My husband and I are stopping in Tokyo for just 3 days on our way to China. We arrive Oct 10th at 5:30 pm and our flight to China leaves Oct 13 at 6:30 pm

We know we want to see the Imperial Palace and the temples in Asakusa. What else should we make sure to see? We were thinking of staying near Tokyo station. I want to stay in a ryokan -- my husband is not so sure he'd be comfortable with communal bathing -- any suggestions for lodging?

This is our first trip to Asia so any advice will be very welcome!

Hi DharmaBum, I should tell you that I am still planning my Japan trip, and haven't actually been there yet, but since you don't have any other replies....

If you want to stay at a Ryokan but don't want to share a bathroom, the Ryokan Shigetsu in Asakusa gets very good reviews... they have both Japanese and western rooms, and all with private bathrooms, plus a communal bath on the 6th flor that has a terrific view of Sensoji - some people stay there for that alone! Here is their website http://www.shigetsu.com/e/index.html.

As to what you should make sure to see, it depends a lot on what your interests are. If you're interested in history, the Edo Tokyo Museum sounds fantastic, for youth culture you should make sure to go to Shibuya, Harajuku, Yoyogi Park... the Sumo stables are in Ryogokyu... a lot of people recommend the fish markets at Tsukiji...views from The Tokyo Tower... Try a search here for anything that interests you, and if you haven't already found it, check out the suggested 3 day itinerary here
http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...;feature=30003

Hopefully this will bring your question to the top, and bring you some advice from people with personal experience and recommendations.

Ryokan typically have private bathing facilities attached to your room and/or allow you to reserve the communal bath for private use (as is the case with the communal bath at Shigetsu, I believe).

Hi

My wife and I went to Japan in May this year. I have posted a trip report with some pictures from our trip on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com Maybe you can find some useful information there. Get in touch if you have any questions or comments.

Regards
Gard

Thanks ozgal, mrwunrfl and gard
Sorry I couldn't thank you sooner, my mother has gotten much worse and we're running back and forth to hospitals. If my parents aren't doing better soon, I may have to look at canceling the trip. Your advice is truly appreciated!