Any advice for a family of five vistiting tokyo, japan?

I am visisting Tokyo, japan during New Years and was wondering if people that have visited there before could give me any advice.


Thanks!Any advice for a family of five vistiting tokyo, japan?
Tokyo is a crowded modern city. Things there would be expensive than where you could find in some other places of Japan. The bullet train(shinkasen) is known as the most puctual train in the world with its average time of late 0.3 second a day. At rush hour, a bullet train(shinkasen) comes every two and a half minutes. If u are late for 1 minute and simply get into a train, u will soon discover yourself in the wrong train.


Second, the hi-tech toilet in Japan can be the most puzzling thing for a foreigner. Some foreigners stuck inside the toilet because of don't know how it functions. The toilet has lots of fuctions. U press a button on the keypad and it will do u a favor. U can discover the function of each button in the hotel before going out. The check out time of the hotel is usually in the morning before 11am. Please ask from them to make sure.


Third, don't smoke on the street. As the air quality in Tokyo is polluted, there will be a fine if caught smoking on the street. Also, Japanese don't receive tips. Tipping is not exist in Japan. Driver or staff may feel awkward if someone perceive in giving tips. In some restaurants, you will be given a towel. The towel is for u to clean your hand. Don't use it to wipe face, neck and etc. U are required to take off the shoe if sitting on a tatami.Any advice for a family of five vistiting tokyo, japan?
Traveling tips eh... Well a round-trip ticket from the US to Japan usually ranges from $1,500 to $2,000. And after that, when you get to customs at Narita airport, assuming your going there, you have to have your return ticket, or proof that you have a plane back to the US, and will not stay there illegally. From there, it kinda gets hectic, if its your first time to Japan, your more than likely going to be like wtf, where do I go?!! But I recommend this nice train called the skyliner which takes you basically directly to Tokyo, well after a stop and transfer to another train at Ueno or Nippori station. Etc. etc. And also I recommend you exchange your money at the airport, its not that hard, just grab one of those slips of paper, and write how much you want to exchange, and while in Japan, if you want some cash, but can't find a bank that will work for ya, the post office always has a atm machine, and those usually worked for me. For a week budget I would take $3,000-$5,000 depending on how much of a spender you are. For food, if you want to eat cheap, then avoid eating foreign food, and eat at local restaurants. For a decent size hotel I would expect to pay $250-$350 a night. If you want to save money you could go to a youth hostel, and pay $30 a night, but dont expect alot of privacy. And here is my trick for train tickets. You can purchase a suica card, which i dont recommend since you will be staying shortly, but with that card you can upload money and just scan at gates. Or a pass, which I also dont recommend since your stay will be short. If your going to stay around Tokyo area, I recommend just buying tickets from the machines, here is the trick. When you buy a ticket always buy the cheapest one, once u do that, go through the gate, once you go from station to another, you exit out the gate, if your ticket was goes through gate your exiting, your good to go, but if it spits it back out, you need to do fare exchange, that basically means your paying the difference of what you already paid and the amount needed to cover the fare. Kinda hard to explain. I used to live in Tokyo, and boy it took me a while to get used to it.











As far as places to visit I made ya a little list of places to visit in around Tokyo. Sorry I'm not familiar with the Osaka region.





Akihabara, if ya want some nice fancy electronics give this district a visit, here you will find many electronic stores, as well as arcades.





Shibuya, really nice shopping areas, also if your in that region visit Hachiko, or the dog statue in front of the train station.





Shinjuku, I lived in this district, so I know it fairly well, here you will find many guitar stores, and even the Gibson store. Shinjuku also has the worlds largest train station, which is home to tons of stores, and I would also consider this area the focal point of Tokyo, since you can catch most trains at this station to anywhere you want to go. I recommend you take the yamanote line, since it will practically take you to most districts.





Harajuku, or the fashion district, here you will find the big label clothing stores, along with a small alleyway which isnt hard to find that has the latest in teen fashion, I also recommend the crepes they have there, very delicious. Oh and dont forget to visit Yoyogi kouen, Yoyogi park, which is two blocks from the main train station. A great place to relax when you get tired of the city. Its really big, and always has a little entertainment, well on the weekends.





Ginza, known for its high priced merchandise, you can find the latest in luxury goods here, Sony store is located here.





Yokohama, I didnt visit this area, but I heard it is basically a China Town in Tokyo, and should be close to the rainbow bridge.





Roppongi, only been here once, once you get off the train, the smell of liquor hits you right in the face. Consider this place, the red district of Tokyo. Plenty of clubs, booze, etc.





And for a trip outside Tokyo, I would highly recommend a trip to Kamakura to vist the famous Buddha statue. I would like to include more detail regarding that, but I went with a group, so I couldnt help with directions.
Have you booked accommodation? From 30 Dec to 4 Jan, Japanese hotels and Ryokans tend to charge people triple price, honestly. If you are on budget its very very very very difficult to get hold of a room for a family of 5. So act now (It can be too late though, I'm afraid)





If you have accommodation already secured, then the New Year is the fabulous time to visit Japan. People go to Hatsu-Mode (first visit of the year to shrines and temples). All sorts of stalls are alongside the pilgrimage roads to shrines. You could buy holiday items on sale. You can have Osechi Ryori (New Year festive dinner) from Hotel restaurants Yes, it will be bit expensive but good experience nonetheless. Beware everywhere in around shines and temples will be literally packed with tens of thousands of people and pickpockets are operating. All public transports are running near normal so you do not worry about Taxi fare.
Check Tokyo in my blog.