1ST Visit to Tokyo

Originally Posted by overdog

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Does anyone have any recommendations as to an affordable place to try Kobe or Wagyu beef? I have heard of places that end up costing up to 200 USD for a meal. I'd be interested in something in the $50 range. I saw a favorable blurb about Satou Steakhouse in Kichijoji. Any others?

I don't have any suggestions on inexpensive places. But if you've got limited time on a first trip to Tokyo, I'd put Kichijoji pretty low on the priority list unless you are actually staying in the western suburbs. Even then, I'd probably head over to Shimokitazawa or even Shibuya rather than hang in Kichijoji. There's not a lot there that isn't better somewhere else.

^ Thanks for the tip. I agree. When on vacation, traveling further to get a better price is not worth the wasted time.

Originally Posted by overdog

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Does anyone have any recommendations as to an affordable place to try Kobe or Wagyu beef? I have heard of places that end up costing up to 200 USD for a meal. I'd be interested in something in the $50 range. I saw a favorable blurb about Satou Steakhouse in Kichijoji. Any others?

Originally Posted by overdog

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^ Thanks for the tip. I agree. When on vacation, traveling further to get a better price is not worth the wasted time.

I was going to suggest Kobe for Kobe beef but it would be wasted time for you.

There are 300,000 places to eat and 100,000 bars in Tokyo, more than 20x that of NYC (in comparison 15,000 places to eat and 2000 bars). Youll be spoiled for choice, make the most of them with a bar crawl. Try and get out of the tourist zones (Roppongi nightlife is awful that way). As mentioned before Shibuya and Harajuku are great for the youthful urban vibe that Tokyo DELIVERS, classier nightlife. Three things you got to do:

1. Pick a direction and get happily lost.
2. If you see a park, visit it, even if you have to pay.
3. Tsukiji Fish Market (either get up early of do it post clubbing)

I had originally booked a hotel right next to Ueno station for about $140 a night, but a friend of a friend offered to let us stay in their house in Kisarazu for free. From what I read, Kisarazu is 60 minutes away from Tokyo station by bus and 80 minutes by train. I'm a bit reluctant, even though it is free, since the commute seems rather long. I know Ueno isn't the most central spot either, but at least it's in Tokyo. Those of you that are familiar with Tokyo, would staying in Kisarazu be really inconvenient as compared to Ueno?

Sorry for veering this discussion off course, but I didn't want to start a thread just to ask this question. And the Japan tourism boards I have been reading are just full of tourists who don't know where Kisarazu is.

Originally Posted by overdog

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Those of you that are familiar with Tokyo, would staying in Kisarazu be really inconvenient as compared to Ueno?

Given the choice of staying for free way out in Chiba (and I had to look to see where Kisarazu was), vs paying to stay closer in, I would pay. You'll burn almost three hours a day (counting walking and waiting) in round trip commute.

On the other hand, if you want a really culturally immersive experience, there isn't any better way to do it than having your ass pushed into a busy inbound JR train every morning. Just make sure to keep your hands where the chicks can see them.

Originally Posted by retronotmetro

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Given the choice of staying for free way out in Chiba (and I had to look to see where Kisarazu was), vs paying to stay closer in, I would pay. You'll burn almost three hours a day (counting walking and waiting) in round trip commute.
+1 Also, $140 a night in Ueno? Yeesh! Where are you staying? I have a similar predicament when I go. My family has homes in both Hino and in Chiba. I almost never stay there. I'd rather pay the $23-$70 bucks a night to stay in the city than to cut two plus hours out of my day to commute into town.

+1 Monja and Takoyaki.

I also suggest crawling the back allyways in Shinjuku at night. Hit up Yakitori-ya and other little bars and stuff. Eat Whale, it is delicious. Also try to pick up some of the crazy different sweets or hit up one of the many little cake stands around the stations. Japanese cake is amazing if you like fruit and light, not so heavy sweetened, cake.

Need a burger? Try Freshness Burger in Ueno, Nakameguro (2 locations), and I think there is one in Ginza. Best damn fast food burger ever, it tasted like something I would grill at home. I posted a pic a while ago, so if you find it you will know what I am talkin about.

Also if you get tired of Japanese food try some street Kebab, good and cheap.

