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Japan GAF |OT| I'm not planning a trip; I live here!

Biff

Member
Long overdue OT! Thank you kind OP.

For my trip a year ago, I used essentially 70% Japan Guide, 20% travel book (IIRC it was Fedor's... It came with a lifesaving map in the back pouch of the book), and 10% GAF.

Took a lot of planning but my gf and I had the time of our life.

If you like wildlife, Arashiyama monkey park and Nara in general are must-see day trips.
 
Birdwatching in Japan is incredible BTW, if you're into that sort of thing. I spent two weeks birding in Japan earlier this year and had an amazing time. We did winter birding for the cranes, but plan on returning in a couple of years for spring birding.

Hokkaido was in particular a wonderful experience and I eagerly hope I can get back there one day (sooner rather than later).
 

hitsugi

Member
Anyone else here hate Okonomiyaki?

I've sadly only had it in the US, once, and it was disgusting. Maybe just a bad place / time / experience, though. I'm going to give it another shot at another restaurant, and obviously when I'm in Japan next. Really wish we had given it a shot while were in Japan last year
 

Schmitty

Member
So where is the best place to go to learn useful Japanese phrases and such? I've always had an interest in learning to speak it in general, but once you're out of school it seems a little harder to find good material.

For the romance languages there is Duolingo which is pretty good on the surface level, but I would imagine that web based Japanese for English speakers comes a bit harder.
 

Zornica

Banned
If the GAF Meet-up ends up happening after Sept 8th, I could give you a free entrance ticket or two if you want since I got a few of those for being a TGS exhibitor.

Also, should we make a new thread for the meet-up with Evilore, or can we use this one to make the arrangements? I will be arriving on Sept 8th, and will be available on both weekdays and weekends until Oct 8th, except during the TGS (from the 17th until the 21st of September).

Wow, that would be amazing.
Which games are you going to show on floor? Are you a smartphone developer? or maybe something entirely different?

I won't arrive before the 17th... so this could be a problem. There are also a few things I'll have to sort out upon arriving. But I'd be in favour of a gaf@tgs meet-up ;)
 

JulianImp

Member
I've been looking into the NEX train for leaving Narita, but I'm not entirely sure of how it works... am I supposed to reserve a seat before I arrive, or can I just show up and tell them I want their special one-way ticket? Also, can I get my Suica card while I'm purchasing the NEX ticket? I'll be saving my JR pass for travelling to Kyoto, Osaka and maybe Nara for the second-to-last week of my trip so I'll probably have to get one of those cards, anyway. I guess I might be needing another local card for the Kansai area to pay for things that aren't covered by the JR pass, or would that be unnecessary?

Wow, that would be amazing.
Which games are you going to show on floor? Are you a smartphone developer? or maybe something entirely different?

I won't arrive before the 17th... so this could be a problem. There are also a few things I'll have to sort out upon arriving. But I'd be in favour of a gaf@tgs meet-up ;)

I'll be showcasing my first commercial game project in the General Exhibition Area. It's a PC and smartphone game called Quark Storm, and I've made a few posts about it in the Indie Game Development Discussion Thread, but feel free to contact me by PM if you want to know more about it.

Arriving on the 17th sounds a bit risky because of the time difference, IMO, but I guess people who have actually visited Japan before are better judges than I am. Personally, I decided to arrive on the 8th to get accustomed to the ludicrous twelve-hour difference between Japan and Argentina, since I definitely didn't want to be half-asleep throughout the TGS.

Also, I think GAF@TGS would rock, even though I'd probably have to miss out on actually touring the place since I'll be in charge of my own stand.

Stuff related to TGS tickets (quote to reveal) - [EMAIL="I guess I could treat any GAFfers to a free pass for the second public showcase day if they drop by my stand on the first day (the actual location will be decided on the 17th, but the booth number is locked as 3-N5). However, I ask that you shoot me a PM beforehand and that you tell me your GAF username when you show up, since I won't be handing passes out willy-nilly. If a GAF meet up happens once I arrive but before the TGS, I'll be able to share some tickets at that time as well.][/EMAIL]
 

matt360

Member
Cool thread. If I might add a suggestion, why not gather a list of names of willing Gaffers currently living in Japan, and add them to their respective cities? If you add a Hiroshima section, since I live in Hiroshima, you could add my name and if anyone finds themselves with Hiroshima on their itinerary they would be able to hit me up for advice, meet-up, etc.
 

