| C Chung |
10 December 2004 |
Stayed at Mansions at Roppongi, The - Tokyo, Japan.
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The Metro is the easiest way to get around Tokyo. If there is a day you know you are going to ride the Metro a good amount I would recommend the 1-Day Fun Pass for 1000 Yen (about $10) for the TOIE and Tokyo Metro Line so you don't have to think about the cost. If you're not sure about how much to buy your ticket, buy the cheapest then pay the fare difference when you arrive at your destination station at the Far Adjustment Machine before you go through the turnstiles. Roppongi Hills just opened up and at night it's a lovely area to walk around; it has museums/gallery, restaurants, shops, movie theatre, and views! If you're thinking about getting electronics in Tokyo you might want to think twice. With all the globalization, the electronics in Tokyo are not as far from what we have in the States. I bought a digital camera and came home and found it being sold at Best Buy. Good thing the price is about the same. And if you buy it at home, you're guaranteed to get instructions in English! I would recommend buying snacks and Japanese souvenirs to bring home instead.
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| S Gwee |
11 November 2004 |
Stayed at ANA Hotel Narita - Tokyo / Narita, Japan.
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The Aeon Shopping Mall at Narita is very modern and has lots of interesting shops - and some at very affordable prices. The ANA Narita hotel provides free shuttle service to this mall.
Our son loves Tokyo Disneyland and wants to go back again next year. Food and entrance fees are prohibitive but the experience was rich. My wife has to move around with a crutch and was pleasantly surprised to meet with lots of assistance and concern.
Overall, our visit to Tokyo this time confirms the impression from a previous visit 7 years ago - Japan is clean, rich in culture, things move like clockwork, the Japanese people are polite and customer service is first-rate - even though we cannot understand what they are saying - the smiles and friendly gestures speak for themselves.
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| M Maticek |
11 October 2004 |
Stayed at New Miyako Hotel - Kyoto, Japan.
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Took the JTB Sunrise tour of Kyoto, highly recommended to get background on the temples and shrines, especially since the sites are distant from the train station. Used the Haruka Express train to Kansai Airport which is very convenient (drops you right off at the terminal).
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| R Liu |
21 September 2004 |
Stayed at Mansions at Roppongi, The - Tokyo, Japan.
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Stayed at Mansions at Roppongi on the first part of a week-long visit to Japan in late September. This was definitely the best accomodation we had on the whole trip compared to the Westin Miyako in Kyoto and the Shinagawa Prince in Tokyo. Mansions is on a small side street - very quiet w/o street noise - a block or two off Roppongi Dori, on the right heading away from Roppongi Crossing (intersection of Roppongi Dori and Gaien-Higashi Dori - lots of taxis here) and the Almond Coffee Shop (if you hit Roppongi Hills, go the other way) - looks like an alley, but you can see the big white Mansions sign down the alley. Despite the great location, we ended up spending very little time in Roppongi itself. We had a great curry udon at Roppongi Hills, a large outdoor mall complex that is also connected to Roppongi Metro station. We had foot massages at an upstairs salon on Gaien-Higashi and dessert at the Almond. We actually spent one night browsing an all-night department store on Gaien-Higashi that had anything you could possibly need from costumes and socks to electronics and manicures. Walking at night is safe, but you will be eagerly invited into bars and night clubs by non-Japanese guys just doing a job.
Overall, this would be our first choice to stay in Tokyo. Although you could find cheaper hotels, in my limited experience, it would be difficult to get a better value than this.
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| K Clarke |
06 August 2004 |
Stayed at Mansions at Roppongi, The - Tokyo, Japan.
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We definitely had some "Lost in Translation" moments but overall we had a great time, The subway system is safe, easy and clean. Top 5 best things we did in Tokyo was eat freshest sushi in tsukiji market, play pachinko "arcades" in shinjuku, rickshawed around asakusa temple, nightclub hopping in roppongi from 10 pm to 10 am, and shopping in ginza.
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| G Barkus |
29 July 2004 |
Stayed at Sunroute Tokyo, Hotel - Tokyo, Japan.
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Tokyo definitely gets more accessible to foreigners with each passing year. If you have ever enjoyed a leisurely coffee in the French-sytle cafes of Omotesando however, don't go back. They are all gone, every single one, replaced with shiny, soul-less international boutiques. International coffee chains are everywhere however and many offer a pleasant environment to both sit and enjoy a "coffee break" and also people-watch as the clientele is far more locals than visitors.
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| E Picker |
26 July 2004 |
Stayed at Radisson Miyako Hotel, Tokyo - Tokyo, Japan.
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When bathing or taking a sauna, the areas are designated Ladies and Gentlemen and no swimwear or any garments are to be worn in baths and sauna which took me a while to become accustomed to being very modest, yet when I went to have a massage I reluctantly stripped off. The masseuse yelped 'pompom' (naked) and rushed out and got me a tracksuit and massaged me through it and towels. Best massage ever, very therapeutic. My first visit to Tokyo and was only there for 4 days and 3 nights, too much to do and must return.
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| N De silva |
20 June 2004 |
Stayed at Sunroute Tokyo, Hotel - Tokyo, Japan.
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We undertook a great day tour to Mount Fuji & Hakone. It was conducted by Sunrise tours. The tour & the tour guide were excellent. However, the City tour conducted by the same firm is not worth the money. The only good thing about the city tour was the fantastic tour guide.
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| M Huth |
10 May 2004 |
Stayed at Park Hotel Tokyo - Tokyo, Japan.
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We has a great trip to Japn over 8 days in early May 2004. We pre-booked Hotels in Tokyo, Harkone and Kyoto. We also prebooked one day tours in Tokyo and Kyoto and Japan Rail Pass before travelling which saved us approx 50% on the bullet trains. We found all the people we meet very friendly and helpful, the food and accommodation was great and the trains excellent.
We stayed at the Fujiya Hotel at Miyonshita during our stay at Hakone which is the oldest resort hotel in Japan - no wonder royalty and John Lennon stayed there. We also used the 7 day Hakone Free Pass to use the trains, buses, boats, cablecars and ropecars all on the one ticket - excellent value and easy to use.
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| L Cohen |
21 March 2004 |
Stayed at Sunroute Hiroshima, Hotel - Hiroshima, Japan.
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Hiroshima is definitely worth a visit. One day should do it. The Peace Museum is a very sobering experience and something everyone should see. Miyajima Island is less than an hour from Hiroshima and I highly recommend staying there for a night in a ryokan. We stayed at the Momiji-so, in the middle of a forest. The island is beautiful and there are deer roaming around all over the place. They are very tame & friendly and not afraid of people since they are protected and not hunted.
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Traveller's Tales: Things to do in Japan