I say avoid Akiba unless you like Anime, foreigners getting railed by jacked up prices on electronics, or need to buy any computer components at a very low price (parts of computers are cheap as hell here, especially if you need an old oddball part).

If you want to get hard to get in the US clothes, go to Daikanyama/Naka-Meguro area. Lots of badass little boutiques here.

Originally Posted by overdog

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I had originally booked a hotel right next to Ueno station for about $140 a night, but a friend of a friend offered to let us stay in their house in Kisarazu for free. From what I read, Kisarazu is 60 minutes away from Tokyo station by bus and 80 minutes by train. I'm a bit reluctant, even though it is free, since the commute seems rather long. I know Ueno isn't the most central spot either, but at least it's in Tokyo. Those of you that are familiar with Tokyo, would staying in Kisarazu be really inconvenient as compared to Ueno?

Sorry for veering this discussion off course, but I didn't want to start a thread just to ask this question. And the Japan tourism boards I have been reading are just full of tourists who don't know where Kisarazu is.

I think the train will take a bit longer than that, it's pretty far out. Also that doesn't include the time it will take you to get to the station -- if they have an actual house, it might be a pretty long walk or bike ride to the nearest station.

Also, what does your friend do in Kisarazu? It's a pretty industrial area....

Anyway, I think it depends how much time you have. If you are a student or something and have a few weeks, there are temples and things nearby within Chiba you could explore in addition to going into Tokyo, as well as going across the bridge to Kanagawa. But if you don't have so much time to spare, you're probably better off staying in the city.

The reservation I have in Ueno is for a 3-person room, so from my research, $140 for a 250 square foot room seemed to be a reasonable amount to pay.

I don't really know what this person in Kisarazu does. It is the close relative of a good friend. I don't even know them very well, so it's kind of awkward for me to question them about the location of their house like I am evaluating a hotel or something. I feel like I either need to accept without questions, or graciously decline.

Anyways, I suspected the commute + waiting time would be rather long. I am only in Tokyo for 8 days. I am also taking a couple of day trips out of Tokyo and I figure catching the train from Chiba would be a huge hassle. So I'm really leaning toward not staying there.

Originally Posted by overdog

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The reservation I have in Ueno is for a 3-person room, so from my research, $140 for a 250 square foot room seemed to be a reasonable amount to pay.
Are you actually staying with three people? Or is it just that you don't think you'd be comfortable with a smaller room? 250 Square feet is a LOT of space for one person especially in a hotel room in Tokyo. You could stay in some pretty nice places in Shinjuku/Ginza/etc. for $140 a night (assuming you aren't going to be there for a month or so, those places book up pretty fast) Hotel Monterey Ginza has Superior Single (215 sq ft) rooms for $116 and standard double (same size room, just bigger bed, flat screen tv, and etc) for $139 a night pretty much every night in September. Just so you know.

Originally Posted by Tokyo Slim

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Are you actually staying with three people? Or is it just that you don't think you'd be comfortable with a smaller room? 250 Square feet is a LOT of space for one person especially in a hotel room in Tokyo. You could stay in some pretty nice places in Shinjuku/Ginza/etc. for $140 a night (assuming you aren't going to be there for a month or so, those places book up pretty fast) Hotel Monterey Ginza has Superior Single (215 sq ft) rooms for $116 a night pretty much every night in September. Just so you know.

There are 3 of us. I am not that high maintenance. Thanks for the link though. I heard they give you a hard time if you try to cram extra people in a 2 person room (that is, if there is even space to do it). Plus, I am not a poor college student anymore--no need to make someone sleep on the floor. Do you think I could have found a better deal for a 3 twin-bed room?

Keep us posted overdog, I'm looking for 3-person lodging in that price range. What is with the lack of rollaways in Japan?

This is the hotel I booked at:

Tokyo Ueno Touganeya Hotel
Reviews here

Originally Posted by overdog

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There are 3 of us. I am not that high maintenance. Thanks for the link though. I heard they give you a hard time if you try to cram extra people in a 2 person room (that is, if there is even space to do it). Plus, I am not a poor college student anymore--no need to make someone sleep on the floor. Do you think I could have found a better deal for a 3 twin-bed room?

Hmm.. if there's actually three of you, thats a pretty decent rate. What are your travel dates? I'll keep my eyes peeled.