Asakusa
This is the name of the Subway station and the district, not to be confused with Akasaka on the other side of town. Walking north of the subway station will take you through an indoor mall of restaurants and clothing shops. After a couple of blocks, the indoor mall ends and you can see an outdoor arcade of booths selling religious tokens and foods (mixed in with tourist knick-knacks) and the 5 Story Pagoda on the grounds of Senso-ji Temple. In front of the first gate, Thunder Gate, there is a large bronze cauldron with sticks of incense burning it. Due to Buddhist custom of purifying oneself by fanning incense smoke around one's face, there will likely be a crowd around the cauldron. There are two fierce deities on each side of Thunder Gate, standing sentry. As is often the case with Buddhist temples in Japan, there is a Shinto shrine, adjacent. Asakusa-jinja shrine is just west of Senso-ji Temple and is denoted by the red flags and torii gate.
Kappa-bashi
By going south from Senso-ji, and taking the main street west a quarter of a mile, you will intersect Kappa-bashi dori, a north-south street that is the place in Tokyo to buy anything related to the kitchen and at prices cheaper than in the US. This is the place to buy sushi plates, sake flasks, lacquer soup bowls, bamboo steamers, silverware and glasses. Because Kappa-bashi sells wholesale to the restaurant trade, you can even buy the lifelike plastic food models seen at the entrance of many of Tokyo's restaurants, the perfect gift for someone on your gift list you wish to annoy. Bring cash, because they don't take American Express (nor Visa, or any other plastic for that matter). Walking south on Kappa-bashi-dori, then one block east along Asakusa-dori will take you to Tawaramachi subway station, which is a little closer than Asakusa station to Kappa-bashi
Akihabara
Only a short subway ride from Tawaramachi/Asakusa is Akihabara, or Electric Town, where every known electronic gizmo can be had for a price (in addition to Japanese porno, but those sections are posted, in English, no foreigners!) As a colleague of mine said, it's a nerd's dream. If buying anything, be sure it's a gadget that stands alone, and is not a peripheral to something back home (i.e. computer software) because Japanese electronics are generally not compatible with your stuff back home. Also, although this is one of the few places in Japan where bargaining is acceptable, prices are still no bargain. This is one of the few areas in Tokyo where English is more widely spoken.
Ueno
Just outside of the subway station lies Ueno-koen, site of a large park with a temple, a shrine, and the Tokyo zoo (which has a couple of pandas). Ueno is a prime spot for hanami (flower viewing) parties when the sakura are in bloom, usually around early April in Tokyo. Large groups of people sit in the park, have picnics and drink large quantities of beer and sake.
Tsukiji
Like other international cities, Tokyo takes its restaurants seriously. Tokyo restaurants have the highest quality standards with fresh fish of any place in the world. Tsukiji (pronounced ski-jee) is the place where Tokyo buys its fish wholesale, and is said to be the world's largest fish market. Hours are the wee hours of the morning. Although all business, it's open to tourists who wish to have a look at the highest quality fish on Earth. If looking at 100 tons of fish makes you hungary, sushi breakfasts are sold in the vicinity.
Shibuya
In a city of superlatives, claustrophobes beware: Shibuya JR station is the busiest railroad station in the world. Why? Shibuya is where those who can't afford Ginza shop. There are several large department stores, including Hankyu, and Parco, in several buildings. Also found are smaller shops selling clothing and CD's to young Tokyo hipsters. Look for the large dog statue just outside the station built in honor of an akita who kept coming down to the station in the evening to meet his owner, even several years after his owner passed away.
About a mile walk away or one JR stop north (Harajuku) is the Meiji-jingu Shrine, one of Japan's best known and most elegant shinto shrines. It is found in Yoyogi-koen Park about halfway between Shibuya and Shinjuku.
Shinjuku
Administrative center of Tokyo, Shinjuku is home to City Hall and also a nightclub/bar scene, some parts of which fall into the seedy category. Shinjuku is also the closest JR station to our office for the Narita Express. Shinjuku is the administrative center of Tokyo, home to the two highrises that house the Tokyo city hall and government offices.
Imperial Palace
In the heart of Tokyo, the palace, which is still home to the imperial family, is closed to visitors, but the grounds around the moat aren't. In the grounds surrounding the palace are Budokan stadium, and a shrine honoring Japan's WW2 dead.
Ebisu
If you work for my firm and are staying at the Westin Tokyo, just across the street is the Ebisu Garden Tower, a 39 story highrise, which has a number of good, and not too expensive restaurants on the top two floors. Look for the express elevator with glass windows that departs from the lowest level of the courtyard. Next door is a Mitsukoshi department store, which has a large grocery store and food court in the sub-basement. This area is hallowed ground -- the original Sapporo brewery was located here. The only thing that remains is a beer museum (behind Mitsukoshi) and the Sapporo beer garden, which has good and reasonably-priced food and beer. Beware, in a country where everything comes in small portions and sizes, a large beer here is a liter (and about the same price as a 330 mL beer elsewhere).
Roppongi
Roppongi is the "gaijin ghetto" of Tokyo, where American and English expatriates come to drink. You love it or you hate it. A colleague's wife called it "Repugnant", no doubt due to the aggressive barkers handing out flyers for free shots at the strip clubs. From what I heard from my seatmate and my Tokyo colleagues, the clubs and bars are frequented by Japanese women looking to meet Western men.
Ginza
Tokyo's answer to 5th Avenue, Rodeo Drive or Mayfair, Ginza is Tokyo's primary luxury shopping district, home to outlets of European designers, as well as many Japanese companies' flagship stores.
