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Japan Travel |OT| We have to go back

MikeHattsu

MikeHattsu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,915
There are no longer any special rules of entry to Japan because of COVID

The living in Japan thread is over here!


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Below are some resources to help you plan your trip:

Websites
Do check these out. They give good guides of cities to visit and helpful tips about everything from how to properly wear a yukata to how to use chopsticks the correct way.

Accommodations
A lot of Japanese hotels and hostels usually release rooms 5-8 months before, so if you search for places to stay too early, a lot of places might not have released rooms yet. Rooms are usually released on the 1st day of each month, the last day of each month, or it's a system where you can book up to x days from the current date. For New Years some places also delay releasing rooms for some reason. You can try to do initial searches for about 2-4 months out, then if you find a specific place you like, you can move the search month by month and see when you hit the date when there's no rooms available to book. Do compare prices before booking because some sites have better deals on the same rooms than others. Even the same site can have different prices depending on where you get redirected from, so going directly to a site might not get you the best price. Agoda for example is usually cheaper if you go through google search than through any other search site or directly to the site.

Airline Tickets
There's tons of websites available for this. I would check as many websites as you can, as well as the specials on specific airliner websites. Use a private window to do flight searches!
In general, the most expensive time to visit seems to be Dec and Jan close to New Years, April to May, and August.
Depending on what country you travel from you could check prices from nearby airports which are bigger hubs than your local airport since it could be cheaper. Booking mid-week flights might also be cheaper than travelling during the weekend if possible.
When to book the tickets depends, but usually you should try to book at least 3 months before travel, and it's often better if you book 5-6 months in advance if possible.
Try out some of these to compare prices:

Attraction tickets and tours
Various sites for booking attraction tickets and (day) tours. Some of these also sell rail passes and other transportation tickets. Make sure to compare prices though, so you don't overpay for something.
Some of the attraction passes that might be useful:
  • Klook Pass Greater Tokyo: For various attractions in Tokyo.
  • The Tokyo Pass: A pass if you're really really into museums and gardens. It's quite expensive so it's really hard to get your money's worth out of this one, especially if you go to the huge museums where you can spend a whole day.
  • Osaka e-Pass: Pass for various Osaka attractions.
  • Osaka Amazing Pass: Pass for various Osaka attractions, this one includes transportation.
  • Klook Pass Kansai: For various attractions in Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe (there's also a Klook Pass for only Osaka, but that one is way overpriced for some reason).
  • Nippon Pass: If you're going all over Japan, this one has attractions for a lot of different cities.
A lot of these are only worth it if you choose among the high priced places, or if you go to a lot of places each day, so make sure you check the actual prices of each attraction and compare costs.


Arrival
During arrival you'll need to pass immigration and customs inspection. You can use Visit Japan Web to fill in your disembarkation card and customs inspection card digitally. Then you don't have to struggle to fill in the accommodation address on the physical cards they hand out before the plane lands in Japan. You can do this at almost any time, but 1 week before arrival in Japan would be a good time to do this.

If you bring any kind of medicine with you into Japan you should read the info on this website. If you need to get a Yunyu Kakunin-sho they now ask you to use the Application for Import Confirmation site and not email any documents. To register an account there you need to hover over the 'i' next to each address field to get information about how to fill in your address properly. If you're bringing stuff that's considered narcotics, stimulants or psychotropics you also need to check this website. If you have any questions about any medicine you plan to bring you need to contact the agencies listed on the websites by email to be absolutely sure you get updated information, you need to do this as soon as possible if you have any questions, do not delay on this. There's also other items which are banned or have import controls, so check this website for more info. Oh, and for you Americans, don't bring your guns, those are not allowed at all :P

In Tokyo you'll either arrive at Narita (NRT) or Haneda (HND). Haneda is closer to Tokyo, so if the flight prices are similar, then Haneda should be your first choice.

