January 30, 2004 -- With the American dollar faring poorly against most European currencies for the past few months, many US travelers are reconsidering their longtime tendency to ignore Asia, where some exchange rates have remained steady vis-a-vis the dollar, or where, as in Japan, prices of everything have not only stayed constant, but even declined in a few cases. Thus, while trying to live western-style in Tokyo remains expensive on anyone's list, traveling as a tourist and taking advantage of bargains can make visiting no more costly than many European journeys.
Hotels in Japan have never been as pricey as those in Europe, category for category. In the wonderful old Asakusa area, near the city's oldest and best-loved temple, a single room at the very modern (1998), full service Sunroute Asakusa goes for ¥8500 (about $79), a double one for ¥14,500 (about $134). If you order on the web (www.sunroute-asakusa.co.jp), "foreigners" get a tiny ¥500 discount ($4.60). You can find even cheaper accommodations in the latest issue of Frommer's Tokyo or Frommer's Japan books, too.
Domestic transport is moderately priced if you stay away from taxis and airplanes. Getting to and from the Narita Airport can cost as little as ¥1900 (about $17.60) on the Keisei Sky Liner train, but most convenient is a Limousine Airport Bus from many hotels for just ¥3000 (about $27.80). A taxi all the way (90 minutes average) runs about ¥20,000 (about $185) by contrast. On the subway, minimum fare is ¥160 (about $1.48), up to ¥300 (about $2.80). You can buy a one-day Open ticket for either ¥710 or ¥1000 (there are two basic systems), being about $6.60 or $9.25, respectively. A Tokyo Combination ticket, good for one day on any subway, streetcar, Toei bus or JR train, is available for ¥1580 (about $14.65). The 13 subway lines operate from 5 AM to just past midnight. Children 6 to 12 pay half fare.
Food in Japan is the most expensive mainly because most food is imported, but if you are adventurous enough to avoid posh Western-style hotels and foreign-tourist traps, you can eat well and abundantly with little coin. The deals at lunchtime are most widespread, with many small restaurants offering "set lunch" for under ¥1000 (about $9.25). Look for these places in basements of office buildings and in narrow lanes of business districts, in addition to the usual storefront spots. A good deal, and a lot of fun, is to go into the basement of the big department stores to buy prepared food there, including prepacked sushi, bento boxes and the like, many under ¥1000. For dinner, ask your hotel front desk for an inexpensive nearby recommendation, or use our Frommer's guidebook, which lists several spots throughout the city. You can also see a full listing sorted by price-ranges in our coverage of Tokyo starting here.
Several package tours, as we have reported earlier, take advantage of the winter months to give you all-inclusive bargains or just low-airfare, low-priced hotel deals. Among the tour operators offering such packages are Go-Today (www.gotoday.com), Pacific Delight (www.pacificdelighttours.com) and Pleasant Holidays (www.pleasantholidays.com).
Anime Gone Human
Visiting trendy spots in Tokyo these days is like stepping into an anime cartoon feature where the characters have suddenly morphed into real humans. A glimpse of this was seen in Lost in Translation, but you can experienced it for yourself in the Harajuku district on Sundays, gape at the human and neon displays in Shibuya -- the hip, teen capital of cool -- anytime, visit an anime museum or just sample some night life. The coolest thing to be in Japan these days, if you're a youngster, is kawaii (cute), especially if you're a female. Grown women and teenagers alike dress like schoolgirls (plaid miniskirts, for instance), but with heavy stage makeup; young men and boys sport green- or yellow-colored haircuts in bizarre shapes, and combo hip-hop, zoot suit clothes.
The coolest tour JTB has operated in a long time is the Tokyo Anime Tour 2004, departing March 24 from New York or Los Angeles, costing $1,389 or $1,349, respectively. (Available from other gateways, too, just ask JTB. If you want the land-only deal, it's $909.) This tour features attendance at the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2004, visits to the Suginami Animation Museum, the Toei Animation Oizumi Studio, the Toei Animation Institute, and the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. You'll stay at the deluxe Keio Plaza Hotel (one of my favorites), convenient to the anime centers of Akihabara and Shibuya. Contact JTB at www.jtbusa.com.
