Calling all Tokyo experts!!
 

Okay, I'm really hoping that someone will tell me that this is possible and tell me how --

We arrive at NRT at 4p from LAX on 7/29. We have a hotel (Conrad) already from 7/30, but we need to find somewhere to stay on 7/29. Our initial thought was to find somewhere inexpensive to just "crash" for the night (after maybe looking around near the hotel for a bit), but now I've read that the Sumida Fireworks Festival is happening on 7/29 (beginning around 7p, I think). With almost a million people normally coming to see the fireworks, I have little hope that we could make it to the Asakusa area in time to find a place to see the fireworks (it's recommended that people show up as early as noon to "reserve" a spot at the park or along the river). BUT, since we don't have a hotel booked yet, I wondered if it might be possible for us to find a room (in Asakusa or nearby) that would afford us views of the fireworks. Any thoughts? Or am I just crazy?

Thanks,
Judy

Send your bags from Narita to the Conrad. You won't see them again until late in the day on 7/30, so you could pack a small backpack with stuff for overnight and the next day. Book a place for the 29th, but you don't have to go there first. Take the train from NRT to Asakusa and stash the backpack in the locker. Or just carry it. Enjoy the show, you should be able to see it since it will be up in the air. That's my thought. As far as you being crazy or not, I don't think we have enough evidence.

LOL. Thanks for the vote of confidence mrwunrfl. :-) And for the great suggestion!

Just to clarify -- there's no need for us to take our luggage to Conrad ourselves? Would we use the luggage service that I've read is available?

Would it be a good idea to try to find a place to stay in Asakusa? I'm wondering if fatigue will be a problem and it would be better to have a hotel nearby rather than try to navigate the transportation system on our first night. Makes sense to me.

Thanks!!

Yes...send your luggage to the Conrad from the airport. Keep a backpack for the one night. You will see signs for baggage delivery service when you exit the secure area of the airport. If in doubt, follow the crowd with the trolleys!

Everyone is different as to how the long trip affects them (effects? I never know)...anyway, we have an arrival routine that includes a night in a known hotel rather than spend 4-5 more hours getting home.

You'll need someone else to help I think, but I'd try to get a hotel with a room from which you can see the fireworks. The crowds at fireworks displays, even in Kanazawa, are daunting. We always choose to watch from someone's roof, an office or other uncrowded area.

Hai, hai, use the baggage delivery service. I can't imagine that there would be any problem at all with storing your luggage at the hotel. Besides, you are going to be checked in by the time the bags arrive.

Isn't the Shigetsu in the Asakusa area? Florence and others on this board have said good things about Shigetsu.

The Tokyo Hilton is still an option. At 20,900 for 7/29 it is only $40 over budget!

Yes, Shigetsu is an option, and I believe they have a rooftop or top floor bathing area also that looks over Senjosi temple, and they have a few western rooms (would it be possible to see the fireworks from that rooftop?) If this is a big deal fireworks happening, they might already be booked up in Asakusa for that night. I would get reservations pronto. There is also an inexpensive Sun hotel in Asakusa.

http://www2.famille.ne.jp/~hotekyo/e...h/sunhotel.htm

And the Asakusa View (which is a high story bldg., and one side of the rms faces the Sumida river, but it is somewhat pricey).

Here is a list of less expensive Askausa hotels.

http://www2.famille.ne.jp/~hotekyo/e...akusahotel.htm

There is also the little modern ryokan that Florence has recommended in the past, Asakusa Mikawaya (the site below says it is in Uneo but it is really Asakusa). Sleeping is Japanese style, and that is not really what I would do the first night.

http://www2.famille.ne.jp/~uenoyado/Hmikawa%20E.html

I was going to stay one night in Asakusa on this last trip so I had this research done.

One thing- getting to Asakusa by rail requires switching from whatever line you are on to the Ginza subway line and going a few stops, then walking from the station to wherever. I believe that is the case even if you take that the airport transportation option that deposits you at Ueno, which I think would be the closest option (someone correct me if I am off). Unless the limosuine bus goes to a hotel near Asakusa and you could cab a short distance from there.

It sounds too complicated for me for the first night in Japan on the first trip right after the flight. Mrw is an experienced solo Japan traveler w/6 trips. You will be w/your friend (and that brings a different set of issues, what if one of you is completely wasted and the other is awake) and navigating an airport you are not familiar with (to do luggage service and get tickets for whatever transportation option you choose out from aiport to Tokyo,or potentially exchanging your JR voucher for a pass that would start that night, and possibly getting yen from an ATM machine at the airport if you don't bring yen w/you). And crowds would do me in at that point. But you might be a better and faster first time traveler that first few hours after getting off the plane than I was.

