Shinjuku or Roppongi? (better for 1st time traveller)
 

What do you recommend? Generally speaking? according to:

-close to the city
-close to train stations
-nightlife
-good restaurants

etc

being a 1st time traveller to Tokyo, what area would you suggest to me? It's crunch time for me, I'll be there in 3 days :)

Shinjuku is your best bet if you are relying on JR services. Otherwise they both offer everything you mentioned above, with Roppongi being more of a Foreigner settlement.

Be ready to spend if you are going to stay around Roppongi

Shinjuku
Shinjuku
Shinjuku

With Godwine saying Roppongi is expensive and MMM saying "shinjuku, shinjuku, shinjuku" I think I'll aim for the shinjuku area hehehehe

What he said.

Had a lot of fun at Shinjuku last night and I`ll be heading back there sometime soon.

Roppongi`s Midtown might be worth checking out, if you like window shopping at *incredibly* overpriced stores.

Yeah I totally agree. I mean, there are things of specific interests in Roppongi. But mostly things are highly over price

In all honesty, if I am to spend the kind of money that I would be spending in Roppogi, I might as well go to Ginza and dump it on something with a brand name

Why not visit both? They're only about 10 minutes apart on the new subway line, the Toei Oedo line.

Shinjuku is close to Kabukicho. /discussion :D

ok folks i just checked into my hotel here in shinjuku :)

i'd like to head to kabukicho for a few beers at first, then to some good nightclubs afterwards (now it's near 8pm, is this good time to head out?)

any and all tips would be greatly appreciated

if you have names of good bars, clubs, lady bars, restaurants near here in Shinjuku please speak up :)

thanks!!!!!!

8 is fine. just be careful after 11ish 12...

Careful of what?

I was out, it was fun, yea careful of what??

BUT on a Monday night in Tokyo Shinjuku it was pretty much dead, I wen to Kabukicho and Roppongi

Kabukicho, I walked in circles it was so difficult to know what is what, I couldnt tell an internet cafe from a restaurant from a bar, strip club, massage place, etc etc, it was difficult, then the Nigerian guys buggin at me every 2 minutes was retarded, I finally gave in and went with 1 guy to a place that costed 3000 yen for 1 lady drink! WTF is that all about!!!!! Hung in "Hub" a lot tho it was cool but sucks being alone

Roppongi was SUPER dead, went into a couple bars with ZERO people inside, there was absolutely nowhere to go in Roppongi that was "on"


anyone know of a certain specific place to go where you can chill drink 600yen (or under) beers and chill?

There are lots of shady types hanging out in Kabuki-cho. Look for places called "shot bars". They tend to be small, cheap and fun.

Ok I'll try Kabukicho again tonight and aim for the "shot bars" thanks MMM :) I'll post pics and let ya know how it goes afterwards
thanks!

This is why I don't bother with night clubs in Japan. They are overpriced, overcrowded, and are more trouble than they are worth. Japan is not the place to visit if you are into nightlife; if you are into clubs, you should be travelin to Miami, LA, or Vegas.

Any place with Nigerian doormen is a place to avoid. Get too drunk and you might get back to your hotel and find your wallet has disappeared, and that your credit cards were charged for three or four thousand dollars worth of drinks over a 20 minute period. Good luck getting the charges reversed, the staff will swear you were drunk, and ordered drinks for everyone in the club.

If you just want a place to drink and relax, there are thousands of places to choose from. Most are small, located in back alleys, and are not frequented by tourists. You'll find good places in Meguro (near Shibuya), Akasaka, or even in older areas like Shinshichiro.

My Japanese friends prefer Ikebukuro, or Hachijoji, but I find those places too crowded, even if they aren't very expensive. My favorite places are the monja restaurants in Tsukishima. They are comfortable, the food is tasty, and most have a very good selection of beer, which is not overpriced. "Ataru", is probably the best. It's stylish, the food is excellent, and the prices are reasonable.

