Weather-wise, you're choosing an excellent time to go. But, I strongly urge you to consider spending more time if at all possible.
4 Days/Nights in Tokyo from Seattle equates to something different if you or your wife suffer badly from jetlag. Typically, flights from the States leave for Japan in the morning or early afternoon, which puts you in Tokyo in the afternoon of the next day. But if it must be 4 days/nights, here's how I would do it:
Day 1 (afternoon):
Sleep on the plane, if possible. You need to hit the ground runnin'--it's the only way to outrun jetlag. Get to the hotel, clean up, eat dinner, go drinking all night (I recommend The Moscow Mule--everyone knows how to make 'em over there), go to Tsukiji Fish Market at 4:30 in the morning, eat the best and freshest sushi you've ever had for breakfast while you're there, go back to the hotel and sleep for a few hours until you wake up to . . .
Day 2
Around Noon or 1pm, take a train (they're easy to follow) to any one or two of the the following Tokyo-based locales:
- Asakusa Shrine (nice shrine/temple district with good sukiyaki/ramen/soba joints).
- Meiji Shrine (the main shrine in Japan, next to the Harajuku train stop, Take####a street; you'll wanna come back to this stop on a Sunday if possible, because that's when the kids dress up all goth/nurse/clown/etc. and weird-like to hang in the park and parade down Take####a street. You'll wanna see this.)
- Shinjuku (lots of shopping, pachinko parlors, restaurants, bars. This place is electric with activity; Also, there's an EXCELLENT tempura restaurant called Tsunahachi that I recommend highly. I can't recall all the recommended bars in the area, but for late night karaoke (gaijin-style (open-air, no small private room)), I recommend a place called Bar Champion.)
- Shibuya Crossing (the busiest intersection in the world, lots of small electronics stores, bars, arcades, etc.)
- Roppongi (massive bar & club-centric neighborhood for late night carousing. There are a lot of foreigners, and quite a few hookers and Nigerians trying to get you into their strip clubs. I'd advise against talking to this people. I will, however, highly recommend you check out an Aussie bar called Geronimo!, at Roppongi crossing, on the second floor of the corner building.)
Day 3:
Wake up as early as possible (5 or 6 am), haul a## to Tokyo Station, catch a shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. In Kyoto, visit:
- Sanjusangendo Temple
- Kinkaku-ji Temple (golden temple)
- Kiyomizu Shrine
- Ginkaku-ji Temple
If you have time, take the shinkansen further west to Himeji. Eat a light lunch on the train. You can get decent sushi/noodles/etc. at any convenience store. A short walk from Himeji station, you'll see Himeji Castle. Higgins was right, they filmed Shogun, You Only Live Twice, and all sorts of other Japan-based movies here. See the castle, the garden next to it (if there's time, which I doubt you'll have), get back to the train and either head back to Tokyo, or stop for a steak dinner in Kobe (pm me for good Kobe Beef steak houses--I lived there and know it very well). Then, go back to Tokyo, get a good night sleep.
Day 4:
Sleep in, check out all the places you missed on Day Two, get some shopping in at Ginza, some casual meals, etc.
If you're gonna use the bullet train to go to Kyoto, I'd ordinarily recommend you and your wife each get a
Japan Rail Pass. Unfortunately, the smallest one is a 7-day pass, so you'll need to calculate whether you'll save loot when it comes to taking bullet trains and local subways (one-way Tokyo-Kyoto is about $125). If you're not gonna use a bullet train, however, you're better off paying as you go.
Again, I strongly urge you to consider staying longer so you can take in Nara, Kobe, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, stay at a ryokan, etc. I recently moved back from Japan after 3+ years and can give you recs for restaurants/things to see & do in most of these places. I haven't been on the boards much since I moved back, but feel free to PM me for details/questions/etc and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
You're not the only one who thinks it's too short a time; why not go somewhere closer for this trip and take in Japan when you have more time? It is possibly do-able in four days, but if so I'd just stay in Tokyo and hit the other places another time. Plenty to keep you busy in Tokyo alone.
After going to Asia (Thailand) last month, the next international trip will likely be Italy in 2012. Tokyo has moved down the list. Sorry Japan!
About the only thing I might add would be Fuji-san...how does that old saying go? "A wise man climbs Mt. Fuji once. Only a fool climbs it twice." (?) I also enjoyed my time in Zushi, about 50 minutes outside Tokyo. Though I don't remember it having much night life to speak of. Just a nice, slower-pace (if that is possible that close to Tokyo) community with views of Fuji out over the water.
