Tokyo

I've been to mega cities before.  The word brings up memories of some pretty gruesome, dirty, crowded places.  Tokyo is overwhelmingly massive, and we finally saw some cracks in the Japanese perfection we'd become used to.  There were some dirty streets, and beggars and crowds, oh man there were crowds at rush hour, but it really wasn't that bad at all and I would happily stay again.
Japan has a reputation for being expensive, and it definitely can be, but we found it to be not too bad overall and generally a good value, but finding similarly priced accommodation in Tokyo resulted in a shoebox room.  Many traditional hotels in Japan still have you sleeping on the floor on tatami mats with cushions and blankets.  It is quite comfortable actually and during the day the sleeping space doubles as the floor of the room because the mats are all folded up in a corner.  Our room in Tokyo was literally the size of a king bed.  We had the floor for sleeping and a tiny shelf and some hooks on the walls and above the door.  We could barely open and close the door with the blanket down.  Whatever, it was cozy and we were busy outside all day anyway.  Probably not too surprising they eventually invented the capsule hotels...

The smallest room I've ever  paid for

A more typical traditional room (Kanazawa)

I don't even know where to start with Tokyo.  It is massive and there is so much to do and see.  We just took a quick look at what we could in little more than a day and a half.  On our one full day we met up with another friend of mine Koji, who was kind enough to give us a whirlwind tour.  This amounted to a lot of whizzing around on the metro (super convenient and well connected though busy) and popping up in different neighbourhoods for a quick stroll or look around before moving onto the next.  We did not explore anywhere in detail but wanted to just get a quick idea for future visits.  As arguably the world's most populated city (boundaries for these mega cities are ill-defined) I'm sure anyone can find whatever they are looking for or need.  It can be "normal" or it can be really quirky, traditional or ultra-modern, quiet temples and parks or frenzied shopping streets, all side by side. 
We stayed in Asakusa, an older, somewhat more traditional neighbourhood best known for it's large Sensoji temple complex and attached street of little shops. It is not heavily visited by foreign tourists but made a convenient and cheap base for us. Just a short metro ride away is central Tokyo where we had a quick stroll through the imperial gardens, a nice open space with views of the nearby business district and past the imperial palace (only open on guided tours).  It is nice to know that they have large relaxing parks scattered about to unwind and get away from the noise and crowds.  Also in the center is Ginza, a fancy and expensive shopping district. Its main street is pedestrianized on weekends which made it nicer to stroll down the middle of.  More cities should do this.

Sensoji temple area

Around Sensoji

From the imperial grounds

A bridge to the imperial palace.

Ginza with Koji

Nearby Akihabara is best known as an electronics and manga/anime hub.  It is a main attraction and must-see for all those in love with the quirkier side of Japanese culture.  It was very colorful and took the famous Japanese building signs to a whole new level. Similarly, but with a totally different look, Harajuku is known as a hub of teenage and cosplay culture and fashion.  On a weekend afternoon Takeshita street was packed with some very interesting characters out and about shopping, strutting their stuff and snacking on street food.

Akihabara

Busy Takeshita street in Harajuku

For us, a trip to Shinjuku was a must.  Not only is its railway station the busiest in the world (it is a good thing we had a guide because, well, just because. It's crazy ok.) but the observation decks atop the Metropolitan Government Office nearby are free and give a view of city as far as the haze will allow you to see.  The visibility was actually quite good but there was still no end to the city in any direction.  Speaking of busy, we also had to visit Shibuya crossing, often referred to as the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world. It was definitely busy but not as busy as it can be.  Nevertheless we enjoyed watching the masses crossing with each turn of the lights as we ate our lunch in a small restaurant above.  Shibuya is also a busy shopping and entertainment district but we didn't linger long.

Shibuya crossing

Find Godzilla...

Shinjuku is busy!

Endless city in all directions

We made one day trip from Tokyo as well.  From Asakusa station we took a train to Nikko. Less than 2 hours away, Nikko lies in a forested, mountainous area and was quite chilly (and wet) compared to Tokyo.  It would have been nice to linger longer in the area with better weather but our mission on this day trip was to visit the Toshogu Shrine. This shrine and temple complex houses the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Shogun dynasty that ruled Japan through one of it's most famous periods and was in power when western powers first made contact with Japan.  Japan has a long and storied history, but when we think of "old, traditional Japan" with samurai's and ninja's, most of us are thinking of this time.  Btw, the novel Shogun by James Clavell is a great book about this period. With the rain and chill of the day came mist and fog which added to the solemn and mysterious atmosphere as we walked among the tall trees on the paths between the temples.  Make no mistake though, this is not a secluded and secret area to visit, there were many local tourists and groups there for a visit. We didn't stay as long as we could have though since we weren't really prepared for the weather but we were glad we went.

Nikko

I think it is wet here a lot...

Heading to Toshogu shrine

Great restored detail

The mausoleum

Our last day in Japan we spent the morning in Ueno Park to kill time before heading off to the airport.  It is another large park area with many museums and a zoo.  We were sad to be finally heading home and are looking forward to returning in the future. 
Ammon