1) Know at least some basic Japanese. Basic phrases like ["Excuse me. How do I go from A to B?"] are essential to finding your way around when you simply don't know what you're doing anymore.
2) Carry a map of Tokyo's rail system that already has the romaji conversions. These maps should have both the original kanji and the romaji conversion; so, if you find yourself at a station that only has signs in kanji, then you can take out your map, look for the place that you want to go to in romaji, look at the kanji next to it, match the kanji with the one on the board, and buy the appropriate ticket.
3) Tokyo Metro's website provides an online service similar to Google Maps. You can enter in the station where you will depart from and the station where you want to go to and the website will provide several recommendations as to what routes you can take and where you need to transfer and that sort of thing. Furthermore, you can organize these recommendations by cost, time, number of transfers, etc. This doesn't replace recommendations 1 and 2, as you are going to have to know what you are doing when you get to these stations; it definitely helps, though.
4) Of course, if possible, travel with a Japanese friend.
Some background regarding Japan's geography...
Japan is divided into 47 prefectures (I've mentioned some that I have been to such as Oita, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo). Each prefecture is further divided into cities and so on. For many of the prefectures, the capital of said prefecture is a city by the same name (ie the capital of Oita Prefecture is the City of Oita). However, Tokyo is unique in that there is no capital. Furthermore, if you are looking for Tokyo City, you won't find it. As of 1943, it doesn't exist; it and Tokyo Prefecture were merged into the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (the only metropolitan prefecture in Japan). On the other hand, people familiar with Tokyo's geography will probably understand that you are referring to the present-day nijuusanku---the 23 special wards that occupy the area formerly known as Tokyo City (It's kind of like how up until recently there was no official place in Los Angeles called Hollywood but everyone knew where this "place" was.). That is where I am now. Specifically, I am in the district of Asakusa in the special ward of Taitoo. Anyway. The point of all this is simply to point out that, aside from obvious reasons, Tokyo is a rather unique part of Japan.
That said, let's move on to what most of you are probably interested in: what Tokyo is like. Like I said, there is a lot to do in Tokyo and I didn't even come close to doing and seeing everything that there is to do and see. As with everywhere that I have gone in Japan, I divided my time into time that I would spend with friends and time that I would spend site seeing (occasionally the two would be the same). Here's a list of the major places that I went to...
Asakusa
Famous for Sensou-ji, which is the oldest temple in Tokyo and was built in 628. Asakusa also used to be the center in Tokyo for entertainment; so, Asakusa is interesting in that there is a strong mix of old and new. I did site seeing in Asakusa my first day in Tokyo, but aside from that spent very little time here. My last night in Tokyo saw the re-union of Asako and I. Asako studied at a local English school in California and I met her while I was studying Japanese at my university. She returned to Tokyo just in time for me to see her once more before I returned to the states. This was definitely a nice way to enjoy my last night in Tokyo, but also sad because I knew I wouldn't be able to see her again for a while.
Kaminarimon. ---
Sensou-ji. ---
The torii to Asakusa Shrine. ---
Five story pagoda. ---
Asako and I after dinner. ---Shinjuku
Probably the modern center for entertainment in Tokyo. There is a lot to do here. After I got settled into my hotel in Asakusa the first night, I met up with Yukari (the friend that I went to Usa Shrine with back in June) and another friend in Shinjuku. We went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and enjoyed a nice view of Shinjuku from the 45th floor. Afterwards, the three of us had dinner together at a local restaurant. Once again, good times with good friends. Then, I came back to Shinjuku on my third night to meet with Eriko (one of the girls that I met at APU). We walked around Shinjuku together for a while and had dinner. So, I enjoyed Shinjuku a lot. It goes down as one of my favorite places.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. ---
Tokyo. A see of buildings. ---
In the back, you can see Fuji-san. ---
Close to the center is Tokyo Tower. ---Odaiba and Ginza
I met up with another friend, Kou, on day Two and he showed me around Odaiba during the day. Odaiba is the home of such things as Rainbow Bridge, the Palette Town Ferris Wheel (briefly the world's largest at a height of 115 meters when it was first built), and the Statue of Liberty. Yes. That's right ladies and gentlemen. For those of you who thought it was in New York, please stay after class for a short make-up quiz. Anyway. After walking around Odaiba for a while, Kou and I headed to his family's home where we had dinner and talked with his family. His parents lived in New Jersey for about five years; so, he and his parents speak really good English. I was surprised to find that I was having difficulty keeping up in an English conversation with them. Just for the record, if you spend some time in a foreign country and study a foreign language, your native language skills will suffer. I don't mean possibly. I don't mean probably. I mean you WILL get worse at your native language. This is something that many of my English-speaking friends and I have noticed since coming to Japan. Typical example...
