when will you be going f-tron? What is the nature of the visit?

i'll be there in mid june. i'm a mla student and i'm going to taiwan for school at the beginning of june and afterward heading to japan to meet up with a friend whose parents live in tokyo. if anyone has any suggestions for taipei or taiwan, that would be great too, although i think i will have less time to sightsee while i'm there.

Wow, sorry no one gave you suggestions in time. I'm headed there myself some time in August. Does the Japan Rail Pass work for pretty much all trains? I'm thinking of getting the 7-day one and travelling half way across the country on it.

you should check out:

FOA's yokohama port terminal... it takes a bit of a train ride to get out to yokohama but i think its worth it... if you're into landscape... sort of an interesting manmade landscape element...

ando's "omotosande hills" be sure to wander around it and then go inside... The inside is kind of surprising... the building has a "height restriction" relative to nearby trees and the old building facade that it maintains a piece of...

other cool retail spaces in omotosande... dior omotosande by kazuyo sejima

vinoly's tokyo international forum

of course, check out the city around each of these "trian stations/districts": Ginza (business / shopping district), Shibuya (young hip area, shopping, etc.), Akihabara ("electric town", basically it's electronics / nerd subculture central... imagine a city having a "geek district"..., Harajuku (fashion district, more like hip youth fashion... try crepes there, its famous for crepes), Check out Roppongi... Also Odaiba (waterfront type area), asakusa shrine and market, tourist standard spot

Eat: ramen, sample everything at an "izakaya" (japanese tapas / appetizer nightspots for drinking sake or cold beer) , okonomi yaki (basically something like a spanish tortilla / omlette / pancake... goood), "moss burger" (a japanese burger joint, very good), convenience store rice balls and snacks... basically any other local restaurants or cafes: everything from chinese to french to italian... the food is really good but always tweaked to suit the japanese tastebud which is smaller portioned, less oily and fatty, usually sweeter, and a with smaller varieties... So chinese or italian food might not be what you're used to... tonkatsu... check out the department stores... sogo... basement level food departments

Thanks OldFogey. Yeah, I did see that they recommend getting it before one gets to Japan.

I was shocked to find that the 7-day pass costs less than what I paid recently for round trip train tickets from Philly to CT (or even to NY if I take Amtrak). The US train system really has to catch up to the rest of the world on the train system (how ironic). Although it might really have to do more with the American culture and layout of cities. Well, I guess I shouldn't go into that because thats a whole other can of worms.

Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing Japan.

re: landscape in japan

i think kyoto is worth a visit... take the bullet train at least for a couple nights... get a bento box at the station for the train ride...

there's something about japanese landscapes, the way they seem composed and aged, less big and bulky than we are used to in the states... the forests around shrines and temples and on mountainsides are abviously old, but somehow they look quite refined and neat and delicate somehow... not the "wild" you might expect like in american woods... it's like a composition that takes centuries to develop a nice mix... maybe something akin to british landscape or the Olmsted tradition in the states...

There are also zen gardens...

there are some nice, small art house cinemas in shibuya if you look. also there is that wierd Parco quattro in shibuya that sometimes hosts music events. I never figured out if it was a regular store like the other Parcos or if it was specifically a music venue...

good luck finding the designer's republic store in harajuku. i couldn't find it myself!

have fun. i think japan is a wonderful place to visit (as you can tell by my screen name)

I am definitely looking forward to seeing Ando's work as well as some of the older traditional buildings. My only first hand contact with Japanese buildings is the Japanese tea house in the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Japanese House out in Fairmount Park (I think the only or one of very few authentic Japanese Houses outside of the country). The bathroom of that Japanese house is one of the most beautiful spaces I've ever been in. No joke.

It's Mos Burger. One 's'.

Pretty much all the hamberger chains in japanland are the bomb. First Kitchen, Freshness Burger, Bikkuri Donkey.....

In Tokyo I'd bypass AkiBa; Roppongi's for foreigners skeezing on slutty hs chicks (an visa versa) and Odaiba's only worth it if they still have the see through, indoor, parking garage, where you can control the robot elevators.
Instead try Shimo-Kitazawa, Shinjuku, Ebisu, an Azabu-Juban. Watch out for the tourist traps.

If you have to do the architecture 'thing' check out what's going on at Gallery Ma and GA Gallery. Both got decent bookstores that should be open even if the exhibit is in transition.

You don't need to be in the USA to get a JR Railpass, you just can't be in JPN-

When in August you gonna be there? The first half of the month, travel'll be crazy. Obon festival.

a few suggestions (with a heavy bent on art/architecture)...

www.tokyoartbeat.com is a really good site to find out what art + design exhibits are happening in/around the city. several of them are free.

omote-sando is an architect's playground. every few steps, you're hitting another famous architect's bldg or storefront. wandering off into the smaller streets just north or south of there is also great.

if you're into muji, their flagship store is near the yurakucho station. there's even a muji pre-fab house mockup inside. and if you're in that area late at night, go around to yakitori alley. good food. nice atmosphere.

if you venture out of tokyo and go to yokohama, also go to the bank art gallery and chinatown. see if the ito exhibit in hayama is still up when you visit - worth the long train ride out there.

and roppongi is worth a visit for a few reasons - for the mori art museum/tokyo city view, for aoki's louis vuitton storefront in roppongi hills, and for pecha kucha if it's happening when you're in tokyo. it's hosted every month by klein-dytham who started the whole concept/event.

pecha kucha in tokyo is at superdeluxe which is merely a left turn and about a short block or two away on the left side of the street once you exit the front of roppongi hills complex.

green tea pocky- they have pocky marketed for men too. the packaging color is all dark so as to seem more manly or something and appeal to guys.

man i miss those suntory drinks, especially the lemon spritzer that you can get in those ubiquitous vending machines.

"for smooth times... "

ya oops i misspelled "mos burger"... also, "omote sando hills"... i wrote "omoto sande"... wtf?? okay i'm a dumb american tourist i'll admit it...

but ya, check out omote sando... wander around there

if you're interested in landscape, someone I know who just finished up their MLA was here last summer. He went to a park in Kiyose, just outside of Tokyo.

And landscape/architecture people should all try and go to Naoshima. It's pretty darn cool.

more food: takoyaki (octopus balls)... it's sort of street food like standup in a small shop kind of food... mmm... also, shabu shabu (japanese hotpot, cook it at your table)... finish off with udon noodles cooked in the left over broth... goood... tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlets with special sauces)... it's amazing people in japan stay skinny with so much good food there...