Going to Japan


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greginboots

-chi
Kouhai
Hey peoples, I'm heading over to Japan on monday. Just curious if anyone has any suggestions for places to swing by or stuff to check out. Going to be staying in either downtown Tokyo, some hotel a couple miles outside Narita (the airport, not the city itself ><), or Yokota AB. Not really sure which is best yet.

Going to be there for a weekish, so should be good stuff. Thanks in advance for any help!
 
Well there is so much to do in just one week.

Im just assuming your going to Tokyo. So firstly your going to want to check out the imperial gardens. Visit a few shrines as well. If you wanna buy samurai swords and other junk then go Akihabara. You can check out tokyo tower if you like, but Akihabara and tokyo tower are tourist traps so beware. I also recommend going sunshine city at night to see the lights. If you want to meet some cute girls go harajuku. If you like bape and stuff there is a shop in Shibuya. If you have the time i strongly advise you to go Mount fuji but thats a two day trip at least. My top recommendation is to go Odaiba beach. This is such a beautiful place and there is a seaside restaurant for you to enjoy the sunset.

Thats about all i can remember. Dont spend too much time in Otaku shops, plenty of other fun stuff to do. Have a nice time. Peace.
 
How is getting around over there? I don't speak any japanese really, but I have been told that most people speak english and can help you out as far as getting around via subways, busses, etc goes.

How far is fuji from tokyo? been looking at some tourism websites and other such but can't really get a good map-type thingy.

and thanks for the info!
 
Travelling is really nice and efficient. You will be travelling by train most of the time. I recommend as soon as you go to a train station in tokyo, you can buy this pasmo card. This is a pay as you go card, i think it cost 1000 yen to get one from a kiosk and then you can charge it. When you get to the barriers you can just swipe it and it will remove the cost so it is as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. I recommend you keep it after your trip. I still have mine for when i go back next year. However, im only talking about the tokyo network. National train service have their own pricing. For me and my friends it was like 7000 yen to take a train from Narita airport to Tokyo. Also something similar like that if you want to go mount fuji.

To be honest it will be a struggle if you dont know japanese, so i recommend you learn a few phrases. Most hotels and hostel staff speak english, so you can ask them for advice. Ordering food is simple though. They have machines outside the restaurant where you can look at picture and prices. Then put in the money for the dish you want and it will give you a ticket. Give the ticket to the chef and he will prepare it for you. No talking involved except for arigato and other pleasantries.

Also definitely buy a guide book. The goods one will have maps insides and useful phrases for you yo learn.

Peace.
 
Good calls all around broseph.

Just got back from fuji this morning. Spent an hour or so lost on trains ><

Girls galore in har, gotta head back there to scope out the shrine and the asiscs store.

Ropponji (sp) pretty weak overall, just a bunch of clubs. Couldn't walk ten feet without someone trying to get me into a club or bar or whorehouse.

going to the ol fishmart festival tonight. should be legit. pics up on the facebook, anyone wants to see 'em drop me a line. Might be able to put em on the boards, not sure what the roe are on that.

Cute girls everywhere in this city, it's nuts.
 
So where are you going now? Ropongi hills with the view from the top is nice. You can also see this from the town hall building (Tokyo Metropolitan Gov. office) in Shinjuku. If you have time try going to Oshino village to watch the lakes from mount fuji. Asakusa temple is also nice but very crowded. Try going to the town of Nikko (Toshogu shrine) on a 1 day bus trip (ask at your hotel if they can contact JTB (Japanese tourist bureau) for reservations. The temple at that place is absolutely worth the visit. The JTB can also help with bustours through the city including one with a teaceremony.
Other place to visit are of course Meji shrine, the imperial palace east gardens, Ueno parc, Yasuda Hall (anyknow know Love Hina
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?), for information on Sumo wrestling go to Kokugikan stadium, and the city of Kamakura.
If you want to just walk, ask for the Tokyo & vicinity walking guide from the Japan National Tourist Organisation at the local tourist bureau. It shows all the metro, train and walking information for getting around Tokyo. Hope you have a great time
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QUOTE (greginboots @ Aug 06 2009, 02:32 AM) Good calls all around broseph.

Just got back from fuji this morning. Spent an hour or so lost on trains ><

Girls galore in har, gotta head back there to scope out the shrine and the asiscs store.