But the traditional arts, and reverence for them, remain. You can take lessons in flower arranging for just one morning, as did my sister and cousin on their first trip to Japan recently, or get all dressed up like a geisha and your photograph taken, which they didn't do (no time in a rushed schedule). And, of course, you will want to visit traditional sites such as temples and shrines, museums and gardens, the older aspects of a culture found nowhere else.
Back to the Future
Above all, however, visiting Tokyo means looking a little into the future. This is the city where automatic doors (on taxis as well as in shops and hotels) were first used, ditto hot spots on bathroom mirrors to keep them fog-free after a shower, ditto faucets that operate on an electric eye, ditto -- well, the list is endless. Go today and you'll see marvelous architecture (love it or hate it, nothing in between) such as the Asahi beer company HQ, in the oldest part of Tokyo, Asakusa, looking for all the world like a giant blob (it's supposed to be a flame, but critics say much worse things), or the TV office down on Odaiba island that has a huge, eight-story high globe floating in a hole at the building's center.
The latest wonder is the Roppongi Hills, a monstrous but attractive complex in the heart of the fashionable Roppongi district. Boasting 53 stories, the main building contains a City View observatory (on 52), and the Mori Art Museum (the latter also on 53), with gorgeous displays of modern art. The building is crammed with gift shops, cafes, while the "town" of lesser buildings contains residences and offices, as well as more restaurants and shops. If all this is bewildering, you can take one of three tours provided for English-speaking visitors. Inter alia, the tours cost from ¥1500 to ¥2500 ($14 to $23) and take 30 to 45 minutes, covering the area in one way or another. One tour takes you to the roof garden atop the Keyakizaka Complex, not open to the general public otherwise. Students and children pay less. Phone them at 6406-6677 or visit www.roppongihills.com. Admission to the Mori Art Museum is ¥1500 ($14), and exhibits change every few months or so. Admission to the City View deck is also ¥1500.
Then there are the trains, sleekly-designed and futuristic-looking marvels that slide quietly in and out of stations exactly on time, their cars stopping precisely on the platform where markings indicate they will. Use these to get out of town, but don't forget the JR Yamanote System, which consists of a loop running around the heart of the city, with trains running every three minutes, even during mid-day. JR, the main railroad, operates 30,000 trains daily nationwide, and makes sure all the signs are in English as well as Japanese. The subway system (Tokyo has 13 lines) works the same, with color-coded signs, cars and painted sidewalks to sort everything out. As on the railways, signs show not only the station you're in, but the next station in either direction, and overhead LED signs tell you in how many minutes the next train is coming. There are reserved seats on the train in coach class as well as first class, but on the subway, you would be wise to avoid the rush hours on workdays, unless you like being crammed in -- literally.
On Your Own
On your first day, it might be wise to take a half-day or full-day tour (we'll be reviewing one such tour in depth on Monday). After your first day of getting oriented, you can strike out on your own, using the magnificent subway or light rail systems that surround, crisscross and permeate Tokyo. Highlights you should not miss include the spots described above from your tour, and Shinjuku (a veritable Manhattan of skyscrapers), Shibuya (the trendiest shopping center), Roppongi (including Roppongi Hills), the Ginza, and the Tokyo Central Fish Market.
In the evening, try to reserve ahead for a performance of kabuki or a sumo match. (You have to plan ahead for these, as they sell out quickly and are not available every day in the first place.) Ask your hotel front desk to assist you in making reservations if you have not done so before leaving home for Japan. If you can't get tickets for full performances at either4, consider a tour group. JTB has a Kabuki tour in the evening, featuring a sukiyaki/tempura/vegetarian dinner, costing ¥9800 ($91) when the Kabuki is performing. There is also a Sumo Tour available on certain dates in May, September and January, for ¥9800 ($91, adult and child).
Two good websites to consider: That of the Tokyo Visitors Bureau is www.tcvb.or.jp. A private site for new places to go, restaurant reviews and such is www.tokyoq.com.
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