Travel to Tokyo. I need help!

Next January I´ll move to Tokyo, Japan. I´ll be there for 2 months working. I would like some information about touristic spots to visit, places to shop (specially Surefires), etc...

I intend to get some electronics, a new camera...

Does someone know Tokyo? If yes, some general tips would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!

ps: I´m from Brazil - South America.

Make sure to pick up some fancy 3rd generation eneloops with sparkly rouge or uomo tones/disney themes.
Even if you don't keep them I think there are people who are willing to pay a premium for those special batteries!

Federal LG said:

Next January I´ll move to Tokyo, Japan. I´ll be there for 2 months working. I would like some information about touristic spots to visit, places to shop (specially Surefires), etc...

I intend to get some electronics, a new camera...

Does someone know Tokyo? If yes, some general tips would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!

ps: I´m from Brazil - South America.

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Electronics & Electricals = Akihabara

Don't think you'll have much luck finding Surefires though, but someone might know some secluded stores who have them. :thinking:

Keep your eyes out for Tokyu Hands. (yes, Tokyu with a u.). They have a floor dedicated to outdoor equipment. I've seen the one in Yokohama and they have both Fenix and Surefires.

The Japanese take their portable radios very seriously, if you want a hardcore small radio, that's the place to get one. Vending machines chilled coffee; I've tried one (Kirin Fire), highly recommended if you're at all a coffee drinker, what they sell in a can in a vending machine is better than what's sold bagged as whole beans in the US.

I've been to Japan 6 times in the past 6 years and it never gets old. The food and drinks will keep you happy forever! Japanese take cuisine very seriously, you can find any type of food and you won't be disappointed.

Remember to go Tokyu Hands like another member said, Yodobashi Camera, BIC Camera. Ginza for expensive shopping. Harajuku if you're into the latest crazy Japanese fashion. If you like cars, check out the Autobacs stores and Chiba prefecture for tuning shops and rare parts

COOL!

Thanks for the info. I´ll research about everything you guys said.

StarHalo said:

The Japanese take their portable radios very seriously, if you want a hardcore small radio, that's the place to get one. Vending machines chilled coffee; I've tried one (Kirin Fire), highly recommended if you're at all a coffee drinker, what they sell in a can in a vending machine is better than what's sold bagged as whole beans in the US.

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I like that! I love chilled coffe!

Any suggestions about portable radios? Which brand and model?

Federal LG said:

Any suggestions about portable radios? Which brand and model?

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All the Japanese manufacturers have entire lineups of radios that are years ahead of what's sold in the US, and aren't available anywhere else. Two of the more famous models are the Sony SRF-T615 (which I own, highly recommended if you want to spend that much for a pocket radio) and the Sony ICF-EX5Mk2. Be sure to browse, there's a lot to see electronics-wise in general there..

The Sony ICF-EX5Mk2 looks almost like a dead ringer for the old ICF2010, which set a very high bar for portable shortwaves.

Tokyo fun?? Plan a very early morning arrival at the Tokyo Central Fish Market (About 5 AM) and be sure to catch the daily tuna auction. Take a walk around that place and get blown away by the scale of it and the myriad offerings. When done, hit one of the side street sushi joints (10 seats max) and enjoy a sushi breakfast. On those side streets are some great knife stores--catering to the fish trade----pick a couple good kitchen choppers out and they sharpen them to a mirror edge right on the spot. Years ago, I came home with 2 that still serve me to this day.
AT

Federal LG said:

Next January I´ll move to Tokyo, Japan. I´ll be there for 2 months working. I would like some information about touristic spots to visit, places to shop (specially Surefires), etc...

I intend to get some electronics, a new camera...

Does someone know Tokyo? If yes, some general tips would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!

ps: I´m from Brazil - South America.

Click to expand...

Since you're from Brazil, maybe you'd like to at least pay a visit to an area with many other Brazilians? If so, you can get to Hamamatsu and back easily on a day trip leaving out of Tokyo, Shinagawa or Yokohama and experience a little of Japan in a community with lots of your fellow Brazilians.

A couple places I'd like to suggest would be Sengakuji, near Shinagawa, for a bit of historic Japanese study. Nagareyama is where Kondo Isami, leader of the Shinsengumi at their strongest was captured. There are many great places to wander in Tokyo that instantly have the ability to remind you that while it is a very modern city, it has roots going back into times that are hard for us in the present to comprehend. One such place I was at last night was in Monzennakacho and fairly close to the Kayabacho exits.

