Shinjuku, the weird and the wonderful
So for the first week we were in Japan, we stayed in Shinjuku and had all our trips radiate out from there.
I'm going to give you the highlighted tour of what we did in Shinjuku first though, as we did so many things and had to skip so many others due to time constraints, but it was a wonderful mishmash of places that we all loved.
First up, The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
Boasting some of the best views in Shinjuku this was a pretty amazing observation deck and it was... FREE! (everyone loves free!) From the dizzying heights of the 43rd floor you can see most of Tokyo. On a clear day you can see Mount Fuji as well! (Not that we were that lucky) There are these lovely little grey-haired Japanese ladies who will point out all the major parts of the city for you in near perfect english. It was well worth the 15 minute wait to get in (by the time we left the line was 3 times as long)
I'm going to give a little bit of advice here that may help if you are not staying in Shinjuku. If you come by train to see this, make sure you know which station exit you are aiming for. We came across some lovely Brazilian tourists on our adventures who had come out of the Shinjuku station at the nearest exit and just started walking. They were actually about 2 blocks away and heading in the wrong direction. Don't assume that you will be able to see the building when you exit the train station, there are lots of large buildings that will obscure your view. There is an underground tunnel (with a fun travellator) that will get you about 2/3rds the way to the Government Metropolitan Building, but come out on the wrong side of the station and you are going to be very lost indeed. There are maps of the Shinjuku station that show the platform numbers, check to see which one your train will come in on and try to have some orientation when you get off so that you head in the right direction. It will save you a lot of unnecessary walking!
In a building that reminded me of a rocket ship (tall, white, strangely flared at the base) and tucked away on the 42nd floor in Shinjuku Tokyo, is one of the series of painting by Vincent van Gogh, sunflowers. It appears to be on long term loan to the Museum so it stays constant and the exhibitions change around it.
Reasonably priced at around $20 (aud) to get in to see the current exhibition (it was close to changing so I won't bother telling you what it is at the moment) and children free with a paying adult, we managed to see a Van Gogh in Japan! It is a short walk from the train station (under 10 minutes) and I suppose if you can't get to the louvre in Paris, this would be your next best option! Plus the view from the 42nd floor is pretty nice too.
Fourth - Robot Restaurant
Now if you read the reviews around there are people who love this place, and other people who loathe it with equal passion.
I say, take it for what it is, a glorious spectacle that will have you mouthing 'what the ever loving f... is going on?' to yourself.
Imagine a neon, glitter, sparkly, Las Vegas strip club threw up on a mechanical bull and you are about a third of the way to imagining this place. **disclaimer! there is no nudity! the analogy of a strip club was included for the dark, shifty atmosphere, not for naked people!**
It's an all dancing, all singing, all robot-y review which is severely misleading in touting itself as a restaurant. You can order a bento box or popcorn, but I don't think they qualify as 'restaurant' food.
Personally, we skipped the food and went for the show. My advice to you is shop around, there are websites like Klook and Viator that will resell tickets at a discounted rate. Earlier sessions will get you about a $20 discount off the normal price, these are totally worth it. Unless you plan on bar hopping and going to a later session (maybe it will make more sense if you were really, really drunk) just concede that you are doing the 'touristy' thing and sit back and enjoy the show.
Make sure you get there in plenty of time, they have strict cut off times and if you don't make it in on time I am pretty sure you don't get in regardless of your ticket. So be punctual!
*Note on Tickets* read the terms on your ticket very carefully, you will likely need to take an actual print out (on paper - phone confirmation didn't seem to be acceptable) to swap for tickets that you then redeem to get in. When you get to the main entrance turn around and on the corner is the box office to go to. Also pay attention to the floor, there are several queues, and some resellers get priority lines. We thought we had lucked out when we arrived early and there were 5 people waiting, then we were directed to the box office where there were 50 people or so waiting. We were still allocated amazing seats on the front row though.
Fifth - BANDIT.
What the hell is a 'BANDIT'? you ask?
It is the Disney store that isn't a 'Disney' store. I first watched a youtube video of a woman who went there and it looked pretty awesome... then we went there and it was even better! Not only do they deal in select Disney franchises, they also cover the cult classics from the 90's and, if you are VERY lucky, second hand collectors items.
