Anyone That Lives In And Around Tokyo

[SMOKE'M]

hi guys ,

i have a question for those living in and around tokyo, last year i booked to go to japan for my self,wife and my little girl of 2 years ,for september this year (for 2 weeks)

mostly staying around tokyo sight seeing, and also wanting to go to the aquarium in okinawa,and what ever else i can fit in to a 2 week visit

i have been trying to follow everything that has gone on as much as i can,,but lately im getting alote of conflicting information

hoping you guys can help whether it's fine to go ,or possibly put it off for a later time

thanks

[*LOACH*]

hi guys ,

i have a question for those living in and around tokyo, last year i booked to go to japan for my self,wife and my little girl of 2 years ,for september this year (for 2 weeks)

mostly staying around tokyo sight seeing, and also wanting to go to the aquarium in okinawa,and what ever else i can fit in to a 2 week visit

i have been trying to follow everything that has gone on as much as i can,,but lately im getting alote of conflicting information

hoping you guys can help whether it's fine to go ,or possibly put it off for a later time

thanks

I live about an hour and a half southish of Tokyo (by Shinkansen) but I have been trying to follow both the Japanese and International media as well as what people in Japan including Tokyo locals have been saying.

Okinawa is absolutely fine to visit and nice work on choosing to go to the aquarium. I haven't been there but it is supposed to be one of the best in the world. There are also some historic sites worth visiting there and the food can be quite nice although you might want to avoid Goya - a really bitter vegetable that they use in a lot of dishes. Taco rice is nice though. Some of the seafood dishes they have are delicious too. I have had a deep fried (Tempura) flying fish which looked like a model airplane (with head and wings still attached) when setup on the plate, at an Okinawan restaurant in Aichi. It was really delicious.

Tokyo should be fine to visit now, but I would try and spend as much time further south as possible. Last week the Japanese Prime Minister announced he will eventually resign due to the nuclear power plant issues. They are still having problems with its cooling and with very high radiation levels even in the air. Recently two workers were exposed to higher than legal radiation. Tokyo shouldn't be affected unless they have another meltdown which is possible due to the ongoing cooling problems - but it is highly unlikely. Although the Tokyo council says the tap water is fine to drink many locals are buying bottled water so you might want to consider doing that too. Power might be a problem in Tokyo, especially in September - they are already hitting 70 -80% (check http://jp.msn.com/ its in the top left corner) and it will get worse as we get further into summer with restrictions on public buildings use of aircon amongst other things depending on the situation at the time. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Edited June 8, 2011 by *LOACH*

[N/A®]

I live and work right in Tokyo central and 10 minutes by car from Tokyo station. Although we personally are careful about the produce and water etc, life is pretty much normal. You wont notice anything radiation related unless you read or watch the news.

I can go on about whats happening at the power plants but really that is irrelevent to your question. If you are wondering whether it is safe to come for a holiday, I would say yes. No issues in Tokyo and definitely nothing in Okinawa as I went there for a week right when the problems started!

I hope this helps.

Edited June 11, 2011 by N/A®

[NITTO R34]

We went to Tokyo just last week, for 1 week. It was a bit of a spontaneous trip for work (booked flights on the Friday, flew out the next day!) but we were able to turn it into a holiday as well! So, all appeared to be normal, there was no threat of radiation & although Tokyo is apparently still getting a few tremors per day, we did not feel one! There was quite a bit of damage from the quake/s at Tokyo Bay though, so that was a bit unnerving - only to footpaths & pavements though. We did ALWAYS drink bottled water/brush our teeth in bottled water, just in case.

A MUST DO for you would be to visit Tokyo Disneyland - it's amazing!! Plus, there's Disneysea next door - similiar to Disneyland but aimed at teenagers/adults (more hard-core rides etc.) Both are well worth the look. Make sure you go on a Shinkansen (bullet train) just for the experience & a day trip to Mt Fuji is a must (it's actually not far from Tokyo). We also went to Tokyo Tower (viewing tower in the centre of Tokyo), the Epson Aqua Stadium in Shinagawa, Shibuya & Roppongi (both amazing inner-Tokyo suburbs, streets 'lit up' just like on the Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift movie lol! Definitely a sight to see...); Ikebukuro (great shopping - if you're tiny in size lol - plus they have a very large fish tank/aquarium inside the shopping centre); Akihabara (electric town - all full of electrical compliance stuff including cameras & gear, TV's & quirky Japanese stuff); Ginza (full of expensive boutique stores, good experience plus the Sony Centre is also here - see what Sony's latest creations are before they are released for sale!) For the rev-head, also visit a couple of Up Garages & Auto Bacs - they are awesome! Also visit Harajuku - great little suburb of Tokyo famous for it's edgy Japanese fashion. Also, check out a crazy Pachinko place - gaming/gambling centre kinda like a cross between a pokie machine & pinball!

All in all we had a fantastic time in Tokyo. But, remember it is the BIGGEST city in the WORLD with a population of just under 33 million. Australia has a population of just over 20 million so Tokyo will absolutely blow you away, especially at peak hour! If you don't know any Japanese, then it would be advisable to purchase a Jap phrase book as there is a massive language barrier (not many of them speak an ounce of English surprisingly).

Finally, don't expect to see insanely modified GTR's & EVO's everywhere you go because you won't. We saw a couple of GTR's (including 35's) but NONE were modified. Sure, there are plenty of modified ones there but trying to find them would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!

Enjoy your trip

[animan]

Ditto with ditto Disney sea is cool and all suburbs/prefectures he mentioned. One hasn't been mentioned is meg@web Toyota motorsport museum at odaiba. If your lucky you might catch an event there, I missed a gymkhana/drift by a day they do in a carprark I think.