A very nice gent wrote me this week asking for recommendation on what to do with 3 days in Tokyo so I decided I should post my recommendations for others with the same question.
I would visit the the Tokyo Trinity, as I like to call it, no visit is complete without at least a one time stop at each of these locations in Tokyo. Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Shibuya. Yes, it's cliche' but it's still a must for a first timer,and you can do them all in two to three days.
In Shinjuku:
1.check out for night life the Golden Gai
2. for food you should definitely not miss Yakitori Alley, it's real name being Omoide Yokocho.
Both are within walking distance of Shinjuku Station, Yakitori alley is sandwiched in the alleys between the East and West exits of the Station. Take the East exit walk towards the Epson sign when you get to a very large intersection the Epson sign will be across the street from you stay on your side hange a right walking towards the train underpass, a couple of stores before the underpass there's an alley that's one of the entrances to Omoide Yokocho. I can't recommend what stall to eat at, some will not be friendly to Gaijin (foreigners) all the menus are in japanese, Yakitori is traditionally all chicken parts on a skewer plus veggies. If your stomach is adventures then try it all if not use a phrase book or draw a pic of chicken ( I did this) and point to the parts you want. I have a sensitive stomach and I was totally fine eating there. It can be pricey at some stalls, especially if you drink beer and/or Sake.
The Golden Gai (tiny alleys with tiny bars) is a bit more difficult to find but worth it. If you head out the East exit and walk toward Studio Alta(that's the large LCD screen) cross the street and head through the alleys onto a large street called Yasukuni Dori, you have to be on the other side of the street so cross over, you'll be walking along Kabuki-cho. With your back to East Exit hang a right keep walking, you have to pass a large intersection, Kuyakusho Dori, cross it. now you have to keep an eye out before getting to the next big intersection (Meiji Dori) is a small street with no name, hang a left and you should find a series of small alleys with bars, you are at the Golden Gai. If you want to orient yourself in the day you can look for Hanazono Temple it's right in front of these alleys.
* a bit of a warning, although Tokyo might be the safest of large cities to travel in the world, be careful in Kabuki-cho, especially as a man they'll try to lure you into seedy clubs, and extort lots of money from you, particularly beware of the non-japanese solicitors, mostly African*
You'll be totally fine, I walked around at night in Kabuki-cho with another woman and was completely safe I just walked away from these people, some of them even followed us around, but eventually gave up.
3. Harajuku, best to visit on weekend to see the insanity of young people all dressed up in Harajuku square, regardless if your not there on a weekend it's still a nice trip. Right outside the Harjuku train station you can find the Meiji Shrine it's worth the visit, when your done there take a trip done Takeshita Dori, with all the shops, right before you get to the end(large intersection) on your right is an awesome, Japanese Italian buffet, called Tebasa, where all the young people go. It's really cheap, fun, and delicious. For 1500 Yen you can get unlimited trips to the buffet for an hour and beverages (non-alcoholic, for alcoholic bevs pricey,don't bother). Have lunch here. Then take a walk towards the right on Meiji Dori towards Omotesando Dori, you'll find lots of little streets of both Meiji and Omotesando with, great stores and little cafes and restaurants. There are a few izakayas (these are restaurants that offer a variety of small style dishes to compliment your beer or sake in the neighborhood, so you may want to plan for dinner in the neighborhood.
4. Shibuya, is less intense during a week day, night time it's overrun by teens, but can still be a lot of fun, lots of Karaoke places (lots of Karaoke in Shinjuku too right outside the station), you can't miss them. The greatest thing to watch in Shibuya is during rush hour, the large Shibuya station crossing, you've never seen anything quite so insane (and I live in New York, and I'm still saying that). The one store I say you should check out in this area is Tokyu Hands, it's a great department store, with stuff you would never find outside of Japan. It's not far from the station.
Ok, so those are three easy things to do in 2-3 days
If you want to go and explore some less touristy areas, I would recommend Shimokitazawa, Daikanyama, Naka-Meguro, all really easy to get to from Shinjuku station, I have posted entries for the first two, but I haven't written anything yet on Naka-Meguro, it's really laid back, it's like the artist/neo-hippie area, lots of vintage stores, and cool little cafes. If you are having trouble sleeping and are awake at the crack of dawn check out the Tsukiji Fish Market.
OH! if you saw Lost in Translation you'll remember the Park Hyatt hotel, it's pretty amazing, about a fifteen minute walk from the Shinjuku station and if your there Sunday go for Sunday brunch, it's about $60 USD, but it's amazing. Unlimited Appetizer buffet, gourmet entreé, and unlimited dessert buffet, and the view of Tokyo is spectacular. You have to call for a reservation, the restaurant in the hotel is call the New York Grill. You can go for a drink at night there too, it's $20USD to get in.
