Stay outside of the most popular areas, such as Shinjuku or Ginza and watch your hotel bill drop by more than half. You can find excellent culture off the beaten track in places like Ueno, and the hotels are around 3000 yen/night rather than 9000 in Shibuya.

Concerning advances in technology and way of life, Tokyo is your city! Akihabara is the most exciting place for the PC-expert, where Sony VAIO's and Macintosh equipment are sold side by side in benches like in a flea market!

Tokyo, what can i say, tokyo is truelly a great city. the many different districts are where you will find whatever you want from the fashion and style of Ginza to the elecronic magnitude of akihabbra there is something for everyone, if you want good nightlife then go to roppongi where you can party the night away until the early hours some bars will stay open until 7am if there is enough trade for them, one tip dont start too early or burn out before it starts properly will be hard to avoid

The extra money to go up Tokyo tower is worth it for the amazing view. Going at night you can see the whole city light up.

Tokyo Park Hyatt Hotel. Did you see Lost in Translation? Yes, then you have to visit the hotel. Just take an elevator (even as backpacker!) and enjoy the view over Tokyo!

washington hotel shinjuku quite nice, in the middle of shinjuku, stay at the main complex, the annex has serious ventilation problems. at the main building ask for a room with a view on a high floor, and don't take the cheapest one, u can't turn around in it with your luggage open. you pay little more and get a lot of comfort with it. staff generally quite friendly, although there's serious need for improvement for some.

Awesome place for lunch - Danto, about a couple blocks from Ginza station - located in the basement of an office building. Cute, traditional style lunch establishment with very friendly staff. One of the waitresses was especially amused at the size of my gaijin Born loafers ("Oki-desu!") which failed to fit in the shoe cabinets. Food is great, and you cannot beat the set courses for value and taste. Check out Frommer's Tokyo Guidebook for more details. We also loved a Korean BBQ place in the mall ourside of the Disney Resort - a bit on the expensive side (naturally, given its location), but DELICIOUS. Take a Japanese friend, as (surprisingly, again given its location) there are no English menus.

Freshness Burger - not so much. Avoid this place unless you need something to soak up the booze after a night in Roppongi/Shinjuku/etc. Getting around: incredibly easy. Public transport in Tokyo is a completely hassle-free experience. Read the maps carefully (if possible, plan out your trip beforehand using a site like zone81.com's subway planner) and check out the Romanji translations in all stations, and you are set! We loved Tokyo (and our day in Kyoto). We hope to head back a third time to experience more of the city - 18 days and we only scratched the surface!

On your first day in Tokyo, consider visiting the Mori Art Museum - on both visits we found wonderful contemporary art exhibits. The observation deck provides a great (and dramatic) way to orient yourself to the layout of the city.

Bear in mind, when visiting Roppongi at night you may be harassed by aggressive hawkers advertising their establishment's wares (free drinks, free titty dance, come on, mahn!). Keep moving and ignore them, they will move on to greener pastures.

You have to take some time to walk around Tokyo at night! The signs and lights are amazing, and you will get to see the younger crowd and the diverse fashions the Japanese wear. Stop into a Pachinko parlor and try out the most popular leisure activity in Japan!