Ways to get into Tokyo from Haneda (HND):
  • Monorail: If you're staying at a place close to an JR Station besides Shinagawa, or you got an JR Pass, then use the monorail. There's also a discount ticket with the JR Yamanote if you arrive on weekends and certain other days.
  • Keikyu train: If you're planning to use the subways or you're staying close to a subway station, or Shinagawa station, then taking the Keikyu train might be a good choice. You can get various discount tickets for Keikyu + Subway.
  • Bus: If you're arriving really early or late, then taking a bus might be your only choice. It might also be a good choice if you're staying outside of central Tokyo since there's direct buses to various locations in and around Tokyo. Check the bus information here. Note that some buses are still not up and running again because of COVID.
  • Taxi: If you want to waste 10K JPY, then go ahead!
Ways to get into Tokyo from Narita (NRT):
  • NEX: If you're staying at a place close to an JR Station outside of north-eastern Tokyo, or you got an JR Pass, then the NEX should probably be your first choice. If you're staying for 14 days or less and you're both arriving and leaving from NRT, then you can get a discount round-trip ticket. There are also the cheaper and slower JR Sobu trains, but there's not a lot of these. If you want to take a cheaper and slower train, the Keisei main line trains are better.
  • Keisei Skyliner: If you're staying in the north-eastern parts of Tokyo (Nippori, Ueno, Asakusa, etc) or near a subway station, then using the Keisei Skyliner is a good choice since it'll be faster than taking the NEX. You can get online discount tickets (both one-way and round-trip), or Skyliner + Subway tickets. There's also the cheaper and slower Keisei main line trains of which there are around 3 trains an hour. You might need to change trains at Aoto station if you take the main line trains.
  • Bus: Various buses go to a lot of locations both in and around Tokyo. Check the bus information here. Of particular interest would be the discount buses going to Tokyo station for just 1300 JPY called TYO-NRT.
  • Taxi: Even worse than taking a taxi from Haneda. Feel free to waste 20-30K JPY though!

If you're arriving in Osaka or Kyoto area then you'll most likely arrive at Kansai International (KIX):
  • Haruka: The most useful train from KIX to either Osaka or Kyoto is the JR Haruka train. You can get discounted one way tickets for foreigners for this train too when you arrive at the airport, and you can use the JR Pass if you have one of those. There's also slower trains, but they're not that much cheaper if you get the discounted one way tickets. If you're staying near one of the JR stations on the Osaka loop line between Tennoji and Osaka, then it might be something to consider though.
  • Rapit: If you're staying near the Namba/Dotonbori area in Osaka then the Rapit train is a good choice. There's various discount tickets available too. If you're going to Kyoto, then you should take the Haruka instead, unless you know how the trains work in Japan. There's also slower trains, but they're not that much cheaper if you get one of the discount tickets.
  • Bus: Various buses go to several locations all around the Kansai area. Check the bus information here.
  • Taxi: More money wasted. From 13K-30K to Osaka or Kyoto.
There's also Fukuoka Airport (FUK) near Fukuoka and Centrair/Chubu (NGO) near Nagoya of the big international airports in Japan.


Money
Even if there's more places accepting credit cards now, Japan is still a cash first society (and IC cards second, more about that later). 7-11 ATMs are your best choice to withdraw money. Japan Post ATMs are also good, but post offices have shorter opening hours than most 7-11s. Both 7-11 and Japan Post ATMs will also accept American Express, Discover and Diners Club cards, while other ATMs might not. AEON ATMs will accept international cards if you find yourself in one of their shopping malls, some MiniStop convenience stores or MaxValu supermarkets, there's a site for locating them here. Other convenience store chains like Family Mart (ones with e-net and Japan Post ATMs) and Lawson also have international ATMs now, but not in all locations, so it's hit and miss outside the big cities. Some ATMs from banks like Mizuho now also accept international cards, but not at all locations. Most other ATMs will NOT work with international cards. If you get more than 10K JPY at once most ATMs will now have a withdrawal fee of 220 JPY, with the only exception being AEON ATMs for all supported cards and 7-11 ATMs if you have a Mastercard.

