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            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>The Park Hyatt</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19920</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[The real star of the beautiful Lost In Translation, this towering masterpiece is the best way of retreating after a bewildering working day in Tokyo. The New York Bar on the top floor is super-hip and the swimming pool/spa, on the 53rd floor, is breathtaking. If you don’t have the cash – or the expense budget – a normal room is certainly good enough, but if you do book a Park Suite (with its separate bedroom) or, best of all, its signature Diplomatic Suite: with its own library, dining room and grand piano, it is a spectacular way to wind down and wow your clients.<br><br>The only problem with the Park Hyatt is its location – Shinjuku is good for business irrefutably (it’s the Financial District) but it’s also fairly dull.]]></description>
                
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                <title>Hot and tired - and have a few hours before your flight?</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19913</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[The Japanese love their open spa/baths. There are many around Tokyo and all over Japan in fact. You can pop in for just an hour, get clean, relax, and get a massage if you wish. Perfect before a long flight. If you have a bit longer, why not take a train to Nikko, about two hours away, where you can relax in the Japanese alps!]]></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>Hot spring in Narita town</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19904</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[There is a very nice 'onsen' in Narita town, excellent if you have a layover or if you have extra time after you've landed and before a business meeting. Nothing better than an invigorating shower followed by a relaxing hot soak after a long plane ride. The standard, traditional bath (all I've used) is only $10 or so, though they also have full spa services. Like most onsen, they also have a cafe serving food.]]></description>
                
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                <title>The Finlando Sauna</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2662</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[The traditional Japanese onsen is a bathing experience in the geothermic pools of mineral-rich natural waters of the earth. For the less discerning, or those too busy to make the journey to a reputable onsen, the sento - or "public bath" - is the best alternative. As you might imagine, Tokyo possesses the best such indoor facility in the guise of the Finlando sauna in Kabuki-Cho.<br><br>Although sentos do not feature the ambience of a truly picturesque outdoor onsen, they make up for it in a perspiration-inducing array of hot pools, cold plunges, saunas, massage rooms and the counter-intuitive pleasures of underwater electrocution.  When you're done, shave and preen yourself with complimentary toiletries, collapse in a massage chair, and order a bottle of Ebisu beer before you pass out. Incidentally, staying all night is allowed, what better reason to miss your last train out of Shinjuku...]]></description>
                
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