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

M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Zatoth said:
That should not be a big problem, unless you use the trains during rush hour.
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I know but my wife gets oddly protective when we're in Japan. I commute on busy trains every day but she's like 'ooh not like Japanese trains..' - not like we'd go right in the middle of the rush.

Anyway will be nice to stay over on Christmas Eve. Just need to find somewhere serving roast turkey and cranberry sauce on Christmas Day :)
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Zoe said:
Come on man, you'll be in Japan. Celebrate the Japanese way! Fried chicken!
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I've done Christmas Day KFC (was in Japan last Christmas too). Is funny but definitely a one-and-done thing :)

This time we were going to do Christmas in the UK but that changed as my wife's parents have been ill so we're over there again.
 
N

Nlroh

Member
What should I do on new years in Tokyo? I've read about a lot of places closing and not being the best time for a tourist in Japan, but I already have my tickets and if I didn't go this time of the year I wouldn't be able to go until 2018. Is there anything I should know? what to do? what to eat? I hope it's not like every restaurant closed or something.
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
Nlroh said:
What should I do on new years in Tokyo? I've read about a lot of places closing and not being the best time for a tourist in Japan, but I already have my tickets and if I didn't go this time of the year I wouldn't be able to go until 2018. Is there anything I should know? what to do? what to eat? I hope it's not like every restaurant closed or something.
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It shouldn't be too bad--we went for New Year's last year. You should be able to eat at chain restaurants at least earlier in the day on the eve. At worst you could buy some conbini food ahead of time and snack as you watch the Kouhaku (or Waratte wa Ikenai). I'm trying to remember if we passed by any open restaurants on the 1st, but we ended up eating hotpot at a friend's house all day.

The trains will be running all night so people can get to the temples. Go to Asakusa for the insane crowds.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
Zoe said:
The trains will be running all night so people can get to the temples. Go to Asakusa for the insane crowds.
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Crowds at Meiji Shrine is even more insane :p

And go to the imperial palace on January 2nd of you want to try to see the emperor wave at people.
 
K

KiraFA37

Member
MikeHattsu said:
No:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...damaged-kumamoto-castle-take-decades-restore/

And on the official website they're still doing donation drives to collect money to restore it:
http://wakuwaku-kumamoto.com/castle/
Click to expand...

Thanks, the official site doesn't mention anything about it being closed due to earthquake damage so I was a bit confused. Guess I'll have to figure out something else when I get there because I'll be leaving tomorrow :D. I have done absolutely minimal planning so far, going to do some searching when on site and asking the hostels where I'm staying for recommendations.
 
E

elhaym

Member
Zoe said:
At worst you could buy some conbini food ahead of time and snack as you watch the Kouhaku (or Waratte wa Ikenai).
Click to expand...

Man, I watched Kouhaku last time because of µ's, and I swear to god it was one of the most boring things I've ever watched. ;p
 
E

exhume

Member
Laevateinn said:
Has anyone gotten a tattoo in Japan before? We want to get one when we go and are looking for recommendations.
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I didn't get tattooed there, but I would recommend Three Tides (they have shops in Tokyo and Osaka). My boss and I dropped into the Osaka shop to have a look and meet people, and they were all super friendly and awesome and the shop looked really clean. All the artists are incredible, as well. Would recommend emailing as far in advance as you can though as some of the artists are booked up months ahead of time.

PS, I just got home from Japan yesterday!! I'm gonna throw some photos up in here in the next day or two. :D
 
L

Laevateinn

Member
exhume said:
I didn't get tattooed there, but I would recommend Three Tides (they have shops in Tokyo and Osaka). My boss and I dropped into the Osaka shop to have a look and meet people, and they were all super friendly and awesome and the shop looked really clean. All the artists are incredible, as well. Would recommend emailing as far in advance as you can though as some of the artists are booked up months ahead of time.

PS, I just got home from Japan yesterday!! I'm gonna throw some photos up in here in the next day or two. :D
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. I contacted them but it's way too early. They told me to get back to them towards the end of February.

They're probably cash only right. I need to plan for that.
 
E

exhume

Member
Laevateinn said:
Thanks for this. I contacted them but it's way too early. They told me to get back to them towards the end of February.

They're probably cash only right. I need to plan for that.
Click to expand...

Ah, cool, yeah every shop has its own policy on how far ahead they take bookings.
My boyfriend wanted to get tattooed by Horihiro when we visited, but of course he left it to our second last day to try and make an appointment haha.
You should definitely bring cash, too. They might give you a ballpark quote ahead of the appointment if you ask for one, though.

I'm still sorting out my photos from the trip, but here's an advance pic of my haul (mostly souvenirs and crap, not pictured are the 10000 Pokemon cards purchased, and also gifts for other people. And the 46,000 JPY Evangelion sukajan purchased in Kyoto. No regrets ;)
ZmxKNvF.jpg
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By the way, yeah that's a Persona 5 yaoi doujinshi. Bought for lols, too scared to open it.
 