It's best to either exchange some money to last 2-3 days before you go to Japan or at the airport when you arrive in Japan, depending on your currency (USD, EUR and other common currencies might have better rates at the airport in Japan, while less common currencies are better exchanged in your own country), and then use a debit or credit card to withdraw money from ATMs if you got a card with low withdrawal and currency exchange fees (if it's a credit card it needs to be one you can transfer money to right away, or have put money into beforehand, so you won't pay interest on whatever amount you withdraw, or a credit card that doesn't charge interest from the moment you withdraw money from ATMs). Some info about the best cards for this in the US/CA/UK/AU can be found here.


Transportation
Use Japan Travel by NaviTime (Android and iOS) on your phone, or on the web and Google Maps to do route planning when travelling around using trains and subways. For Kyoto buses, check out these bus maps.
  • IC Cards: There are several IC cards that are compatible with each-other that allows you to travel on trains, subways, buses, trams and other such things in a lot of big cities. If you're arriving in Tokyo you can either get the Suica or Pasmo card. Do NOT get what is called Welcome Suica or Pasmo Passport, see this post. There is currently a shortage of IC chips so tourists can't get anything else than Welcome Suica or Pasmo Passport if they arrive in Tokyo. If you got an iPhone 8 or newer you can also use that instead with the Apple Wallet. In Kyoto/Osaka you can get the Icoca card. These cards work on both JR and non-JR transport, so they'll work with subways and non-JR trains run by other companies like Keisei, Seibu, Keihan, Keio, Hankyu, etc. These cards can also be used at most convenience store chains, some vending machines, some stores and many restaurants, so you should be getting one of these cards no matter what! The cards will be valid 10 years from the last time you used it, so you can use it on the next trip to Japan as well ;P
  • Discount flights: If you're only going one way or travelling extra long distances between cities far away from each-other then you should look into taking cheap domestic flights. Cheap airlines include Peach, Jetstar and Skymark. You can get tickets with prices as low as 3-4000 JPY, but remember to account for extra fees and luggage cost and the transport to/from the airports. Some of the airlines don't put flights up for sale until a few months before. As a foreign tourist you can also get cheap tickets with JAL Explorer Pass, but from 2023 the prices are not as good as before, but it's most often cheaper than taking the shinkansen. Also note that if you have lots of luggage, this option gives you the same luggage allowance as on international flights. You should also compare with the price of normal domestic tickets for both JAL and ANA which sometimes can be cheaper than the Explorer Pass tickets if you book far enough in advance (but with less luggage allowance). Note that the domestic and international versions of JAL and ANAs sites might give you different prices, so make sure you use the domestic one.
  • Japan Bus Pass: A cheaper option for travelling far distances while in Japan is to get a bus pass. With this you can take overnight buses and save money on places to stay if you're able to sleep while on a bus. You can get 3, 5 and 7 day versions of this pass. The good thing about this pass is that the travel days do not have to be consecutive, so you can do bookings within a period of 2 months for the version you've chosen.
  • Kyoto Subway & Bus Pass: In Kyoto the bus and subway pass is the best deal if you need to travel a lot during 1 day in Kyoto. These cards cost 1100 JPY and will get you to all of the most usual tourist attractions. Since 1 bus ride costs 230 JPY you should only buy it if you plan to do at least 5 rides in a single day, if not then using IC cards is the best option. Download the pdf version of the bus map here and study it before you go.There's only 2 subway lines in Kyoto, but you could save some time by taking the subway if you're going from Kyoto station up to the northern parts of Kyoto.
  • JR Pass: Since October 2023, this is no longer the best deal if you're just travelling to Tokyo - Kansai - Hiroshima or similar in a 7 day period. It's an even worse deal if you're looking at the 14 or 21 day versions. You'll need to do a lot of shinkansen travel all over Japan for it to pay off at all. You can use this basic calculator to see how much you need to travel to make it pay off. Note that it doesn't include flights, which can be cheaper than the shinkansen, or any other regional rail passes when doing the calculation. Another alternative are discount shinkansen tickets you can get for travelling between Tokyo through Kansai and all the way to Hakata if you book your tickets here. If you're unsure what option is best for you, then you can ask right here in this thread. If you want to buy a JR Pass, then you can buy it directly from JR here, then you can also do online seat reservations. Note that JR Pass only works on JR transportation (with some exceptions and exclusions), Some of the major things it will not work on are any subways or trams, Kyoto buses, non-JR trains run by other companies like Keisei, Seibu, Keihan, Keio, Hankyu, etc.
  • Regional JR Passes: Since the JR Pass no longer is a good deal in most cases, the regional JR Passes can now sometimes make sense to get. If you're visiting both Tokyo and you're also going up to Sapporo, there's the JR East-South Hokkaido Rail Pass. This should only be used if you're doing stopovers on the way, if not then flying is usually a better option. If you're going from Tokyo to Kansai, then the Hokuriku Arch Pass can be good. Again, you should be doing some stopovers for this pass, like Nagano to see the snow monkeys onsen, Kanazawa to see the gardens, and/or the Kaga onsen area, if not, then the discounted shinkansen tickets or flights make more sense. If you're going to visit Hiroshima from the Kansai area, then the Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass is a good option.

