Last Updated on March 13, 2023 by PowersToTravel
Subtitle: You don’t have to stay five nights to feel you’ve really done Tokyo.
Having stayed five nights, I can tell you that some Tokyo sights are amazing, while others are better experienced in other Japanese cities. Tokyo is an expensive place to visit, so don’t feel disappointed you can’t stay long – see the unique and best.
Shinjuku
Shinjuku is the eye-popping, neon-light-filled entertainment district. You must visit Shinjuku at night to see the full effect of the lights and signs.
Shinjuku compares well with the Dotonburi area of Osaka. We visited both, and were very happy we went to both. Shinjuku is home to the Robot Restaurant and the Samurai Museum; Osaka has the river boat rides and the Don Quixote Ferris Wheel.
Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku
The Robot Restaurant is the epitome of Japanese modern crazy neon culture, all tied up in loud music, lights and entertainment. But don’t buy your tickets on their website, unless you can’t find them elsewhere. Cheaper tickets are usually available on Voyagin.
In October, on a week-day, we were able to buy our tickets on the Robot Restaurant website just five hours before the 5pm show. Later we learned that they were less expensive on Voyagin. Were they available that late from Voyagin? We don’t know, but we didn’t know to try!
Check out video clips from our visit to Robot Restaurant.
Samurai Museum in Shinjuku
The Samurai Museum is located in Shinjuku, just around the corner from the Robot Restaurant. The museum offers a huge display of samurai costumes, period history, demonstrations and the opportunity to dress up as a samurai, complete with a guided tour.
The staff at the Samurai Museum was very accommodating. We wanted to fit our visit in between rainshowers when we first arrived, and the Robot Restaurant show, and were informed the guided tour of Samurai would take too long. They very kindly allowed us to go on the Samurai guided tour, jump out to the Robot Restaurant at the appropriate time, and then come back in to pick up a different tour right where we left off!
Shibuya and the Scramble Crossing
I’m not sure when is the best time to visit the Scramble Crossing, however mid-day is not it. We saw the Crossing, but found the view anti-climactic. I would recommend combining a late-afternoon visit to Shibuya with a hop on the train or subway up to an evening in Shinjuku.
Asakusa
Asakusa is a wonderful traditional-style neighborhood, not quiet by any stretch, with great restaurants, Japanese souvenir shopping, rickshaws, and the great Senso-ji Temple. We stayed at a hotel in the heart of Asakusa called B:Conte Asakusa and that choice was the best on the trip.
Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa
Even if you have seen the other temples in other cities, you cannot help but be thrilled at the Senso-Ji Temple, especially at night. The orange paint on the pagoda brightens it considerably when compared with brown pagodas, and the sheer size and ornateness of the temple complex is breathtaking.
Sumida River Cruise
Asakusa is also the jumping off spot for the Sumida River Cruise. This boat is not the most exciting of trips, however it proved to be a relaxing way to get closer to the heart of Tokyo without subjecting ourselves to the crush of the crowds in the metro. Options take you to Hamarikyu Gardens (below), and Odaiba, the man-made island of modern malls and entertainment.
Hamarikyu Gardens
Gardens? I’m not generally a gardens-type person, and the only reason we ended up at Hamarikyu is because the Sumida River Cruise trip from Asakusa to the center of Tokyo stops at Hamariku. We checked our surroundings and headed to the “Tea House”, believing we might find some food. Not so! The Tea House turned out to be a former hunting lodge for an Edo Period Shogun. The house, lake and gardens were an exquisite site set among the Tokyo skyscrapers. The juxtaposition of the two periods was eye-popping.
Go-Karting
Shortly after we arrived in Tokyo a group of Go-Karts streamed by us, with the drivers in full costume.
“Oh, I have to do it!” exclaimed Greg.
“I didn’t know,” nervously responded Wendy, as she hadn’t educated herself on this one. “I’ll research it.”
Turns out there were companies fairly near our hotel in Asakusa, but every website said that you needed an international driving license to rent a car, and by extension, a Go-Kart, in Japan. We of course had no plans to rent a car and I had not researched the requirements and had not purchased the international driving licenses ahead of time. In fact, we thought that such as documents were obsolete, like “Traveler’s Checks”!
But, no, you either need an international driver’s license or the appropriate stamp you receive when you stationed in Japan in the US Military. We had neither and Greg was so sad. We never did go to Go-Kart office itself to beg, but all of the Go-Kart websites were quite clear about these requirements.
This is a reason to return to Tokyo.
Thanks, I’ll take a pass…
What did I plan on for Tokyo that disappointed me, perhaps because I had seen better or less expensively in other Japanese cities?
The SkyTree
I have to say that we didn’t actually go up the SkyTree. We had gone up Abeno Harukas in Osaka, the tallest building in Japan, on a exquisite evening, paying about $14 a person (1,500 yen). We weren’t motivated to spend twice the price (3,100 yen) at the Tokyo SkyTree.
The Imperial Gardens
Believe it or not, we wandered listlessly through the Imperial Gardens. We had seen such lovely gardens in Kyoto that the Imperial Gardens just seemed more of the same, but lacked the semi-rural setting and views of the hills of Kyoto.
Meiji Shrine
We found the Meiji Shrine to be a bit of a disappointment when we compared with the temples we saw in other cities such as Osaka and Kyoto. Located half-way between Shibuya and Shinjuku, it wasn’t worth the 20 to 30 minute walk there from either direction.
The Shrines at Ueno
I had a laundry list to visit:
- Hanazona Inari Shrine
- Gojoten Shrine
- Ueno Toshogu Shrine
However, we had seen such lovely temples in Kyoto that our energy level didn’t let us see any more temples.
Japanese Kabukiza Theater
I had previously researched Kabukiza and was quite interested in attending, but kept delaying the purchase of tickets due to the expense. Here’s a link to Kabuzika for you to investigate on your own.
We might have regretted my continual delay since it resulted in no tickets being available, however, Greg decided, at the last minute, that the Robot Restaurant was the better place to go. I know that to compare the Robot Restaurant with Kabukiza is unforgiveable, but in my mind, both were a distinctly Japanese performing art. We just loved the Robot Restaurant and felt we had experienced Japanese performance at it’s craziest, if not best.
Making entertainment or food choices on a vacation due to budget constraints creates a strange dichotomy – I’m an experienced enough traveler to recognize over-priced (read that “tourist-priced”) venues and I’m also experienced enough to realize that it is unlikely I’ll have the opportunity again to experience a unique cultural event. Why did I count my pennies and not arrange for the Kabukiza? Certainly the Robot Restaurant went a long way to consoling that loss. But we could have done both. We should have done both.
Summary
You may wonder why I planned to stay in Tokyo for five nights. The secret is that we were originally supposed to go on two day trips out of Tokyo – to Mt. Fuji, no surprise, and Nikko. In a surprising turn of events, we ended up visiting Tokyo during the week after Typhoon Hagabis. Transport links around Mt. Fuji were closed indefinitely, as was the train line to Nikko.
What did we do instead? One day we wandered Asakusa at a more leisurely pace, and took an afternoon nap! It was our first period of relaxation during our entire twenty-one days in Japan! The other day we visited Odaiba, on a grey rainy day. Odaiba is the man-made island with plenty to do inside – malls, expo centers, cinemas, and even a huge outdoor Ferris Wheel. It was a sad substitute for Mt. Fuji, however was more entertaining than taking another nap.
