Tokyo Tempts

By Lisa Cullen/Tokyo

Tokyo has long been one of the world's most expensive cities, especially for business travelers, who regale colleagues back home with tales of the $38 room-service breakfast. But for locals and savvy expats, many of the best things in the Japanese capital are, if not free, surprisingly cheap.

If you've got only half a day or so to explore Tokyo, skip the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Tower and head to the Tsukiji fish market--particularly if you're jet-lagged and wide-eyed at 5 a.m. By then, everything from sea urchins to whales to whole tunas the size of third-graders is being chopped and auctioned at the market. Expect to ruin your khakis as merchants splatter past through puddles of fish slop.

Just this once, try fish for breakfast. Ask for the $17 sushi set at Sushi Dai, one of the many seafood eateries at the outdoor market adjacent to Tsukiji. Or try any place with a crowd or a line. Tokyo residents pride themselves on knowing good food--they shocked the folks at Zagat's with the harshness of their survey responses--so they'll queue for the best stuff.

From Tsukiji it's an easy 20-minute walk or a short cab ride southwest to Hamarikyu Garden, one of the prettiest in the city. Stroll over wisteria-covered bridges and past 300-year-old pines toward the Sumidagawa River and hop a $6 ferry to Asakusa, one of the few historic areas left in this overdeveloped metropolis. Wander through the old-time shopping arcade, picking out souvenirs like lacquered hair combs and Godzilla figurines. Follow the crowds to the site of the 7th century Sensoji temple, where you can check your odds of landing the big business deal by buying a fortune. Slip Y100 into the slot and shake a metal can until a numbered stick pops out. Ask a bystander to read the Chinese characters, match it to the correct drawer and pull out a fortune with English translation. The wise words on mine: "Getting a beautiful lady at your home, you want to try all people know about this."

Asakusa is crowded with noodle shops that are perfect for lunch. Most serve plump udon or soba in savory broth crowned with tempura-fried shrimp, the area's other delicacy. Namiki Yabu Soba, south of Kaminarimon Gate, is excellent and has English menus.

From Asakusa, take the subway or a taxi to Meiji Jingu-Mae and the wide avenue of Omotesando. Tokyo residents call it their Champs-Elysees for its trees, street lamps and chichi boutiques. Order a hot white chocolate at the Anniversaire sidewalk cafe and watch the parade of fashion-soaked young men and women--every one of them gabbing into a cell phone.

After dark, take a subway or taxi to Shinjuku station and walk east to Kabuki-cho, the red-light district, where tipsy businessmen and fashionable coeds frolic alongside transvestite hookers. The area is Disney-safe, but if it's trouble you want, look for a square bordered by cineplexes where a boxer lets patrons pummel him for a charge. From there, walk west to Green Plaza Shinjuku, across from Seibu Shinjuku station. The entrance is cheesy, but the 10-story, 24-hour spa is clean, respectable and welcomes foreigners. It features a gem on its roof: the rotenburo, or outdoor bath. There's no more luxurious way to end your day than floating in a steaming hot pool, gazing out at the city lights.

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