Luggage Storage/Delivery
Temporary storage can be done at most train stations where they have coin lockers and/or manned luggage storage rooms.
  • Coin lockers usually cost between 300 JPY - 700 JPY depending on size and location. Lockers are usually 34cm wide and 57cm deep, and the height can vary between 20cm-100cm, see this size chart. Most lockers at any station will be small size with fewer medium and large size lockers. This is a good site (only in Japanese, so use google translate) to check what kind of lockers each station have, and some station now also have real time info you can check, here for Tokyo Metro stations, and for others you can check for First Avenue Tokyo Station, Tokyo Dome, Yokohama Porta, CubicPlaza Shin-Yokohama, JR Sendai, JR Nagoya, JR Maihama, JR Kyoto, JR Shin-Osaka, JR Osaka, Hankyu Osaka-umeda, JR Okayama and JR Hakata. You can also use the coin lockers to store your luggage overnight, but beware that after the third day the locker will usually be emptied, so you can't store your luggage forever in lockers.
  • Manned luggage storage is usually more expensive than coin lockers, but they can take larger items (within reasonable limits). Do note that most manned luggage storage is not 24 hours, so you will have to store/pick up your luggage at opening hours. There's also various companies offering luggage storage at businesses, like ecbo cloak.
If you're doing a lot of travelling between different cities, or from/to the airport and you don't want to carry your luggage around all the time then you could try using one of the overnight luggage delivery services, like Yamato or Sagawa. These costs from around 2000 JPY for each suitcase. There are some things to note though:
  • It's best if each of your luggage items have total dimensions of less than 160 cm and weight of 25kg each (most airlines have similar restrictions to that anyway) or you might not be able to ship them for cheap/at all depending on the company.
  • Luggage delivery is easiest to do if you're staying at normal hotels because they can usually help you with both sending and receiving luggage. Other places like certain business hotels, hostels and AirBnB places might not be able to help you out, but in any case you should contact the place you're staying and ask if they can help you if you're planning on sending stuff or to make sure they allow you to ship items to them.
  • If the place you're staying at can't help you, then you could possibly send and receive luggage at service counter locations instead. Check the Yamato site for locations. You can also send items from convenience stores, but unless you know Japanese, it's better to stick to those service counter locations.
  • If you're planning on sending luggage to the airport then it will take more than 24 hours to do, so you should send items at least 36-48 hours in advance to be safe! Overnight delivery will most likely not be possible to more remote locations like Hokkaido or islands like Okinawa either.
  • If you're visiting Hakone, then they have a special delivery service for luggage at Hakone-Yumoto station which delivers your luggage to/from hotels in the nearby area that's cheaper than normal luggage delivery services. Check out this site for more info.

