When you think of the super high-tech, neon saturated city of Tokyo, perhaps the word tram is not the first thing to enter your mind.

Me neither but I stumbled across a post somewhere on the interwebs about Tokyo’s last remaining streetcar line, the 12km Toden Arakawa Line, which dates from 1913 and decided to check it out.

The Toden Arikawa Line runs from Waseda Station to Minowabashi Station and if you’re keen you can ride the entire route in just under an hour. The cost was great value at roughly ¥160.

We only rode a few stations and then walked between a few others to enjoy the local neighbourhood including the Zoshigaya Cemetery, which can be found near the Toden Zoshigaya Station.

So if you’re looking for a less frenetic day out in Tokyo, where life moves a little slower than the usual tourist areas, take a ride on the last tram in Tokyo.

For more information visit the Toei Toden Arakawa Line website

• Hotel Claska, Tokyo: To and From
• Japan Images: Serenity in Kichijoji
• Japan Images: Park Fishing Tokyo Style
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Perhaps it’s just me but in my past experiences with hotels, it is very rare to arrive in your room for the first time and find that it is actually better than what you expected, however that is certainly true of Room 502 at Claska.

It was far bigger and also far better than it looked in the pictures on their website. The bathroom was huge, which is very unusual in Tokyo and the living area (48m²) was more than ample for our two week stay. All the stuff to keep you looking your best such as soap, hair dryer, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, razors and more are provided and renewed each day when your room is cleaned. Nothing new there for any hotel, of course, but Claska just presents it in a way that makes you excited even about the mundane.

When it came time to relax, there was a large 60’s inspired couch and two double beds at the end of the room, which were very comfortable. If you’re staying with your wife/husband/partner and you are used to a queen or king bed at home then be prepared as the only option you have at the Claska are small double beds.

So you can either squeeze in to one together, push the two beds together to make one big bed and hope you don’t fall down the crack or sleep one person to a bed as we did – hardly romantic but it beats not sleeping.

The room has a small fridge, and I do mean small, built in to desk area. It was fine for keeping a few drinks cool but beyond that it was not very useful. We kept small odds and ends such as juice, yogurt and soft drinks plus the odd Japanese beer or two but it couldn’t cope trying to cool down more than three or four items at a time.

In the entertainment department you get a small LCD television, which had about 10 Japanese channels ranging from news to kid’s cartoons. There was also a DVD player and a mini hi-fi with a CD player, which was pre-loaded with a disc of music from local DJ’s.

Views in and around Room 502

Getting on the internet with your laptop is made easy with free high-speed internet provided in every room – simply plug in and you’re online. As with most internet connections provided in Japan – fast means really fast!

Storage space was more than ample with a full double door wardrobe available on the left as you walk in to the room plus there is more space available under where the TV sits. We had two large suitcases, a stroller, toys plus all the things we had bought while in Tokyo and had no issue with running out of room.

All in all a very memorable experience and the ideal home away from home. Check out more about Hotel Claska here and here.

Please note that we paid for all accommodation. This is not an advertisement, just a satisfied customer. Hope you enjoy it too.

• Hotel Claska, Tokyo: About
• Japan Images: Dog Grooming Tokyo Style
• Hotel Claska, Tokyo: To and From
• Japan Signs: Waiting Room
• The Tale of the Little Tsu

Located on the fashionable Meguro-dori, Hotel Claska is a hip boutique hotel in the sprawling western suburbs of Tokyo. To the typical “sightseeing 3 days package tour traveller” it might be considered out of the way but with the ubiquitous Tokyo public transport system we were never more than a short bus, taxi or train ride to most major destinations across Tokyo.

Before you have to worry about transport however, you’ll need to actually get your hands on a room and with just fifteen from which to choose this means booking well in advance to avoid disappointment at most times of the year. We dealt with the hotel directly through their website and always received a prompt response plus all staff have a good grasp of English, which made things much easier.

From the outside, the hotel doesn’t give much away, instead it remains faithful to it’s heritage as a 1960’s business hotel but inside it has been transformed into a place that attracts the fashionable locals as well as the traveller who is looking to enjoy a more visceral experience than what you may get further down the street at a bland Sheraton or Hyatt.

The pool of accommodation consists of nine Western style rooms, three Tatami rooms (Japanese style) and three weekly rooms – the latter of which are sized at 17m² and each feature a unique design.

After staying in a Premium Double (31m² – ¥34,650) at the sublime Mitsui Gardens in Ginza on a previous (sans child) Tokyo stopover we knew we needed something bigger this time with number one daughter in tow.

And so it was room 502 at Hotel Claska that eventually made the cut at 48m² and ¥30,450 (View current pricelist). We booked a few months out and had to juggle things in able to get a full stretch of two weeks in one room as they are always heavily booked.

And once you get there, you can see why.

• Hotel Claska, Tokyo: Room 502
• Hotel Claska, Tokyo: To and From
• Japan Images: Dog Grooming Tokyo Style
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I’ve read alot about the inconvenient location of Hotel Claska and most of it is unjustified. Sure, it isn’t one block away from the blazing lights of Shinjuku or Ginza but that’s the great thing about it.

