Help with holiday to Japan please!

missejackson

I'm jealous. I really want to go to Japan....!

laughing_cow

Some stuff on Tokyo:

If you're there on a Sunday go to Yoyogi Park. It's a nice park with a shrine to visit. The real attraction though is near the entrance by Harajuku station where all the kids go to pose in their outlandish outfits and there's usually rock bands playing in the street. When I was there the trends were Metal/Goth clothes/Victorian long lacy dresses/babydoll/Vivienne Westwood, sometimes all mixed together . There's plenty of make up, and bonkers hair dos and other random stuff; like the girl wearing doctor's coat and eye patch with fake blood running down her front. It's a fun bit of street theatre and most will pose for photos.

Food - hope you like fish! I'm veggie and I struggled a bit because fish seems to be with everything. There's lots of reasonable priced places to eat - some great noodle bars and food courts in the department stores. However, a lot of the menus are in Japanese only or just have pictures/models so you might have to take pot luck.

People - It's worth taking a phrase book, even if only to point at phrases because few people speak much English. People were friendly and civilised and I felt very safe. Outside of Tokyo were there were fewer westerners so we got pointed at and people waved and giggled at us quite a lot!

Shopping - Shops were reasonably priced and I bought some nice clothes. although sizes are quite small on local brands - no good if you're tall. There's a fair amount of good souvenirs - sake, teas, homewares etc. Japanese skincare brand SKII is about half price, (although that's still pricey). You can get lots of kitsch plastic tat. Cameras and other electronics are cheap, but obviously you need to be careful to avoid import duty (current allowance £160ish I think). Some stores advertise that they've got English speaking staff and it can be worth going to them to ensure you know exactly what you're buying. The walk in shitasu massage places in shopping centres are good value too.

If you want to visit Mt Fuji, about 2 hours from Tokyo, bear in mind that the peak is only open to trekkers in August and September.

I loved Tokyo, hope you have fun.

LesD

One place not to be missed in Tokyo is the Odakyu department store at Shinjuku station. The downstairs food-hall is enormous with plenty of free nibbles. Check out the 'gift' melons, prices of which can go up to $150 each!!!!

randomtask_2

I was there a few years ago and loved it.

I found the prices in Muji stores there were cheaper than those in London so if you like their products/clothes make the most of it.

Also, if you're thinking of buying electronics, you may be thinking of heading Akihabara ('Electric town') but note that it isn't always the cheapest place to shop. And despite the huge range of goods seemingly on offer, most stores are owned by the same 4-5 firms so prices tend to be similar (a bit of a cartel IMO). Stick to the Bic Camera superstores dotted around the main districts.

donnie_darko_3

if you like fish then do visit the fish market and hitch a ride on one of the trucks and marvel at them carving 200lb tuna fish with all types of swords and many have the scars to prove it.

The bullet train is a must as is a visit to Ginza,shinjuku and A place called hanuki, (this is assuming you are staying in tokyo)

Greta place wonderful experience I have been twice and will definitely go again.

LesD

randomtask wrote:

Also, if you're thinking of buying electronics, you may be thinking of heading Akihabara ('Electric town') but note that it isn't always the cheapest place to shop. And despite the huge range of goods seemingly on offer, most stores are owned by the same 4-5 firms so prices tend to be similar (a bit of a cartel IMO). Stick to the Bic Camera superstores dotted around the main districts.

...and not all electronic stuff there is suitable for the UK. Much is aimed at the U.S. market.

Pondasher

We had a great holiday in Japan three years ago - would go back tomorrow if we could!! Booked through Jaltours (part of Japanese Airlines I think). They were very helpful and arranged flights, trains and accommodation and coach transfer from Tokyo airport. You have a choice of standard of hotel. Many of them were next to the railway stations and very central. Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima are all worth visits.

laughing_cow

LesD wrote:

...and not all electronic stuff there is suitable for the UK. Much is aimed at the U.S. market.

You're right and it's worth going to a store with English speaking staff for reasons like this. My camera was packaged up for the Japanese market but they were able to give me all the booklets in English and they chucked in a plug adaptor for the charger.