Data
The best way to browse the internet on the go in Japan is to rent a WiFi device (unless you got free/cheap roaming with your cell phone provider). The WiFi devices give you a lot more data than rental/one time use sim cards or eSIMs. They also work with sim locked devices. Some of the best options for WiFi devices are:
  • ivideo <- This company has 'sales' at all times, I've never seen them not have a sale, so don't be fooled by that. Even the devices that they claim have true unlimited got fair use policies, so watch out for that. They've got some really cheap prices though.
  • WiFi Rental Store
  • Global Advanced Communications
  • CDJapan
Wherever you rent from make sure to check all the details! Almost all companies who say they provide 'unlimited data' aren't telling the whole truth since almost all of them have fair use policies.


Itinerary
Suggestions for itineraries for first time visitors to Japan:
  • For a 1 week trip or less: Stay in just 1 area as your base. If you're going to Tokyo, you can take a day trip to Kamakura to get the feeling of old Japan. For onsens you can visit Hakone with the Hakone Free Pass or Nikko with the Nikko Pass World Heritage Area, and in Hakone you might also get a good view of Mt. Fuji. If you're going to Kyoto or Osaka, then the other city is just 30 minutes away from the other, so visit both of those. Nara, Mount Koya, Uji and Kobe are other interesting places near Kyoto and Osaka you can visit.
  • For closer to a 2 week trip: Spend about 1 in the area you're arriving at (Tokyo or Kyoto/Osaka) and then get discount shinkansen tickets or fly and check out the other big area (Kyoto/Osaka or Tokyo). You can also do a day or overnight trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima if you get the Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass. You can skip Kamakura if you're doing this since you'll be overloaded on shrines and temples after Kyoto. You can also skip Nara if you're going to Miyajima.

Language
You can get around Japan without knowing any Japanese at all! All train stations in the big cities have English signs, same with areas around tourist attractions. A lot of restaurants have English menus, menus with pictures of the dishes so you just have to point at what you want, or displays outside the restaurant with plastic models of the dishes you also can point at. No need to be afraid to go even if you can't speak any Japanese. Keep calm and visit Japan! I've been there several times without knowing Japanese. Even in really rural places! You can also download Google Translate and the offline Japanese language pack on your phone. One thing you might want to have is this guide to all the buttons on an air conditioner remote, and if you're staying in a house/AirBnB place this guide to washing machine buttons.


Dietary restrictions
If you're vegan you should check this site. If you need halal food, then there's this site. You can also filter to vegetarian on the halal food site. If you have food allergies you can download a food allergy communication sheet from this site.


Best time to go
The best time to go depends on where in Japan you're travelling to, but usually the best months are March-mid-May (try to avoid Golden Week though!) and late-October-November for pleasant weather in the usual tourist cities. Because of global warming and El Nino the best period to go in 2024 might be February-mid-April and November to mid-December. June-September should be avoided due to the rainy season, the hot and humid weather otherwise and most of the typhoon season. Hokkaido might be more pleasant if you go during summer though.

Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms, which are the most common variant, are usually in full bloom sometime in the period of the last 7 days of March/first 7 days of April in Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka. It is best to arrive in March if you want to be sure to see Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms. If you visit after the first 7 days of April, then you will likely not see any Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms at all, but there are other types of trees that might be in bloom, but there's a lot less of these trees compared to Somei Yoshino ones. If you're planning to climb Mt. Fuji, then you have to go during July-mid-September when it's climbing season. You can find the exact Mt. Fuji climbing season dates and useful information on the official website. The Sapporo Snow Festival is held in the beginning of February.

