Howdy everyone!

I'll be hitting up Japan next month and so far I have most of my itinerary covered but I've got some free slots for Tokyo..

Any recommendations on restaurants in and or around the Sheraton Miyako Hotel in Tokyo? We've concluded that we will be hitting up Conveyor Belt Sushi joints but so far we have no clue where to get Ramen (Santouka), and or Curry (CoCo Ichibanya) aside from the franchises....

We will be hitting up Sushi Bar Yasuda as it seems english-friendly..

Thank you for your help

Robot Restaurant. There's no way to describe how awesome it is. A must see!

Japan Robot Restaurant

Apparently the robot restaurant has some seriously shit food though. You go for the spectacle... most definitely do not go for the food.

Anyone know what weather is like in NOV-DEC in Tokyo/Kyoto?
Would a light jacket be sufficient? or does it get coldd?

Same question as above for early Oct. I'm heading there next weekend

Perfect time to go. Light jacket will do. Just layer up/down depending on the weather.

You definitely need a lot more than a light jacket in December.. Tokyo gets a lot colder than Vancouver. Kyoto is a bit warmer

I went in late Nov, early Dec and a light jacket was sufficient. Temps hovered around 16-18C.

If it was that warm for you in December, that's probably during an unseasonably warm period. It's usually between 4-10 Celsius (but dry)

Which ward should I stay at in Kyoto? Any hotel recommendations in Kyoto? I'm going in November.

Budget?

For me, capsule is the way to go. Either that or airbnb

If you have a large budget and want an amazing traditional Japanese experience, stay at a ryokan

Thanks...there wasn't much left. This is a family trip with my mom as well so capsule was an option but ultimately I decided to stay at the new Marriott in Osaka. Building is only 6 months old...its cheaper than staying in Kyoto. The last time I went in 2008 I stayed at the Kyoto Westin which was nice.

Pretty excited. Heading over next monday. Planned half the trip already. Got some touristy things planned but mostly eating. Although pretty excited about Yunessan in hakone. Anyone been? . And i just missed their baseball season too. Looking to do a couple fine dining restaurants any suggestion, so far we booked kozou in park hyatt.

I've been to yunnesun... It's known as more of a theme part style of onsen, with different whacky types of water (such as wine and green tea). Those ones require a bathing suit to be used; I just stuck with the normal onsen areas.

Spent a week in Japan last week... Only 2 days in Tokyo though!

Didn't read the whole thread, so I don't know if it's a repeat... BUT I have to say:
Try the Ramen Museum in Shin Yokohama. It's worth the entry fee and go hungry. I really wish I was able to try every ramen store. There are like 8 ramen shops in the basement. Pay the vending machine first then go inside to get served.

Sucks that I got full... I really wanted to try everything. Best Ramen I had on my trip.

I cannot agree more with this. I've stayed in all kinds of places in Japan, from budget to extravagant. The ryokan in Kyoto is still one of my most memorable Japanese experiences.

Japan baseball playoffs start Oct 11. If you have a chance, I highly recommend it. Seeing a baseball game in Japan is a great time. Way more entertaining than any MLB game i've seen.

Bump, just booked flights to Tokyo for a week in late October.

First things first, which neighborhood should we (fiancee and I) stay in? I had heard Shinjuku is convenient but I saw it was noted it is more of a business district?

We want to roam the small streets and bar/izakaya hop, so something close to those areas would be good. Not big into clubbing.

Also, any recommended hotels? Some we've seen in our search so far are E-Hotel, Granbell Hotel, and Sunroute Plaza hotel, all in Shinjuku. They are a bit on the pricier side (~$130/nt), anything good around $100 or cheaper?

I would recommend Ikebukuro. Plenty of eating and shopping nearby, while being central enough that you can get anywhere from there (well you can say that about anywhere really)

Shinjuku is super convenient. Tons of late night bars pubs restaurants. Mainly cause the red light district is near by complete with Nigerians trying to solicit you lol. The NEX airport express also stops at JR Shinjuku, so another plus. Super far from Tsukiji if your heading that way.

Hotels are all the same pretty much at that price point. Small and even smaller washrooms. E hotel is quite a trek, especially if you are lugging big suitcases but otherwise acceptable. Theres two sunroutes and both are decent as well, one is super close to the JR station and other has a metro station right near by.

I think thats pretty standard pricing in the area, if you want cheap you will have to venture out to less popular districts like Ueno or something. But they dont offer the convenience Shinjuku has.

edit: ikebukuro as skinny said is great as well. Keep in mind these smaller hotels tend not to book any restaurants for you which is a huge pain, especially sunroute.

Try the Sunshine City Prince Hotel at Ikebukuru. Pretty decent given its location and price. Located above a mall, plenty of food nearby and a supermarket (I think own by Walmart?) across the street. It's filled with a lot of tour groups though. But the fact that tour groups repeatedly choose this location for many years now, gives you a confidence it's decent enough for its 3-4 star rating.

Where there is a business district there will be Izakaya/bar hops for the average salary man to drink and eat after work. If you want a busy place at night to explore, Shibuya is a short train ride away from Shinjuku and it's got Tokyo's busiest pedestrian crossing. As for food, I honestly think everything is exceptionally good, so good in fact that I kind of regret having the more expensive food, for example, I went to Birdland (literally across from Sukiyabashi Jiro, which is THE Sushi place, I could not go, but at least I was there and I sniffed at their doors like a pervy creepy stalker) where they specialize in yakitori and utilizing different parts of a chicken, it was good, but pricy but I am not enough of a connoiseur to appreciate it, I could have sampled a lot more street food. Yakisoba can be incredibly cheap at 200Y sometimes and still tastes amazing.

Mentioned above is the Robot Cafe is pricey, but the show will blow your mind, although short. Don't think you'll be without something to do in any of the central prefectures in Tokyo, it's busy night and day. I have a strong love for Bic Camera.

If you go for anything cheaper than $100/night I suggest airbnb. I literally used the apartment that I stayed at for the bathroom and to sleep with my stuff stored and the rest of the time I was out anyways, if you are frugal and plan to spend most of your day exploring outside, I don't see why an Airbnb apartment wouldn't do as well, or better than a hotel, unless you really want all the amenities. Every time I go, I get laundry and a mobile wifi device which is indispensible when roaming around.

If you are planning to take the shinkansen and venture far out, the JR pass will be valuable, otherwise if you stay in tokyo, JR pass isn't necessary. Grab a suika card or icoca card and load it to get around. It's very convenient.

Just booked the Sunroute Plaza right near Shinjuku station for now... Might look into the possibility of 2 nights in Kyoto perhaps in a Ryokan.

Food so far... definitely gonna hit up a sushi stand in Tsukiji, a high end sushi place (perhaps Yasuda; Jiro is probably way overbooked), Rokurinsha Tsukemen, maybe a fancy michelin place (L'atelier or Robuchon, etc.) for lunch when its cheaper.

Not so much into cocktails but gonna see if there's a craft beer scene there.

For shopping, looking to see if raw Japanese denim is cheaper there, as well as leather craft goods.

^^^ hipster.