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        <title>Been there | Tips</title>
        
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        <description>
            Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love,
            live in or have just visited - are what make this guide.
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                <title>Tsukiji Fish Market</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19923</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[It’s painful to get up at 5am and make the trek to Tsukiji Fish Market before work. But strange as it might seem, if there’s one thing you have to see, it’s this. It’s the largest wholesale fish market in the world, and handles more than 400 different types of seafood from tiny sardines to 300kg tuna. Watching the gigantic fish prepared for sale or the auctioneers’ enthusiasm at landing their prize is a fabulous way to start the day. A tip: make sure you eat breakfast at the market before you leave.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Beige Tokyo</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19922</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Beige Tokyo, the creation of Chanel and Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, is so achingly hip it’ll make you take off your suit the moment you get in. Located in the Chanel Ginza Building, it is the perfect fusion of high fashion and impeccable cuisine: try the frog’s legs and akagegyu beef for orgasmic culinary pleasure.]]></description>
                
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                <title>The Conrad Tokyo</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19919</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[The Conrad Tokyo’s major attraction is its location. Walking distance from the Hamarikyu Garden and the legendary Tsukiji Fish Market (amongst other tourist delights), this is the place to stay if you don’t have a weekend (go for the Hyatt if you do) but do have time to explore in the evenings. The in-house Gordon Ramsay restaurants are also a bonus. Book an Executive Room or an Executive Suite; the latter is exceptional value given its 83 square metre size.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Eating at Fukuzushi</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19918</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Fukuzushi, near Roppongi is great for a quieter (perhaps weekday team) dinner. It is a dinky, gorgeous, family-run restaurant, with sushi dominating the menu. The sashimi – especially tuna and salmon staples – are irresistibly delicious and the sake deserves your full attention. Two important tips. Get there early – it gets rather empty after 9pm – and make sure you get very clear directions – it’s remarkably difficult to find.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Steaks in the sky</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19917</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[The New York Grill on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt is heaving every night, it serves some of the best seafood, poultry and red meat I’ve ever tasted in Japan (no mean feat). There’s also a super-high celebrity quotient.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Xex appeal</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19916</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[The two XEX bars in Tokyo are wonderful insider secrets. The first, situated in the Atago Green Hills Mori Tower, is ten minutes from Roppongi and has spectacular views of the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower. The second, located in Daikanyama, is irrefutably the city’s best bar for spring/summer; it features the city’s trendiest folk and also serves very stylish teppanyaki.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Don't forget Narita town!</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19912</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Upon arrival in Tokyo Narita International airport (or just before you leave!), don't just rush headlong into the city... If you have come long-haul and are tired, there's nothing better than to get your head down at one of the airport hotels for a few hours, and then use Narita as a gentle introduction to Japan/Tokyo. It is a nice small town, which is very walkable, and has many little gems including a temple, local restaurants, shops and backstreet pubs. Prices for food, hotels et al will be much cheaper that Tokyo city, and it allows you to acclimatise in a much less hectic/congested atmosphere. I have always found it a perfect way to take a breather before business in Japan and/or exploring the country on vacation.]]></description>
                
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                <title>The most wonderful beef in the world</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19906</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[It's talked about but not many people in the world have tasted it. It is decadent and pure luxury. I'm talking about Kobe beef - the most tender, tasty, melt in the mouth moment I've ever tasted. This delight of Japanese cuisine is of course, best tasted in the home of the beef. Kobe is an hour or so away from Tokyo on the bullet train but the journey is well worth it. Step out of Kobe's main shinkensen station and you will be greeted with posters and bill boards of places to taste this fine meat.<br><br>Check out the restaurants who offer 'nose print' certificates of the cow to prove authenticity. Lightly grilled is my personal recommendation.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Inexpensive Eats</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19903</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[On your own in Tokyo? Search out large office blocks, daytime or night time, there's usually a food court either at ground or upper level. Japan can be expensive and this is an easy and inexpensive way to eat out alone. Don't worry about the language, there are the plastic plates to point out.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Vending machine noodles!</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19900</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[When travelling in Tokyo, I would highly recommend vending machine Ramen (noodles) for the experience. The ramen is not dispensed by a machine but human contact (read the need to communicate in Japanese) is limited - so may be great for the foreign visitor. The process may look intimidating at first but in reality it couldn't be simpler. Outside the restaurant you will be faced with a vending machine with a selection of buttons, typically you need to select:<br><br>1) The size of your noodles<br>2) The type of noodles<br>3) Any extras, including egg, extra meat, etc<br><br>Simply press your desired buttons (all with pictures on for you to follow), insert money and you will be issued with a coupon. Hand this in to the staff in the 'restaurant' (usually a bar - perfect for single dining) and a few minutes later you will be presented with a piping hot bowl of ramen. Prices are fantastically cheap (no more than GBP5 a bowl) and extremely fresh. As an added bonus, you can feel smug that you've achieved to dine like a local and navigate yourself around what can be a very confusing city.]]></description>
                
