The Imperial Gardens, from across the moat

My husband and I visited Tokyo his past week, from April 23 to April 27. By happenstance, our visited perfectly bracketed the peak of the cherry blossoms in Tokyo. The time was all too short, with the cherry blossoms in bloom and perfect weather.

Since I may have the chance to go back, here are some helpful hints to you and my future self:

• Rent cell phones at the airport. The phones come as cheap as 100 yen a day, or 300 yen a day if you want incoming calls to be free.
• Visit the Tsukiji Fish Market. You need to be at the information desk by 5 am to have a probable chance of being one of the few tourists admitted each day, and you need to show up on a working day (ahem). I enjoyed watching the youtube video of Morgan Webb’s visit to the market.
• Check out the ice cream in waffle wafer treat. You can find it at the Family Mart. *So* good.
• Wander about town to find places to eat. Eating in-hotel in Tokyo can put you back serious money for each meal. That’s fun for a treat, but wandering around town for eats is fun and relatively inexpensive. You do need to be willing to eat fish, but everything is safe.
• Use the metro to get around. Trips start at 160 yen, and the trains do a pretty good job of getting you where you want to be. If you’re unsure how to get from point A to point B, check out Hyperdia.com. This website will give you fares and times and everything.
• Consider using the hotel limos to get to and from the airport. The limos are big buses that travel directly to the major hotels, and the fare tends to run 3000 yen. You can negotiate your way into town using trains and metro, but you’ll still end up paying a bit more than 2000 yen.
• Get the latest information at japan-guide.com. You can also get useful paper guides from your hotel concierge, and these paper guides often include discount coupons. So don’t stress if your guide book gets lent out or left behind.

Cherry Blossoms in the Imperial Gardens