Tsukishima is an older neighborhood, but still very popular. It's located across the Sumida river from Tsukiji (which is next to Ginza). You take Harumi Dori (the main street which runs through Ginza and Tskuji), cross the large bridge. To get to Tsukishima, you turn left at the first street on the other side of the bridge (there will be a police box there). Following this street will take you through the middle of Tsukishima. Ataru is located near the far end of the street on the left. If pass under the highway, you've gone too far.

Tsukishima is not popular with tourists, hence the good food and reasonable prices. Monja is quite good. Your table will have a heated griddle on it, you cook the monja on this griddle, and eat it straight from the griddle once it is cooked. Be careful not to burn your tongue, it's quite hot. Your waiter or waitress will be happy to prepare it for you (at no extra charge) if you don't think you can make it yourself. Monja is a delicious Japanese dish which most foreigners aren't familiar with, and it goes especially well with good beer. I recommend it for the experience, if nothing else.

good advice, Sangetsu.

I would stay away from Kabukicho. It is mostly snack bars and spendier hostess and cabaret clubs.

Pubs in Tokyo - ultimatepubguide.com

Thanks again guys, tonight is round #2 :)

I would say the best nightlife is actually Shibuya. Shibuya is much better unless youre into hiphop then Roppongi is the place for you. But Shibuya has great clubs whether Trance, Goth , Pop, and some hip hop.

Good restaurants its everywhere Alot of foreigners or Americans love Cocos Ichiban Curry. But the restuarants are good everywhere theres alot to eat so its hard to recommend as such. Yaki-naku is good like watami's.

Thanks shadowwolf, i think maybe i'll try out Shibuya tomorrow night

Yeah, hop around the crossing.. see if we can see you on the webcam:

http://www.sib.tv/web/livecamera/ekimae.html

hahahahaha, that is awesome!!!!

actually tonight i'm meeting a japanese girl, she's a friend of a friend, she's gonna take me to restaurant and to some nightlife tonight, i'm looking forward to this :)

Glad you are having fun.... do post pictures when you have them

thanks Godwine :) I took lots of pics and I had a blast!!!! We ate some REALLY wierd stuff, a fish while it's still alive, and horse and all haha!!!!! :eek: then went to a "shot bar" and then I blacked out LOL

OOOh.. horse meat... regrettably, thats something I have't try yet. I did try raw ox tongue when I was in Kobe :)

Nice.. really, do post up some pics and share it.... we'd love to see it :)

Roppongi is for 'high-class' people..

Right... I have plenty of pictures to show you how "high class" they get.....

"Roppongi Hills" is for high class people, I buy my clothes from the Borrelli and Brioni stores located there.

"Roppongi" on the other hand, is a sewer, full of obnoxious foreigners (you know who you are), easy women (no complaints), and Nigerian doormen/dope-dealer/wannabe American style hip-hop gangsters.

I go to Roppongi only to eat at the Outback Steakhouse. The steaks are as good as you can get in Japan for the price, and they have delicious clam chowder for only 500 yen.

LoL, so Nigerians have made their way to Japan now too? I'm part Nigerian and I know not to trust anything they offer, because it comes with a price.

But who the heck goes to Japan to club? I can understand wanting to experience the nightlife there. But there's so much more to see when visiting a new place. I can't wait to visit Japan, but not until I get a hang of the language.

There are some fun places in Japan...if you have the money, you can see things in clubs there you can't see anywhere else in the world.

Shinjuku.

I went to Roppongi but there wasn't much really there.

I'm going to Tokyo at the end of March.

I will be staying 4 nights in Shinjuku and 5 nights in Roppongi. So maybe after I come back I can give some kind of comparison between the two. :D

It will be like comparing apples to oranges... 2 very different place... in terms of it class, people, everything..

Yes I know they are different. That is why I'm staying in 2 different locations. I rather do it this way then just stay in one hotel my entire trip.