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Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Wifi SD to transfer from your camera to your iPad? Use the camera connection kit instead it's way faster and saves your cameras battery. I never travel without it.

Does that work with the new lightning connector? Thought they'd stopped that a while ago. Would I need to dig out an apple store, or just a yodabashi?
 

Fusebox

Banned

leroidys

Member
Have any of you guys done the Nakasendo before? I'm interested in doing some part of it in June or July, but don't want to spend more than one night preferably. Would it be worthwhile? Any tips on itinerary? I keep coming up with these crazy 5 or 12 day tours when I try to google it.
 
Did one last hanami at Yoyogi Park today after heading back to the UN University farmer's market for brunch. Walked to Shibuya and stopped for more coffee at Obscura in Sangenjaya.

My wife and I had a great trip as always, but it's time to go home. Can't wait to see our daughter.
 

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
Did one last hanami at Yoyogi Park today after heading back to the UN University farmer's market for brunch. Walked to Shibuya and stopped for more coffee at Obscura in Sangenjaya.

My wife and I had a great trip as always, but it's time to go home. Can't wait to see our daughter.

Should go to Littlenap instead of Obscura if you have time ~
 
Should go to Littlenap instead of Obscura if you have time ~

The apartment we rented is in Sangenjaya so Obscura is a short walk. Really nice coffee. Doing some final packing (ie. how many beers can I take back) before we head out for some ramen at Afuri down the street and then off to Haneda around 8.
 

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
I stayed in Ueno while in Tokyo. Cost about £35 a night. It was a pretty barebones room though. Not even a kettle!
 
Does anyone of you guys know the Kuramae neighbourhood? That's where my hostel is.

I'm staying there right this second. It's a really handy location. A tiny walk to Asakusa, a nice walk on a sunny day to Akihabara. But a little far from Shinjuku and Shibuya though they're still really easy to get to.
 

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
I have a kettle here in my room :p
The funny thing is I bought tea with me just in case but due to basically getting back to my room late and basically heading straight for bed I never required a cuppa. So despite the first two hotels having a kettle I never used it. It was only when I got to Tokyo where my paced had slowed down a bit because the holiday was drawing to the close that I had a bit of time in the evenings where a cup of tea would have been nice.
 

Fritz

Member
I'm staying there right this second. It's a really handy location. A tiny walk to Asakusa, a nice walk on a sunny day to Akihabara. But a little far from Shinjuku and Shibuya though they're still really easy to get to.

Oh cool! Are you staying at Nui by any chance? Other than transportation what has the neighbourhood to offer regarding bars, restaurants and stuff? Thanks!
 

Desmond

Member
Man I can't believe the prices of hotels! Hit up the hostels!! Was paging 20-40 usd a night depending on the city and met some awesome people doing so!
I'm all for using hostels when I'm travelling, but I'm stopping over in Tokyo to take care of some business before I move to Kyoto for the year. I'd prefer to treat myself to a hotel
 
I went to Showa Kinen park yesterday and they had a flower viewing event. Therefore it was free to enter the park and there were people everywhere:
B0RRIKE.jpg





And today I went to the Ghibli museum:





Also went to Nakano Broadway:

They have shops that sell all kinds of nerdy stuff, including anime cels:
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Grabbed an iPad SD card reader so I could pull my photos off my camera and upload them. So here are a few I've taken

From today in odaiba, at the gundam museum/exhibition. Didn't go in (not a huge gundam fan) but the statue was interesting. A bit smaller than I imagined though.

XpONJGx.jpg

r7BYBbk.png

JqUTtSa.png



The view from our hotel near(ish) the skytree. Had a nice view at night but didn't have a tripod so no clear shots.
uztLN4K.jpg


One from the base of the skytree
sY6i0Lp.jpg


And from the top (was a bit hazy unfortunately)
Gjvkie1.jpg

8dggmqQ.jpg

RLs5bGp.jpg


On Miyajima:
the shrine gate
8IJKZ6H.jpg

uzTKuWX.jpg


a wedding which was happening when we were there. They had someone adjusting the tiniest thing on each person to get the photos just right, took ages.
T5mc3fu.jpg

hO6t8Uo.jpg


spotted a lizard at the top of Mt. Misen
ru1qSFr.jpg


..and a submarine
7RlnWsu.png



Hiroshima, from the peace park looking back towards the atomic bomb dome
I1r7Bpx.jpg
 
Oh cool! Are you staying at Nui by any chance? Other than transportation what has the neighbourhood to offer regarding bars, restaurants and stuff? Thanks!

No I'm at K's House. To be honest at night it's quiet though there are some bars up in Asakusa which is a very short walk away. And there's a shrine there and a shopping street which is cool for a little daytime trip but you probably won't be spending much time here

I've just got my brain fucked by the robot restaurant in Shinjuku. It's absolutely amazing, if you are in Tokyo please go. Though I have a sneaking suspicion the whole thing is designed by the yakuza to specifically target western conceptions of "crazy japan", I don't care. It is perfect.
 
