Tokyo hotspots

Evening all,

Im off to Tokyo at the end of the summer for a mixture of business and pleasure. Anyone got any good shops / places to go to find fixed paraphanelia ? I know it was pretty big there when i used to live there a few years back but i was still skating around on my bauer turbos and bmx when i was there. Now im the proud owner of a custom condor pista and am hooked! Want to check out there scene there. Any insider tips greatly welcomed.
Cheers chaps and chapettes

Carnival for pure fixed craziness, its between harajuku and shibuya. Also check out tsukumo cycle sports the makers of kalavinka frames. Wanna bring some stuff back for me??!!

Watch out for the police... they'll take on anyone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XLIlARgTz4

Such a classic

Thanks very much for the tips. Will check it out for sure. Thinking of starting an exclusive japanese fixed gear bicycle shop.... COuld bring some SMALL bits back at a request.
Any more insider tips bring em on.

The police are brilliant in Tokyo. I got pulled over by three cop cars and a policeman on a bicycle when i was riding with a friend on a crappy 50cc honda zapp scooter. Aparently you cant ride 50cc or below with a passenger. So bloody stupid! We were treated like criminals! I went in one cop car ancd my friend in the over (in the middle of a major intersection) - traffic was stopped and there was a huge pandamonium. We were secretly laughing inside! Went to the police station and went to separate rooms. We had just arrived in tokyo for a 3 year stint and had only been at language school a week so knew close to bugger all. Pans out the the cops have f-all to do in tokyo as real crime is too scary for them and its run by the Yakuza. So, big crime of the year (2 lads on a clapped out scooter) meant that they got their quota! My mate ended up being asked what kind of food he liked and all about the beetles (he's got a bit of a hippy Lenon look about him) and i played dominos for 2 hours with a bored young cop. When they dropped me home at my x girlfriends place to find out her dad was a big international lawyer and spoke better japanese them, they proceeded to bow and grovel like i'd never seen before. It was just too brilliant!

bump. I'm in tokyo this weekend (probably) and next week.

advice please. I don't desperately wanna go shopping, but will be taking my camera. As a gaijin cyclist, what do you think of when you think of tokyo?

Been to Tokyo 3 times, each time for a month to visit my old man, Christ i would do anything to get back there......... Dad lived one stop away on the JR line from Shibuya, still got my Suica (Japanese oyster) card in my wallet.

Will be very sad if I do not manage to get back there at some point in my life.

Completely different world where people's conduct tie into their reilgion Shintoism (that entail the values of honesty, respect and care), imagine that in this country? Not in a million years.

Imagine people in the UK treating the homeless with care because if they don't karma will sting them in the arse?

Am very jealous of you slytalker. Crack open a cold Sapporo and get some raw fish down your throat!

Tokyo makes me think of soaplands, maid cafes and love hotels!

@Charlie Thompson
I don't know of any Japanese person who claims to be religious.
They just do things like visit shrines, take part in matsuri etc... because everyone else does.
The influence of confucianism is very strong though, like in a lot of SEAsian countries.

There are plenty of people in this country who are honest and have respect and care for others - just not many in London!
And there are plenty of homeless people in Japan - look around bridges and parks.

Read "Dogs and Demons" by Alex Kerr. It helps reveal the reality behind the facade of Japan.
I agree it's a fascinating place, and I love it too, but it's not utopia!

Hi nankatsu, thank you for the reading recommendation, a book i have heard of but never read. I have always been told about the two facades that exist in Japan, but as a curious gaijin i guess I was only really exposed to the one that caters to the westerners.

What intrigues me the most is the relationship between the new and the old (eg religion and modern city life), especially if you talk about modern medicine and the way mental illness is treated, is this something you can comment on (sorry chaps, veering away from bikes i know...)?

Apart from that, pretty expensive place if you are planning a holiday, but am pretty sure that most people on this forum will appreciate everything that Japan has to offer.

Try and get over there guys at some point!

Slight aside, but my mate has taken some fantastic photos from Japan (he lived and worked out there for a while and has a J wife).
As a japanophile you may like them too:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabuchan/

And apologies if they are not all religious, perhaps its the way they respect their shrines / cemetaries / traditions and the Yakasuni shrine that lead me to believe that they they considered themselves religious. It seems ingrained from an early age, much unlike this country.

Oi! how about some advice then?

Oi! how about some advice then?

