A little break from the deviance ...

[Bjenkins]

Even if you're just staying in Tokyo you will still have more than enough to do in or around the main city, especially since you're staying in Shinjuku. If you want the onsen experience without having to travel several hours outside of the city and paying a lot as well, just check out one of the touristy "mega onsen" type establishments downtown, the two biggest ones being Odaiba Onsen Monogatari across the water from Shinagawa, or there's also Spa Laqua in Suidobashi next to the Tokyo Dome. Both will run in the 2,500 yen/person range for an all day pass and are essentially massive complexes with various types of baths, as well as other options for amusement such as food courts, massage (legit) services, relaxation rooms and, most importantly, alcohol.

Of the two, I'd say Odaiba has bigger and better bath options but shittier food and is more geared towards tourists and families. You dress up in a Japanese robe while in the common areas where there are also all sorts of games for kids to play. Again, I only go because of the better rotenburo and proximity to Gotanda, where I often go afterwards for fantastic craft beers and an enthusiastic akasuri and HE with a naked middle-aged Korean lady. Spa Laqua is definitely geared more for adults, is quieter, has a fantastic lounge area to relax in a recliner, and the bathing area is smaller but a little more refined. It's also a bit more expensive all around, with better restaurants and upscale body care services (legit).

But as far as summers go, the only thing I really like about summer is beer gardens and there's one I'm definitely planning to try next. I don't know what sort of day adventures you're after but when I'm in town next month I'm planning to hit this attraction they call "Beer Mount," up on Mt. Takao, which is about an hour outside the city. You can either hike or catch a cable car all the way up Takaosan, where there's a massive beer garden complex which runs about $30usd/person for a couple hours of all you can eat and drink.

Do a Google search on it, looks pretty fun. You and your squeeze can take the ski lift chairs all the way up, get shitfaced at the top of a mountain then slip off into the deserted descending forest trails and get your Brokeback Mountain on. And when you finally get to the bottom, there's supposedly a nice little onsen you can stop at to wash all the sweat and forest debris out of your asscracks. Maybe I'll see you there??

Awesome. Just looked it up and looks like a done deal. Food and alcohol? And all you can eat? You just strummed the heartstrings of this American .

 

[Keihan]

Awesome. Just looked it up and looks like a done deal. Food and alcohol? And all you can eat? You just strummed the heartstrings of this American .

If that's your thing, you really need to research the "beer garden" in Japan, because it's probably the only good thing about the awfully hot summers. I'm not very familiar with the Tokyo beer garden scene as I spent most of my years in Osaka but the basic concept is this: many of the larger hotels or shopping complexes will have seasonal, often themed, open-air beer gardens on their rooftops or in pavilions where patrons pay a flat fee (usually 3k-5k yen/person) for a set amount of time (usually 90-120 minutes) wherein they can eat ("tabehoudai") and drink ("nomihoudai") as much as they want. The type of food varies and will obviously go along with whatever the theme is, but there will always be standard Japanese draft beer (nama) and then usually a variety of lower-end wines and spirits. Beer gardens generally open around mid-May and the last ones close toward the end of September.

Do a quick Google search of the best beer gardens in Tokyo and you'll results like this link, or this link, both of which recommend Beer Mount. And since you're staying in Shinjuku, I guarantee there must be a least a few options nearby. I remember I just missed the Tokyo Dome beer garden when I visited in August one year, but that one was down on the ground outside the Dome, and I prefer rooftop beer gardens as it's little cooler with the evening tradewinds up there.

Again, I'm not very familiar with the Tokyo summer scene but I'm sure some of the other posters here can point you in the right direction. But if getting absolutely shitfaced early in the night is what you're into, you cannot possibly go wrong at a beer garden. When I was in my early 20s, we'd go in packs of Americans, Brits and Aussies and fucking horrify the Japanese customers in the downtown Osaka beer gardens, getting absolutely destroyed and then acting like animals afterward. Sometimes we'd take girls with us but believe me, if you properly utilize your 90 minutes of nomihoudai, even if you are still 25 years old you aren't getting your dick hard (or maybe even your pants off) after that kind of train wreck of a party. And if it's a Japanese girl you have in tow, you probably won't want get that close to her. Which brings me to the cautionary advice I give to everyone new to Japan...

