Tokyo advice needed

Hi, I'm off to Tokyo Sep 14th for 5 nights, en-route to Brisbane Australia. I'll be attending Tokyo game Show September 16th and 17th to demo a little project I've been working on solo but apart from that I have no concrete plans.

Seeing as I won't be travelling with my gf I'll have free reign to do what I want and therefore wanted some advice on the following points:

1. Best district in Tokyo to stay (reasonable prices)
2. Best type of accomodation
3. Good arades to visit
4. Some good strip bars to vist.
5. Best sights or places to visit.
6. Any other misc advice?

Any help would be very much appreciated. Better still if anyone in Tokyo wanted to meet up for some VF and to possibly show me around that would be even better.

Cheers

 

1: It's all pretty pricey. You should check beforehand on some deals you can get. My wife and I are staying at the Tokyuu Hotel in Shibuya for 8 days. The total is 120,000 yen... not budget, but not bad for two people. The cheapest is a gaijin house, in which you'll most likely be pretty far out of town. The Sakura Hotel (or something like that) in Jinbocho seems to be a favorite amongst tourists. This is honestly my first time visiting after years of residence, so I'm not a great person to ask.

2: Hotels are the nicest... gaijin houses not so nice nor quiet, but cheaper.

3: Shibuya has 10 arcades that range from small, to pretty damn big. There's a 50-cent arcade on Center-gai which is many floors w/ lots of old and new. Akihabara of course has some shit-hot arcades, as does Shinjuku. I've got a flash map of Akihabara you can check out.

4: Got a few thousand dollars USD to spend? If not, don't bother... they won't let you in. Some people might think it's worth it there as you get to "test out the guns", if you know what I mean.

5: Kamakura is breath-taking, and only about 45-50 minutes by local train from Shinagawa. Don't miss it. Meiji Jinguu is the best shrine in the city I would say. Go there, and not Asakasa. Tokyo Tower gives a good view of the city. The Tsukiji fish market will blow your mind as well (go around 5AM... unreal).

6: Keep in mind that the TGS is in Chiba at Makuhari Messe. If the 10 minute walk within to get from the normal lines to the Keiyo Line in Tokyo's Station's underground lair isn't bad enough, you've got another 45 minutes on a train, then 15 more minutes of walking. That might sway your opinion on where you stay. I assume hotels in Chiba won't be any cheaper during the show.

 

Thank you very much for responding - some invaluable advice there I'm sure.

One more question: I have 5 nights and seeing as I'm not really a city person I'm toying with the idea of just staying 2 nights Tokyo (enough for TGS) then heading somewhere else in Japan by train for another 2 nights.

In your opinion is this feesible and where could you suggest?

 

Kyoto is pretty amazing. I'm sure hotels would run about the same (maybe cheaper). The train ride down there and back will be rather pricey though -- about 25,000 yen if I'm not mistaken. It's probably the most gaijin-friendly of the non-urban places to visit I would say.

 

Thanks again, I was thinking of taking the ride to Kyoto but £150 return fare is going to sting me hard. I guess I'll see how I'm enjoying Tokyo and decide on the spot.

I remember you enjoy clubbing. I have half a plan to try visiting Womb or Liquid Room while I'm over. I hear the dance music scene is very vibrant in Japan and if I can catch Ken Ishii spinning that would be a big bonus.

About the strip bar request. All I'm looking for is a quiet club where I can relax with a cold beer after tramping round Tokyo and appreciate the female form while I'm away from the gf. Definately nothing more than that.

I hear this place is OK: http://www.seventh-heaven.com I might try it. Shame most of the girls are Western tho I can live with that.

 

Ken Ishii DJing is pretty anti-climatic. Nice enough guy... a friend of mine is (was?) actually managing him. He doesn't play in Tokyo that often though, so your chances of finding him are slim to none. I never was a fan of Womb, and Liquid Room isn't really a club... they just rent it out for parties. It really depends on the weekend. Here's some links:
CIA Japan Doesn't look so hot for September other than the usual Crossover.
Womb: Also looks kinda lame.
Air: Louie Vega on 09.16 -- not my thing, at all.
Maniac Love's site seems to be down, but they've got after hours every Saturday (and even Fridays now I think). If you're still up at 5AM and have a few hours left in you, go there. By far, my favorite.

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About the strip bar request. All I'm looking for is a quiet club where I can relax with a cold beer after tramping round Tokyo and appreciate the female form while I'm away from the gf. Definately nothing more than that.