New years in Japan is more of a quiet family gathering kind of thing than the usual western new years. In most places there won't be any big countdowns (one exception is Shibuya crossing) or any fireworks (fireworks is more of a summer festival thing). People do go to shrines (and temples) for hatsumode at midnight though. If you do go during new years, then do note that a lot of tourist attractions are closed for various periods (a lot on December 31st and/or January 1st), especially museums and government run things. Also note that Japan Post ATMs will be closed in most locations.


Attraction tips
For the Ghibli Museum you can now get tickets online here. The tickets will be put online on the 10th at 10:00 JST the month before (so on January 10th 10:00 JST for February tickets, etc.). You will need to be online at the moment the tickets go up if you want some since they usually sell out within a few hours. These online tickets are from a separate ticket lot from Japanese tickets. The Japanese tickets sell out much slower, so if you got somebody you know in Japan, then it's best if you can get them to buy some for you, except for July and August when Japanese tickets are sold in a ticket lottery. Remember to have them put your name on the ticket if you get Japanese tickets because they will check the name on the ticket against your passport. In a few countries you can also still get tickets from JTB. These are put up on the 1st of each month 3 months in advance (so tickets for all of April will go up on January 1st, etc), but they're also more expensive than online or Japanese tickets. There's also tours again now, like the walking tour from Willer, another walking tour on Klook, this expensive bus tour from Sunrise and a few more expensive tours on Klook as well.

For the new Ghibli Park near Nagoya (not to be confused with the museum in Tokyo) you can get tickets here. Tickets go on sale on the 10th at 14:00 JST 2 months before (so on January 10th 14:00 JST for March tickets, etc.). Again, you should probably be online when the tickets go up if you want to get some. There are various tours for this too, but they're usually package tours starting out in Tokyo or Kansai.

For Disneyland or DisneySea check this crowd calendar and try to find a less busy day. Weekends are usually the worst days to go. Buy your tickets online, so you don't have to first wait in line to get tickets and then wait in another line to get into the park. If you actually want to ride the rides in the park, then you should plan your visit! Check which ones are most crowded and which ones are single rider here: Disneyland and DisneySea. If you plan to do Monsters Inc or Pooh's Hunny Hunt in Land, or Soaring, Toy Story Mania or Tower of Terror in Sea on a crowded day, then prepare to run, run and run some more! You should also download the Tokyo Disney Resort app on Android or iOS so you can get Standby Passes for some attractions at times when it's required, Entry Request lottery for some things or pay for Disney Premier Access if you want to do that kind of thing.

For Universal Studios Japan in Osaka you can get tickets and timed express passes from the official reseller here. The official reseller site has problems with accepting certain cards though, so you can also use the USJ website in Japanese in Chrome with the translation function turned on. If you try on the English version of the website, it'll just take you to the official reseller. You can also get tickets from sites like Klook and KKDay as well, but then you can't choose entry times for express passes, you just get random times. If you're trying to enter Super Nintendo World, then the cheapest option is to show up 1 hour or more before the official opening hours, since they usually open earlier than the listed time. Then you just go over to Super Nintendo World when they let people in and you'll get in right away. For the Mario Kart ride you can do single rider to go quicker. If you show up later in the day you need a timed entry ticket. You can get these in the official app on both Android and iOS, if they're not all out. If you really want to guarantee entry later in the day, then you should probably get one of the various express passes that have a Super Nintendo World entry included. Make sure you get a correct one though, not all of them have Super Nintendo World entry included.

If you want to go to an onsen hot spring then the big cities are not the best place to visit one. It's best to go on an overnight trip to an onsen town and get a room at a ryokan Japanese inn (preferably with a traditional kaiseki dinner). Some of the easiest ones to access from Tokyo are the onsens in Hakone, and Kinugawa (close to Nikko). In the Kansai area you could check out Kinosaki or Arima onsen. Most onsen these days are naked (no swimsuits allowed) and gender separated. Since tattoos are still associated with the yakuza a lot doesn't allow those either, but there's websites like this one listing some tattoo friendly ones. If you do have lots of tattoos or want to enjoy an onsen as a couple then there's some ryokan and hotels that offer private family baths, which usually have to be reserved in advance, so you should inform/check with the place beforehand. There are also other rules and manners one should try to follow, and there's a quick guide here. If you don't have the time to go to one of the onsen towns and still want to check out an onsen, then there's LaQua in Tokyo and Tenzan no Yu in Kyoto among others. Also, note that a sento bath house is not an onsen.