I'd highly recommend checking out AirBNB. My wife and I used it for both Osaka and Tokyo and ended up paying about $85 a night. In Osaka we had a studio apartment basically in Den Den Town/Namba, and then we had a one-bedroom apartment in Sangenjaya, which is a cool neighborhood only a five minute train ride from Shibuya.
 

Lazlo

Member
They have shops that sell all kinds of nerdy stuff, including anime cels:

Damn that shop - the at the entrance on the right. They have so many goodies from Princess Mononoke, but the cells are all crazy $1000+. There is another couple cell stores on the higher floors in the back with more reasonable prices, and one of them I spent a couple hours in looking through a TON of binders and found a few treasures. There's also a watch store with a nice range of pieces.
 

Fritz

Member
I'd highly recommend checking out AirBNB. My wife and I used it for both Osaka and Tokyo and ended up paying about $85 a night. In Osaka we had a studio apartment basically in Den Den Town/Namba, and then we had a one-bedroom apartment in Sangenjaya, which is a cool neighborhood only a five minute train ride from Shibuya.

I found a place for Kyoto via airbnb. It looks really promising. We'll see.
 
Damn that shop - the at the entrance on the right. They have so many goodies from Princess Mononoke, but the cells are all crazy $1000+. There is another couple cell stores on the higher floors in the back with more reasonable prices, and one of them I spent a couple hours in looking through a TON of binders and found a few treasures. There's also a watch store with a nice range of pieces.

Yeah. I checked out all of them. I found some that I wanted, but they were all $80-$300...
 
Since the yen has become reasonably cheap enjoying japan has become so much easier :D

Little OT: does anybody know if there will be any (technical) problems if I import a japanese PS4?
 

Zoe

Member
Since the yen has become reasonably cheap enjoying japan has become so much easier :D

Little OT: does anybody know if there will be any (technical) problems if I import a japanese PS4?

Potential region blocking for media apps

(Not that many exist at the moment...)
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Since the yen has become reasonably cheap enjoying japan has become so much easier :D

Little OT: does anybody know if there will be any (technical) problems if I import a japanese PS4?

Don't think so. Media access (what apps are shown to you) will be based on the account you sign in as (so eg US or EU) and any IP restrictions should apply properly. So if you're US based and sign in with a US account, Netflix should work fine.

I think it has already been confirmed to be a universal PSU (110-240)?

Yen is pretty ok, but not as good as when I first started coming over - was 200 yen to the £. Good times.
 

Trojan X

Banned
Don't think so. Media access (what apps are shown to you) will be based on the account you sign in as (so eg US or EU) and any IP restrictions should apply properly. So if you're US based and sign in with a US account, Netflix should work fine.

I think it has already been confirmed to be a universal PSU (110-240)?

Yen is pretty ok, but not as good as when I first started coming over - was 200 yen to the £. Good times.

I remember when I first came to Japan in 2007. £1.00 equated to 235yen. Trust me, I thoroughly abused that exchanged rate advantage! Looking back though, I wished I looked around harder because I believe I could have receive 243yen to £1.00. Damn. Don't think about it.
 

DCharlie

Banned
I remember when I first came to Japan in 2007. £1.00 equated to 235yen. Trust me, I thoroughly abused that exchanged rate advantage! Looking back though, I wished I looked around harder because I believe I could have receive 243yen to £1.00. Damn. Don't think about it.

lol yeah - i came here on holiday for the first time in 1998, then moved here in 2000. And, yup, we were at the 248 yen to the pound rate then - obviously, that was horrific for me once i was living here, but i was at least paid in yen.

Step forward to 2009 or so when we were suddenly seeing crazy 138 yen - pound and , lordy, those trips back to the UK became rampant spend fests, though once again we have snuck back up towards 170 or so. But yeah - when the yen was so strong, we didn't see many foreigners here at all.
 
a wedding which was happening when we were there. They had someone adjusting the tiniest thing on each person to get the photos just right, took ages.

Oh my god this is true. About halfway through the 3-hour reception my wife and I had following our wedding in Okinawa we wanted to change from our western wear into some formal kimonos. I get changed quickly but it takes 3 people 40 minutes to get her changed. Then, once we finally rejoin everyone in the reception the photographer is constantly messing with her clothes and practically does everything over again. It took so much time that didn't even get to finish all of my food! ...I think that's a common experience for the wedding couple internationally though
 
Don't think so. Media access (what apps are shown to you) will be based on the account you sign in as (so eg US or EU) and any IP restrictions should apply properly. So if you're US based and sign in with a US account, Netflix should work fine.

I think it has already been confirmed to be a universal PSU (110-240)?

Yen is pretty ok, but not as good as when I first started coming over - was 200 yen to the £. Good times.

last time i was in japan 1 euro was 90 yen now its 140 yenish..- thats good for me.but 200 yen per pound sounds even better,
 

Pedrito

Member
I was thinking about living a month in/near Tokyo in the fall. What's the most painless way to rent a studio/small appartment for a short stay? All I need is a bed, a desk, a bathroom, a small kitchen and an internet connection for work. I'd like to pay around 100 000-150 000 Yen.