Zornica

Banned
I've been looking into the NEX train for leaving Narita, but I'm not entirely sure of how it works... am I supposed to reserve a seat before I arrive, or can I just show up and tell them I want their special one-way ticket? Also, can I get my Suica card while I'm purchasing the NEX ticket? I'll be saving my JR pass for travelling to Kyoto, Osaka and maybe Nara for the second-to-last week of my trip so I'll probably have to get one of those cards, anyway. I guess I might be needing another local card for the Kansai area to pay for things that aren't covered by the JR pass, or would that be unnecessary?

this could be a problem If you plan on buying a japan rail pass. You can only get them at the airport (from what I remember) and I'm not sure if you can postpone it's validity date. It's probably going to come into effect the second you buy it.
You can get the pass in the same booth as the nex ticket (although you have to buy it in your home country first!)

regarding nex: depending on the terminal (1 or 2), the layout might be different. the train station is one floor below ground. There's a hard to miss red/black booth there.

Terminal 1:
sc_img_location01.jpg

Terminal 2:
sc_img_location02.jpg


You enter and tell the nice lady what you need/where you want to go. She will give you some paper which you will take to the counter (it's probably because the woman at the counter didn't speak any english). You'll get your NEX ticket and your seat reservation from her.

You can get a suica pretty much everywhere. I'm sure you could get one there too. If not just get one at your destination from a ticketing machine.

I'll be showcasing my first commercial game project in the General Exhibition Area. It's a PC and smartphone game called Quark Storm, and I've made a few posts about it in the Indie Game Development Discussion Thread, but feel free to contact me by PM if you want to know more about it.

No need as I'll be there anyway ;) Is it going to be playable?

Arriving on the 17th sounds a bit risky because of the time difference, IMO, but I guess people who have actually visited Japan before are better judges than I am. Personally, I decided to arrive on the 8th to get accustomed to the ludicrous twelve-hour difference between Japan and Argentina, since I definitely didn't want to be half-asleep throughout the TGS.

Also, I think GAF@TGS would rock, even though I'd probably have to miss out on actually touring the place since I'll be in charge of my own stand.

I'm flying from Europe, so the jet lag is going to be way waaaaay worse. Going east to west is way more manageable. If I had had a choice, I'd have picked an early flight, that's for sure.

It doesn't has to remain the only japan-gaf meet up...
 

JulianImp

Member
this could be a problem If you plan on buying a japan rail pass. You can only get them at the airport (from what I remember) and I'm not sure if you can postpone it's validity date. It's probably going to come into effect the second you buy it.
You can get the pass in the same booth as the nex ticket (although you have to buy it in your home country first!)

I've already asked for a JR Pass that will be mailed to me after I arrive, on Sept 9th, so I've got that part covered. AFAIK, the pass only begins counting down from the day when you first use it, so I should be able to keep it inactive until I leave Sakura House and set out for Kyoto.

And yeah, I'll be showcasing a playable demo of the game on my tablets, a small-ish Android phone and maybe on my laptop as well.
 

robox

Member
Anyone else here hate Okonomiyaki?

no.

i've been going around telling people okonomiyaki should be the next big thing in jp cuisine, following the popularity of sushi and ramen.

osaka style or hiroshima style. both are good to me!
 

Rinoa

Member
Reccommend Keisei as there is lots of space for you and your bags, they also sell snacks. Nice doing skype video on laptop while on the way.

There's a good video explaining it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oogO_IBUlfY

cost of cab to airport
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10014474/Most-expensive-airport-transfers-revealed.html

cost of a limo/towncar
http://www.tokyo-taxi.jp/english/price/index.html#Narita

I used cabs within the city due to various reasons (carrying things or with people who can't walk long distance) and found that they were very basic. At least the streets and highways are empty other than luxury cards most of the time.