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Then Seventh Heaven is not what you want. The cover sure enough says 5500 yen entry but the girls are agressive. If you're not buying dances (8,000+ yen a pop) then I'm pretty sure they ask you to leave. Drinks are about 1500 yen apiece as well, I'm sure. All the strip clubs are Yakuza owned, and they only know one thing - money. The rest of the clientel are usually investment bankers, and are dropping tons of cash. Do yourself a favor, and stay away. if £150 for fare makes your ass cringe, then strip clubs in Tokyo is not a good idea. I'll put it this way -- in 7 years, I never once went to a strip club, and the friends of mine that went (which are pretty rich, mind you) only went when a broker took them, and therefore paid, to grease the wheels. Two guys I know just dropped 1.8 million yen in one night there. :/

 

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GaijinPunch said:

Air: Louie Vega on 09.16 -- not my thing, at all.

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I take it your not into house music. I caught Louie Vega on July 4th weekend and had a great time. /versus/images/graemlins/grin.gif /versus/images/graemlins/cool.gif He has a residency on Wednesday's nights in NYC but I've never gone due to work in the morning. /versus/images/graemlins/indifferent.gif

What genre of EDM do you like? /versus/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

I heard Parks and Wilson live at Womb when I was in Tokyo. Fun fun night. The people didn't even know I left and came back to the hotel. hahhaha

 

Little Louie Vega is one of the Masters at Work duo - he's a house legend. I am seriously considering attending this night (thanks for the info). I heard him spin at a classics night at Vinyl in NYC when I was over there years ago - absolutely superb.

Ken Ishii - if you're not into heavy industrial techno then I'm guessing hearing him live could be a downer. I've got most of his albums and they're very different to his live mixing I know. Like chalk and cheese really - the good thing is I love both. His live sets are very similar to Dave Clark's.

I thought he has a fortnightly residency in Tokyo?

A general question about Tokyo clubs: is trendy street dress fine for getting in? Also, will going solo pose any problems for me? I'm used to the very relaxed door entry practiced at Scottish clubs so may need some tips here.

 

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MAXIMUM said:

Little Louie Vega is one of the Masters at Work duo - he's a house legend. I am seriously considering attending this night (thanks for the info). I heard him spin at a classics night at Vinyl in NYC when I was over there years ago - absolutely superb.

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Was this before or after we got sloshed at Centro-Fly? /versus/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Anyway, hope you have a blast while staying there. /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif I hope to make an intercontinental trip next year to UK or Japan...or maybe even Ibiza. /versus/images/graemlins/cool.gif It's about time I leave the U.S.A. to see what else the world has to offer. /versus/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

I know who Louie Vega is. He played one of the worst sets I've ever heard on my last "night out" in Tokyo before moving. It was at Ageha. Dave Seaman was playing in the out door space, and was going off I might add. On the flip side, he played at Yellow the first time I ever went clubbing in Tokyo (when I was a student -- ages ago) so he has a very, very small piece of my heart. I really hated the set I heard last year though. It was truly garbage, but I hate house most house music -- especially NY House. A friend of mine was translating for him. I can't remember what he said about him though.

Ken Ishii's stuff seems a bit too on the fence for me. I like harder techno, but I think Takkyu Ishino does what Ken Ishii tries for... just better. From the one time I met him (he played before Joey Beltram at a party a friend of mine threw) he was a very nice guy - something a lot of people in his position aren't.

As for the attire: Yeah, you should be fine. Just wear jeans a decent shirt. I think I've only been one place that told me to tuck my shirt in and that was some bullshit gaijin bar... places I never go. Some places may not let you fly w/ shorts, but most of them will. Solo shouldn't be a problem either. If they tell you you have to be accompanied, it's not worth going to! /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

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Shag said:
Was this before or after we got sloshed at Centro-Fly? /versus/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Anyway, hope you have a blast while staying there. /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif I hope to make an intercontinental trip next year to UK or Japan...or maybe even Ibiza. /versus/images/graemlins/cool.gif It's about time I leave the U.S.A. to see what else the world has to offer. /versus/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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Ha ha...yea, that's the very trip I'm talking about and that particular set was the night before Andy and I met you for Eric Morillo at Centrofly. Absolute madness that night....lol. You should definately visit the UK sometime and can rest assured you'll have a good friend to show about if you ever make it.

GaijinPunch, thanks again for the Tokyo info, very much appreciated. I've booked my first two nights at the following hotel: Shimbashi Atagoyama Tokyu Inn. No idea how good or convenient this hotel will be but I needed to get something sorted before the advance bookings were taken. The other 3 nights we'll see.....

 

No worries. If it's owned by Tokyuu, it's probably okay. I'm staying in the Excel Tokyuu in Shibuya at the moment, and am pretty pleased with it.

Oh, yeah -- it wasn't Louie Vega at that show last year. It was Roger Sanchez. My bad. /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif