Japan Travel |OT| We have to go back

Mechaplum · Jan 23, 2019

IrishNinja said:
booked!! so excited - we're going from 3/23-4/3. so hyped, i've been wanting this one since i was a kid! we're flying into haneda, thinking we'll spend a few days in tokyo, then bullet train over to osaka & kyoto before returning for the last few days/flight.

looking for recommendations on:

- retro game shops! ive heard for years that super potato is picked clean, but i mostly like old sega shit
- eateries! we definitely wanna hit a good ramen shop after all those years of anime, haha
- a cat cafe
- any particular temples/museums in kyoto? i'm a huge weeabo with bushido/samurai culture
- any good bathhouses that don't mind tattoos? (we both have em...)
- as a huge Yakuza (series) fan, i need to see the blocks kamurocho is based on. please say they have a club sega (also where are the yakuza districts? just wanted to pass by one)
- also we're open to hotels or hostels (prolly a mix of both, as i understand prices will be higher & we need to book soon!), down for recommendations there as well!

oh my god i hope this holds, the timing would be perfect!

Cat cafe? Try owl cafes.

Ramen, depends on what type of ramen you like. Tenkai Ippin has ramen with really thick broth that's quite tasty and they can be found almost everywhere.

Kyoto has too many shrines and temples, but go to the Gion district and work your way up to Kinkakuji. You're going to be fighting crowds though. Check out Arashiyama if you like bamboo. My family likes to go to Kitano Temangu in north Kyoto, if you like samurai they actually sell drawings of famous old swords to be blessed by monks. Quite unique.

No idea where to find tattoo friendly bathhouses, but you may have more luck in Osaka.

Kamurocho is based on Kabukicho which is in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It's like one of the most famous tourist traps so you can just ask around.

My favorite hotel chain in Tokyo is the Mets as they are often right on top of train stations and one of them actually caters to train otakus(Tabata Station). I have relatives nearby so it's my "home" away from home. They are a business chain so not really budget, around $100 per night for two with free breakfast in an attached cafe.

IrishNinja · Jan 23, 2019

oh man i'm gonna buy like anything i find related to yu suzuki, yuzo koshiro etc. which means i'm gonna look for that and end up with half a suitcase of old lone wolf & cub/golgo 13 shit

MikeHattsu said:
From the OP :P

cheers, looks like my friend is right then! my only concern is laevateinn has me looking to just stay in osaka and take the train over to kyoto for the days of exploring there, would it still be cheaper to not do the rail pass if we're gonna make that particular trip 2-3 days?

Laevateinn said:
Also, you might want to look into Disk Union (record store chain) and Shimokitazawa (just a really cool part of Tokyo).

onto the list they go! and god, that shirt is so baller

Mechaplum said:
Cat cafe? Try owl cafes.

Ramen, depends on what type of ramen you like. Tenkai Ippin has ramen with really thick broth that's quite tasty and they can be found almost everywhere.

Kyoto has too many shrines and temples, but go to the Gion district and work your way up to Kinkakuji. You're going to be fighting crowds though. Check out Arashiyama if you like bamboo. My family likes to go to Kitano Temangu in north Kyoto, if you like samurai they actually sell drawings of famous old swords to be blessed by monks. Quite unique.

No idea where to find tattoo friendly bathhouses, but you may have more luck in Osaka.

Kamurocho is based on Kabukicho which is in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It's like one of the most famous tourist traps so you can just ask around.

My favorite hotel chain in Tokyo is the Mets as they are often right on top of train stations and one of them actually caters to train otakus(Tabata Station). I have relatives nearby so it's my "home" away from home. They are a business chain so not really budget, around $100 per night for two with free breakfast in an attached cafe.

these all sound fantastic, thanks! and yeah, all about samurai/bushido shit so i definitely wanna check those drawings out. damn, so hyped for all this.

yeah $100 is a little high, but not terrible. laeva mentioned kinki hotel in osaka, sadly it's booked but rakuten shows a number of options out there for similar prices ($50-60). i assume tokyo will be pricier, just gotta keep shopping around but that doesnt sound like a bad option!

broncobuster · Jan 23, 2019

Laevateinn said:
I ordered our rail passes tonight. Things are rapidly approaching.

damn, man. i'm going to miss you by a week.

Also, kabukicho and kamurocho are very similar down to the having a Club Sega in the theatre square. I got a really cool RGG shirt from there. I'll share a picture with you tomorrow.