We were lucky. My Star Wars mad husband secured Boba Fett and IG-88 figures from his childhood. You could not wipe the smile off his face for the next three days. (Guess which one of us had to deal with the logistics of packing the huge boxes safely so that they got home in one piece??)
It's a short walk from the Shinjuku Station if you are a die hard Disney fan check out their website here and go visit them if you are in the area.
Sixth - Book Off.
No trip to Japan should be taken without visiting a Book Off store, in fact I can think of no reason why you should ever walk past a Book Off store in Japan, you just do not know what you will find. I'm going to dedicate a whole blog post to them later, but there is a 3 story one in Shinjuku near the train station. Basically it is a second hand store and if you have ever been thrift shopping anywhere else in the world you know that you take pot luck at finding things at thrift store. I am just going to point out that Japanese people take immaculate care of their things. You can do the maths yourself on that one.
The Book Off is located on the fringe of the Yodabashi neighbourhood, so while you are there you can fit in some fun electronic shopping too!
That is my top 6 picks for Shinjuku. I was disappointed that we missed out on the Ninja Trick House and the Samurai Museum, but the day that we had allocated to visit both we were all super tired and approaching burnout, so we called it an early night.
Cheers!
Lenny
I'm going to give you the highlighted tour of what we did in Shinjuku first though, as we did so many things and had to skip so many others due to time constraints, but it was a wonderful mishmash of places that we all loved.
First up, The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
Boasting some of the best views in Shinjuku this was a pretty amazing observation deck and it was... FREE! (everyone loves free!) From the dizzying heights of the 43rd floor you can see most of Tokyo. On a clear day you can see Mount Fuji as well! (Not that we were that lucky) There are these lovely little grey-haired Japanese ladies who will point out all the major parts of the city for you in near perfect english. It was well worth the 15 minute wait to get in (by the time we left the line was 3 times as long)
I'm going to give a little bit of advice here that may help if you are not staying in Shinjuku. If you come by train to see this, make sure you know which station exit you are aiming for. We came across some lovely Brazilian tourists on our adventures who had come out of the Shinjuku station at the nearest exit and just started walking. They were actually about 2 blocks away and heading in the wrong direction. Don't assume that you will be able to see the building when you exit the train station, there are lots of large buildings that will obscure your view. There is an underground tunnel (with a fun travellator) that will get you about 2/3rds the way to the Government Metropolitan Building, but come out on the wrong side of the station and you are going to be very lost indeed. There are maps of the Shinjuku station that show the platform numbers, check to see which one your train will come in on and try to have some orientation when you get off so that you head in the right direction. It will save you a lot of unnecessary walking!
Second on my list is the Tejinaya Magic Bar
This place is seriously amazing!! The youngest in our family absolutely adores magic and is an aspiring Magician. Magic doesn't usually require any local language knowledge to watch and understand so you know that the show is going to be good! (fyi it is very English friendly)
I am going to be upfront and tell you that it is pricey, but it is worth every last cent. 3500 Yen for 90 minutes (which worked out to be about $40 each) gets you unlimited drinks, close up magic and a magic 'show' with some of the main magicians. We had 4 close up magicians plus the main show. Take a phone that can take video, they encourage you to film them! It was gobsmacking, laugh out loud funny and thoroughly entertaining. (Robot Resturaunt was closer to $70 for a price comparison)
If you are curious these are the easiest directions that I can give to you to get there. (I'd suggest walking google maps street view as well to help) Where ever you are, get to the Don Quijote store in Shinjuku (on the corner of Kabuki Central Road and Kasukuni-dori Avenue - we had a taxi drop us right in front) if you look up the street towards the Hotel Gracery you will see Godzilla peeking out, that is how you know you are on the right street. Start walking down the paved road (there are three blocks on the way to Godzilla) On the third block on the right hand side there will be a rounded building on the corner. Right after this building there is a doorway, that is where you are going. From memory (and sorry because I can't seem to find the floor it is on, but there is a stand with pictures of what is on the various floors of the building out the front) take the lift to the 7th floor, if you get out and there are playing cards all over the wall then you are in the right place.