Go to Shibuya on a Friday night, count how many fixed's you see (front and rear Araya disc's anyone?). Tokyu Hands in Shibuya also has some sweet fixed parts too. Go to Dream Works, Sexon Super Peace, W-Base, Carnival, Blue Lug and Punch purely for bike porn viewing, especially the Cinelli tandem hanging on the wall in Carnival. Try and get to the Kawasaki Velodrome to watch a Keirin race (I think there's one near Ueno as well). Maybe get in touch with Tomity on here for times of races, cause when I went to one in Kyoto, I just saw them training.

Also, don't forget Thunder Dolphin at Tokyo Dome!

come to Kobe :D much better.

And yeh, no one here is religious.. (well, anyone born after the war), and

Homeless people are just ignored, not respected. Japan officially has 'no homeless people', as homelessness isnt recorded/a crime. People just happen to live under bridges, and pay no city taxes, but they arnt homeless, of course not! (Its a bit like Iran and homosexuality)

luckily there are some excellent trheads on the forum already....

but its(Japan- not nec. tokyo- although its great too) my favorite place in the world, so give us a pm, and I'll give you some things I like doing there.

Don't know if you saw my pictorial threads?
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread17899.html
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread17491.html

@Fred
You just staying in Tokyo?
If you're in Japan for a bit why not get a one week Japan Rail Pass (BEFORE you go) and do some travelling?
There's a sumo tournament on in Nagoya at the moment I think. Day tickets used to be 1,000Yen.
Kyoto/Nara are fantastic but will be very hot this time of year.
Osaka's nightlife is great fun and the people there are a bit more relaxed than in Tokyo.
Food is amazing everywhere.
NB: Last time i bought a J rail pass it was slightly cheaper from Gendai travel near Holborn than from Japan Travel Centre.

thanks guys that's much better. yep I'm staying in tokyo and not much chance to get around (though I guess I could do a day trip to kobe?

I'm working tuesday - thursday so will have just a weekend to kick around and cause trouble, which limits my damage causing potential.

pipwish, that looks sweet, how come they didn't come up in the search I did :-| ?

what to do? where to go? any-one wanna get hammered on saturday / sunday night?

cheapest Sumo tickets are 2,000yen (£15 or so).. but its worth it for the experience.

Fred... Kobe wouldnt be worth it for a day trip (unless you REALLY wanna see me of course).. neither would Kyoto really... But Kamakura is alot like Kyoto.. and rather alot closer to Tokyo, if you wanna look at temples and massive Buddas etc.

Kabukicho in Shinjuku if you are fancy of visiting the dark side of Tokyo

Down and dirty bar in an old train carriage, good music, open late http://www.trainbar.com/Train_Bar_-_MISTRAL_BLEU/Home.html

Restaurants that inspired Kill Bill fight scene...food amazing http://www.gonpachi.jp/en/casual/home/welcome%20

Gordon Ramsey breakfast or cocktail bar with amazing views for a bit of posh action http://conradhotels1.hilton.com/en/ch/hotels/index.do?ctyhocn=TYOCICI

Amazing architecture, expensive shopping http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/pradatokyo/index.htm

Try here for a pint of back home. My cousin does the food...

http://www.mermaidpub.com/

Ebisu next to Shibuya quite nice to look around at night over the weekend. Would recommend club
Milk there - pretty weird place, stylized as Moloko bar in Clockwise Orange,one of the oldest clubs in Tokyo.

Fred, go to Nikko, just outside Tokyo, loads of shrines/temples etc, bit in the sticks but its worth the trip (takes two hours on the shinkansen).

Whilst in Tokyo, go to the Kichijoji neighbourhood (we used to live there...) and check out Inokashira Park. It's pretty vibrant. And also check out Koenji, which is nice for low-key indie-style shopping. You can get to both on the Chuo line.

Avoid Roppongi, it's like Liverpool Street bars on a Saturday night.

If you're after uber-fashionable, go to Daikanyama.

Sure, the all street in Tokyo doesn't cover with names just like in London especially in alley way, therefore if you can't find the direction on the road, try to get any main street which takes where ever you would like to be.

• Cycling around Tsukiji-Market where can observe the main Tuna action in Tokyo. (the fish men who works there push you with their bike sometimes as they seems so busy to carry around the fish, but don't take it as personal they are alright.)
  http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/tukiji_e.htm
  
  

it's placed in the Tokyo bay area and Hamarikyu - Garden is 5 minutes cycling distance from Tsukiji-market where you can experienced Japanese Tea Ceremony with 500yen (3pound) and to get in the garden is 300yen(2pound).

After all, cycling to Mita-area (10 minutes cycling distance )where close to Tower of Tokyo and you can stop by at standing bar (called 'Tachinomi Bar'. the one street is covered with many Standing bars) for a drink. There are International school in this area so probably can find english menu also.

It's near the Akasaka where the english pub places as well,
Have a nice trip !