I'm legit able to navigate around Kabukicho based around playing the RGG series. It's wild how closely it's modeled.

That said, I'm not a fan Kabukicho, aside from having two batting cages. One of which is 99% the batting cage from RGG.

Laevateinn · Jan 23, 2019

Mechaplum said:
Cat cafe? Try owl cafes.

MikeHattsu · Jan 23, 2019

IrishNinja said:
cheers, looks like my friend is right then! my only concern is laevateinn has me looking to just stay in osaka and take the train over to kyoto for the days of exploring there, would it still be cheaper to not do the rail pass if we're gonna make that particular trip 2-3 days?

Yes. It's still cheaper. Especially if you get this:
https://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/PAS1J02131MKC/

Make sure to read all the details though :P

Depending on where in Osaka you're staying you could take other trains than JR as well to get to Kyoto, like Keihan or Hankyu which could be cheaper and faster than taking JR.

Oh, and check this site for tattoo friendly places:
https://tattoo-friendly.jp

Worthintendo · Jan 23, 2019

Laevateinn said:

That place was a hoot....:P

def on my go back to list.

Also possibly going to loose my job in 2 months, on the plus side means payout. Was thinking of holding out to go in December but might go for late May early June.

Mechaplum · Jan 23, 2019

So, just signed up to help out at a rural village to harvest vege for a few days. Gonna be fun.

MisterB_66 · Jan 23, 2019

For anyone who is a football/soccer fan, the JLeague schedule just got released for this year.

IrishNinja · Jan 23, 2019

okay, so finally booking lodging tonight - rakuten has been great so far, thanks OP!

osaka should be cool, and again staying there instead of kyoto (we don't mind getting up & commuting for half an hour) works, hoping to find something decent in tokyo near a train & hopefully as cheap & uncrowded as possible so wish us luck! i figure we got the tickets & once we have this i can spend the next few months just planning the itinerary. don't think we need to book anything else for hanami, yeah?

also just thought of it but presumably sumo fights are crazy expensive

Laevateinn · Jan 24, 2019

IrishNinja said:
okay, so finally booking lodging tonight - rakuten has been great so far, thanks OP!

osaka should be cool, and again staying there instead of kyoto (we don't mind getting up & commuting for half an hour) works, hoping to find something decent in tokyo near a train & hopefully as cheap & uncrowded as possible so wish us luck! i figure we got the tickets & once we have this i can spend the next few months just planning the itinerary. don't think we need to book anything else for hanami, yeah?

also just thought of it but presumably sumo fights are crazy expensive

As long as you have your flights and hotels booked you'll be fine for hanami. Anywhere you'd want to go for cherry blossoms is going to be free.

Also, check out Tokyo Cheapo. I've found a lot of cool things to check out there.

IrishNinja · Jan 24, 2019

Laevateinn said:
As long as you have your flights and hotels booked you'll be fine for hanami. Anywhere you'd want to go for cherry blossoms is going to be free.

Also, check out Tokyo Cheapo. I've found a lot of cool things to check out there.

awesome! yeah we booked everything tonight - 4 nights in tokyo, 5 in osaka (with a few of those days spent in kyoto). just gotta figure out some good sakura viewing spots!

MikeHattsu · Jan 24, 2019

IrishNinja said:
also just thought of it but presumably sumo fights are crazy expensive

Nah, they can be had for cheap-ish... But there's no grand tournaments happening when you're there :P
http://www.sumo.or.jp/EnTicket/year_schedule/

Quick · Jan 25, 2019

Just booked a place in Hiroshima via Airbnb, another thing to check off my list. I'm like 5 minutes away from Peace Memorial Park, so that's neat. Place also has pocket WiFi provided, which should be very handy.

The place I'm staying at seems to be a company-owned establishment, but I have an entire apartment unit. Seems common from what I'm seeing in Hiroshima.

Nothing to really update, except that this trip is really coming together as I put everything together slowly. I'm leaving in 3 weeks.

KINGOFSHIBUYA Ltd. · Jan 26, 2019

Going back to visit my wife's family in a few weeks. Staying at a ryokan for the first time when visiting Kyoto, and then spending most of the time in Tokyo where we're borrowing a friends apartment in shibuya.

Of course bookending the trip we'll be with the fam in lame old Nagoya, but I'm hoping the weather will be good enough for a Mount Fuji/Hakone day trip.

Laevateinn · Jan 26, 2019

Our rail passes arrived today. Now we just have to think about any random trips we might want to take. My wife is into Gegege so she wants to go to Sakaiminato.

sfedai0 · Jan 26, 2019

Just came back from Tokyo and ate my way through the city. I have never spent so much on the trains going to places to eat. Checked my Google Timeline and the lines are crisscrosses all over Tokyo. But totally worth it and cant wait to go back.

Deleted member 17630 · Jan 26, 2019

Anyone have advice on buying concert tickets from America? I'm going to Tokyo in May and some of my favorite JP bands are announcing concerts and I would love to pick up some tickets.

MikeHattsu · Jan 27, 2019

momshotdad said:
Anyone have advice on buying concert tickets from America? I'm going to Tokyo in May and some of my favorite JP bands are announcing concerts and I would love to pick up some tickets.

If you know somebody who lives in Japan, then get them to buy tickets for you. If not then you need to look into places that can buy tickets for you, like:
https://www.japanconcerttickets.com/
http://www.bridge.jpn.com/services/tickets
https://www.govoyagin.com/activitie...ket-to-your-favorite-music-concert-japan/3114

ZeusII · Jan 27, 2019

Also check if those concerts are selling tickets through Line Ticket (https://ticket.line.me/), if so, it's the easiest way to get your tickets. They are digital and you have them inside Line messaging app.

I got one through there on my last trip, paid with my european debit card without problems.

Quick · Jan 27, 2019

JR Pass question:

Is it time-sensitive on top of being date-sensitive?

If I activate a 7-day pass at 9:00 AM, will it deactivate at exactly 9:00 AM a week later?

Laevateinn · Jan 28, 2019

Quick said:
JR Pass question:

Is it time-sensitive on top of being date-sensitive?

If I activate a 7-day pass at 9:00 AM, will it deactivate at exactly 9:00 AM a week later?

I doubt it. Most JR attendants barely look at it and will wave you through the gate. If you really wanted to, you could probably get an extra day by using it in busier stations.

MikeHattsu · Jan 28, 2019

Quick said:
JR Pass question:

Is it time-sensitive on top of being date-sensitive?

If I activate a 7-day pass at 9:00 AM, will it deactivate at exactly 9:00 AM a week later?

No. It ends at midnight on day 7.

Laevateinn said:
I doubt it. Most JR attendants barely look at it and will wave you through the gate. If you really wanted to, you could probably get an extra day by using it in busier stations.

Sounds like a good way to get arrested :P

MikeHattsu · Jan 28, 2019

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2...-extend-runway-hours-first-time-ever-october/

Narita International Airport will extend the operational hours of one of its runways from October as part of efforts to boost the services that can be offered via the major international gateway, officials said Monday.

The current hours for incoming and outgoing flights — basically from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. — will be prolonged to midnight on the main runway as Tokyo hosts the Olympics and Paralympics in 2020.

Hope they add more transport from the airport to Tokyo after midnight as well then :p

Laevateinn · Jan 28, 2019

Saw this on youtube and now my hype level is maximized

Quick · Jan 28, 2019

Laevateinn said:
I doubt it. Most JR attendants barely look at it and will wave you through the gate. If you really wanted to, you could probably get an extra day by using it in busier stations.

MikeHattsu said:
No. It ends at midnight on day 7.

Thanks. This makes me less stressed.

MikeHattsu · Jan 29, 2019

Quick said:
Thanks. This makes me less stressed.

Hm... How so? It makes it have less time than you originally expected? Instead of 168 hours (a full 7 days) it'll last 159 (aka 6 days and 15 hours) if you first use it at 9 am on day 1.

Quick · Jan 29, 2019

MikeHattsu said:
Hm... How so? It makes it have less time than you originally expected? Instead of 168 hours (a full 7 days) it'll last 159 (aka 6 days and 15 hours) if you first use it at 9 am on day 1.

I must have misinterpreted that.

I was thinking full 7 days. As in, 9:00 AM day 1, 11:59 on day 7. So day 1 is when the pass is first used, then 6 days later is when it expires, after the 9:00 AM.

mantis · Jan 29, 2019

JR Pass always counts for the whole day. Makes no difference if you used it at 5am or 10pm. But I think it is possible to enter a train on your last day at 11pm and leave on the following day.

Quick · Jan 29, 2019

Say I'm activating the pass on the March 1, it's invalid the moment the date turns to March 7?

MikeHattsu · Jan 29, 2019

Quick said:
Say I'm activating the pass on the March 1, it's invalid the moment the date turns to March 7?

No. It's invalid the moment the date turns to March 8th.

Except if you're on a train when the date turns then you're allowed to get off at your final stop.

Except if you have to transfer to a train that requires a express ticket.

Quick said:
I was thinking full 7 days. As in, 9:00 AM day 1, 11:59 on day 7.

That's not a 'full' 7 days, that's 6 days and 15 hours total.

Quick · Jan 29, 2019

MikeHattsu said:
No. It's invalid the moment the date turns to March 8th.

Except if you're on a train when the date turns then you're allowed to get off at your final stop.

Except if you have to transfer to a train that requires a express ticket.

Okay this is what I thought at first. Thanks for the clarification.

I was worried that my final travel day (March 7 in this example) would be invalid. Then it wouldn't really be a 7-day pass. 😂

Deleted member 46493 · Jan 29, 2019

Maybe there's a better thread for this but I want to send money to a friend in Japan. I'm in the US. What is the easiest way for both of us to do this? I don't think she has PayPal and probably won't set it up.

dhlt25 · Jan 29, 2019

what are you guys recommendation for a day trip from tokyo? I'm staying there for a weekend after a work trip next month and need new places to go. I've been all over tokyo and been to yokohama, saitama, chiba, kawagoe, takao.

Laevateinn · Jan 29, 2019

dhlt25 said:
what are you guys recommendation for a day trip from tokyo? I'm staying there for a weekend after a work trip next month and need new places to go. I've been all over tokyo and been to yokohama, saitama, chiba, kawagoe, takao.

Kamakura?

golem · Jan 29, 2019

IrishNinja said:
also just thought of it but presumably sumo fights are crazy expensive

Went to opening day a few wks ago in Tokyo. A box was ~$400 and you had to be in a lottery to get the chance to buy it. Not sure how much the normal seats were

golem · Jan 29, 2019

IrishNinja said:
- a cat café
- any good bathhouses that don't mind tattoos? (we both have em...)

Went to cat café (a chain I think) mocha near Harajuku. Don't be fooled, the squinty cat on the sign isn't there but they had plenty of cute and friendly cats. Also they sell treats you can feed to the cats and they'll swarm you. Also went to a hedgehog café which wasn't quite worth it since hedgehogs sleep 20 hours in a day and we didn't feel like waking them up just to play with them

We did manage to find a very nice onsen that allowed tattoos (only on foreigners), Kurama Onsen near Kyoto. They have indoor and outdoor onsens and staying includes dinner and breakfast. The taxi driver said it was one of the few that used actual hot springs water in that area too

http://www.kurama-onsen.co.jp/index.html

Laevateinn · Jan 29, 2019

Speaking of cat cafes. I'm staying at a hostel that doubles as a cat rescue in Fukuoaka.

Hexxen-panda · Jan 29, 2019

Blam! Flight booked for May 9-19. A bit short for me, personally, but about as much time off as I could possibly ask for.
Still have to figure out an itinerary that doesn't dwell on the Tokaido Shinkansen route cities too much (been there done that)

May 10: Arrival at Tokyo/ Evening walk somewhere pretty
May 11: Tokyo
May 12: Day trip to Yokohama or Kamakura
May 13: Kawagoe or some other daytrip from Tokyo
May 14: Tokyo to Matsumoto/Nagano (Want to see mountains and do nature walks)
May 15: Kamikochi
May 16: Takayama
May 17: Kanazawa
May 18: ??? to Tokyo
May 19: Flight home from Narita

Feedback? I've got some doubts about this schedule, particularly where to set up base after Tokyo.

MikeHattsu · Jan 30, 2019

Hexxen-panda said:
Feedback? I've got some doubts about this schedule, particularly where to set up base after Tokyo.

Seems really busy. Gonna spend a lot of time on trains/buses.

Hexxen-panda · Jan 30, 2019

MikeHattsu said:
Seems really busy. Gonna spend a lot of time on trains/buses.

Tried to modify this because I really want to see some of those ye olde fashioned towns

May 10: Arrival at Tokyo
May 11: Tokyo
May 12: Tokyo
May 13: Day trip to Kawagoe or Yokohama or Kamakura or Nikko
May 14: Tokyo to Nagano
May 15: Nagano (or do an overnight at nearby onsen towns)
May 16: A half-day in Matsumoto
May 17: Train from Nagano to Kiso Valley. Go to Magome then walk the trail to Tsumago. Train back to Nagano.
May 18: Day trip to Kanazawa from Nagano (Use the Shinkansen in-between)
May 19: Shinkansen from Nagano to Tokyo. Wander around the Tokyo Station area in the morning/noon before going to Narita in the afternoon.