Japanese friend: So... I heard that American kids usually move out of their homes at a young age.
Me: Yeah. I would say that's true in comparison to many other countries.
JF: Why?
Me: Well, Americans think it's really import to be ... ... ... ah crap. Dude. What's that word I'm thinking of?
English-speaking friend: What word?
Me: You know. It means... like... uhm... you need to go out and do stuff... or something like that.
E-SF: Yeah! I know what you mean. Geeze, what's that word? I think it starts with an "a"...
Me: Yeah! That sounds right! Okay... a... a... apprehensive... ambiguous... am...
E-SF: Ambitious?
Me: That's the one! Ambitious! Okay... what were we talking about?
After dinner, we took a walk around Ginza, which is perhaps comparable to Fifth Ave in New York. There's lots of expensive stores and that sort of thing. Definitely a cool sight to see.
The Palette Town Ferris Wheel. ---
Rainbow Bridge. ---
Told you it was here. ---
Ginza at night. ---
Ginza Intersection. ---Akihabara
Like Asakusa, Akihabara has a strong mix of old and new. The first place that I visited was Nicholai-do---an orthodox church building built by Russian St Nicholai when he came to Japan. I only stayed for a few minutes, as they seemed uncomfortable with me visiting and not being of that particular faith. No comment. Akihabara is also the home of Kanda Myojin (a shrine that was built in about 730). Very beautiful building. Then I checked out Akihabara's famous musical instrument area. This is a musician's dream come true. A whole street lined up with shop after shop of guitars and other musical instruments. The guitars I saw ranged anywhere from about 50USD to 10000USD. Freaking cool! Finally, I checked out Electric City. If you have a short attention span, have a lot of money and are into electronics, or are an otaku (geek or nerd), then Electric City is the place for you. Lots of shiny, flashy lights and signs line the streets that are filled with tons of electronics stores filled with various modern Japanese technology. Along with the electronics stores are various video game, anime, and manga stores. So, fans of these things will also enjoy Electric City.
Nicholai-do. ---
Yushima Tenjin. ---
Kanda Myojin. ---
Heaven. ---
Electric City. Shiny, isn't it? ---Shibuya
Home of such famous places as Harajuku, Shibuya is Tokyo's trendy fashion center. There are a plethora of clothing stores featuring only the most modern Japanese trends. The Japanese are obsessed with fashion (far more than Americans are). So, Shibuya is generally REALLY crowded. Of course, aside from all kinds of interesting clothes there are plenty of gorgeous women to observe. Kou, FJ, and I met up and spent the day here on my sixth day in Tokyo. We spent most of the day just window shopping, eating, and enjoying the view.
Shibuya shopping district. ---
The latest trends can be found in Harajuku. After years of youth continually sagging their pants lower and lower, we have apparently decided to just drop them around our ankles. ---
FJ and I. ---
Kou and I. ---Marunouchi
Where such important buildings as Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace reside, Marunouchi is perhaps the business center of Tokyo. Tokyo Station itself is quite impressive with many different railway lines stopping here. The building is quite beautiful. Originally, it was built in 1914 but was pretty beat up by those troublesome Americans during WWII. So, it was re-built in 1947. The Imperial Palace was previously the home of the Tokugawa family and is presently the home of the Emperor of Japan. It's big. Really... really... big. That's about all I can say, as they wouldn't let me inside. So, I just spent about an hour walking around the front of it and took random pictures.
Pictures of Tokyo Station...
Pictures of the outside of the Imperial Palace...
Well, ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. That's my update on Tokyo. Like I said, there's a lot to do in Tokyo, and, thus, a lot that I wanted to do that I just didn't get to do. Next time, though. However, I hope that you enjoyed it.
Well, I'm flying back to the US in about 9 hours, and I guess that means that this trip is pretty much over. I've met a lot of wonderful people and had a lot of great experiences. I hope that all of you who have been reading this have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed sharing my experiences with you. In the future, I may write more, but for now this is the end. So, thanks to all of you who kept up with it and commented and emailed; you guys have been great. Thanks to all of my friends who helped me out while I stayed here; I have nothing but endless gratitude for you guys. Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible for me; you are incredibly wonderful people. Seriously, THANK YOU!
Japan, I won't say "goodbye" to you. Instead I'll say "until we meet again" because I will be back soon. That's a promise.
