2008 Cadillac CTS - Japandemonium

Trip Notes In Tokyo, it makes sense to stay in the recently built-up Shiodome area, which boasts lots of hotels and is a short walk to the Ginza. We stayed at the Conrad Tokyo, but the Park Hotel Tokyo next door is the best bargain (during our trip, rooms there were less than $200 per night). Shiodome is adjacent to the gigantic Tsukiji fish market - if you're jet-lagged, head over there at dawn and watch the morning fish auction. Better yet, order sushi in the evening at one of the nearby restaurants. You can't get fish much fresher than that. Two more Tokyo tidbits: Make sure your hotel offers validated parking (our overnight tab in the Conrad garage, before validation: $100). And before getting a cab, have a hotel staff member describe your destination to the driver. Why? Because there are almost no street names in Tokyo. Seriously. We don't know how anyone finds anything. Outside Tokyo, definitely check out Nikko. The Hotel Nikko Kanaya dates to 1893 and makes you feel like you stepped onto the set of The Last Samurai. Also, there's a killer Japanese steak house just down the hill. Pressing north, Misawa's 60,000 residents include 13,500 Air Force, Navy, and Japanese air-defense personnel at the Misawa Air Base, so there's a lively, if compact, nightlife scene. Mikami restaurant is the place to get fugu (poisonous blowfish), a national delicacy in Japan. A fugu dinner cost us 5000 yen, which is about $50. if you're game for an onsen visit, Aoba Onsen is one of the oldest onsens in Misawa, which has twelve such bathhouses. Onsens generally cost between $2 and $4 per visit. One final word on driving in Japan: If you need to cover major distances, beware that the highway tolls will likely cost more than fuel. Over five days, we racked up $250 in toll charges.