If you want to be able to buy 20 pairs of shoes and walk back to the hotel to drop off your bags and go shopping again then Hotel Claska may not be the right place for you but for most travellers it offers an ideal balance of what Tokyo has to offer.

Gakugei-Daigaku train station (学芸大学駅) on the Tokyu Toyoko Line is just a short walk through the narrow streets of Meguro from Hotel Claska.

For most of your journey, you’ll stroll quietly through residential housing before finally turning left on to a small pedestrian mall.

It’s not 5th Avenue by any stretch of the imagination but rather a quaint snapshot of local life with grocery stores, banks, book stores and of course the ubiquitous pachinko halls.

The western side of Gakugei-Daigaku station (学芸大学駅) is a little more commercial with McDonalds, KFC and Starbucks but still well worth a look with plenty of small side streets to explore the more traditional Japanese shops and some great restaurants.

From Gakugei-Daigaku station, it is just ¥150 and four stops (Gakugeidaigaku -> Yūtenji -> Naka-Meguro -> Daikan-yama -> Shibuya) to the major train hub of Shibuya station (渋谷駅) from where you can connect to pretty much anywhere in Tokyo plus of course, Shibuya itself is a great place to dip your toes in to the frenetic Tokyo lifestyle.

Depending on your Tokyo destination for the day, it may make more sense to go 180 degrees in the other direction and head from Claska to Meguro Train Station (目黒駅), which is on the famous Yamanote line. There are several ways to get there from Claska with the easiest being by taxi. We never waited more than a minute or two out the front of the hotel for a taxi to come along – just look for the light on top of the cab and wave your hands madly – as per most places in the world.

The cost ranged from ¥800 up to ¥900 (US$8-$9) and the trip took about five minutes as they don’t hold back in getting you there!

To avoid any headaches giving directions to the taxi driver, I would suggest learning how to say “Meguro Eki” (pronounced Meh-goo-row Eh-kee) if you wish to go by taxi to the train station. We found most cab drivers knew very little English, which in the end is good thing as it forces you to learn a little of the local lingo but it could be prove frustrating to some travellers.

For your return trip, you should also learn to say “Meguro-dori” (pronounced Meh-goo-row Door-ee) as we only had one or two drivers who knew Hotel Claska and/or understood my Australian pronunciation of it so we told them the street name and then guided them from there.

On the night we first arrived from Narita Airport and caught the train to Tokyo Central, I made sure I had the Japanese pdf of the street address provided at the Claska website and just handed that to the driver. The next day once we knew where we were I just said Meguro-dori and then pointed out the hotel when we got there – it’s on the right when coming back from Meguro station and very easy to find.

The other option is to use your feet and walk to Meguro station, which is a superb way of seeing what the local area has to offer but you’ll be up for about a 30 minute walk each way so I’ll leave that up to your level of fitness.

By the way, I think the best option from/to Narita Airport to Claska is the Limousine Bus. The bus only costs ¥3000 and drops you off at the Sheraton Miyako Hotel Tokyo, which is about 10 minutes taxi from Claska and around AUD$15. After a long flight, this is the best of the options – trust me. (^_^)

Even if you only do it only once on your trip – it is very worthwhile especially if you enjoy antique or modern furniture and knick-knacks. Along the way you will also cross the stunning Meguro River, which depending on the time of year can be an awesome site with Cherry Blossoms or Fire-red Autumn leaves littering its surface.

How To Get There

Train and Bus

• 10 minutes walk from Gakugei-daigaku station’s east exit (Tokyu Toyoko Line)
• 5 minutes ride taxi ride from Meguro Station (JR Yamanote Line)
• 1 minutes walk from Shimizu bus stop / Take the bus going to Ookayama-Shogakko from JR Meguro Station’s west exit.

From Narita airport

• Limousine Bus stops at Sheraton Miyako Hotel. 10 minute taxi ride to Claska from there.

Hotel Claska
1-3-18 Chuo-cho Meguro-ku Tokyo, 152-0001 Japan
Tel: 03.3719.8121

• Hotel Claska, Tokyo: About
• Japan Images: Park Fishing Tokyo Style
• Hotel Claska, Tokyo: Room 502
• Japan Images: Dog Grooming Tokyo Style
• Japan Images: The Last Tram in Tokyo

This is probably not exciting news to anyone outside of Australia but today we finally crawled back up to just shy of 84 against the Japanese Yen for the first time in twelve months.

Last year in June, we booked a trip to Tokyo for November when the Yen was about 1 to 1 with the Aussie dollar but then came the global financial crisis in July/August and the AUD to YEN went in to a 6-month freefall.

So we arrive in Japan in November 2008 with our dollar hovering around the 55 to 60 mark. Our ¥20,000 hotel room went from costing about AUD$200 to upwards of AUD$350. Ouch!

Hopefully we can see it nudge up over 90 and then suddenly all those shiny new toys in Akihabara and Yodobashi are going to be back on my list.

View AUD/JPY history at Yahoo! »

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