And as you can see from the time on my post, I am having major jet lag 3 days after my return home. None when I got there (although I was way too wasted and tired after not sleeping on the plane over both times to navigate a fireworks show), but bad jet lag now.

I'm trying to keep that first night fairly loosely planned because of all the warnings about fatigue, but the idea of going to the festival is very appealing to both of us.

We're not sure what to expect regarding being tired since I was WIDE AWAKE until at least 1 or 2am when I went to China and to Thailand. My BF has been to Thailand at least 4 times and always had the same pattern as me. If anything, we've had to take Melatonin and force ourselves to get some sleep knowing that otherwise we'd be wiped out the next day. No jet lag GOING to Asia, but horrible jet lag when we returned.

emd, thanks for the links. I'll check them out. I've been finding that many places aren't allowing internet reservations in August yet. It seems like I might have to wait a month or two. In the meantime, I've tried to email them to see if I can make a reservation.

Now, in a perfect world, we'd find an inexpensive hotel right by the subway and/or train station and right on the river where we could just watch the fireworks from our window. <sigh>

I am sitting in the Tokyo Conrad as I write this, which I was told until 22 hours until I arrived yesteraday was booked. Keep checking with the Conrad, they may have cancellations, esp as you already have a confirmed booking starting on the 30th. Check every day, get on a waiting list. I would actually say to show up at the hotel with your bags on the 29th, if they can't take you then they can at least take your big bags. Get a cancellable reservation at a hotel somewhere else, try the Renaissance Ginza, not in the Asakusa area, but a very short a cheap cap. The Conrad is a great hotel by the way.

Check out whether you can see the fireworks from the ferries which go up the river, this might be prefable than trying to squeeze into Asakusa. Of course with a 7 p m fireworks time and a 4 pm arrival, with immigatraion and baggage claim and then train time you may in fact be hard pressed to be there in any sort of time to see the fireworks. May be bette to see them on TV?

Hi Cicerone,

Problem isn't with the Conrad being full on the 29th (we didn't even check). It's that it's a little too rich for our blood.

We thought about trying to find out if we could see the fireworks from further away, but the fireworks aren't actually what's most appealing to us. It's the whole festival atmosphere with the food stalls AND the fireworks. I don't think we'd get that same feeling from watching it on TV or from a distant location.

I'm having such mixed feelings -- on the one hand, I'd like to find a hotel in Asakusa so that we could possibly walk around a bit and watch the fireworks from our hotel. But I don't know if we'd be too tired to deal with the crowds and if our hotel is in Asakusa, we'd have no choice but to do so.

Then, I think about just getting a hotel in another area and if we're "up to it", then go to Asakusa for the festival. Of course, this means dealing with figuring out the transportation and "fighting" with the crowds to leave the area afterwards when there's a greater chance that we'll be tired.

This one night has me stymied.

If you stayed in Ginza (maybe at The Renaissance) it's only one subway ride away from Asakusa. You should take the airport bus directly to The Renaissance - that's where we stayed while in Tokyo. The cost is worth it because you are dropped off at your hotel.

You get on at Higashi Ginza station and take the Marunouchi line (everything is in English) and get off at Asakusa. No changing of trains.

We were too wiped out to do more than walk around and get something to eat on our arrival night, but then that's us.

On our first day we purchased the wrong tickets - even though all of the ticket machines have the an English option - and the guy at the booth walked us down to get a refund, took us over to the machine and showed us how to get the correct tickets.

Point being - all service people are VERY helpful and won't just shrug their shoulders and leave you to figure it out on your own.

I also had a very good map of Tokyo and picked up a subway map so we could plan our trains everyday before heading out. (Because sometimes you can't get there from here - at least not directly.)

That is what I was thinking too, jlaughs, that actually seeing the fireworks would be a secondary thing and that the festival atmosphere and crowd would be the interesting thing. I have heard that the fireworks are great, though. Might be a bit much after the long trip, though, so a plan that keeps your options open would be best, I think. Seems to me that would mean not staying in Asakusa.

Well, after going back and forth (and back and forth again and again and again), my BF made the decision. We're going to try to find a place to stay in Asakusa on our first night.

