24 hours in Tokyo?

[tonymc]

Hi,

Hope everyone has managed to stay safe and well over Christmas.

Not sure if this is the right forum - if not, mods please move.

OK - having had our Australia-New Zealand cruise cancelled , together with flights, for March 2021, we have rebooked the cruise for February 2022.

The new cruise itinerary has us back in Sydney a day earlier than previously (now on a Thursday), so we were considering flying from Sydney to Tokyo on the daytime flight on the Friday, a full day in Tokyo on the Saturday, then flying from Tokyo to Heathrow, again on a daytime flight, on the Sunday.

Just wanted to check if anyone else has "done" 24 hours in Tokyo and if it is worth it - our other options are to fly directly back to the UK on the Friday, or have an additional post-cruise day in Sydney and fly back on the Saturday.

Many thanks.

[AntonyJ]

Ohhhh interesting... !

Do you arrive in Yokohama then, what time do you arrive in Tokyo?
Can you go back to the ship at night or do you have to stay in a hotel - sorry but never done a cruise lol

What do you fancy doing, Disney park or want to see mega city Tokyo - depending on what you fancy doing (and time arrive!) will probably give me a good idea of what to see and do.

[tonymc]

Hi,

We aren't sailing into Tokyo but will be flying in to Haneda, arriving around 5pm so planning to get a hotel downtown for 2 nights to allow us to get an early start the following morning and late into the evening.

We want to see the city rather than visiting Disney, We would be interested in visiting some traditional sites, and I suspect DW may want to fit in some shopping - hopefully they have some shops with a "man crèche"!

Although we aren't travelling until 2022, our flights (using Avios) are released in late Feb 2021, hence trying to finalise our plans now 🙂

[AntonyJ]

Aha got you - what time your flight out?

They do limo buses (coaches to me and you! ) from the airport at that time of day (they are regular but do not run after about 23:00 at night) into the city and stop at several places, so once picked your hotel you can look at that. Nice and cheap and quite regular, and easy to buy tickets from the orange machines once you arrive.

Hotel - well we stayed at the JR Mets hotel in Shibuya station New South Exit.
google/maps/place/...d139.7039 304

It was a small room, we are both over 6 foot and I have got broad shoulders too!) but we slept fine. The location was perfect for us, the rooms spotless and the air con could freeze you - not that you will need that in Feb - but that is unusual in Japan as the air con is used to take the edge off the heat, rather than freeze you.

From there we could walk to the places we wanted to see.

We could walk to Cat Street, Harajuku and Omesando.

We got trains to Obida to go see the stunning team Boardless digital art show there, and looked round that area too as it had 3 big malls.

Went to the Tokyo Skytree to look round there, and on a trip to Ginza we found the sort of Nissan / Sony "future shop" which was great fun.

Apart from shopping for others, we got little for ourselves, as they do not do clothing in our sizes!

Size 12 feet? No chance!

44 inch chest / broad shoulders - not a scooby!

I would never have the nerve to ask your lady about her size, but if she is not as ... petite as the typical Japanese lady, then she will struggle!

Ginza - had the fun KitKat Choclatory shop where you can spend silly money on bespoke Kit Kat lol - but some things they sell make great gifts.

Ginza in general is like Knightbridge - it was the most un-Japanese part of Tokyo we went to and could have been lifted and dropped into any capital city in the world really.

So, what do you guys want to do in the city, part from shopping - and I can try again to give some advise

[tonymc]

Many thanks for that info. From what you have said, it looks as if we will take the stopover in Tokyo, so have a full day on the Saturday in the city. I'm hoping that there will be a flights around midday on the Sunday, so plenty of time for breakfast and to get back to Haneda.

TBH, I like the sound of them not having the "larger" clothes sizes... seems like a good excuse to avoid shopping!

What we would like would be to visit a temple if there is one not too far from the city centre, the Imperial Palace and one of the gardens.

Just wondering if it may be worth looking at one of the half-day tours to try and cover these, leaving us an afternooon/evening to explore on our own?

[kk20]

With only 24 hours I would avoid anything that needs queueing for. There is ample to fo. Akihabara has a nearby temple and is a good sight in the evening. Good for the first night.

[AntonyJ]

Tokyo Station is massive and has levels underneath with food and shopping places (including a Character Street with anime type merch shops) and one exit opens onto a massive wide “street” that leads directly to the Imperial Palace.

japan-guide/e/e3037.html

[Princess Alison]

Originally Posted by AntonyJ

Tokyo Station is massive and has levels underneath with food and shopping places (including a Character Street with anime type merch shops) and one exit opens onto a massive wide “street” that leads directly to the Imperial Palace.

japan-guide/e/e3037.html

See more...

When we eventually get to Tokyo, you do realise that you are going to have to help us as our personal guide, don't you?!

[AntonyJ]

Oh Princess Alison... it would be my honour to do so but have only been once!

However I watch a lot of youtube ...

And that was my favourite trip, to a country with the kindest people I have ever met.

[Princess Alison]

Originally Posted by AntonyJ

Oh Princess Alison... it would be my honour to do so but have only been once!

However I watch a lot of youtube ...

And that was my favourite trip, to a country with the kindest people I have ever met.

See more...

I'd love to visit, its top of my list. I'm trying to persuade the others to feel the same way xx