Also rode a caravan, like a small bus that was hired with driver. Not sure how much that costed but it's necessary for groups going somewhere together and want to be loud and social, since you can't really do that on the trains.

For internet outside of the hotel we pre-ordered a router from Global Advanced Comm (so everyone around me when I'm carrying it had wireless). It didn't arrive in the airport post office for pick up in time, and had to have it sent to the hotel. I suggest having it sent straight to your hotel, as it needs to be charged anyway.

http://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/pocketwifi.html
get the fastest one

Anyone else here hate Okonomiyaki?

Not a fan of the mix of flavours, nope.

some pics from trip for bro's wedding
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152349121302652.1073741839.508032651&type=1&l=fceed67de6

crappier mobile pics
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152338344947652.1073741838.508032651&type=1&l=056deb60b2
 

Replicant

Member
I wouldn't recommend taking taxi anywhere in Japan. Unless you're loaded or stranded somewhere due to missing a train. Even with the later scenario, I'd recommend finding a good internet cafe and camp there overnight, then take the early morning train the next day. Paying for 5 hours of internet cafe is likely cheaper if you have some distance to travel.
 

midramble

Pizza, Bourbon, and Thanos
Reccommend Keisei as there is lots of space for you and your bags, they also sell snacks. Nice doing skype video on laptop while on the way.

There's a good video explaining it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oogO_IBUlfY

cost of cab to airport
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10014474/Most-expensive-airport-transfers-revealed.html

cost of a limo/towncar
http://www.tokyo-taxi.jp/english/price/index.html#Narita

I used cabs within the city due to various reasons (carrying things or with people who can't walk long distance) and found that they were very basic. At least the streets and highways are empty other than luxury cards most of the time.

Also rode a caravan, like a small bus that was hired with driver. Not sure how much that costed but it's necessary for groups going somewhere together and want to be loud and social, since you can't really do that on the trains.

For internet outside of the hotel we pre-ordered a router from Global Advanced Comm (so everyone around me when I'm carrying it had wireless). It didn't arrive in the airport post office for pick up in time, and had to have it sent to the hotel. I suggest having it sent straight to your hotel, as it needs to be charged anyway.

http://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/pocketwifi.html
get the fastest one



Not a fan of the mix of flavours, nope.

some pics from trip for bro's wedding
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152349121302652.1073741839.508032651&type=1&l=fceed67de6

crappier mobile pics
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152338344947652.1073741838.508032651&type=1&l=056deb60b2

The cab from the airport question is a joke subtitle haha. This is an OT for people who are asking questions about travel to Japan in general.

Dislike of okonomiyaki makes me sad. :(

Edit: I guess a lot of people aren't realizing the subtitle is a joke haha. Maybe make the first line of the OP "No, cabs are expensive".
 

Jake.

Member
is nara worth a day trip? in osaka for 3 days but honestly the only thing that appeals to me is all the deer...i figure i'd get my temple fix in kyoto, huge buddha statue in kamakura etc.
 
I guess I might be needing another local card for the Kansai area to pay for things that aren't covered by the JR pass, or would that be unnecessary?

Unnecessary. You can use the Suica card for that as well, and when traveling in Kyoto you'll mostly use buses that doesn't accept any IC cards.


this could be a problem If you plan on buying a japan rail pass. You can only get them at the airport (from what I remember) and I'm not sure if you can postpone it's validity date. It's probably going to come into effect the second you buy it.

Neither of this is true. You can both get the pass at other train stations and postpone the date.


I've already asked for a JR Pass that will be mailed to me after I arrive, on Sept 9th, so I've got that part covered. AFAIK, the pass only begins counting down from the day when you first use it, so I should be able to keep it inactive until I leave Sakura House and set out for Kyoto.

What you get is an exchange ticket. You need to go to a train station that does the exchange for the actual JR Pass to get the actual pass!

Here's a list of stations that does the exchange:
http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en009.html

You can go whenever you got time because they can put the date you can start using on the pass itself up to 1 month from the date you're there.

