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I've been reading and reading about all the things one can do in Tokyo.
If you had only 2 days there, which is what we have, what would you do? The teenage kids would love to go to shopping centers, and my wife and I would love to see some culture. Again, we've got to do all this in 2 days!
Thanks in advance.
Top 5 things to do in Tokyo for 2 days
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Not in any order are:
1. Tsukiji fish market at dawn (or before dawn) to observe fish auctions and marvel at the size and variety - some you never thought are edible.
2. Asakusa shrine and Sensoji complex -temple favored by kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, and geishas.
3. Tokyo National museum
4. the electronics district
5. any shopping center and wonder how a cantaloupe can cost the equivalent of US$100
Hah!...thanks
Make sure you go to the Harajuku/Omotesando area. The center of teenage culture and shopping is an area called Harajuku, especially the street called Takeshita-dori. It will be great people-watching for all of you. This is just next to the Meiji Shrine, one of the really beautiful places in Tokyo. You can later stroll down the big tree-lined street called Omotesando. Be sure to get off into the really interesting back streets around this area. You could easily spend a whole afternoon here.
Go to a baseball game and get seats in the right field bleachers.
Go to the Meiji shrine - it is near a metro stop and some good shopping so you can combine both culture and shopping
Go to aoyama area - great shopping and a lovely small museum The Nezu institute of Fine arts - www.nezu-muse.or.jp - again can easily be combined for a half day
Go to Roppongi area - let the kids go to the shopping center and you go to the Mori Art Museum and enjoy breathtaking view of Tokyo then splurge on lunch at the sushi bar in the Grand Hyatt
This one-day itinerary could easily stretch to two... or five...
http://wikitravel.org/en/One_day_in_Tokyo
From one who has just left 5 days and 6 nughts in Tokyo, I second the suggestion for a baseball game. We went to Tokyo Dome because it was convenient for our plans and we wanted to see the Giants and Tigers (and those rabid Tiger fans). But we could also have gone to Jingu stadium and seen the Swallows and hoped for a home run umbrella display.
Also, Tokyo Tower was a wonderful last late evening. Seeing Tokyo from that high up (the highest steel tower in the world) and seeing the places we had been and ones we had not made it to, all lit up-- it was amazing. And it was swaying quite a bit under our feet too. Not for those w/fear of heights. A wax museum and holographic display there also.
Look for my trip report week after next. I am here w/my 14 yr old son, and we went to some pretty incredible shopping areas. How old are the kids? The shopping street (and side streets off of it, which also have soem traditional vendors making their own goods, like baking rice crackers over an open wood fire) leading to Senjosi Temple will most likley keep them very happy, and that area will provide culture for you and your wife as well.
Do not get overwhelmed. My suggestion is this: with two days, just decide on two or three things you really want to do, and do those well. Those few things will lead you to other things you can do if you choose to do them. Allow yourself time to wander around Senjosi, wander around Tokyo Dome if you go to a game there, and the amusement park at the Dome (with the spokeless ferris wheel that has a roller coaster going through the middle of it), etc.
There is so much great culture just all around you in Tokyo- I am not sure what you are looking for but chances are you will find the culture just in the neighborhoods you visit. We loved strolling and wandering the areas around the "sights"