Here's our "plan". Any feedback would be welcome, especially any comments about glaring flaws/mistakes.

Our "plan" is to take the limousine bus from NRT to Conrad (does the limousine bus only stop at designated spots or does it take you to whichever hotel you request?) and drop off our luggage. We'll just take an overnight bag with us and jump on the Toei Asakusa at the Shimbashi station (or would it be better to take the Ginza line?). Any idea how long it would take us to walk from the Conrad to either station? It seems like both Shimbashi stations and both Asakusa stations are pretty close to each other. We'll take the subway to Asakusa and try to find a hotel as close to the station as reasonable. We'll absorb as much of the festival as possible before "hittin the sack". The next morning, we plan to take the Sumida River cruise and visit the Hama-Rikyu Garden. The Conrad is (I believe) right next to the garden, so we'll go there next and see about checking in. We'll go to Harajuku in the afternoon to see the Goth kids, do some shopping at Kiddyland and the Oriental Bazaar and see Meiji Shrine. After that, the time is open depending on how we're feeling.

How's it sound?

Thanks,
Judy

This link should give you the bus schedule for the bus that goes to the Conrad.
http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/e/time...n/ginza_h.html
Arriving at 4 pm, there are 2 buses you can take to the Conrad, 5:20pm and 6:50pm departing Narita. It says the ride is 80 - 90 minutes. If you miss the 5:20, it's a long wait, and it just may be that you won't make the 5:20. Narita is famous for having long taxis to the gate area, and there are not enough real gates so there are many flights using bus gates. Then there is immigration and customs.

If I were you, I'd send the luggage to the Conrad with baggage service and not go there at all the first night unless you actually are going to stay there that night.

If a paid night at the Conrad is not possible (have you considered buying some points, or transferring points from some other account to get enough for another free night at the Conrad....that might be cheaper than paying money)...anyway, if the Conrad is just not happening on your first night, my first choice would be to stay in Narita...but I know you want to see the fireworks, so then my second choice would be to stay at a hotel with fireworks view.

Maybe Asakusa View hotel, Royal Park Hotel, New Hankyu Hotel, Hotel New Gyominso...actually, I did a google search for SUMIDA FIREWORKS HOTEL. What I'd do then is e-mail or call the hotels you liked, and ask about getting a room with a view of the fireworks or if they have a special event in their top floor bar/restaurant or something like that. What I'm wondering, though, is if when it's all said and done, you will spend the same amount as the Conrad would have cost....as rooms with a view will be at a premium I'd think, and the "fireworks parties" as we call them in Kanazawa, are not free either.

Also figure on getting yen from the ATM machine at Narita, unless you are bringing in enough yen to pay for the limo bus and your first night/next day until you get to an ATM. We had about a 10 min. line/wait at the ATM at terminal 2 this time.

I recommend bringing yen.
If you are flying direct, chances are you can exchange yen at the airport before you leave.
I used to go to the bank in town, but they stopped the currency exchange.

For me it was one less thing to do after a long flight, one less thing on my list.

I will be bringing some yen with us (from my parents who have been to Japan several times), but had still planned to get some money at the airport. If worse came to worse though, we could wait to get money later.

Again, just seeing the fireworks isn't what's most important to us. We enjoy fireworks and even went to Vancouver Canada once to see the Symphony of Fire fireworks show, but we're more interested in the festival than the fireworks. We wouldn't be able to experience this from a remote location.

It sounds like if we plan to take the limousine bus to the Conrad and miss the first bus, we may miss the festival. So, it seems like it may be better to use the luggage service and go directly (via train?) to Asakusa. This was mrwunrfl's initial suggestion.

Then you will need to factor in the time to talk to the people at the luggage service and get it straight w/them where to send your luggage and fill out the forms. It isn't hard picking up luggage (you just hand them the receipts and they get it for you) but if you are sending it you have short forms to fill out for each piece.

So I would bring the yen and cut down on that step. Then you just have deplaning, customs, getting luggage (unless you carry it all on, a good choice for a rushed situation like this if you can travel light), and getting to Asakusa. I would like to hear someone's estimate of how long to get to Asakusa by train/subway. ANd I take it you are not exchanging a JR voucher for a pass at Narita.

What about taking the Keisei train from Narita to Ueno - then the Ginza subway line a couple of stops to Asakusa. That could work if you have no luggage.

http://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetud...ei_us/top.html

btw, I forgot to say thanks again for the feedback. It's really helpful in trying to work this out because there are obviously things that I don't know (like the bus schedule for instance).