Oh, and remember to bring your passport of course!


is nara worth a day trip? in osaka for 3 days but honestly the only thing that appeals to me is all the deer...i figure i'd get my temple fix in kyoto, huge buddha statue in kamakura etc.

You can combine it with a trip to the Fushimi Inari Shrine since it's on the way to Nara if you take the JR train, and there's a Buddhist art museum in Nara Park you can go check out too, not just the deer.
 

Rinoa

Member
The cab from the airport question is a joke subtitle haha. This is an OT for people who are asking questions about travel to Japan in general.

Dislike of okonomiyaki makes me sad. :(

Edit: I guess a lot of people aren't realizing the subtitle is a joke haha. Maybe make the first line of the OP "No, cabs are expensive".

I hardly know anyone who dislikes it, so it makes me happy! I can't eat most Japanese food or don't like it, and was surviving on "french" food and 7-11 snacks since those can be found almost anywhere in Tokyo.

The subtitle is actually what caught my eye. Hardly anyone talks about cabs/towncars in Japan and I was wondering how the Uber black is there.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
no.

i've been going around telling people okonomiyaki should be the next big thing in jp cuisine, following the popularity of sushi and ramen.

osaka style or hiroshima style. both are good to me!

Well obviously that would be curry rice, but okonomiyaki can be after that :p

It's really easy to make at home too
 
I'm going with a good friend of mine Nov 23-Dec 15.

We're going to see several concerts and do general sight-seeing.

We used airBnB and will be staying here for the entire stay. We were dumb and went to Narita airport. Haneda was only 30 minutes away. OOPS

I'm looking up places to go. We're going to get a JR pass and plan on taking day trips to Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, and Hiroshima.

What's everyone's "must see" or "must eat" places?
 

cvxfreak

Member
Great thread, but the OP needs more information about Haneda Airport. Narita is an outdated airport that is way too far from Tokyo to be useful unless it's a much cheaper fare or your scheduling leaves you with no choice. Airport code is HND; you can do TYO to get both Tokyo airports.

Haneda is newer and much closer to Tokyo, and hence cheaper to commute to and from. There are flights to/from Haneda to:

- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Los Angeles
- Honolulu
- Vancouver
- Toronto
- London
- Frankfurt
- Munich
- Paris
- Dubai
- Doha
- Seoul
- Shanghai
- Hong Kong
- Beijing
- Manila
- Singapore
- Kuala Lumpur

I would go as far as to say it's better to connect in a city that can take you to Haneda rather than go straight to Narita.

And the OP should have information about Kansai Airport too. (KIX)
 
We used airBnB and will be staying here for the entire stay.

I'm looking up places to go. We're going to get a JR pass and plan on taking day trips to Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, and Hiroshima.

Any particular reason for that? It would have been much cheaper to book something in Osaka/Kyoto for 4-5 days and you'd save a ton of time if you're going on day trip to all those places. Would save you about 15 hours of transport time total if you're planning on going 1 day in to place.


Awesome! That's perfect. Have you stayed in a dormitory? Are people generally cool/nice?

I only know about them by name since they're the biggest share house company. It should be a similar experience to a hostel though.
 
Any particular reason for that? It would have been much cheaper to book something in Osaka/Kyoto for 4-5 days and you'd save a ton of time if you're going on day trip to all those places. Would save you about 15 hours of transport time total if you're planning on going 1 day in to place.

That was my idea/desire, but the friend I'm going with is a bit of an anxious person, and the idea of "carting" our stuff from city-to-city threw her into a fit. Since it almost reached the point where she was going to not go at all, I gave in.
 

Darksol

Member
Great thread, but the OP needs more information about Haneda Airport. Narita is an outdated airport that is way too far from Tokyo to be useful unless it's a much cheaper fare or your scheduling leaves you with no choice. Airport code is HND; you can do TYO to get both Tokyo airports.

