Where to stay/go in Tokyo!?
 

Hey!:pinksong:
I'm going to tokyo in july for a month by myself and going to meet a friend who lives across there! I was wondering if anyone has any advice where the best places to stay are?(the nearest downtown area to my friend is Shibuya) I can maybe stay with her for a while but need a another place for at least 2 weeks! My friend also mentioned weekly/monthly flats but they seem really exspensive, does anyone know if they are worthwhile?
The other thing i need some help on is places to see while im there! My friend works during the week so i need something to do then, any ideas what you can do on your own? Is there any tours etc? Or vol/work during the week?:confused:

Thanks!

You lucky devil.....going to Japan for a month? I wish I could do that now.
Well, here you are - An Introduction To Tokyo.

There are plenty of things that you can do when you have a month to spend. But then again, as the most expensive city in the world, you may find your cash running out fast. Supposing money isn't that much of a problem here, but you still would like to be thrifty, gaijin house is a great place for a short term stay. Since you are not that familiar with things around you, you could make some friends here and listen to their stories and seek advice. If you'd like to experience staying japanese style, the the Ryokan, or Japanese Inn, would be good.

Tokyo has got a very complex rail system. For a newcomer, this can be quite confusing. Over time, you'd get the hang of it and will find it to very very reliable and convenient. This would be the most popular mode of transport in the city. It takes you everywhere.

Places of interest would includes:
SHIBUYA - a hip and trendy town for young people.
SHINJUKU - the heartbeat of Tokyo. Anything and everything can be found here.
GINZA - many major departmental stores and designer boutiques can be found here.
AKIHABARA - if you're into latest electronic gadgets from MP3 players to 42'' plasma TV, then this is the place.
ASAKUSA - famous Kannon Temple
UENO - lot's of museums, big parks, zoo and alleys of stalls selling varieties of goods.
And of course, there is the Tokyo Disneyland and for about 2 and a half hours away by bullet train, there is the Universal Studio in Osaka.

Well, good luck to you and have a great time.

Go to the Tokyo Metropolitan offices in Shinjuku first or soon after arrival. In Japanese it is just called Tokyo Tocho. It is connected to one of the Shinjuku exits (there are like over fourteen exits). In the base of the towers is an office for the Tokyo tourism board that has handouts on recommended sightseeing spots, directions on how to get there, free maps and brochures for hotels and the like.

To be honest, those weekly rates you are looking at may be a really good idea. If you are going to stay in a hostel or a capsule, it will may be around 4,000 yen a night. A nice hotel can cost you around 8,000 to 12,000 yen a night. Another thing to consider is whether or not you will be able to cook meals and wash clothes easily. Eating out every meal will get really costly and finding a place to do laundry might be a pain. But yeah, post the prices for those places you are looking at. If it is around four hundred for two weeks, that is about average for half a month's rent in Tokyo. Actually it is fairly cheap.

i knw this is out of this thread but
how much money wuld u bring if u went to japan?

it's a good question, luna2...which i'm also interested in knowing the answer...:)

yesterday shibuinu-san(btw cute pic!!!!!!!)
i was lookin up on it on avreage amount to bring
nothin really came up but a yen exchange sheet
where US dollars turn into yen
so lyk $1= 117..somthin yen

how? that depends on how long you are planning to stay or if you have a free place to stay.

things to be considered would be:

place to stay,
food, if you can survive with noodles only there are 100yen and less than noodles. Yoshinoya, and matsuya are also cheap way to eat.
train fare - cheap way would be to buy 1day tickets that can be used all throughout the day, usually starts from 500 yen - 3000yen, depending upon the coverage of the ticket.
souvenirs
entrance fees to place you might go ( most temples and museums have entrance free starting from 300-700yen )

omg!
so expansiv now T_T
but how much wuld u bring if u were to go?

for me, if I don't have a place to stay Ill probably bring $1000 for one week stay. I think that would be more than enough. But that just me. Oh i would not forget my credit card just to make sure :D. But if you have a place to stay, $200-$300 would be enough, that was my friend brought 2 years ago when she visited Japan.

wow ok
thats really ya
well dat means i gota go get a job then T_T

I would budget for 100 US dollars a day. This way if you spend less, it will help on the days you need to spend a bit more.

wat bout a 2 week stay how much wuld u bring?

