Almost finished 
.
Well as NH has said the Japanese have some quirky customs and as long as you generally try not to offend they forgive the occasional gaffe. One thing I do urge vigilence with however is following custom with shoe removal where appropriate . Socks/ hosiery should also be clean and hole free, where shoes are to be removed and there will often be slipper type shoes for you to put on.
OK, where to stay in Tokyo.
After my initial blunder with the Four Seasons I wanted somewhere that was easily accessible with plenty to do nearby. Shinjuku (and the Hilton) fit the bill exactly . The Hilton is directly on the Friendly Limousine Bus routing for both airports serving Tokyo and a 10 minute walk from the station . They also run a shuttle every 20 mins for those not wishing to walk. The Hyatt is just accross the road and there are several cheaper hotels in the area. Because of the fantastic public transport available you can't really be too far from the action anywhere in Tokyo, just be aware that it is an absolutely massive city (35 million residents!!!! :0 ).
Tokyo has loads to do - temples, shrines, The Imperial Palace. enormous stations,....and shopping ): ): .
Shopping. Well. I didn't do much LOL
. There are lots and lots of (nice) shops but European visitors will wilt when they see the price tags on items. Anthing non - Japanese is expensive. I now know why the Hawaii is such a popular destination for the Japanese. Just to give you an idea my favourite Jo Malone perfume (100ml bottle)and for which I pay £72 here (tax paid) is an eye watering 14,800 Yen (£126 ish). It was the same with all non-Japanese cosmetics. Fortunately my list of Shu Umera goodies was half the price that it is at home so that was a result . Clothes (if you small enough to fit in them and the same with shoes) were very expensive (and we're not talking high end stuff either). Dragonbaby wanted a pair of limited edition Vans (skate style shoes for the less fashion aware 
) ).The shop assistant just looked at me aghast when I wrote US Ladies 9 (UK 7) for him. Too big for Japan apparently !!!! Luckily they were unisex so I bought the equivalent mens size lol (young men are quite happy to wear leopard print in Japan it seems!!).
Several areas are worth a visit in their own right for shopping- Harajuku is Japanese teen culture at it's craziest...I thought I'd seen DB in some strange clothing over the years...nope - you've seen nothing until you've been to Harajuku on a weekend :0 :0. Shibuya is also full of shops including some quirky vintage places. Ginza is home to high end shopping (and bankrupcy......).and Akihabara is the place for electronics. Ameyoko (between the two railway lines) is worth a wander for foodstuffs and general souvenir type stuff.
Shinjuku has plenty of shops including a massive Isetan (a department store) - as NH has said most department stores have food halls in the basement which are fit to bursting with goodies. I bought some of the best sushi I've ever had in the Isetan store (and the Bento box selection was also amazing) and the store had a huge Sake range (of which the assistants insist you sample virtually all of it because of the huge range and variety on offer). Wrapping of items seems to be a bit of an obsession too!
Don't expect many people to speak English (save for staff in the big hotels ). What the Japanese lack in conversational skills they make up for in genuine helpfulness and a desire to please. Tipping is non - existent (and frowned upon) so the service you're given (and it was fantastic everywhere) does feel genuine. When we blundered (mainly with train/ metro Shinkansen tickets in Tokyo) everyone tried to help resolve our problems despite speaking zero English (and us speaking zero Japanese).
Initially we found the transpotation system in Tokyo confusing given there are JR lines (railway) and also a Metro (subway ) system which run on different tickets. It did become simpler to use as the days went on but the stations are huge (particularly Tokyo and Shinjuku) and can have literally a dozen exits.
If I think of anything else I'll add it later.
If you've never been to Japan please visit. It's fabulous .
DL
.Well as NH has said the Japanese have some quirky customs and as long as you generally try not to offend they forgive the occasional gaffe. One thing I do urge vigilence with however is following custom with shoe removal where appropriate . Socks/ hosiery should also be clean and hole free, where shoes are to be removed and there will often be slipper type shoes for you to put on.
OK, where to stay in Tokyo.
After my initial blunder with the Four Seasons I wanted somewhere that was easily accessible with plenty to do nearby. Shinjuku (and the Hilton) fit the bill exactly
. The Hilton is directly on the Friendly Limousine Bus routing for both airports serving Tokyo and a 10 minute walk from the station . They also run a shuttle every 20 mins for those not wishing to walk. The Hyatt is just accross the road and there are several cheaper hotels in the area. Because of the fantastic public transport available you can't really be too far from the action anywhere in Tokyo, just be aware that it is an absolutely massive city (35 million residents!!!! :0 ).Tokyo has loads to do - temples, shrines, The Imperial Palace. enormous stations,....and shopping ): ): .
Shopping. Well. I didn't do much LOL
. There are lots and lots of (nice) shops but European visitors will wilt when they see the price tags on items. Anthing non - Japanese is expensive. I now know why the Hawaii is such a popular destination for the Japanese. Just to give you an idea my favourite Jo Malone perfume (100ml bottle)and for which I pay £72 here (tax paid) is an eye watering 14,800 Yen (£126 ish). It was the same with all non-Japanese cosmetics. Fortunately my list of Shu Umera goodies was half the price that it is at home so that was a result . Clothes (if you small enough to fit in them and the same with shoes) were very expensive (and we're not talking high end stuff either). Dragonbaby wanted a pair of limited edition Vans (skate style shoes for the less fashion aware ) ).The shop assistant just looked at me aghast when I wrote US Ladies 9 (UK 7) for him. Too big for Japan apparently !!!! Luckily they were unisex so I bought the equivalent mens size lol (young men are quite happy to wear leopard print in Japan it seems!!).Several areas are worth a visit in their own right for shopping- Harajuku is Japanese teen culture at it's craziest...I thought I'd seen DB in some strange clothing over the years...nope - you've seen nothing until you've been to Harajuku on a weekend :0 :0. Shibuya is also full of shops including some quirky vintage places. Ginza is home to high end shopping (and bankrupcy......).and Akihabara is the place for electronics. Ameyoko (between the two railway lines) is worth a wander for foodstuffs and general souvenir type stuff.
Shinjuku has plenty of shops including a massive Isetan (a department store) - as NH has said most department stores have food halls in the basement which are fit to bursting with goodies. I bought some of the best sushi I've ever had in the Isetan store (and the Bento box selection was also amazing) and the store had a huge Sake range (of which the assistants insist you sample virtually all of it because of the huge range and variety on offer). Wrapping of items seems to be a bit of an obsession too!
Don't expect many people to speak English (save for staff in the big hotels ). What the Japanese lack in conversational skills they make up for in genuine helpfulness and a desire to please. Tipping is non - existent (and frowned upon) so the service you're given (and it was fantastic everywhere) does feel genuine. When we blundered (mainly with train/ metro Shinkansen tickets in Tokyo) everyone tried to help resolve our problems despite speaking zero English (and us speaking zero Japanese).
Initially we found the transpotation system in Tokyo confusing given there are JR lines (railway) and also a Metro (subway ) system which run on different tickets. It did become simpler to use as the days went on but the stations are huge (particularly Tokyo and Shinjuku) and can have literally a dozen exits.
If I think of anything else I'll add it later.
If you've never been to Japan please visit. It's fabulous
.DL
