things where the locals are over the novelty of it but tourists eat it up. You just can't have a lot of tattoos because they associate tattoos with yakuza and don't want gangsters in their establishments.

edit: I think you meant the unisex onsen being more exclusive to Japanese people than the more common single sex onsen. I can't comment on this since I never considered going to a unisex onsen, and I hear they are hard to find.

[shinta|hikari]

If you do manage to go to Osaka, get Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki at specialty establishments. Osaka has great food.

It really is hard to find a unisex onsen. Believe me, I tried.

[Animeniax]

Also remember to walk on the left side of the sidewalk in Osaka.