Picture Albums

The living in Japan thread is over here!
 
Last edited:
Laevateinn

Laevateinn

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,137
Chicago
Gah, you beat me :)

I was in the middle of writing up an OT.

Note for newbies going to Japan for the first time, when you visit an onsen as a general rule though, no matter how drunk or bi your travel partners are, do not enter the opposite gender bath area.
 
OP
OP
MikeHattsu

MikeHattsu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,915
If you want your image albums in the OP let me know so. Didn't copy those links over since people might change usernames or not join us here
 
PillarEN

PillarEN

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,118
MikeHattsu you made it my good man. I'm so happy. You aren't on the K-On! Discord so I thought maybe you are lost while in Japan...

It's great that you're here.
 
passepied joe

passepied joe

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,703
Sorry that this post it isn't exactly about travelling to Japan, but does anybody have any idea about a Learning Japanese thread? Thanks!

EDIT: Sorry, just spotted it while scrolling through the forum another time. Ignore this lol
 
Turnabout Sisters

Turnabout Sisters

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,338
Nice, I was hoping this thread would be remade quickly. Maybe it's a little obsessive but I ended up reading every post in the last thread a few weeks ago. I hope to help repopulate the photo albums list when I go.
 
OP
OP
MikeHattsu

MikeHattsu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,915
mantis said:
You can put mine from 2015/16 back in.
https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=!AI_7gMIrp52fghU&v=photos&id=D126C7476E30D490!339&cid=D126C7476E30D490
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Click to shrink...
Jocchan said:
Sure, why not?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Cool. Added.


Samurai_Heart said:
Quick and dirty edit:
whu6qeO.jpg
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Pffft


PillarEN said:
MikeHattsu you made it my good man. I'm so happy. You aren't on the K-On! Discord so I thought maybe you are lost while in Japan...

It's great that you're here.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It's all about Line ;p
 
Laevateinn

Laevateinn

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,137
Chicago
When the old site blew up, my first thought was I hope Mike finds his way onto something else. Glad you were able to get picked up with everybody!
 
mantis

mantis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,826
btw. do we have a channel on Discord? When the other site went off I became afraid of losing this community.
 
Samaritan

Samaritan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,696
Tacoma, Washington
First time posting in this community cause I've never been to Japan and I won't be going until Fall of 2019, but the old thread was such an incredible resource that I was scared of losing access to that I actually ended up archiving the whole thing before the'ol site went down. Incredibly happy to see that it's already up and running over here. :)
 
MyQuarters

MyQuarters

Member
Oct 25, 2017
828
UK
I just got back from my honeymoon a couple of weeks ago - two weeks in Japan followed by a week in Singapore.
The wife and I had a properly fantastic time.

We stayed at an AirBnB in Shinjuku for a week - visited what feels like a tiny fraction of what there is to see in Tokyo - Asakusa, Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Nakano, Akihabara. We also took a day trip to Hakone which was fantastic & visited both Disney and Disney Sea.

After that, we got the shinkansen to Kyoto where we spent a couple of days seeing some of the shrines and the castle (and had the best meal of our trip at a restaurant you'll find on Tripadvisor called Okonomiyaki Katsu - tiny place run by a couple in their kitchen. Bit of a hassle to get to but worth it tenfold)

We then nipped across over to Osaka & visited Universal Studios, the aquarium & took a day trip to Hiroshima which may have been the most sobering day of my life.


Loved Japan so much & I desperately want to go back. The food was amazing, the people were lovely, Tokyo might be the most fun & interesting city I've ever been to & what we saw of rural Japan (very little as we passed it) was gorgeous.