I looked at a few websites, but the process doesn't seem simple. You have to sign a lease, have a guarantor and pay a bunch of fees (cleaning costs are especially outrageous). Everything is done by phone, email or face to face. I understand those websites are usually used for longer stays. Is there a "booking.com" style website for this kind of accomodation?
 

KtSlime

Member
I was thinking about living a month in/near Tokyo in the fall. What's the most painless way to rent a studio/small appartment for a short stay? All I need is a bed, a desk, a bathroom, a small kitchen and an internet connection for work. I'd like to pay around 100 000-150 000 Yen.

I looked at a few websites, but the process doesn't seem simple. You have to sign a lease, have a guarantor and pay a bunch of fees (cleaning costs are especially outrageous). Everything is done by phone, email or face to face. I understand those websites are usually used for longer stays. Is there a "booking.com" style website for this kind of accomodation?

If you don't mind living with others you can probably get a room in a share house for somewhere between 40 000-80 000 yen a month. I don't know about a search engine for finding share houses, but companies like Sakura House seem to be popular.
 

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
I was thinking about living a month in/near Tokyo in the fall. What's the most painless way to rent a studio/small appartment for a short stay? All I need is a bed, a desk, a bathroom, a small kitchen and an internet connection for work. I'd like to pay around 100 000-150 000 Yen.

I looked at a few websites, but the process doesn't seem simple. You have to sign a lease, have a guarantor and pay a bunch of fees (cleaning costs are especially outrageous). Everything is done by phone, email or face to face. I understand those websites are usually used for longer stays. Is there a "booking.com" style website for this kind of accomodation?

The apartments.gaijinpot site is okay. You'll still have to go through to see about fees, but some have less than others and the description will say.

Also 150,000 a month, damn. Can I live with you ( ≖‿≖)

Someone make a japangaf ot.
 

Fletcher

Member
Hey, guys. So I'll be in Japan for about two weeks in october. What's the best way to buy things/spend money? They don't really take american debt cards there? I don't really want to pull out that much cash to exchange for Yen.
 

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
Hey, guys. So I'll be in Japan for about two weeks in october. What's the best way to buy things/spend money? They don't really take american debt cards there? I don't really want to pull out that much cash to exchange for Yen.

Exchange before you come + use credit card + withdraw money from ATM if you need to. The machines will accept your debit card probably but making purchases may not work.

Best way to spend money is just to meet up with me and buy me things.
 

KtSlime

Member
I find that you actually get a much better exchange rate going to the ATM's at 7/11 or JPost than they will give you back in the states. The best exchange I found was to go through your bank, the companies like Travelex will rape you then rape your corpse. Occasionally when I am low on yen in my account here I will pull from my checking account in the US with a VISA debit card (many places don't take it, but grocery stores, Don Quixote, Bic, etc will), you actually get a pretty fair exchange. Cheaper than the rate Wells Fargo charged me for paper money before I moved.
 

Damaged

Member
Has anyone ever been to Nikko? I've got two weeks in Tokyo coming up in May and was wondering if its possible to go for a day trip to some of the Temples there as the pictures I have seen look stunning. I'll be staying in Shinjuku and would probably pick up a three day Kanto area pass to do there, Fuji and Takao without spending a fortune on my suica card.
 

KillGore

Member
So I've never traveled outside the US, I know i need a passport but what else? I heard they offer like a temp insurance on these tours? What if i go alone?
 

Damaged

Member
So I've never traveled outside the US, I know i need a passport but what else? I heard they offer like a temp insurance on these tours? What if i go alone?

Travel insurance is a must for a trip anywhere for me, and I would happily go to Japan alone in a heartbeat. Such a friendly place :)
 
So I've never traveled outside the US, I know i need a passport but what else? I heard they offer like a temp insurance on these tours? What if i go alone?

You mean as far as getting into the country or stuff to get around as well? All you need is a passport, it's up to you on the insurance, I've never used any.

Travel alone > tours IMO, lot more freedom to do what you want, when you want.
 
Planet ticket from where? What class? Spend 10 days where? Doing what????

???????????????
??

I will have the plane ticket covered for me, I want to visit multiple places in Japan, Tokyo Osaka, the more rural places as well. And doing pretty much everything, going to bars, eatting at hole in the walls.
 

Gromph

This tag is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance...
Staff Member
Has anyone ever been to Nikko? I've got two weeks in Tokyo coming up in May and was wondering if its possible to go for a day trip to some of the Temples there as the pictures I have seen look stunning. I'll be staying in Shinjuku and would probably pick up a three day Kanto area pass to do there, Fuji and Takao without spending a fortune on my suica card.

I had been in Nikko a few times. Is a 1:30-2h train ride but is a good 1 day trip. I recommend to do it at least one time.
 
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