Must see in Tokyo in 1 full day

I'll be in Tokyo for just 1 full day and need help on the best places to go to so that I make the most of the 1 day. I read that it may be rainy when I'm there (June 17ish) so I'll just tough it out and handle the rain!
1) Where is the coolest place to stay in Tokyo? Im 26 yrs old and love outdoors, modern, trendy, etc.
2) How to get around the easiest and the cheapest?
3) Possible to do Kyoto in 1 day? I'm only in Tokyo for 2 nights.
4) How much to budget for the entire 1 day for food, sights, transportation, etc. (per diem)?
Thanks so much!

What are you interests? There are a lot of people who post on this forum saying their must-sees are Tokyo Disneyland and Hello Kitty Land, but other people would tell you that the temples and gardens are the best things to see.

Still others would consider Harajuku and Akihabara the top sights- what would you like to do?

Here are some hints:

http://www.trespassmag.com/?p=3234

don't think Kyoto is practical from Tokyo for a day trip

As awful as this may sound. I would be best if you chose between Tokyo and Kyoto. I have not been there yet but from what I hear both cities have too many places of interest to be seen in just one day. Especially Tokyo ofcourse. The worst thing you can do is rush things. I remember when me and my father went to travel around the entire main island of Great Britain in just 14 days. It was a very nice trip, but in the end we wished we would have skipped some places and take more time to see less. Maybe you should consider this as well ans just spend both days in Tokyo.

Hi,

I was kind of in the same boat in Tokyo. Had lots to do/see, but not as much time as I liked. If you're willing to go from early morning to evening you could based a day on the route I did:

7AM: Tsukiji Fish market for breakfast: rather touristy and be prepared to wait an hour on line for a seafood breakfast, but definitely a different experience to have (btw, if you want to see the tuna auction, arrive by 5AM)

AM: From Tsukiji you can walk through Ginza towards Tokyo station area and the East Imperial gardens: Ginza is obviously closed early morning but you can wander down the small gallery streets and the broad department store avenues. Maybe you'll catch the Baum Kuchen rotating and baking in the window...

AM: Visit the Imperial gardens: It's a good place to rest; not a lot to see, but nice green spaces and it's free.

AM-noon: Walk from the Imperial gardens to controversial Yasukuni shrine (which is quite nice actually)

Early afternoon: Train to Asakusa. Here's the famous Kaminarimon gate and Sensoji shrine. Plus Nakamise street has tons of souvenir/'traditional' craft stalls and a few streets west, Kappabashi, has tons of restaurant gear, including ceramincs and delicious looking fake plastic food.

Here you could think about visiting the national musuem at Ueno park, especially if the rain is getting to you.

Late Afternoon: Train to Harajuku (I'd skip Shibuya, which is filled with department stores, with admitted cool gear). But Harajuku is more interesting for me; it's where you can watch 'hip' teenagers strut about and pack Takeshita dori street looking for weird accessories and Engrish T shirts.

Walk from Harajuku to Yoyogi park, which may be more unintereseting in the rain, in which case head over to Meiji shrine.

Late afternoone-Evening; Either walk or train up to Shinjuku, where you'll be crushed by mobs of commuters and lost among the different sections of Shinjuku station. A walk around that area including peeking into the Golden Gai (rows of small, small bars serving regulars) and then wandering through a few streets of Kabuki-cho (despite being a red-light district, it's really lively and totally worht a gander.)

Evening: After sunset you can swing by the Metropolitan Office Building for a free view of the city from their 60th floor observatory. It's a surprisingly nice view, but only 1 of the windows really faces Tokyo tower, etc, as the others are taken up by a restaurant.

Alt. Evening: Depending on where you're staying, I really enjoyed wandering Ameyoko arcade in Ueno. It's got cheap clothes stalls, yakitori booths, takoyaki stands, ramen stands, fruit and seafood vendors. It's a bit more down to Earth, compared to all the glitz of higher end shopping streets.

And finally, you can party the night away around Tokyo. I'm not a clubber, but many foreigners head to Roppongi, though I think Shibuya looked more interesting for a more immersive experience.

Sorry, it's so long; I keep blabbing on, but have fun whatever you do.

If you do go to Kyoto, you'll have to hurry to see anything, me and a friend of mine went to Kyoto just a week ago and we only got to see 2 or 3 places each day, however if you go, go to Inarai tempel, it's very facinating, but be prepared for sore feet as it's on top of a mountain side and there's almost 2000 steps. Don't go to the silver tempel though, it's being renovated right now and it won't be done anytime soon, so you can't really see anything. The Golden tempel is quite beautiful and worth a visit.

However if you're at a complete loss try going to the turist information center on the 9th floor of Kyoto Station. They're really nice and will help you out with practically anything.

I was recently in Tokyo for 4 days/5nights. We randomly decided one evening to visit Kyoto the following day - just as a day trip (it was then or never at all). We bought bullet train tix the night before for a very early train. It was a very long day. And we had terrible weather. However, we managed to see four of the major tourist sights there was....and only used the public bus. So, Kyoto in 1 day is kinda doable, but be prepared to rush and compromise. Also, its kind of a waste of money for the bullet train to only go on a day trip. But, do some planning and research, and if you need to, go for just the day :)