Sports
Not being fluent in Japanese, I watched a lot of baseball at night in my hotel room. Since the rules are mostly the same as the States, it was pretty easy to figure out what was going on. Tickets are often available to the regular season games, if you can get out of the office early enough to catch a game. Tokyo's team is the Yomiuri Giants with colors and uniforms similar to San Francisco's baseball team with the same name. The other sport famous in Japan is sumo, to some an ancient art form; to others, a 3 second shoving match between two fat guys in diapers. A couple of my American colleagues thought a sumo match was great entertainment. Even if the match itself lasts seconds, the real drama is the warm-up and stretching ritual (including rice tossing to ward off bad spirits) of the two opponents prior to the match.
Shopping
What do you buy in Tokyo that's not going to break the bank, and doesn't fall into the joke gift category for those back home? Ceramics are good quality and a good value. Wall art and sculpture can also be found at reasonable prices. Additionally, the Japanese make a handmade paper stationery, washi, too beautiful to actually write on. Stationery that's for everyday use is also a great gift, as the Japanese have an eye for aesthetics, and have designs and colors for just about anybody. For comics fans, there is manga, or comics. Before the Spice Girls, girl power was alive and well in Japan -- there is a whole culture of female comic heroes. Japan is known for its dolls, if you are or know a collector. Lastly, for those who need to relieve stiff muscles from sitting behind the computer for 16 hrs, pharmacies sell a number of self massage tools for the neck, shoulders and hands.
Kamakura
A former capital of Japan, Kamakura is the site of the Daibutsu or Giant Buddha, and a number of other Buddhist temples. Kamakura is about 30 miles south of Tokyo on the Sagami Bay side of a peninsula dividing Sagami and Tokyo Bays.
Kyoto has thousands of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. The Japanese have a saying, "taking a leap from Kiyomizu," for doing something bold or challenging. Kyomizu temple is on a hill with a view of central Kyoto. Visitors there can drink from one of 3 waterfalls: health, love or prosperity. At Kiyomizu, you may bump into some student guides. Not to worry, they're not selling anything or scamming tourists. Rather, they are local college students wanting to practice their English with foreigners. Also at Kiyomizu are some traditional geishas (or more likely women in traditional geisha dress).
From Kiyomizu, it's an easy walk to several other temples in the area and the Gion, an old section of Kyoto, which in its heyday was one of the most important geisha districts in Japan. In between the temples and Gion is Maruyama-koen Park which is home to a Shinto shrine, and noble old maple, cherry and plum trees.
Near the Kyoto JR station is Sanjusangen-do, built in 1266 and home of the 1,000 handed kannon, a buddha with many arms and hands, and the 1,001 kannon statues, none of which have the same facial expression. 124 of these statues were built in the 12th century, the remainder in the 13th century. In mid January, on the Japanese holiday, Coming of Age Day, Sanjusangen-do hosts an archery contest for 20 year old women, in traditional dress.
On the western side of Kyoto are Daitoku-ji, a temple megaplex, consisting of many smaller temples within its grounds (dai means great or large in Japanese). A short taxi ride away is Rokuon-ji, home of a replica of the Kinkaku-ji, or Golden Pavilion, stunning in its gold leaf paint on the shore of a reflective pond. The original was torched by a disgruntled monk 50 years ago. Another short taxi-ride away is Ryoan-ji, home of the most famous zen rock garden in Japan. This garden has no plants, rather it's designed for meditation, with its raked gravel and 13 asymmetric boulders.
Onsen
Being a volcanic island, Japan has hot springs or onsen everywhere. At many of them are resorts or spas, where the hot water is pumped into baths. A couple of things for Westerners to be aware of: the bath is for soaking. Bathing with soap is done in at a faucet prior to stepping in the bath. Having to drain and wash an old cedar tub may be one reason traditional resorts are reluctant to accept foreigners. Bath areas are segregated by gender, so unless you hit on that team, forget about sharing that romantic hot tub for two with that someone special. Japanese bathe in the nude. At the resort, you will be issued a small towel, and an even smaller wash cloth like thing, which translates to "modesty cloth" in Japanese. The modesty cloth is used to cover yourself up before stepping into the bath. There are usually several baths of different temperatures, the hottest near hot enough to cook lobster. Some baths have electric baths, designated by a lightning bolt logo, in case one is ionically imbalanced? One other caution -- this is the time to learn the kanji for men and women, as many of the resorts don't have english signs, just in case you wish to avoid entering the facilities belonging to the other gender.
Hakone
Hakone is one of the nearest onsen to Tokyo. Hakone-yumoto is the town at the base of the region, which are also the foothills of Fuji-san, or Mt. Fuji. From Hakone-yumoto, there is a loop which starts with a train ride up the mountain to Gora. From Gora, you take a cog tram even higher up the mountain to Sounzan. From Sounzan, a gondola takes you up and over a ridge past the steaming mudpots and hot springs of Owakudani (where you can get off and look around, although they close the trails near the hot springs in winter. The gondola terminates on the shore of Ashino-ko Lake where you can take a ferry (which is a replica of an old sailboat) to Hakone-machi. From Hakone-Machi, you can walk down a section of the Tokkaido road (the old trail between Tokyo and Kyoto) through tall cedar trees past the Hakone checkpoint, one of the more feared of the many government checkpoints built by the Tokugawa shogunate for security. On the opposite side of the inlet is Hakone-jinja shrine, marked by the torii gate in the water. From Moto-Hakone near the shrine, it's a short bus ride back to Hakone-yumoto.
Nara
Nara is also a former Japanese capital and religious center, 20 miles south of Kyoto. It's home of hundreds of traditional temples and a traditional city center without the crowds of tourists found in Kyoto.
Nikko
Nikko is a resort town, in a national park, in the mountains about an hour's train ride north of Tokyo. It is also home to a number of historical sites and scenic temples.
[Continued on p. 4]