I highly recommend that you book a table via google maps or drop them an email tejinaya.shinjuku.yoyaku@gmail.com - we were there at 7:00 and by the time we left at 8:30 every table was taken. You will absolutely not regret it. Opens from 6pm nightly.
Third - some unexpected culture. Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art
In a building that reminded me of a rocket ship (tall, white, strangely flared at the base) and tucked away on the 42nd floor in Shinjuku Tokyo, is one of the series of painting by Vincent van Gogh, sunflowers. It appears to be on long term loan to the Museum so it stays constant and the exhibitions change around it.
Reasonably priced at around $20 (aud) to get in to see the current exhibition (it was close to changing so I won't bother telling you what it is at the moment) and children free with a paying adult, we managed to see a Van Gogh in Japan! It is a short walk from the train station (under 10 minutes) and I suppose if you can't get to the louvre in Paris, this would be your next best option! Plus the view from the 42nd floor is pretty nice too.
Fourth - Robot Restaurant
Now if you read the reviews around there are people who love this place, and other people who loathe it with equal passion.
I say, take it for what it is, a glorious spectacle that will have you mouthing 'what the ever loving f... is going on?' to yourself.
Imagine a neon, glitter, sparkly, Las Vegas strip club threw up on a mechanical bull and you are about a third of the way to imagining this place. **disclaimer! there is no nudity! the analogy of a strip club was included for the dark, shifty atmosphere, not for naked people!**
It's an all dancing, all singing, all robot-y review which is severely misleading in touting itself as a restaurant. You can order a bento box or popcorn, but I don't think they qualify as 'restaurant' food.
Personally, we skipped the food and went for the show. My advice to you is shop around, there are websites like Klook and Viator that will resell tickets at a discounted rate. Earlier sessions will get you about a $20 discount off the normal price, these are totally worth it. Unless you plan on bar hopping and going to a later session (maybe it will make more sense if you were really, really drunk) just concede that you are doing the 'touristy' thing and sit back and enjoy the show.
Make sure you get there in plenty of time, they have strict cut off times and if you don't make it in on time I am pretty sure you don't get in regardless of your ticket. So be punctual!
*Note on Tickets* read the terms on your ticket very carefully, you will likely need to take an actual print out (on paper - phone confirmation didn't seem to be acceptable) to swap for tickets that you then redeem to get in. When you get to the main entrance turn around and on the corner is the box office to go to. Also pay attention to the floor, there are several queues, and some resellers get priority lines. We thought we had lucked out when we arrived early and there were 5 people waiting, then we were directed to the box office where there were 50 people or so waiting. We were still allocated amazing seats on the front row though.
Fifth - BANDIT.
What the hell is a 'BANDIT'? you ask?
It is the Disney store that isn't a 'Disney' store. I first watched a youtube video of a woman who went there and it looked pretty awesome... then we went there and it was even better! Not only do they deal in select Disney franchises, they also cover the cult classics from the 90's and, if you are VERY lucky, second hand collectors items.
We were lucky. My Star Wars mad husband secured Boba Fett and IG-88 figures from his childhood. You could not wipe the smile off his face for the next three days. (Guess which one of us had to deal with the logistics of packing the huge boxes safely so that they got home in one piece??)
It's a short walk from the Shinjuku Station if you are a die hard Disney fan check out their website here and go visit them if you are in the area.
Sixth - Book Off.
No trip to Japan should be taken without visiting a Book Off store, in fact I can think of no reason why you should ever walk past a Book Off store in Japan, you just do not know what you will find. I'm going to dedicate a whole blog post to them later, but there is a 3 story one in Shinjuku near the train station. Basically it is a second hand store and if you have ever been thrift shopping anywhere else in the world you know that you take pot luck at finding things at thrift store. I am just going to point out that Japanese people take immaculate care of their things. You can do the maths yourself on that one.
The Book Off is located on the fringe of the Yodabashi neighbourhood, so while you are there you can fit in some fun electronic shopping too!
That is my top 6 picks for Shinjuku. I was disappointed that we missed out on the Ninja Trick House and the Samurai Museum, but the day that we had allocated to visit both we were all super tired and approaching burnout, so we called it an early night.
Cheers!
Lenny
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