Just out of curiosity, does getting through Customs at NRT take longer than "usual"? I haven't done very much international travel, but maybe I've just been lucky the few times I've gone through Customs. I don't recall it taking very much time at all.

jlaughs:

It depends on how many planes arrive at the time yours does. Last time we were there it only took 10 minutes as ours was the only arrival at that time. The time before it took us nearly two hours. Good luck!

Aloha!

imo, you are giving more evidence. It has been determined that you will stay in Asakusa the first night. Ok, fine. Now your plan is to just &quot;take the subway to Asakusa and <b>try to find a hotel</b>&quot;? There are going to be a million people there, many of whom rented rooms in advance for this event, and you are going to just show up?

You mentioned that the festival starts at around 7PM. If you take the 5:20 bus and it takes 90 minutes, then you won't be free of your bags until 7PM at the Conrad. I don't know where that hotel is or how to get to Asakusa from there but I would wager that you wouldn't get to where you wanted to be in Asakusa before 8PM. If you miss that bus the next one departs at 10 minutes to 7PM.

I advise getting confirmed reservations in Asakusa for the first night before you leave for Japan (i.e. do it now).

Shipping bags to the Conrad and taking the train from Narita Airport to Asakusa would be the best option, imo. Another option would be to just take your bags with you to Asakusa and leave your bags at your hotel.

mrw, I also advised her above to get reservations pronto in Asakusa (BTW, that is pronounced REALLY fast as in asakasa (as fast as you can possibly say it, in one syllable), NOT Ass-a-koo-sa like some Texan would say it, and I can laugh at this because that is how I pronounced it the first time). So she is doubly warned.

No, no, no. Sorry if I wasn't clear. The &quot;finding a hotel&quot; was now, BEFORE we go to Japan. I know some people feel comfortable traveling this way, but I'm not one of them. I've done 2 trips without prior reservations, but they were both road trips in the US (from S CA to N CA and once up to Oregon).

Sorry for not being clear.

Ok, good, now let us know what you decide and where you end up! Good luck.

btw, I read that it's less than 15 mins from Shimbashi station to Asakusa. The fireworks last for over an hour, so we're not too concerned whether we're there from the beginning or not. Plus the fact that the fireworks are not the main attraction for us.

My Japanese pronounciation is not too bad (I'm third generation Japanese-American), but I don't really speak Japanese very well because I don't have the vocabulary. I can usually get an idea of what people are saying by picking out key words. I can read Hiragana and Katakana, but no Kanji. Unlike most tourists, I've been told that, as a Japanese-American, I shouldn't make any attempt to speak Japanese because my feeble attempts would not be viewed as favorably. I think I might still give it a try as I was really looking forward to trying out (and improving) my Japanese.

I rushed off my last post, but I just want to repeat that we would NOT go to Japan without having reservations for that first night (or any night for that matter), whether in Asakusa or elsewhere. mrwunrfl, can I still be considered in the sane category now? Or it my sanity still in question? :-)

Consider too that most of the festival stuff happens before the fireworks...starting in the afternoon and continuing until the fireworks. Then when the fireworks are over there is a mass exodus of people returning home, or at least moving their group to somewhere else (like a beer garden, bar or restaurant) to continue their festivities.

Everywhere I've been in Japan the Japanese people always love it when I tried to speak a little Japanese. They are usually quite suprised and so polite.

KimJapan, do you know if the food stalls remain open during the fireworks? Or does everything typically start shutting down when the fireworks begin?

hawaiiantraveler, do you mind if I ask if you are of Japanese heritage? What I've been told is that the Japanese (in Japan) appreciate when foreigners attempt to speak their language, but that this doesn't necessarily hold true when the foreigner is a Japanese-American. I was told this by my father who was told by his childhood friend who lives in Kyoto. My father is a kibei (born in the US, went back to Japan after WWII and educated in Japan). He speaks Japanese fluently and speaks the &quot;proper&quot; language, but was still told not to speak Japanese while in Japan. Maybe this was true for his generation because of war sentiments? At any rate, I'm still going to give it a try. If nothing else, I'll say (in Japanese) that I'm an American and apologize that I don't speak Japanese very much.

Boy, I really wish that we had an earlier flight. I'm not sure how this is all going to work out, but I would have LOVED to have been able to be in Asakusa from the afternoon.