Shopping for electronics allows a dizzying array of places to do so, but a couple of my favorites are Yuurakucho and Kawasaki. I avoid Akihabara for the most part anymore for the same reason I avoid Ochanomizu when it comes to music stores - too many customers and too little patience granted from the employees in these over-crowded and over-rated areas. If you're a musician, I prefer going to Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro, where the stores are a little bit less accessible, and as a direct result, quite a bit less crowded.

Definitely hit the Tokyu Hands stores, especially the multi-storied one out the south exit from Shinjuku. If you like hamburgers, try Freshness Burger and Mos Burger. A little bit more expensive, but just as with any other restaurant, the uptick in price is coupled with some very good food. I've always liked Lotteria and First Kitchen too, but spend most of my time eating out at places that serve ramen, tonkatsu, okonomiyaki and other dishes that aren't easily found overseas. Because there is so much competition among these favorite dishes, the prices are very reasonable too, unlike stateside where affordable generally means inedible and great means unaffordable.

Make sure you get some Japan Rail passes to allow you some freedom to move about much more affordably than you'll be able to do otherwise, but also try to identify how much free time you'll have for travel and if it's justifiable to pay for passes you may not make proper use of.

I know I've seen Surefire's in Japan, but the only place I can think of right off is in Kobe. Others have mentioned a shop in Ueno at Ameyoko that's got them, but I haven't been there in a while and it can be difficult to find what you're looking for there at times. Worth a visit at any rate, and while you're in Ueno you can wander around the Ueno Park grounds for a whole day pretty easily.

Go to Yoyogikoen for another huge park and lots of colorful characters, and great music most of the time too. Get to it from the Harajuku station and another must while there is going down to the crepe sellers and finding my favorite Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese crepe for about $5. I think there's still two of the crepe stands that have them, along with all of the more predictable desert-like crepes.

Looks like everyone covered all the bases, so as a native of Japan I'll give my advice. When travelling I like to dabble and explore. No particular destination or direction in mind, I soak in the local scene and enjoy it. Japan's public transportation is the best in the world, so you can dabble anywhere in Tokyo (or any major city) with ease. Some of my fondest memories of Japan has come from doing this.

Ever since I was a kid I loved iced can coffee from DyDo and Pokka vending machines. That's another thing, jido-hambaiki (vending machines) are everywhere in Japan. Even in rural mountainous areas. Just say those magic words and anyone will point out the closest one. Have a craving for iced coffee, beer or sake at 2AM? Stroll around the corner and you're in business.

When it comes to food I'm a big fan of Ramen. Not the stuff you buy for $0.10 in a plastic orange package, but real ramen. Order a Chashu-men at any half decent ramen shop and I guarantee you'll be hooked. Chikinkatsu, tonkatsu, yakitori, dango on a stick, unagi-don, takoyaki, natto, okonomiyaki, oyakodomburi, kobe beef, karaage, cream korokke... oh my.

Thank you all for all the replies.

I´ll be travelling for work, but I like to wander and discover special places about the countries that I visit. Usually I don´t like to go just where all the standard tourists go. I prefer some places with less people...

I intend to go to Tokyo Central Fish Market. They told me it´s a good place to buy a good kitchen knife too. I intend to get some to my father. He is a great cooker!

Kaichu Dento: I appreciate all the information. I´ll be in Tokyo and, for now, I think I´ll can´t go to visit places outside the city due to the lack of time. I´ll in Tokyo during one month (till February). I would like to see historical sites, museums, parks, etc. I am that kind of "historical freak tourist". I would love to see special historical places...

About electronics, I asked because here in Brazil our taxes are ridiculously high. For example: I intend to get one Google Nexus 7 tablet. While in the US it costs something around 250 dollars, here in Brazil it costs 800 dollars! I hope in Tokyo it´s cheaper than that... Yuurakucho and Kawasaki are in Tokyo?

It happens the same with Surefire lights.

dudemar: I´m a big fan of Ramen too. Here in Brazil we have the biggest japanese community outside Japan. I lived in São Paulo and I met ramen there, for the first time. I intend to prove the real ramen in Tokyo for sure! And iced coffee too! Definitely will search for vending machines! LOL

Our credit card taxes are too high too. I´m thinking to take a lot of dollars (money) and exchange to yen when I arrive. Is it the best to do? I have some Visa Travel Money cards, but I only used them in the US (they are charged with dollars). Do you know if I can use them in Japan? I mean... did they make the exchange automatically?

Thanks for all your help, fellows! :thumbsup:

Take lots of money.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-...ving-in-tokyothe-most-expensive-city-in-the-1

C.G.

Unfortunately the dollar-to-yen exchange rate isn't that great. In the past year it's been floating around 80 yen/dollar. Ask local retailers if they accept Visa Travel Money cards. If they do you're good to go. I would try to balance between using cash and cards depending on what you buy.

