Hi guys! I'm going to Japan in a week, looking for reco's. Does anyone have a good spot to stay in Tokyo? Or good resto's? Also, looking for advice on the rail pass. Thanks

My wife and I went to Japan for 2 weeks in May, 2013. In Tokyo we stayed at Hotel Sunroute Plaza in Shinjuku. A short walk from the Shinjuku JR Train station. Not fancy, more of what they call a business mans hotel. Clean and tidy. Most rooms in Japan are quite small to western standards, but they work. There are some discussions on trip advisor re the JR train pass. Worth a read. We got it, and used it a fair amount. You cannot buy it there, it has to be purchased here. The pass does allow you to book on the bullet trains (except for the very fastest one)

Another consideration, many of the hotels have wired internet, not wireless. We purchased a small wireless router there, that we plugged into the wired cable. Still need a device to register the router but once that is done you can use wireless in the room. Some had wireless available in the lobby.

I booked at Shinjuku Washington based on my friends recommendation when she went a few years ago. Basic hotel, nothing fancy, pricing is reasonable.
I'm headed there in about a months time.

Order your tail pass now, it might be too late to get one.

Rail pass!

Sorry Katie, not hijacking your question.
Can someone explain the rail pass and system to me? Can one not purchase tickets while in Tokyo, like the Paris metro?

yes, you can purchase day passes, perhaps more, I cannot remember now, in Japan. There is a JR Rail pass available to tourists that gives you unlimited use of almost all of the trains and routes for the period of time you purchase for. It cannot be bought in Japan. http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en001.html

You can Michelle, the language barrier makes it very tricky though!

Thanks for the info. So glad you guys are here to share! Is a month far enough in advance to purchase the rail pass?

Actually, in all the larger train stations there are JR travel offices that have at least one English speaking adviser, They can help with travel plans, ticket booking. We managed fairly well with only a few words of Japanese and a phrase book

Definitely get the rail pass! It will save you a lot of money! And you can only get it outside of Japan.
As for places to stay, I found some great and cheap places to stay through airbnb.

Highly recommend staying at Citadines Shinjuku- close to two train station and spacious for Japan standards. We also rented a pocket wifi. We ordered online and it was ready for pick up at the airport. To return, they provide an envelope which you can drop off at a post office (there's one in the airport). It was great for directions as well as translation.

I got my JR pass within a week. It's good for JR line only. It's worth it if you want to go down to the Kansai district ie. Kyoto, Osaka area... the bullet train from the Narita airport to Tokyo is about $35 each way...jr pass is over $200....you'll need the suica pass...you can get this in Tokyo when u redeem your actual JR pass...they mail it to u but u still have to go pick it up. Just ask someone in the airport. the JR pass is not worth it if u r only in Tokyo.

airbnb all the way!

Thanks, guys! This is so helpful. For air bnb was there a problem with language? Also - what's the ATM situation? Should I bring a bunch of cash? Does Visa work there?

Most airbnb are ran by foreigners...i've never met them lol they usually leave the key in the mailbox....cash is highly recommended....only major department stores may take credit cards...

Thanks - and Shinjuku is the best area to stay it seems? Is Japan small enough to make Tokyo home base (ie. leave everything in a hotel there, sleep there) and do day trips to other cities? We only have 7 days so am not sure what the best plan would be.

Kinda... but. For example, bullet train to Kyoto was a bit over an hour (maybe longer, memory). Couple of hours from Osaka to Hiroshima by bullet train. Depends what you want to see and how much time you want to commute. In two weeks we stayed in Tokyo for 4 nights, Kyoto for three , Osaka for the rest. Osaka was do able to Hiroshima for a day trip by train. Then it was about 4 or more hours from Osaka to the Tokyo Airport.

Katie, I spent a lot of time reading here. You get a pretty good idea of what a variety of people think: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowForum-g294232-i525-Japan.html

Shinjuku is the shopping district...U can walk to Harajuku and shibuya...the busiest crosswalk is here...everything is close by...download the metro app so u can look at stations....7 days...definitely just hang out in Tokyo...you can make a day trip to Yokohama...largest chinatown...tokyo disneysea Lol that's a day for sure. Ginza is a great shopping area too. Akihabara is the Manga gamer district...if u want something old...kawagoe is really cute...you can combine these...ikebukuro is also a good place to hang out...

I like Shitamachi Asakusa. It is a nice area complete with market, temple, promenade street, and just a bit away from the center.

Some advice about the Tokyo trains. There is a big loop. It has trains that run frequently both clockwise and counter clockwise. Your JR pass works for all of them. There are spurs from the loop that take you to other areas. There are also subway type stations that go to different areas, and overlap the trains They are very efficient. If you are only staying in Tokyo the JR pass may not be a great financial deal , but it does make things simpler. Certainly if you look at the cost of a bullet train ticket it becomes a good deal. There are also express trains that stop at less stations

@james - Kyoto is 3 hours from Tokyo station using the JR pass and 2 hours if you didn't use the pass and upgraded to faster trains.
OP - was in Japan a few weeks ago and flying back through for a short layover tonight! Some tips I found helpful...
Going Tokyo to Kyoto in a day is physically doable but near pointless for tourist reasons. Was in Japan a few weeks ago and found Kyoto amazing and and it has the historic UNESCO sights to back that up.
If you live in Vancouver there are several Japan tourist offices that you can buy a JR pass from on the spot. It's a voucher then you redeem it once in Japan (can be done in the NRT airport). I think it was $300+ CAD for one week.
However if you're only staying in Tokyo it most likely will not be worth getting one costs wise.
As others have said, Japan is a cash society so don't expect credit card and debit transactions. CAD to yen gets a terrible exchange (off 15%) so bring USD. Also note money currency exchange are not everywhere.
Canadian bank cards rarely work in Japan and ATMs that do work are not always easy to find so perhaps research which before you leave. Also keep in mind often you'll get hit with $10 of international transaction fees on every cash withdrawal.
Have fun!

Peter Any particular ATMs that do work well with Canadian bank cards? I managed to use my debit card in Morocco with minimal issues, did not expect there to be an issue in Tokyo...

Cecilia - sent you a PM, might be in your "other" folder

Michelle - I only used the ATM once as the CAD cash exchange was so poor (plus closed) and hoped ATM rates would be better. Anyway, I was in an ATM arcade in Kyoto Station and I literally tried 8 banks with two different Canadian bank cards before one worked.
As per Morocco, every country and bank is different and a large facet of Morocco's economy is tourist based with large European investment, the banking system caters to that. Japan on the other hand is notorious for only exporting and not importing, well everything except tuna!

Use the ATM s in the post offices. Japanese bank ATM are on a different system and don't accept foreign cards. Post offices all have banks and accept foreign cards, its just that most foreigners don't think of post offices as banks. Also Citibank ATMs also work. Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere, lived there for 14 years, always paid with credit.