Thanks people !!

Not exactly quirky, but off the western tourist beaten path is Tokyo Race Course. Keio Plaza makes me think of it because you can take the Keio Line out to Fuchu and then xfer to a short line to the race course. Tell the ticket seller at Keio Shinjuku Station that you want to go to Fuchu, keiba-jo.

ht - 'not that I frequent many'.

did you make a mistake with the m???????

or are you sure L won't be reading this!

of course the men of the board didn't react to that statment, but they don't possess the super-sensitive, vigilant feminine ear!

polly, of course I meant any

We do like our noodles, anywhere close by recommended ?

It's not close by, but if you really are serious about your ramen noodles, you'll find a way to hop on the train to the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum.

If you like soba, there's Yabu Soba over in Kanda.

There's noodle places all over Shinjuku (even spaghetti if you want). Shinjuku Station even has those places where you buy your ticket from the vending machine. And if you're feeling especially lazy, you can even go to Lawson/Family Mart/7-11 and get instant noodles.

Marko,

Across the street from the same aforementioned Post Office and across the opposite intersection is very good Undon Restaurant who's name escapes me at the moment. They have up and downstairs and the plastic food in the front window and a boutique hotel named Shinjuku Sun something(someone will remember and help me in my senior moment)across the street, very good imho.

Also in the same area is the 295 Ramen noodle restaurant. It's one of our favorites. It's on the second floor up a short stairway and is very crowded at lunchtime, but don't be intimidated. Just walk thru the door and hold up two fingers(or three depending on how many people you have)and the hostess/waitress will show you a seat. If it's between 12 - 1 you might have to wait a few minutes but its worth it imho. Wish I had a miso ramen with a side order of gyoza right now, lol

They have an Japanese/Eng menu with pictures so its very easy to order, just point. We call the place 295 cause thats what the sign says in English on the street but it really has a Japanese name. 295 yen is actually the price of their daily special ramen dish thus the big 295 on the outside sign. They have all kinds of ramen dishes in three sizes S, M & L with other things side dishes like kara age chicken, gyoza, tofu, etc. They also have set meals. Great place and very cheap.

There are literally dozens of noodle shops in the areas around and in Shinjuku station. We have tried some which were excellent but I would have to take your there as it's hard to explain how to get to. Go exploring, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Aloha!

Kin-kan Tei is the name of that Soba/udon noodle place I mentioned earlier. Here is a list of some other restaurants in Shinjuku. The websites are all in Japanese but you can use Alta Vista Babel Fish site to translate some of them

http://www.kananet.com/shinjuku-restaurant-eguide.htm

http://www.bento.com/ra-nshin.html

Also there are some world class restaurants in the Sumitomo Bld on the 47th tru 49th floors and the views up there are spectacular! Ok enough babbling from me.

Aloha!

ok last one....check out the kananet site thoroughly as they have tons of useful info on all of Tokyo and Japan in general from buying and pictures of subway ticket machines to what times of the year to be in the right place for a sakura viewing(not guaranteed).

Aloha!

HT...keep blabbing ,its just what I need !

Anyone else, is there a preferred side to the Keio that I can request ??

Depends on whether you prefer to see more of Shinjuku or Nishi-Shinjuku! I would say that if you are on the east side, unless you are on a high floor(~30+), you'll end up seeing alot of the building right across the street and not as much of the skyline as you'd think. If you are on the west side, you end up facing the TMG building, but it's far enough away. There's enough transmitters and dishes on the building, maybe they'll be spying on you! Anyways, if you want nice skyline views, go to the TMG observation decks!

OK !

(expecting filtered views of Mt Fuji !! )

Have you joined their EIC club yet? It's free and a few perks.

http://www.keioplaza.com/eic/index.html

Ask for a room in the main tower with a MT Fuji view. If you join the EIC they should upgrade you anyway.I think the rooms in the South tower are smaller.

I would pay the extra for a Deluxe room rather than the Superior room as the superiors are a little small imho.

As haruna said the higher you go the better the view and a better chance of seeing Fujisan.

Aloha!

Thanks HT !!

If you'll be in Shinjuku anyway and you want a great view of Mount Fuji, I recommend going to the New York Grill at the top of the Park Hyatt Shinjuku early in the morning - they won't have opened yet and as there is no "door" you can pretty much walk along all four sides of the building for a spectacular view of Tokyo and Mt. Fuji without interruption (except for the person running the vacuum cleaner!). Also, it's a better chance to see Fuji early a.m. before the smog sets in.

Is the smog bad in January ?

I joined the EIC club...that was easy !

ttt

Marko,

I haven't been in Jan but the winter months are supposed to be the best for viewing Fujisan in the morning from Shinjuku. We have had beautiful views in the mornings while we were there Feb-April

Aloha!