Ropponji (sp) pretty weak overall, just a bunch of clubs. Couldn't walk ten feet without someone trying to get me into a club or bar or whorehouse.

going to the ol fishmart festival tonight. should be legit. pics up on the facebook, anyone wants to see 'em drop me a line. Might be able to put em on the boards, not sure what the roe are on that.

Cute girls everywhere in this city, it's nuts.
Glad i could help.

Enjoy the fish festival, that is one that i missed out on but i heard it was very good.

Enjoy whats left of your trip.
 
gah, I shouldn;t have come to this thread. I'm getting jealous now. Hope you bring back some photos and enjoy what's left of your holiday though.
Oh and getting lost is all part of the fun and experience
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1. Check out giant gundam in odaiba.
2. Take vids/pics.
3. ?????
4. Profit!
 
I only just saw this thread (kinda late I guess). Anyway, just curious have you been to Akihabara yet? Cause if you haven't been to Akihabara yet, you can't really say you've been to Japan, as otaku culture is a huge part of Japan culture that's spreading to the rest of the world lol.

It is summer break right now, so there should be much more people. May be...just may be you would be lucky enough to see some cute female cosplayer that's REAL (not the ones that rely on photoshop armor) and can take some picture of them XD

Hope your wallet is loaded with enough ammunition as well
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AHHH!!! And I just remembered!

If you are in Japan now, go the Odaiba Tokyo to see the 1:1 scale Gundam statue if you haven't done so already! It's an opportunity that can not be missed as it is a celebration event (the opening was on the 11 June 09) and it will be taken down at the end of August.

See some info here:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-...eally-completed
 
Wound up on top of the beer gardens in Ebisu. Breathtaking. I cannot describe that view...just 39 floors up and you look and and just..lights man. Lights as far as you can see. Pics didn't turn out so good, no balconies up there to stand on, but still, amazing.

The beer didn't hurt either. Sapporo anyone?

Fish festival was fantastic, threw on a yukata I picked up and just went out for a great time. Lots of cuties in kimono and yukata, they really get dolled up for this stuff.

Dancing and drumming were really cool to watch, got in on some dancing myself. Really wasn't hard to pick up on at all. Dumplings from the squid booth were awesome too.

I missed out on Odaiba, which is a bummer, as my wallet and finances vanished that day ;_; It was my last day there though, so it could have been a lot worse I suppose. Maybe they'll build another gundam next year?

Did swing through the asics store in Harjuku the day before. It's in a secret underground lab, and they used to power of science to create a 3d model of my feet and match the perfect shoe to it. Crafty asians with their science..

Same day also checked out the nearby shrine, which was a good ten feet from the station in Harjuku. Amazing. It is just, massive. Everything was just beautiful.

Went through akihabara also, and wow. You have never seen so many anime everything. Seven story buildings in every direction covered in managa, games, magazines, and a ton of dolls. I have never seen no many mini figs. I also ran into Kenshiro!

Side note: girls on the street in maid outfits with cat ears passing out flyers. Wow!

No cosplayers though, the weather rolled in and it started to rain early that day ><

Skipped on the sumo and went off to the kabuki, which was really great. If you have an appreciation for for precision and finesse it is worth the time to see a show. They even have these little headset thingies that translate to engrish for you!

Overall, one week (five days really, as you lose a day coming and going) is really not enough time for Japan. Next time, two weeks or ten days would be better. If anyone is planning on going I encourage you to check out some local Hostels. Their locations are actually pretty good from what I saw (10-15 min walk from subway) and prices aren't that bad compared to the arm and a leg hotels want.

If anyone is considering going please do! The people are super nice and helpful, and if things get rough odds are good you can bump into another tourist that speaks English and can help you if one of the billion tour guides or random Japanese people on the street can't. Bring your wallet though, stuff ain't cheap there.
 
It has always been my dream to visit Japan, but sadly things are moving very slow for me here in the caribbean.

From reading about this persons experience, has made me more determined to go. So next time it will be me writing about my adventures in Japan.
 
Also came back from Japan myself 28th June
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gonna look at a long term stay in 2 years ^^ Best part of my trip was meeting English learning (all female ^.6) University students!
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Absolutely wonderful experiance, worth every penny!!!

