Holiday in Japan

headn00b

Hi guys

I'm staying in a Hostel in Japan at the moment. Going to be here for 2 weeks and while I'm fine for stuff to do during the day everyone at the hostel is more interested in drinking or going to the Red Light District at night. So I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for 'nice' things to do in the evening? I'm staying in Shinjuku but anywhere in Tokyo is cool.

Stuartenhaffen

I just recently got back from Tokyo, I was over there with a couple of friends and it seems from your post that you are there alone. The things I'm gonna suggest were (to me) fun things to do.. but that may be due to having some close mates with me.

Tokyo tower - Kind of a given, you can get some amazing night shots of the city from the tower. To be honest though it was a pretty dull place to be after about 15 - 20 minutes, some nice photos though.

Ghibli clock and the monorail - I really can't remember the name of the district this is in but I do know it's the salaryman district with all the TV studios and stuff. The ghibli clock does a little 2 minute melody at certain times during the day and at night (I think I was there for around 8 pm.) It's nothing spectacular but video'ing it provides some pretty cool memories. Also close to the clock is the monorail that travels under rainbow bridge. You can get some decent pictures from the train of the bridge and the big wheel, but we had the problem of some awful reflection from the windows (they're like mirrors!) Another thing you could try here is getting in some of the TV studios and using their express elevators.. those things are crazy fast and would be a pretty cool experience. Although security guards usually get in the way, especially if you dress like a snowboarder

Starbucks at shibuya - This place was really cool for me because I met up with some of my primary school friends and sat around talking about everything while drinking coffee. I also went back there on my own for a bit and sat watching the people at the crossing (it sounds lame but it is a huge ass crossing!) You can get photos from here but make sure no employee is about as they don't like you doing it. The building that Starbucks is in closes at about 11 I think, perfect for you then to get the last trains home.

Shops shops and shops - Again I was always with friends so having a laugh with them makes things like walking around the shops more enjoyable. Most nights we would just wander around the shops and go for a late dinner. We also stayed in Omiya.. which was about an hours train ride from everywhere so our evenings were spent travelling.

I could maybe think of more things if you really need it but this is a wall of text as it is.

Hope some of it helps.

headn00b

That is a wall of text! Thanks for the advice, I'll give some of it a try. The Ghibli clocl sounds pretty cool. If the weather gets better I'll try and check it out tonight.