The standard Japanese male can handle exactly two beers before lighting up red, and exactly three beers before he starts projectile vomiting all over the fucking restaurant. Divide those numbers in half for the females. Yet, they for some moronic reason promote a culture where binge drinking is encouraged. What this means is that ANY time you go to an event with large amounts of alcohol available, be VERY careful and aware of your surroundings. Always watch the Japanese around you. If a guy is beet red and staggering, he IS GOING TO PUKE and very soon. While you're standing at the urinal pissing, watch your back...because at some point that night, a Japanese male is going to come barreling into the restroom with his hands over his mouth before blowing chunks all over something that is NOT the toilet. Watch the people around your table, watch where you step, watch the people getting into the elevator with you on the way out. Most importantly, any time you catch a later train, watch the people around you and move away from any passenger that's obviously drunk. A friend of mine didn't listen to this advice when he first moved to Osaka and was actually puked on twice in his first year.

I'm not saying all Japanese are two-beer-queers but the vast majority of them simple cannot handle their alcohol and don't know when to quit.

 

[Frenchy]

If that's your thing, you really need to research the "beer garden" in Japan, because it's probably the only good thing about the awfully hot summers. I'm not very familiar with the Tokyo beer garden scene as I spent most of my years in Osaka but the basic concept is this: many of the larger hotels or shopping complexes will have seasonal, often themed, open-air beer gardens on their rooftops or in pavilions where patrons pay a flat fee (usually 3k-5k yen/person) for a set amount of time (usually 90-120 minutes) wherein they can eat ("tabehoudai") and drink ("nomihoudai") as much as they want. The type of food varies and will obviously go along with whatever the theme is, but there will always be standard Japanese draft beer (nama) and then usually a variety of lower-end wines and spirits. Beer gardens generally open around mid-May and the last ones close toward the end of September.

Do a quick Google search of the best beer gardens in Tokyo and you'll results like this link, or this link, both of which recommend Beer Mount. And since you're staying in Shinjuku, I guarantee there must be a least a few options nearby. I remember I just missed the Tokyo Dome beer garden when I visited in August one year, but that one was down on the ground outside the Dome, and I prefer rooftop beer gardens as it's little cooler with the evening tradewinds up there.

Again, I'm not very familiar with the Tokyo summer scene but I'm sure some of the other posters here can point you in the right direction. But if getting absolutely shitfaced early in the night is what you're into, you cannot possibly go wrong at a beer garden. When I was in my early 20s, we'd go in packs of Americans, Brits and Aussies and fucking horrify the Japanese customers in the downtown Osaka beer gardens, getting absolutely destroyed and then acting like animals afterward. Sometimes we'd take girls with us but believe me, if you properly utilize your 90 minutes of nomihoudai, even if you are still 25 years old you aren't getting your dick hard (or maybe even your pants off) after that kind of train wreck of a party. And if it's a Japanese girl you have in tow, you probably won't want get that close to her. Which brings me to the cautionary advice I give to everyone new to Japan...

The standard Japanese male can handle exactly two beers before lighting up red, and exactly three beers before he starts projectile vomiting all over the fucking restaurant. Divide those numbers in half for the females. Yet, they for some moronic reason promote a culture where binge drinking is encouraged. What this means is that ANY time you go to an event with large amounts of alcohol available, be VERY careful and aware of your surroundings. Always watch the Japanese around you. If a guy is beet red and staggering, he IS GOING TO PUKE and very soon. While you're standing at the urinal pissing, watch your back...because at some point that night, a Japanese male is going to come barreling into the restroom with his hands over his mouth before blowing chunks all over something that is NOT the toilet. Watch the people around your table, watch where you step, watch the people getting into the elevator with you on the way out. Most importantly, any time you catch a later train, watch the people around you and move away from any passenger that's obviously drunk. A friend of mine didn't listen to this advice when he first moved to Osaka and was actually puked on twice in his first year.

I'm not saying all Japanese are two-beer-queers but the vast majority of them simple cannot handle their alcohol and don't know when to quit.

I would have loved to kick your ass and teach you proper behaviour in Japan (this ain’t fucking Alabama) when you were in your early 20s.

 

[Keihan]

I would have loved to kick your ass and teach you proper behaviour in Japan (this ain’t fucking Alabama) when you were in your early 20s.

And believe me, I would've deserved it. I was an awful piece of shit when I was younger.

 

[Frenchy]

And believe me, I would've deserved it. I was an awful piece of shit when I was younger.

It’s ok, I get it. I became an awful piece of shit much later