Over two thousand just to be on the safe side. I would probably try to plan everywhere I was going to be staying too. If I was doing, I would have everything planned out from where I was going, what I wanted to see and where I was sleeping. But I realize that is fairly difficult to do.

omg are u serious?
goodness ok gota keep my head up we can do this japan cant beat us!!! mwaahahahahaha (btw im not crazy^^)

$2000++ for 2 weeks is a fair budget..

wow ok
2000 and up
so lyk this is an amount u all think is safe to bring then
oki doki

I'm going to Tokyo in less than two months- it's my second time there.
The hotelreservation is made and paid for from home, but even so I still bring about 2000 usd's worth of jap.yen.
I go there to shop and explore and eat- but if you don't plan to shop, I actually think Tokyo is cheap!!!
Great food for little money if you like sushi, tempura and soba/udon!
If you are into rollercoasters you MUST try the thunder dolphin at Tokyo dome!:vsign:
Enjoy!

tokyo is cheap?? :eek: well tokyo did lost its place as the worlds most expensive city 2006 but still on 3rd place.This year it sits 5th.

What's the world's most expensive city? | FP Passport
Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2006–city rankings

When I first arrived in Tokyo I needed temporary accommodation for the first month. I called a foreign support service called ESLC and they arranged everything for me. They collect a percentage from the appartment owner so I didn't need to pay an introduction fee or anything. They also gave me a lot of free advice on visas etc. Everyone there speaks English so if you don't speak Japanese that's no problem. Even if you don't take their accommodation they will still give you advice so it's worth giving them a call.

Their office is in Ikebukuro. The number I have for them is +81-3-6909-4120.
I cant remember the company email address but you can contact Mimura san at [email protected] (that's the mail address on the business card she gave me).

Anyway, have a great time in Tokyo!

your lucky. I recamend visting Akihabara or Shinjiku in tokyo

Private holiday apartment in Harajuku
 

Hi - maybe this helps:

We have a guest apartment in Harajuku near Shibuya - when we don't have visitors in town we are happy to rent it out short-term:

Short-term or holiday apartment right in the center of Tokyo

Feel free to contact me if you have more questions.

I just got back from Tokyo, so maybe I can recommend some good places.
There actually isn't that much to see in Tokyo, you could see everything, and I mean EVERYTHING that's actually worth seeing, in about 2-3 weeks if you really wanted to.

Some places I liked were:

Odaiba: There is some stuff like Fuji TV building and amusement parks etc. but mainly it is just a nice place to go, it looks cool and is good to walk around.

Kamakura: This is a bit outside Tokyo, but you can get there in about an hour on the Yokosuka line from Shinbashi. It is the ancient capital of Tokyo, and has a lot of nice temples and walking routes.

Asakusa: You kinda have to see Sensoji, I think it is one of the oldest temples in Japan, but DON'T go on a weekend or you will barely be able to move! Nakamise shops are pretty cool too.

Takaosan: About an hour and a half by train from Tokyo, this is an interesting mountain with a temple half-way up it!

Ryogoku: Edo Museum is really interesting, unlike Ueno Museum which was a bit of a snore in my opinion, sorry to anyone that liked it.

Ueno: The park here is nice, but the museum was a bit boring and the zoo was pretty sad, the conditions for the animals are a lot worse than they are in New Zealand, really small enclosures with depressed looking animals.

If you want a Japanese experience, I don't think Tokyo is such a great place. It's lost almost all of its Japanese feel, in my opinion, and places like Harajuku, Omotesando, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Akihabara, Ginza, all of these areas are only good if you want to buy clothes, appliances etc. they are not so great to visit. I'd recommend Kyoto or Osaka instead.

For shoppers though, Tokyo is the place to go.