Thoughts?

sfedai0 · Jan 30, 2019

Personally I found Kawagoe really underwhelming. Ive been to Kyoto so that might be a factor. Didnt have time to make it to Kamakura, but I would opt for that over Kawagoe.

MikeHattsu · Jan 30, 2019

Hexxen-panda said:
Thoughts?

Much better

mantis · Jan 30, 2019

Hexxen-panda said:
May 15: Nagano (or do an overnight at nearby onsen towns)

I would not recommend Nagano. It is a very boring city imho. Better stay at an onsen town. Maybe one near that monkey park.

MikeHattsu · Jan 30, 2019

mantis said:
I would not recommend Nagano. It is a very boring city imho. Better stay at an onsen town. Maybe one near that monkey park.

It's good as a hub since he's going to lots of other nearby'ish towns and cities and it's got Shinkansen access.

ObijuanBronobi · Jan 30, 2019

Hello everyone!

I booked a trip to go in the middle of March this year. We will be spending about 5-6 days in Tokyo, 2 days in Kyoto, 4 days in Himeji, and 1 day in Kobe. We have a loose itinerary already planned because we're going with someone who has family in Himeji, so he's very familiar with the country. However, he's not really an anime/manga guy and not much into the tourist stuff or nightlife, so I wanted some cool stuff to do. I can post our itinerary by day, but I wanted to know what were some MUST see spots. Right now, we have one free day in Tokyo, which I planned on going to the Ghibli Museum if I can get tickets and Nakano Broadway. What are some cool places to eat/drink while we're there? I believe we have some notable meals planned like a Kobe beef dinner in Kobe and kaiten sushi in Odaiba, but anything i should look out for? Right now it looks like we're spending about a day in each sort of area in Tokyo, if we're basing this off the JapanTravel guides. We're staying at a business hotel in Asakusa near the sky tree, and we will be booking hotels for Kyoto this weekend and hopefully have a bathhouse stay recommended by his family in Kobe. Any input at all would be appreciated!

UnluckyKate · Jan 30, 2019

Hey people. I'm planning a trip to Japan (my 3rd in 3 years...) and I'm planning to not stay in a single place... Is there a way to store a suitcase somewhere? I saw many major stations had big lockers, you think this would work to leave a suitcase for 3 to 4 days ? (I never saw how they work, was it per 24 hours or ?)

golem · Jan 30, 2019

UnluckyKate said:
Hey people. I'm planning a trip to Japan (my 3rd in 3 years...) and I'm planning to not stay in a single place... Is there a way to store a suitcase somewhere? I saw many major stations had big lockers, you think this would work to leave a suitcase for 3 to 4 days ? (I never saw how they work, was it per 24 hours or ?)

Yes major stations often have both storage lockers (that can probably fit a carry on suitcase) and actual businesses that will hold luggage for you. Most charge per day. I think the lockers at Kyoto were $7/day for the large size

UnluckyKate · Jan 30, 2019

golem said:
Yes major stations often have both storage lockers (that can probably fit a carry on suitcase) and actual businesses that will hold luggage for you. Most charge per day. I think the lockers at Kyoto were $7/day for the large size

I'll look into luggage holding business then. I kinda want to take a 3 week JR pass and go from Hiroshima to Fukushima. I already went to kyoto et tokyo a lot.

MikeHattsu · Jan 30, 2019

UnluckyKate said:
Hey people. I'm planning a trip to Japan (my 3rd in 3 years...) and I'm planning to not stay in a single place... Is there a way to store a suitcase somewhere? I saw many major stations had big lockers, you think this would work to leave a suitcase for 3 to 4 days ? (I never saw how they work, was it per 24 hours or ?)

The lockers are usually emptied after 3 days at train stations. You could possibly ship the luggage to your destination. Check the luggage delivery info in the OP.

UnluckyKate · Jan 30, 2019

MikeHattsu said:
The lockers are usually emptied after 3 days at train stations. You could possibly ship the luggage to your destination. Check the luggage delivery info in the OP.

thanks I will

Japan Travel |OT| We have to go back

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