Has anyone here been to Tokyo? What were your impressions of it?

Question:

I'm just back from 9 days there and to be honest I didn't rate it nearly as highly as I expected, or what the reports led me to believe. I found it quite intimidating, people staring all the time, got some filthy looks from people for no particular reason (including an old man in a cafe who had a hissy fit when I sat next to him), and the shopping seemed fairly dull and clone-like.
I had been hoping to return with my boyfriend, who is keen to go, for a longer trip soon and wonder now if we should bother... did I just get a poor image and not see the best of it? Are there any particular things that I missed which would make going back worthwhile?
I visited Ginza, Harajuku, Shibuya, Marunouchi, and Akihabara.

Answer:

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with Tokyo. I have been living in kanagawa for a year now and go to Tokyo almost every weekend. Maybe you were misinterpreting peoples' looks, I have seen people stare at me because I am a foreigner but I think they are just curious, and usually shy too, so those two things combined can kind of come off in the wrong way sometimes. Anytime I have asked people for help though, they have gone out of their way to help me, and when people approach me to speak to me it is always with friendly intentions. Here are some of the highlights of Tokyo:

1. Dogenzaka Love Hotel District in Shibuya
We like checking out the crazy/quirky love hotel rooms, cool if you can find ones with neat wall designs, blacklights, and a karaoke machine. And they always have awesome baths. Oftentimes cheaper than regular hotels too, for overnight stay.

2. Onsens
While Tokyo isn't known for onsens, they do have a few and if you've never been to one it's definitely something you'll want to try. There is a nice one in Minato Mirai, Manyo Club or something, which is also near an awesome giant ferris wheel and arcade area. Minato Mirai is part of Yokohama, so not technically Tokyo but very close.

3. Book-off/Mode-off in Machida
You mentioned shopping, which I usually avoid because of the high prices, but there is a huge four story mode-off in Machida which sells used clothes really cheap but they are all nice, clean, and in good condition. Also book-off is awesome if you haven't been to one.

4. Karaoke
I hope you didn't visit Japan and not do some Karaoke! Especially great combined with alcohol. Big Echo is the largest chain, I think, but there are non chain Karaoke places literally everywhere. You rent a room so it's not embarrassing like public karaoke, but still tons of fun.

5. Fuji-Q Highland
I think it's about 45 mins- 1 hour away from Tokyo, if you are into amusement parks/roller coasters one of the best in the world, Eejanaika, is here. It's one of the "4-d" ones, like X2 at Six Flags, but way better. Kind of a small park otherwise, but a fun day, and a nice view of Mt. Fuji from the rides.

6. Cat Cafes
Not that exciting for most people, but a pretty novel idea, and a nice way to spend an hour or two if you're a fan of cats.

If you're into clubs, there are a lot in Shibuya. And as someone else mentioned, Odaiba is a really nice area, and there's a good view on the train ride over if you get one of the end cars. Not sure if you know about Hyperdia.com but it's extremely helpful. If you visit again I hope you enjoy your stay! :)

Edit: You mentioned you visited Akihabara, did you check out a maid cafe? Those can be entertaining too.