Also saw Tokyo tower, Daibutsu, Mt Fuji (nice clear day for that!), various shrines I can't remember names for the life of me >.<, Akihabara (naturally
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but didn't go there as much as I thought XD enjoyed Shibuya and Harajuku more ^^), stayed in Ikebukuro so went to sunshine city a fair bit ^^, If you go to Japan I recommend 'Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro' choose the Japanese style rooms they're quite comfortable
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and a nice experiance too ^^!

It only rained twice we were there
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and one of them was coming back to the hotel at night
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so it was all good ^^, (Harajuku has a great doughnut place!!! by a tamagotchi store!!! you can see it from the train
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)

Oh dear I keep typing I guess thats all XD all I can say is GO it's AWESOME, but I think the merchants also know that, so bring alot of money XD it's damn expensive in shops XD
 
I can't stop reading the posts I wanna go so bad~!!!

Sadly though as a Uni student money doesn't come around often. Maybe I should look into study abroad programs? Yes I think that's the wisest decision for me at the moment ^^;
 
QUOTE (hkdmz @ Aug 11 2009, 07:46 PM) I can't stop reading the posts I wanna go so bad~!!!

Sadly though as a Uni student money doesn't come around often. Maybe I should look into study abroad programs? Yes I think that's the wisest decision for me at the moment ^^;
*ahem* I'm a Uni student ^.^; spent far too much this summer though XD £1500 on Japan, £1300 on a new PC an another few hundered seeing some friends around the UK 0.0

What I think was pretty cool was the girls I visited Japan with were 17 ^^, i'd have loved to be able to go to Japan at 17 ^^
 
QUOTE (XainSF @ Aug 12 2009, 11:21 AM) *ahem* I'm a Uni student ^.^; spent far too much this summer though XD £1500 on Japan, £1300 on a new PC an another few hundered seeing some friends around the UK 0.0

What I think was pretty cool was the girls I visited Japan with were 17 ^^, i'd have loved to be able to go to Japan at 17 ^^

-gasp- lucky! I never get to keep my money .__. What little I'd be able to save wouldn't get me near as far as you were able to go. Maybe to Shibuya for a bit but I'd be window-shopping T___T
 
Anyone going Japan should always try to bring as much money as they can afford. My friends laughed at me when i brought 100 thousand yen. Four days in, they were broke and had to eat pot noodle for the rest of the trip.

Seriously Japan is beautiful and all but the standard of living is too high. I would hate to live there permanently. If your not earning the big ¥ your looking at a 7 day work week just to make ends meet.

Best situation would be to have a holiday home there and visit from time to time.
 
Bring every cent you have. Airfaire there was the cheapest thing about my trip. If you're planning on buying souveniers, bring it all.

When I go again, I will probably not spend nearly as much. But for your first time, bring more then you plan on spending. You never know when you might bump into a rather large tanuki that needs a good home.

Please go. It is really life-changing to get out into the world and experience other people's cultures.

If you do go, please mind your manners and take care of everyone around you. When you travel abroad you represent your country, intentionally or not, and as an American I get the feeling I have somewhat of a bad wrap outside of the states.

Besides, we're all human beings here, so if you don't care about representing, then the cardinal rule is: don't be a wanker.

Sidenote - Got a call from the police in Tokyo, someone turned in my wallet. Has my credit cards (no one tried to use them), ID, and various other stuffs still in it. That's something else to me. Someone found a wallet and turned it in. Pure class those folks over there, pure class.

Good luck, and do your best to meet your life goals!
 
QUOTE (franzoir @ Aug 12 2009, 10:14 AM) Seriously Japan is beautiful and all but the standard of living is too high. I would hate to live there permanently. If your not earning the big ¥ your looking at a 7 day work week just to make ends meet.

Well salary's seem higher there, one of the girls I met thought more than double our minimum wage for a similar job (behind a counter at £11 an hour) was bad pay
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I also think haggling is a big thing there too, but for a foreigner that's pretty hard XD
 
QUOTE (XainSF @ Aug 13 2009, 03:44 PM) Well salary's seem higher there, one of the girls I met thought more than double our minimum wage for a similar job (behind a counter at £11 an hour) was bad pay
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I also think haggling is a big thing there too, but for a foreigner that's pretty hard XD
That was my first assumption as well. The salary of a Japanese citizen in comparison to their economy must be adjusted the same way our jobs in the States pay a reasonable salary for our area.

It's like how homes in the Southeast US are cheaper than those on the West coast; people are paid more to compensate for the cost.
 
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