Two days in Tokyo

[manxmike]

Visiting Japan for the second time in April! Had such a great time last year I think I'll be a regular return visitor!

I'm joining a two week tour, but am coming out two days early so have a couple of days to kill in Tokyo. Shouldn't be too hard, but I'd love to get some advice on how best to use these two days.

The hotel's in Asakusa and the days will be the 4th and 5th of April.

I would definitely like to visit the Skytree and Tokyo Tower (so it doesn't feel left out). Will I have any trouble getting into the Skytree on those days? Do you need to book in advance?

The tour includes a cruise on the Sumida, and visits to Hamarikyu gardens, the Meiji Shrine and the Metropolitan Government building, so they're covered.

I quite fancy the following:

Ueno Zoo (visited the museums last year)
Mori Tower
Disney Sea (travelling alone though so theme parks might make me look sad and lonely!)
Tokyo Dome City (ditto. A return visit to Koishikawa Korakuen maybe, I enjoyed it last year)
Some good Hanami spots. Is Sumida Park nice?
Maybe a show one evening (I like a lot of different music). Is it easy to find out what's on / book?

Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

[community.japanese]

manxmike-san,
kon'nichiwa!
Wow, that's nice! 2 free days in Tokyo!
I'm not too sure if hanami season starts by 4th/5th April this year...it seems to be a bit early.
If your hotel's in Asakusa, you might want to visit a big famous temple called "sensouji". Have you been there already?
Your options seem to be good to me! There's another option: Tsukiji fish market. You might be able to experience
something very Japanese there
Hope this helps a bit!

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com

[manxmike]

ありがとう奈津子さん！

I think the hotel is just around the corner from Sensouji! I was there last year but will definitely have another visit. And Nakamise Dori is a good spot to buy omiyage, ne?

I would love to see the fish market sometime! Maybe when I'm with a group of people.

Last year the tour ended in Tokyo just in time to see the sakura in full bloom. Yoyoji Park was amazing that weekend - so many people! This year, I would love to see Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto when the sakura is out, we were just a little early last year. It was still very beautiful.

I think the Skytree is the main attraction in Tokyo. I guess it gets very busy in the evening when the city lights up? Would you recommend an early morning viewing?

てつだってくれてかんしゃします！

[community.japanese]

manxmike-san,
どういたしまして！
Kiyomizu-dera! ii desu ne! That's a lovely place; I've never been there in Sakura season, but it must be beautiful...

As to Skytree, I'm not too sure about the situation right now, but you could be right about more people at night.
I googled the info, and it seems Saturday to Monday is the busiest, the best (= less people) would be Tuesday and Thursday. The interesting info form this page was that after 19:00, there were less people.
Perhaps night viewing is not the main purpose for many people??
I saw some pages in Japanese, but if you search on internet, I'm sure you can also find some people's experience reports in English. Hope you can find usuful opinions from people who actually visited Skytree

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com

[manxmike]

おかげで再び奈津子さん!

I think Kiyomizu-dera was the highlight of last years trip, but I'm looking forward to seeing much more of your beautiful country!

[community.japanese]

manxmike-san,
hope you can really enjoy some beauty, yes!
I was just wondering if you wanted to say "thanks again" with おかげで再び
We often don't say the part "again", unless we say なんども meaning "many times".
Thanks in Japanese is ありがとう, so.....either just ありがとう or なんどもありがとう
And, どういたしまして

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com

[manxmike]

べんきょうになりました！

なんどもありがとう。

[community.japanese]

manxmikeさん、
どういたしまして！
いつでもどうぞ！　Anytime

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com