We'll definitely be going back in a few years for another week in Tokyo and maybe a week of seeing life outside the cities.
 
Shokunin

Shokunin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,085
The city beautiful
Glad to have this community back.

My girlfriend and I visited Tokyo in April of this year and absolutely loved it. So much so that we're planning to go back in May of 2018. Thanks for all you do, Mike. You and everyone else in this thread are a tremendous resource.
 
MyQuarters

MyQuarters

Member
Oct 25, 2017
828
UK
mantis said:
Welcome to the club. Glad you enjoyed your stay.
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It's sort of not fair though. I only wanted some fucking noodles, not to fall in love with the place.


We only actually decided to do Japan because I just read Pretty Good Number One: An American Family Eats Tokyo and already being pre-disposed to the little Japanese food I'd had (various sushi restaurants and a mild Wagamama obsession) it sent me over the edge.


Anyone who cares about food I recommend to read that book. It's a proper love letter to Tokyo framed by the food culture there.
 
Evon

Evon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
180
Austria
mantis

mantis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,826
Thanks. So as an Austrian I could buy Austrian goods in Japan for a probably much higher price than home? Sounds intriguing. :D

Probably one of those spots that are nice to see while doing something else in an area.
 
Evon

Evon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
180
Austria
Haha yeah, they're selling expensive Mozartkugeln and stuff like that, so nothing special. We just stumbled upon it by accident when we walked through the embassy quarter and went inside the small shop. It's always funny to see how your country is represented somewhere else.
 
Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
29,890
Glad to see this thread made the jump to era. Me and my sister are going to Japan in May after golden week and I'll need advice as the itinerary is finalized. My coworker is in Japan right now on his honeymoon, I'm curious to hear how everything went, especially since they were there during the typhoon
 
Kodama4

Kodama4

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,933
I'm going in April next year, gonna be lurking this thread for all the good tips and advice
 

erd

Self-Requested Temporary Ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,181
Nice to see this thread made it over. Didn't really post much in the old one but I hope I was at least helpful to some people.
 
jay

jay

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,274
I have been to Japan a few times but am looking for advice on planning a fourth return. This is the right place, right?
 
bananas

bananas

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,853
Never posted in the other thread, but just stopping by to say that I'm enjoying my "visit" to Japan.

I've been here for 1 year, and got 2 more left.
 
jay

jay

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,274
My wife would like to see some more rural places but I am very worried about the language barrier. We made it through the cities by ordering off English menus, pointing to things and saying futatsu, and some pleases, thanks, and excuse mes. We have seen Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. I've poured through the Japan Guide site looking for places that aren't huge cities but also may have a tiny bit more English than rural Japan and have come up short. Where would you recommend someone who doesn't know the language but has been to the most popular cities already go? Maybe a few weeks exploring Hokaido? Hiroshima and surrounding areas? We loved Arashiyama and I've wondered about starting there then just exploring north and west. Places close to Kyoto are interesting because I proposed there so we likely will want to return.

Thanks in advance, I know this is a bit rambling.
 

Deleted member 134

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
1,411
Has anyone been to both Okinawa and Hawaii? How do they compare, weather wise? Obviously the culture will differ and is the most important aspect. Just curious to hear a comparison from a well traveled person.
 
Argyle

Argyle

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,054
AJx said:
Has anyone been to both Okinawa and Hawaii? How do they compare, weather wise? Obviously the culture will differ and is the most important aspect. Just curious to hear a comparison from a well traveled person.
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I am from Hawaii and spent a couple of weeks in Okinawa a few years ago.

The vibe between the two places is similar in a lot of ways. Hawaii is as different from the mainland as Okinawa is from the rest of Japan, and especially once you get out of Naha it feels a lot like driving on one of the neighbor islands.

I was there in September and I think it felt hotter and more humid there at that time than Hawaii. But the climate is probably not too different.
 
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