H

hwalker84

Member
guill said:
Hi Guys, question regarding the JR Pass, first page shows the following address:

http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/

But i have also came across these 2 others:

https://www.jrpass.com/orders/passengers
https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/book-jrp/cart

Is it safe to buy it from the other pages?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Japan-rail-pass.com is the site i've always used. Legit and fast shipping.

Edit: Sucks that the yen is stronger at the moment than the last time I went. Over $100 more for the 21-day Green Rail Pass.
 
J

Jocchan

Ὁ μεμβερος -ου
MikeHattsu said:
Depends on what kind of tickets you're trying to get. JTB/foreigner tickets go on sale on Feb 1st. Japanese/English online tickets go on sale April 10th.
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I'm located in Europe, so I believe I can only go JTB.
Hopefully I'll make it in time for the special exhibition. Was this year's extended closure in May a regular occurrence or just a one time thing?
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
Jocchan said:
I'm located in Europe, so I believe I can only go JTB.
Hopefully I'll make it in time for the special exhibition. Was this year's extended closure in May a regular occurrence or just a one time thing?
Click to expand...

Nah, you can get those English online tickets as well, but you'll need to be awake at 10 AM Japan time to try to get them since they sell out really fast. And the extended closure was a one time thing, but something could of course come up again :p
 
J

Jocchan

Ὁ μεμβερος -ου
MikeHattsu said:
Nah, you can get those English online tickets as well, but you'll need to be awake at 10 AM Japan time to try to get them since they sell out really fast.
Click to expand...
Oh, I had no idea I could. Should I have problems with JTB I'll check those out then, thanks!

MikeHattsu said:
And the extended closure was a one time thing, but something could of course come up again :p
Click to expand...
All my fingers are crossed...
 
J

Jamaal23

Neo Member
guill said:
Hi Guys, question regarding the JR Pass, first page shows the following address:

http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/

But i have also came across these 2 others:

https://www.jrpass.com/orders/passengers
https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/book-jrp/cart

Is it safe to buy it from the other pages?

Thanks
Click to expand...

My experience is that the website on the first page of this thread is for information only. You have to purchase from a different site/seller based on your home country/location (http://www.japanrailpass.net/sphone/en/purchase.html#step_01).

I used KIE (Toronto) Canada and they were very helpful and accommodating. Great shipping options as well.
 
Z

Zatoth

Member
I saw that you can buy from Amazon in Japan and have your packages delivered to Family Marts and other supermarkets. Has anyone used that before? Thinking of buying some things and pick them up while I am there.
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
Zatoth said:
I saw that you can buy from Amazon in Japan and have your packages delivered to Family Marts and other supermarkets. Has anyone used that before? Thinking of buying some things and pick them up while I am there.
Click to expand...

I did it during our New Year's trip last year. Placed the order a few days before we left the states, and it was ready to pick up by the time we got there. You go to the kiosk, print out the ticket, and hand it over to the cashier.
 
Z

Zatoth

Member
Zoe said:
I did it during our New Year's trip last year. Placed the order a few days before we left the states, and it was ready to pick up by the time we got there. You go to the kiosk, print out the ticket, and hand it over to the cashier.
Click to expand...

Cool. Thanks. Do you know how long you have to pick it up?

Probably will order it while I am already in Japan and plan to pick it up during my last few days when I stay in Tokyo.
 
Z

Zatoth

Member
Great. Thanks again.

Time to look for a bidet on Amazon. :D

edit: Tried to order a bidet. They would send it to Austria. But when I use a pick up location, it does not let me finish the order. Have to look further into that.
 
L

Laevateinn

Member
I use Tenso and Buyee (for Yahoo Auctions) pretty frequently.

Basically, if Amazon or someone else won't ship to your home address, you ship it to this third party and they then send it to you. You need to pay for shipping to the forwarding service and your place as well as a small fee so sometimes it can be a bit expensive for small items but overall I'm happy with the service.

If you're already planning a trip and think you have room or won't mind carrying the stuff home with you then go ahead and use Family Mart pickup. But you should consider a forwarding service in the future when you don't have a trip planned.
 
Z

Zatoth

Member
Was looking into it before. But the items (mostly cheap stuff) I was interested in would become too expensive with the shipping and forwarding fee. But for more expensive stuff it may be good option.
 
S

Splash Wave

Member
My girlfriend and I have tickets for the Ghibli Museum tomorrow, but I just realized our tickets don't designate a time slot. How do I find out when we're clear to enter?
 
J

Jamaal23

Neo Member
Jimmy Stav said:
My girlfriend and I have tickets for the Ghibli Museum tomorrow, but I just realized our tickets don't designate a time slot. How do I find out when we're clear to enter?
Click to expand...

I'm going tomorrow too! My e-ticket has the date and time (Nov. 17th at 2pm). Did you get a confirmation email with a link back to their website? You gotta log in and print out the e-ticket.
 
G

Gibbo

Member
Ghibli was really awesome. Went there on Sunday. Bought loads of stuff from the merchandise store. I'm quite pleasantly surprised at how most people obeyed the no photography rule though!

Hakone was abit of a let down. I was there on Thursday and Friday, only to be met with very cloudy weather.
 
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