Tokyo on a Budget

Tokyo never ceases to amaze me by its contrasts. It is a very impersonal city, yet its people remain extremely hospitable. It is one full of vending machines chocked full of about everything that strikes one's fancy, yet maintains an unerring sense of service. It is one where toilet papers are sold in public restrooms, yet tissue papers are passed out for free in front of train stations. It is very crowded, yet it respects personal space. Even at the subway station during rush hour, often passengers would wait for their trains in orderly lines. Riders immediately turn off their cell phones when boarding public transportation, and the bus P/A system often reminds passengers that cell phones bother their neighbors. Often, visitors to Japan often have very little time for Tokyo, preferring to bypass it for the more historic Kyoto. Personlly, it is an enjoyable city, not as expensive as one would think.

Highlights include 1) people watching during cherry blossom season; 2) shopping at the world's largest department stores; and 3) discovering the neighborhoods.

Quick Tips:

Others have said this before, but I have to reiterate. Visit Japan during the spring cherry blossom season if you could, although this is extremely difficult to plan, as this season sometimes lasts only a week. Otherwise, go during the fall, when the maple leaves turn a majestic red. If possible, try to fly into Tokyo and out of Osaka, or vice versa. This way, you can cover more of Japan without having to double back).

Best Way To Get Around:

Needless to say that Japan, and in particular Tokyo, has an excellent train/subway system. Once in the city, this should be your only mode of transportation, though splurging once in a while on a cab when you are totally exhausted is doable. The map of the subway is really a soba noodle maze, but once you get used to it, it's a cinch. We found that we also spent most of the time on a couple of line, the red and the grey, which cover most of the usual tourist spots, so learning to know them is not too difficult.

Located in the Ikebukuro neighborhood, about a 10 min walk from West Exit of JR line, Ikebukuro Station, Kimi Ryokan is simply the bargain of Tokyo. A room for two costs me about $65 per night, a rate not found anywhere else in Tokyo.

Kimi ryokan is the brainchild of a couple of Japanese brothers who, having traveled extensively in Europe, vowed to build a place of accommodation for budget travelers. They succeeded spectacularly. For a very attractive price, you get a room that may be spartan and small (enough to accommodate two single futons and a small table), but spotless (our room had brand new tatami mats still smelling of freshly woven bamboos), and furnished with an air conditioner-a godsent. Over the number of years since the Kimi was established, footsteps of the numerous pensioners have polished the cypress floor to a beautiful shine that made walking barefooted amazingly pleasurable. The staff spoke flawless English-our cashier/check-in clerk grew up in Los Angeles. The only minor flaw that would prevent Kimi from getting a perfect rating from me is that the bathrooms can use a bit more regular cleaning. They are not dirty, just not as clean as I would have expected from the condition of the rooms. Remember to bring towels to Kimi, as the front desk will only give you a face towel.

One other thing that may be problematic to some travelers is the neighborhood in which the Kimi ryokan is located. Ikebukuro is billed as a working-class and "entertainment" district. Some may call it the "darker" side of Tokyo. By dark, they would mean that it is dirtier, seedier, full of "love hotels," "hostesses" pimping for businesses in the streets, and young yakuzas-in-training standing around to lend the hostesses more clout. However, as this neighborhood also houses two of the largest department stores in Tokyo, which operate long hours, we saw many many women walking alone comfortably after dark. In truth, Ikekuburo is a lot more tame than many other places I have been to.

This is a bit of a departure from the title of this section: Tokyo on a Budget. However, it was such a great place to stay that I thought an exception is called for, and if you read on, I did get it at a great bargain.

For those who can dish out about $200 per night, the Westin Hotel, located in a happening neighborhood called Ebisu, is definitely the place to stay. Some critics have even said that the Westin gives the Four Seasons, which spends more than a million dollar on each room of its hotel, a run for its money.

The Westin Ebisu is gorgeous, though a bit pretentious, as everything in the lobby is made with marble. Rooms are huge by Japanese standard. It''s a deal of the century if you can manage to get it free, like I did, by signing up with Starwood''s American Express Free Fridays program (for every five nights you stay during a specific period, you get two free Fridays anywhere in the world). Rooms are furnished with classic European furniture, and each includes a make-up desk, a large writing desk, a couch, and separate shower and tub. Even the tea bags are symbols of luxury: they are made with woven linen. The Westin is conveniently located about 10 minute walk from the nearest subway. The fun thing is that you do go through a shopping complex to get there.

Guidebook after guidebook rates the Tsukiji experience as one of the highlights of any visit to Tokyo, and I agree wholeheartedly. To see the best of Tsukiji, it is important to get to the market by 6am at the latest. I thought this sounded impossible, but it turned out that, for those of us who fly into Tokyo from the States, Tsukiji is a natural choice for us jetlagged travelers. In fact, you will find out after waking up at about 3am in the morning that you would actually look forward to arriving at Tsukiji even before 6am. However, as most subways do not run until 5am, there is no reason to trek to Tsukiji in a Tokyo cab, unless you have plenty of money to burn, of course.

The Tsukiji market handles close to 3000 tons of marine products totaling close to 30 million a day. In scale, it is incomparable. It must be the biggest fish market in the world. Upon getting to the market, head straight for the main attraction-the tuna auction. There, seas of freshly-caught and flash-frozen tunas weighing hundreds of pounds would have been laid out in lines on the floors of the market. At 5:30 a.m. the tuna auction starts. "How much do you bid?," the auctioneer of a wholesale firm, who typically would stand on top of a vegetable crate, asks in a loud voice. Answering this, a lot of authorized buyers bid against each other. The auction then moves on to the next fish in a frenetic pace. It is said that some fish sells up to $60,000 (yes, I mean US dollar) each. The name of the successful purchaser is marked on the tuna. At about 7:00am, bidders and other retailers from the market will carry the tuna priced at auction to their own stalls and lay them out so that caterers and other purchasers can buy them easily. There, besides tuna, there are some other 400+ fishes from all around the world of every imaginable variety. The colors are eye-popping, and the market is just a great feast for the eyes. After you have walked some of these stalls, head to the rear of the market where heaps of styrofoam stretching up tens of feet are heat-treated and recycled. It is an amazing sight to behold.