My two favorite places in Tokyo were Shibuya for its youth vibe and Shinjuku for its department stores. They were also the places where I taught many English conversation lessons at coffee houses, restaurants, and at a teaching center. The train station in Shinjuku is h-u-g-e (the busiest in the world) and can be pretty intimidating at first, but eventually I could at least figure out which exit I needed to go through to for work, for shopping, or for urban adventures.

Photos copyright © 2004, 2006 Kat Avila
Cameras: cell phone camera (2004), HP Photosmart M415 (2006)
Shibuya (March 2006): A great place to meet friends for coffee and window shopping. I would sometimes walk to NHK and Yoyogi-kōen Park from the train station. Near NHK on the weekends there were youthful bands that played beside each other along the sidewalk.
Hachiko the dog
Hachiko the dog,
legendary for its loyalty		 big head
at the side of
the train station		 in front of the train station
in front of the train station		 Hachiko the dog wall mural
Hachiko the dog wall mural
109 building
109 building		 view from train station
view from train station		 view toward train station
view toward train station
NHK TV in Shibuya (January 2004): There's a self-guided tour you can take at NHK TV.
inside glass case TV monitors mannequins wearing kimono
kimonos		 mannequins wearing kimono
kimonos
TV show poster
TV show poster		 miniature village model
miniature village model		 NHK restaurant
NHK restaurant
window display
Shinjuku (March 2006): If I needed general things like clothing or hard-to-find household items, the locale of Takashimaya department store and Tokyu Hands was where I went. Shinjuku also had two multi-story Kinokuniya bookstores, one of which was next to Takashimaya and that bookstore had a well-stocked floor of English-language books. Within walking distance was Shinjuku-gyoen park which is a notable spot for cherry blossom viewing.
Takashimaya store
Takashimaya department
store building		 East Exit view
East Exit view from
Shinjuku Station		 train station stairs
stairs to train station
from southeast		 music billboard
music billboard
Versailles manga
Riyoko Ikeda's Berusaiyu no Bara/
La Rose de Versailles manga
at Kinokuniya in Shinjuku.		 The Da Vinci Code
bookstore display of the
translation of Dan Brown's
The Da Vinci Code		 manga boards
bookstore display
of manga (comic) boards