Haneda is newer and much closer to Tokyo, and hence cheaper to commute to and from. There are flights to/from Haneda to:

- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Los Angeles
- Honolulu
- Vancouver
- Toronto
- London
- Frankfurt
- Munich
- Paris
- Dubai
- Doha
- Seoul
- Shanghai
- Hong Kong
- Beijing
- Manila
- Singapore
- Kuala Lumpur

I would go as far as to say it's better to connect in a city that can take you to Haneda rather than go straight to Narita.

And the OP should have information about Kansai Airport too. (KIX)

^

What they said. Over the past five years Haneda has been undergoing a lot of renovations, and is accounting for a greater amount of international travel than before.

I'm arriving and departing from Haneda. It's only 24 km from my destination (Asakusa) compared to Narita's 65 km+.
 
Awesome pictures! Can I ask what camera you have? Next year I will go to Japan to study for a year and I really want a good camera to take some beautiful shots.
 
Questions;

1) Is it possible to get to japan by boat from Taiwan? hope to make the trip from Vietnam > Taiwan > Taipei, and then make my way to Naha and then up japan, trying to see as many of the interesting islands as possible.


2) I've heard Japan is very expensive by train, but also that it is the way to see the country. I want to get from Japan to South Korea and back again, and I wonder what type of rail system would be best.

3) I heard many Japanese people take trips to Hawaii. Do you think flights would be affordable from Japan to Hawaii? My final Destination is Rio, so I think that path would be ideal for me.
 
Awesome pictures! Can I ask what camera you have? Next year I will go to Japan to study for a year and I really want a good camera to take some beautiful shots.

You can see for yourself just by reading the EXIF! (Scroll down past an image when viewing it on Flickr.)

Canon EOS 50D
EF-S17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

I used an NEX-5N on my trip, for example...



Also, I throw in my vote for https://www.econnectjapan.com/ for an affordable mobile WiFi option. It was SO COOL to just walk into the New Otani, give my name, get my room key and have reception hand over a package to me straight away. Felt like motherfucking James Bond.

x_osato_03.jpg


(The New Otani was used in a Bond film, btw!)
 

One of the bigger bummer's I had is that I never got a shot of Mt. Fuji from a distance. The one day I went to the Tokyo Skytree it was too foggy to see Fuji, and when I went to the Tokyo Metro building the observation deck was closed. Took plenty of pictures from the top, but I never even got a good look at it from a distance.
 

Zornica

Banned
Awesome! That's perfect. Have you stayed in a dormitory? Are people generally cool/nice?

I've stayed there once. It was kinda pricey and the places I stayed at were pretty run down. Although I didn't stay at the dorm - I rented one of their apartments and also a room in one of their share houses. I also visited a friend who rented another apartment of theirs. It was basically a dump. Depending on the house you stay at, your experiences may differ.
If you happen to come across a place of theirs you feel like you'd want to stay, why not just post it her, so I (or somebody else) can give you a heads up if by coincidences it's one of the apartments I've visited.

you should also check out Fontana:

http://www.tokyocityapartments.net/

I've heard good things about them, but got no experiences of my own.

Neither of this is true. You can both get the pass at other train stations and postpone the date.
Well, I never claimed it was, that's why I wrote from what I remember (from reading about them). I never actually bought a rail pass.
 
ill be looking for info here for my next visit. i was in shizuoka for 4 weeks in june, had an amazing time living with a host family, im looking to go back next year.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
This thread is now about the greatest dydo drink of all time. (full disclosure: I was once in a dydo cm)

308882.jpg
 

Aizo

Banned
So... Is this a real JapanGAF? If people are constantly asking for travel tips, then I won't stick around. If it is a bunch of expatriates and people interested in Japan just talking about Japan, I'm down.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
So... Is this a real JapanGAF? If people are constantly asking for travel tips, then I won't stick around. If it is a bunch of expatriates and people interested in Japan just talking about Japan, I'm down.

You can start us off with our first topic.
 

Aizo

Banned
I am genuinely confused by the title of the thread. Says JapanGAF, but then obviously relates to a travel question.
You can start us off with our first topic.

What made you interested in Japan?
Why did you learn the language (for those who are not learning, are you interested?)?
Are you currently living in Japan?
How long have you lived in Japan?
 
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