"Tokyo" Tokyo by Rodan44

Tokyo Travel Guide: 3,930 reviews and 9,308 photos

Tokyo is without a doubt one of the great cities of the world. Ultra-modern and yet still 100% Japanese at heart. It is definitely not an easy city for tourists. It is frighteningly expensive, insanely over-crowded, attractions are spread out over a vast area, and there is a significant language barrier. Still, once you've overcome the initial culture shock (not to mention sticker shock!) you will be amazed at the wealth of culture contained in this city!

March 2000: Cubs vs. Mets Opening Series

Grafitti, Harajuku

My then-girlfriend Trisanna and I first visited Tokyo in March of 2000. That year the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets baseball clubs played their season opening series in Tokyo, the first time a regular season Major League Baseball game had taken place outside of the US and Canada. In addition, they also played a couple of exhibition games against the Yomiuri Giants and Seibu Lions professional Japanese baseball clubs. We were able to attend these games in Tokyo on a special package that MLB had arranged in order to get some American fans to attend.

I really must say, Japan blew me away! It was my first trip to Asia, and everything about Japan and Japanese culture fascinated me. Besides the games in Tokyo, during this trip we made side trips to Nikko, Hakone, Kyoto, and Nara.

November 2004

Justin in Asakusa

Over four years later, Trisanna and I returned to Tokyo, only this time as husband and wife. We found a great airfare/hotel promotion at Singapore's annual NATAS convention (giant travel agent fair), and so off we went for a 4 night stay in the city.

This time we came a little more prepared, as I had taken time to learn to speak and write some Japanese. We did not take any guided tours or tourist coaches, so we relied on Tokyo's excellent subway/commuter train system. We ate only at inexpensive local restaurants. Despite having only 3 full days in the city, we really pushed ourselves and saw an amazing amount. Some sights we revisited from our first trip, Ueno Park, Senso-ji Temple, Ginza, and others we saw for the first time, Meiji Shrine, Shibuya, Tsukiji Market, Disney Sea. By the end of the last day, we were both suffering from painfully sore legs and feet from all the walking we did. Still, it was a great trip overall, and I can't wait to go back!

Please visit the Tokyo page on my personal website to see many more high quality photos from this destination.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Kore wa ikura des ka?
Cons:random Godzilla attacks
In a nutshell:Domo Arigato Mister Roboto

Last visit to Tokyo: Oct 2008
Intro Updated Mar 9, 2009
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Reviews (18)

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Comments (5)

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AKtravelers Oct 31, 2009 at 12:05 AM

Great recap of Hachicko's story!
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lonelypri3 Jan 4, 2009 at 10:19 PM

hmm.. i think you´re wrong. Most local banks only accept local ATM cards. But 7 Eleven and other 24 hours convenience store accepts international master or visa cards. I dont hv any problem withdrawing money anywhere i go to.
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parkerdj Apr 5, 2008 at 2:57 AM

Thanks for the post! This is one of the places that we wanted to see in Tokyo.
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Wild_Orchid Apr 11, 2005 at 2:36 AM

a fantastic page-I'll need to come back for a second look!!
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leonik Dec 2, 2004 at 5:49 AM

hey i stayed at shinjuku washington too! superb location! i miss japan so much. have a good trip back to US! how nice to spend x'mas there. :-)