Things to do in Tokyo at 6:00 AM

[rachelmanija]

My flight arrives in Tokyo at 5:00 AM, and our train to Kyoto was booked for some time in the afternoon. In a moment of temporary insanity, I agreed to escort everyone (3 professors, 12 students) around Tokyo. (I and another student extended our trip to hang around Tokyo for a while after everyone else leaves Japan, but for most students, this will be their only chance to see Tokyo. The rest of the trip will be spent in Tokyo.)

What do you do in Tokyo at 6:00 AM? I want to show them city life, so no recs for the Imperial Palace. Also, I believe that the Tsukiji Fish Market is now closed to gawkers.

Comments

[oyceter]

Looks like you can actually see the tuna auctions at Tsukiji if you get there in time: http://www.shijou.metro.tokyo.jp/english/market/tsukiji.html

[starlady]

The operative point though is that Tsukiji will be long closed by the time you could get there.

[starlady]

Get on the JR not-Narita Express train and shell out for the green seats--it'll get you in to Ueno about ten minutes slower than the Narita Express, in better comfort. Change to the Oedo line on the subway at Ueno and take everyone to Asakusa. Classic Tokyo downtown atmosphere, et voila! Make sure to allow enough time (two to three hours) back to Narita.

[rachelmanija]

We're flying into Haneda (which I've never flown into before) and I think taking a train to Tokyo Station. From whence we could certainly proceed to Asakusa, good idea. I was also thinking about Shibuya, because it's so Ultimate Cityscape, but I don't know if it's so much so in the day - I may have only been there at night.

There's also Harajuku, though it'll be mid-week so I don't think anyone will be dressed up.

[starlady]

Ah, Haneda. Don't take the monorail, it takes forever. I'd still recommend Asakusa, I think, or Shibuya and Aoyama. Definitely still plenty of fun during the day.

There aren't even many people dressed up in Harajuku on the weekends anymore--the cool kids have decamped for other places.

(I'm jealous! I hope you have fun!)

[rachelmanija]

Thanks! So, no monorail, regular train instead?

Where are the cool kids now?

[kurayami-hime.livejournal.com]

Sent here by swan_tower

Tsukiji is open to the public, but there are procedures that make it a bit complicated (http://www.shijou.metro.tokyo.jp/english/market/tsukiji.html).

If you want city life, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya, and Akihabara are all good places, but there's not much going on at 6am that I know of. Roppongi Hills or Tokyo Midtown might be interesting for their architecture alone, and you can wander through those before the stores open. And the skyscrapers in Shinjuku are kind of neat (I love the Metropolitan government building and the weird cocoon looking building looks, um, like a giant weird cocoon).

You could always go out to see Tokyo Sky tree. It's not open to the public until May, but it's new and novel and there's a Mr Donut not too far away from the subway station. *And* you'd get the bonus of experiencing rush hour on your way back from the edge of the city.

I'll continue to ponder.

[gameazel.livejournal.com]

You can still have fresh sashimi/sushi at Tsukiji at that time! ^___^

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

The market itself was not closed as of last July; however, seats at the tuna auctions were limited to first-come-first-serve for non bidders.

Senso-ji shrine and the surrounding markets were really fun, and easy to get to from Ueno station.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my sister dittos that Tsukiji is not closed: http://www.shijou.metro.tokyo.jp/english/market/tsukiji.html