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                <title>TokyoFoodie.com</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17714</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Everyone I know uses <a target="_new" href="http://tokyofoodie.com">Tokyofoodie.com</a> to decide on restaurants in Tokyo. Well-written and comprehensive articles by other food lovers are perfect there.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Shomben Yokocho or Piss Alley</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17458</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[The rather delightfully named 'Piss alley' might not be the most delicately-named place to enjoy your dinner but the noodles here are truly fantastic. Navigate some of the divinely old-style Japanese 'corridors' of alleyway shops and restaurants and nip into one of the tiny hole in the walls to get your piping hot noodles and aromatic flavours of Japan. Only really able to accommodate a couple of people so you're likely to squeeze in with a hurried commuter and maybe a couple of old ladies but the atmosphere is pure magic in the ramen shops. All in all, thankfully modern plumbing but old-style eating experience!]]></description>
                
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                <title>Bon restaurant</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17353</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Bon serve Fucha Ryori cuisine, a form of Zen vegetarian cooking originating in China but developed in Japan. Small delicate and beautiful dishes are served in measured succession, in a private room on Tatami mats. We had about 11 courses (we lost count). <br><br>The service was immaculate: serene, polite and friendly, quite unlike anything European, and the whole experience was calm and almost meditative.<br><br>The restaurant is tucked away down a back street of old Tokyo houses. Booking is required.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Freshness Burger</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12935</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[This is a very popular and cheap fast food restaurant. Like the similar MosBurger, orders are cooked from fresh, so don't expect MacD's style service. <br><br>The burgers are amazingly tasty: I still dream about the bacon omelette burger 18 months after my return to the UK! Delicious fresh lemonade, chunky wedges and a huge range of condiments, all served by very young and helpful staff.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Kagaya</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10419</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Part bar, part puppet-show, this one-man-cabaret of a dining experience is for anyone who likes to eat out in truly surreal fashion.<br><br>It's the choicest blend of beer, bar snacks, party games and singing lavatory available in Tokyo, though definitely not recommended for the overly self conscious.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Kagaya</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10418</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Part bar, part puppet show, this one-man-cabaret of a dining experience is for anyone who likes to eat out in truly surreal fashion.<br><br>It's the choicest blend of beer, bar snacks, party games and singing lavatory available in Tokyo, though definitely not recommended for the overly self-conscious.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Shoniben Yokocho</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2777</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[On the east side of Shinjuku station, to the north of the Odakyu department store look for the alleyways of Shoniben Yokocho - "Piss Alley"! <br><br>Don't let the name put you off - this area has loads of small bars selling yakitori. Choose your own kebabs - chicken, tomatoes, fish, pork, etc and have them barbecued as you listen to the banter from the chefs and barmaids to the passing customers. Beer and lemon bitters to drink with the locals, bags of noise and atmosphere and very cheap!]]></description>
                
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                <title>Yoyogi Park on Sunday afternoon</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2792</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[If you want to know what the Japanese do on a Sunday afternoon, then head off to Yoyogi Park. The whole of Tokyo seems to descend on this wonderful park. Families come for a picnic, unsigned pop bands play inpromptu gigs, theatre groups practise their latest plays and people just hang out letting the world go by! Everything seems to happen in this one place! When I went there a year ago, I felt like I saw the real Tokyo - seeing the Japanese at play. <br><br>Don't miss it!]]></description>
                
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                <title>Yoshinoya</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2761</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[The myth that Tokyo is expensive is shattered here. This extensive chain of fast food resturants is cheap and filling but authentically Japanese. The dishes are rice based with different toppings (beef, chicken etc) served with oinions and pickel. Price of the meal usally includes a serving of green tea, the total cost being around 350-450Yen (2003 prices). Pictures of the food on the placemats also help in the ease of ordering for non-Japanese speakers.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Namco Namjatown</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2714</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[An indoor amusement park based on eating - get gyoze/potstickers in mock Chinese alleys, ice cream in a huge shop/fair and buy cream cakes and eat them in the Tokyo creampuff field beneath trees with cream puffs on them. A baffling and bewildering experience inside Sunshine City.]]></description>
                
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