Whatever the case you'll have lots of fun. Enjoy!

Just heard about the 7.3 earthquake that struck off the coast of Miyagi. Hope all CPFers in Japan are safe and no major tsunami strikes the coastal region.

dudemar said:

Just heard about the 7.3 earthquake that struck off the coast of Miyagi. Hope all CPFers in Japan are safe and no major tsunami strikes the coastal region.

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I was rocking about in the train when I started paying attention to what everyone around me was talking about - it was then that I realized the doors were still open and we weren't moving, even though it seemed like we were. It lasted for quite a while and people were starting to get really concerned, with the signs in the station shaking all over.

My friends in Yamaguchi didn't feel anything, but apparently instruments showed that while it bypassed Yamaguchi, it showed up in Saga, down in Kyushu. Up in Iwate and Miyagi the tsunami alarms went off, but eventually none showed up.

One of the longest lasting quakes I've ever been in and it sure seemed like it was never going to end for a while there. The best guess I could make would be somewhere between 30 seconds and a minute. Strong enough that people were grabbing onto things to steady themselves.

Federal LG said:

I´ll be traveling for work, but I like to wander and discover special places about the countries that I visit. Usually I don´t like to go just where all the standard tourists go. I prefer some places with less people...

I intend to go to Tokyo Central Fish Market. They told me it´s a good place to buy a good kitchen knife too. I intend to get some to my father. He is a great cooker!

Kaichu Dento: I appreciate all the information. I´ll be in Tokyo and, for now, I think I´ll can´t go to visit places outside the city due to the lack of time. I´ll in Tokyo during one month (till February). I would like to see historical sites, museums, parks, etc. I am that kind of "historical freak tourist". I would love to see special historical places...

About electronics, I asked because here in Brazil our taxes are ridiculously high. For example: I intend to get one Google Nexus 7 tablet. While in the US it costs something around 250 dollars, here in Brazil it costs 800 dollars! I hope in Tokyo it´s cheaper than that... Yuurakucho and Kawasaki are in Tokyo?

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Yuurakucho is on the Yamanote train line and Kawasaki can be reached very easily from Shinagawa. Yuurakucho and Shinagawa are both parts of Tokyo and Kawasaki is right next door.

Since you like historic places and want to stay close to Tokyo, definitely go to Sengakuji, and also make an effort to get down to Kamakura. Yoshinoya is one of the widespread places for very affordable gyuudon - I think I paid $3.80 for a bowl the other night.

By the way, do you speak Japanese too? If so I can give a couple other places to go.

kaichu dento said:

Yuurakucho is on the Yamanote train line and Kawasaki can be reached very easily from Shinagawa. Yuurakucho and Shinagawa are both parts of Tokyo and Kawasaki is right next door.

Since you like historic places and want to stay close to Tokyo, definitely go to Sengakuji, and also make an effort to get down to Kamakura. Yoshinoya is one of the widespread places for very affordable gyuudon - I think I paid $3.80 for a bowl the other night.

By the way, do you speak Japanese too? If so I can give a couple other places to go.

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Unfortunately I don´t speak Japanese. But they will give us an intensive course, with 4 hours everyday.

I only speak english, french, portuguese and a little bit of spanish. No japanese!

Federal LG said:

Unfortunately I don´t speak Japanese. But they will give us an intensive course, with 4 hours everyday.

I only speak english, french, portuguese and a little bit of spanish. No japanese!

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Only English, French, Portuguese and a little Spanish, huh? I think that's very impressive my friend! Well I have good news for you. The pronunciation in Spanish is extremely similar to Japanese, and vice versa. In fact so much so that when I read spanish text in front of Mexican friends, they honestly thought I was fluent in spanish. So take advantage of your latin roots and use them for Japanese!

kaichu dento said:

I was rocking about in the train when I started paying attention to what everyone around me was talking about - it was then that I realized the doors were still open and we weren't moving, even though it seemed like we were. It lasted for quite a while and people were starting to get really concerned, with the signs in the station shaking all over.

My friends in Yamaguchi didn't feel anything, but apparently instruments showed that while it bypassed Yamaguchi, it showed up in Saga, down in Kyushu. Up in Iwate and Miyagi the tsunami alarms went off, but eventually none showed up.

One of the longest lasting quakes I've ever been in and it sure seemed like it was never going to end for a while there. The best guess I could make would be somewhere between 30 seconds and a minute. Strong enough that people were grabbing onto things to steady themselves.

Click to expand...

Scary stuff. Glad to hear you weren't on the train while it was traveling down the tracks.