[QUOTE=Sugoi]Gaijin,Thanks for the help. Looks like I'll be staying at the Hilton in Shinjuku. I'm not familiar with what part of Shinjuku that's in. Any of these places close? Anywhere more convenient?I'm not Filipino but I live in the Philippines so if anyone has questions about foreigners in the Philippines or Hong Kong, I'd be glad to help in return.Thanks.[/QUOTE]I've stayed at the Shinjuku Hilton. From what I remember, it's on the west side of the station in an area of high-rise buildings which are other hotels and office/shopping blocks, some of them with restaurants in. The area is a bit quiet out of working hours but perfectly safe (as is most of Japan.)It?s about 5-10 minutes walk east to the station, taking you past a shopping area with Yodobashi Camera and other electronics and hobby shops, then another 5-10 minutes walk north-east to Kabukicho. Or simply take a taxi from the front of the hotel.Shinjuku station is well connected since you can take the Yamanote line from the JR station.- this goes around Tokyo in a ring, and easily carries you to a number of major stations with red light districts.- Ikebukuro clockwise, and Shibuya, Gotanda and Shimbashi anti-clockwise. Many of these places are mentioned in this thread, so use the search function.I recommend you buy a copy of Kodansha's bilingual atlas of Tokyo. It has large scale maps of the main tourist areas like Shinjuku as well as small scale maps of the rest of the city, plus the train and metro lines.[url]http://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-City-Atlas-Bilingual-Guide/dp/4770025033/ref=sr_1_1? Ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241808535&sr=1-1[/url]Addresses in Japan are hard to figure out if you do not know the system, so for any specific shop you want to visit, say Hinomaru, look up their website, download their Access map and take it with you. You must also remember that many shops are tucked away on upper floors of tall buildings. They may or may not be advertised on the outside of the building, even then you usually need to understand katakana.- so practice how to recognise the katakana symbols for Esute, Herusu and Massaji.In Kabukicho you will often by approached by touts who speak English (and some who don?t.) I have not availed myself of their services so I can?t comment on how useful this is. If you do use a tout, I for one would be interested in a report.Finally, if your Japanese ability is minimal, I think you will do better to stick to the known gaijin friendly shops such as Asian Feeling, AM/CB, and Hinomaru.I hope this helps and you enjoy your trip.