There may be a lot of you able to say &quot;I told you so&quot; after our trip, but I'm still hoping for a good experience.

Got my fingers crossed.

Hey, even it's a bad experience, it's still an experience, right?

regarding Japanese Americans speaking Japanese--I'm also a third-generation Japanese American and I don't speak a lot Japanese, but I've never had any problems trying to when I went to Japan. I also lived there for 2-1/2 years. (As to why I still don't speak a lot of Japanese, that's another story).

As a whole, I think times are changing, and there are a lot of different kinds of people visiting Japan. Because I look like everyone else, some people assume I'm from there. But once I explain that I'm not native, they understand and are very kind about it.

I've never heard any unpleasant stories directly. I think that if there are bad incidences, perhaps it's not a cultural thing so much as maybe that individual is having a bad day? (or general life attitude).

In my experiences, if communication occurs, the method (broken English, broken Japanese, gestures, drawings, etc) doesn't really matter. I taught high schoolers and talking to them was always fun. And no one I communicated with ever criticized my less-than sparkling Japanese!

Anyway, ganbatte kudasai!! And have fun!

Food stalls closing time...when they run out of food/beer/whatever they are selling. I've never been to the ones in Tokyo, so I'm basing my ideas on my experiences in Kanazawa. In Kanazawa, the big fireworks night coincides with our local neighborhood summer festival. The festival starts at around 4 and winds down as the fireworks begin. The fireworks are the end of the fun pretty much.

For all I know, in Tokyo they might keep the festival thing going all night long along the riverside...but my feeling is that it's not that different from Kanazawa in terms of how people &quot;do&quot; fireworks night.

As far as speaking Japanese goes, try your best if you can and want to. After your first sentence anyone will know you are not a native-speaker of Japanese and you will be given plenty of compliments for trying.

About speaking Japanese, I pretty much agree with Angel Kiss. Go for it!

What is kibei ? Sounds like a Japanese word but I'm not sure what. Maybe an American-Japanese word?

jlaughs:
I am half Japanese. Second generation. Don't worry about it. You will be fine.
Aloha!

Regarding cash: The limo bus took my visa with no problems. I brought in 70000 Yen; and later got cash in Takayama and Kyoto.

1000 yen bills (you can change them everywhere) and a pocket full on 100 yen coins make life much easier.

jrlaughs I suggest you have the hotel's name &amp; address printed in Japanese to give to the baggage delivery company. It will speed things right up!

kappa, a kibei is &quot;a person born in the United States of Japanese immigrant parents and educated chiefly in Japan&quot;. (http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/k/k0053300.html)

Thanks for all the reassurance about trying to speak Japanese. I've come to the conclusion that this may have been a generational thing for my father or possibly had to do with class. I think my father and his friend were originally at a country club when my father's friend said this, so maybe he was just telling my father not to speak there specifically and my father generalized it to everywhere. Guess I'd better start brushing up on my Japanese again! Yeah!!

moxie, thanks for the information.

japanfreak, thanks for the great suggestion. I'll be sure to have my father write it for me before we go. I'm not confident that my writing would be legible. Since we will probably be looking for the hotel on our own the first night, your suggestion could be extremely helpful if we get lost.

jlaughs, I was looking for the kanjis for the word &quot;kibei&quot; but could not imagine what. Now with your explanation, I think it should be &quot;Ki = return&quot; and &quot;Bei=America&quot;. Born in USA, educated in Japan and return to America&quot;. Never heard of this word in Japan. Suppose it's made up and used only in USA (probably principally only among American-Japanese population)?

kappa, interesting. I never considered this possibility before. I just have always thought that it was a Japanese word because it &quot;sounds&quot; Japanese. Not like the time when I asked my grandmother the Japanese word for &quot;spoon&quot; and she answered &quot;supun&quot;. I told her that she was just saying the English word using Japanese pronunciation and she was confused until I realized that there might not be a Japanese word for &quot;spoon&quot;.

I'm hoping that I don't turn into a blubbering mess while in Japan. I have a feeling that being there may bring back many feelings about my grandmother and being pre-menopausal won't help. I'm sitting here getting teary-eyed just typing this.

jlaughs, nice story about spoon and your grand mother. I can picture how the conversation went between her and and her grand daughter. That makes me smile.

There actually is the word that means a spoon, that's &quot;saji&quot; but today most of the times, the japanese use the word &quot;supuun&quot; so your grand mother was absolutely right.