10 Reasons why Tokyo is a great vacation spot

                              A view of Tokyo's Minato-ku district at Dusk

10. Japanese TV: Ok so you just flew in 16 hours, at a large expense, the last thing you want to do is just sit down and watch television. Yes we agree that its silly to travel only to plop down on your bed and watch tv in your hotel room. On the other hand we believe that if you dont you will miss out on a truly great experience. We here at 2lostintokyo believe that Japanese television is a window into the collective soul of Japan. Every culture has different social quirks and sometimes the best way to quickly witness them is through television. All we are saying is to keep your television on whenever you are in your room. You never know what exciting thing you will see. (Full article on Japanese television to come)

9. Hello Kitty Puroland: The ultimate destination for Hello Kitty fans. This family friendly theme park is sure to please all Kitty fans to no end. Even if you are not a small child, or kitty fanatic watching your loved ones fawn over all the cuteness is sure to make your day, if not your trip. The trip through Tokyo's suburb's alone makes this destination a must since you will get to experience how neighborhood's outside urban tokyo are like. (Full article on Puroland to come)

8. Easy transportation: Anyone who thinks that a car is the ultimate way to get around has never been to Tokyo. With cheap transportation options ranging from buses to high speed bullet trains, getting around can be easy and affordable. If you are ever lost you can easily orient yourself by finding the closest public transportation station and riding it back to your hotel.

7. Video Game Arcades: While most video game arcades in America largely died in the late 80's to early 90's, they are still going strong in Japan. The same home consoles which killed their arcade breathren in America, in Japan provide enough competitive encouragement to create some of the greastest arcades we have ever seen. In order to stay competitive with the consoles Arcades have evolved from the old cabinets we know, to almost virtual reality cockpits. A sight to see indeed.

6. Manga and Anime mecca: To true fans this goes without saying, but we should point out how cool Tokyo is when it comes to our preferred form of entertainment. As some may already know cartoons and comics are widely accepted in Japan. This means that merchants can carry more Anime and Manga related products since they have larger market demographic. Even if you don't understand the language it is possible to find English versions if you ask. After looking at 5 floors of pure manga, you will never see the two shelf manga section at your local book store in the same way.

5. Tokyo Fashions: Whether you are looking for traditional Japanese Kimonos or the latest fashions designers from Paris the variety of fashion options in Tokyo is bewildering. More importantly Tokyo has its own fashion style to rival any styles found anywhere else. High Fashionistas and counterculture types will both find themselves at home in Tokyo's many fashion districts.

4. The sweets: You will find a surplus array of mouth-watering, tooth-achingly delectable chocolate treats, baked, and fried goods. The hypnotic aroma within the Shibuya station radius will draw you in like bugs to light. You have not experienced the full throttle effect of your palette until you've tried a couple of slices of what seems to be an endless buffet of sugary sweets. Not only do they provide a rainbow-like variety of the most delicious baked goods you've ever experienced, they make sure that your purchases maintain the same consitency throughout your ride back home. They package your sweets into a nice box along with packets of ice to keep your bundles of joy fresh. Bottom line the sweets are good.


3. Restaurants Galore: With an almost limitless amount of restaurants, you will never find yourself without something to eat. Add the Japanese people's great sense of hospitality and you'll wonder why you ever put up with crappy waiter service elsewhere. Tired of Japanese food? (but why would you be?) Tokyo's status as an international city ensures that you will find food from around the world.

2. Gundam Model/JPOP or JROCK/loli clothes/Japanese Toy Shopping: For some products there are only two options in America. 1. Buy online and pay steep fees and shipping. 2. Buy from a local importer (most likely that one small Anime store in the mall) and pay a VERY steep price to cover the importer's costs. The other option is to take your trip as an opportunity to buy all those cool things you have been wanting, but havent had the money to pay the shipping costs. Nothing beats the feeling of getting to try on/listen to/hold in your hand that real cool product you have been wanting before buying it.

1. There is something for everyone: Ok so I know its kinda cheesy to put this as your number one, but consider the following. Tokyo has 8 to 10 million people in it at any one time this means that there are so many different types of people that there are others out there that like what you like. No matter how small of a niche what you like is, chances are that enough people will like it to devote entire stores to it. Art fan? plenty of galleries some specializing in different styles. Toy train fan? entire buildings devoted to your hobby. 19th century reproduction designer clothing for cats fan? well you get the picture. As long as your are willing to explore and everyone in your group gets to go to the spots they want to go, everyone should have a great time.

Location Review: The Sony Building (Pictures coming soon)

    In the eyes of many travelers to Tokyo nothing gets more iconic than the Sony building.  After all the premiere consumer brand of Japan has world wide recognition and is often equated with being the ultimate state of the art in technology.

   Needless to say we were very excited to find this location in the heart of Ginza.  We arrived at the location roughly an hour early, and already saw a small group of tourists waiting outside the glass doors.  I wouldn't recommend doing this since there is not much to do waiting, and there is plenty of other things you can explore in Ginza.  (To include a wonderful cake shop roughly 1 block away).  

   Roughly 5 minutes before opening time tons of tourists will congregate around the main front door.  Don't worry about rushing in its not like you are going to have to get in line for anything.  There is no entry fee, so feel free to roam around.  The building itself is a series of narrow floors connected by winding stairways, with glass and metal adorning the railings.  As for sightseeing don't expect anything more than a showroom showcasing the latest in electronics from Sony.  Here's the catch, don't expect anything too fancy.  Sure they had the latest in HD tv's, camcorders, and Playstation 3 games, but somehow we feel that there is nothing you wont find at your local Best Buy.  The only item we found interesting was a small cylindrical robot/mp3 that spun around to the music.  Other than that don't expect much.  Every item on display is for sale, but make sure you ask for the overseas version.  If you ask us though, you're better of shopping at home where you can compare prices for similar products.  

   The only redeeming quality this place has is their attempt to make the showroom entertaining by using a common theme to keep the tourists going from floor to floor.  While we were there, they showcased kabuki theater, and used the HD and sound equipment to show kabuki related exhibits.  This is a creative idea, but a poor excuse to keep people in an over-glorified store.

    Bottomline:  The Sony building is not bad to kill roughly an hour or so of time, but don't make it a sole destination.  Instead you may find its location on the corner of Harumi Dori and Sotobori Dori.  This intersection is filmed by many travel shows for its X shaped crossing which allows more people to cross the street at once.  The highlight of our visit to the Sony building was taking pictures of this intersection from the 5th floor.

2 stars out of 5