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[Copons]

Headed back to Osaka tomorrow. The plan is to stay 2 nights so we can visit Kyoto and then head to Hiroshima.

Would I be better off staying in Kyoto or just finding a convenient place near Shin-Osaka instead?

As other said: with a JR Pass the distance between Shin-Osaka and Kyoto (station) is moot.
On the other hand, the good parts of both Kyoto and Osaka are quite far from their stations.

Twice I had to take the same decision, and twice I found that rooms near Shin-Osaka are considerably cheaper than, say, in Gion, with the additional goodness that Shin-Osaka is convenient to move around with the shinkansen (for you, notably to get to Hiroshima).

Last time, I stayed here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4486915
The apartment is small and very clean, but it's quite near to Shin-Osaka station and you don't need to cross any overpass, so moving around with heavy bags is easier. Also the closest entrance is the central one, where you get in for the shinkansen, so it's twice the convenience.
Oh, and the room has a washing machine inside, so you could even wash your stuff there (but probably 2 days aren't enough anymore for your clothes to dry, though).

 

[Valkerionseven]

Hey guys, any recommendations for hotels/rooms near Narita airport? I'm arriving on saturday 12/11 at 18.45 and just need a place to sleep before taking the train the next day to Kagoshima.

Here's my current schedule with activities, I'm still planning though:

12/11 Arrive at Narita at 18.45
13/11-16/11 Kagoshima: Sakurajima volcano, Kumamoto castle.
17/11-19/11 Hiroshima: Peace musuem and Ebisuko festival.
19/11-22/11 Kyoto: Nara daytrip.
23/11-26/11 Tokyo: ??, probably wandering around and trying some arcade games.
26/11: fly back at 22.20 from Narita

Cool, hope you enjoy visiting my town when you come! If you need some travel tips for the area let me know and I'll see if I can help. Kagoshima is a nice little town. The ferry to Sakurajima is 24 hours a day and comes in 15 minute intervals so its super easy to get to. Just hope it does not go off when you are there (not that its dangerous, just the ash is really annoying but I live with it everyday so -shrug-)

Also be aware that Kumamoto castle and the city itself is still in pretty rough shape, more so in certain areas than others after their quake. Parts of the castle are definitely still shutdown but I think you can visit certain parts of it these days still. Traffic there might be a bit slow too due to damaged roads. Last time I went through it was one lane each way since one side was shut down.

If you have spare time though to run around Kagoshima prefecture I'd recommend looking into the Ibuski volcanic sand baths as a nice little few hours trip. Takes an hour to get there by train from Kagoshima central station, do some time in the onsen in Ibusuki then head back to Kagoshima easy peasy.

 

[TheExodu5]

As other said: with a JR Pass the distance between Shin-Osaka and Kyoto (station) is moot.
On the other hand, the good parts of both Kyoto and Osaka are quite far from their stations.

Twice I had to take the same decision, and twice I found that rooms near Shin-Osaka are considerably cheaper than, say, in Gion, with the additional goodness that Shin-Osaka is convenient to move around with the shinkansen (for you, notably to get to Hiroshima).

Last time, I stayed here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4486915
The apartment is small and very clean, but it's quite near to Shin-Osaka station and you don't need to cross any overpass, so moving around with heavy bags is easier. Also the closest entrance is the central one, where you get in for the shinkansen, so it's twice the convenience.
Oh, and the room has a washing machine inside, so you could even wash your stuff there (but probably 2 days aren't enough anymore for your clothes to dry, though).

Thanks! Unfortunately I already booked a room in Gion...but it was roughly the same price so I guess it's not too bad. That Air BnB would have been perfect with a laundry machine though...nice find!

 

[Fireblend]

So guys, question about when/how to purchase my JR pass.

My gf and I are traveling between Dec. 3 and Dec. 22 but we're not planning to activate our JR passes until the 8th, so that we can get by with 14-day passes. Is it easy to find a place in Tokyo to activate our passes? I've heard you can also just go to the airport office as soon as you arrive and have them mark the "starting date" as Dec. 8th, so that would be helpful. Is it easy to communicate with the people at the stall and make that request without risking getting them activated by accident or something?

Also, should I buy them online or are they purchasable at the airport? If I purchase them online, can I just print them? I'm worried about having them delivered to my place because I don't really trust Costa Rica's mail service

 

[Fisico]

I went to the VR Zone today. Tried the anime girl mech game > cat rescue > horror game > Gundam Odaiba > other Gundam game

Horror game would probably have been better if I had somebody with me, same with the other Gundam game since it seemed to be an arena style vs game

The Gundam Odaiba thing was the Gundam statue outside the building come to life and you got into it's hand while he battled an enemy. Could feel the heat from the energy sword and stuff. You're not really in control of anything though, so it's more like a ride.

Didn't try the skiing game, train game or the concert video thing. Not a lot of people though, could have had at least triple the amount without it feeling crowded.

And not a single comment on how the cat rescue was

 

[Zatoth]

So guys, question about when/how to purchase my JR pass.

My gf and I are traveling between Dec. 3 and Dec. 22 but we're not planning to activate our JR passes until the 8th, so that we can get by with 14-day passes. Is it easy to find a place in Tokyo to activate our passes? I've heard you can also just go to the airport office as soon as you arrive and have them mark the "starting date" as Dec. 8th, so that would be helpful. Is it easy to communicate with the people at the stall and make that request without risking getting them activated by accident or something?

Also, should I buy them online or are they purchasable at the airport? If I purchase them online, can I just print them? I'm worried about having them delivered to my place because I don't really trust Costa Rica's mail service

You have to buy the JR Pass before you go to Japan. It is not possible to buy it in Japan.

You receive a "coupon" that you can exchange in Japan and activate the JR Pass. That's possible at airports and most bigger train stations. Ueno or Tokyo station for example.

When you active your pass you can decide on the date you need it. You could activate it on the 3rd even if you only need from the 8th. They will ask you several times if you are sure about your dates in the exchange office. Almost impossible to screw it up.

You could buy it at these places for example:
https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/jr-pass
http://www.jrpass.com

Both send with FedEx.

Oh, just saw this:

The Japan Rail Pass can be used only by foreign tourists in Japan. Currently, the pass can be purchased only outside of Japan. However, starting sometime in 2016 on a trial basis, it will also become available for purchase at Narita, Haneda and Kansai Airports. If purchasing the pass outside of Japan or via the internet, you will receive a voucher that has to be exchanged to the actual pass inside Japan and within three months of purchase.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361.html

Don't know if this is a thing yet.

 

[Fritz]

Guys, Tokyo Meetup this Sat. Don't forget!

 

[Fireblend]

You have to buy the JR Pass before you go to Japan. It is not possible to buy it in Japan.

You receive a "coupon" that you can exchange in Japan and activate the JR Pass. That's possible at airports and most bigger train stations. Ueno or Tokyo station for example.

When you active your pass you can decide on the date you need it. You could activate it on the 3rd even if you only need from the 8th. They will ask you several times if you are sure about your dates in the exchange office. Almost impossible to screw it up.

You could buy it at these places for example:
https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/jr-pass
http://www.jrpass.com

Both send with FedEx.

Thanks!

So, I guess I should order them early-October so I can receive the coupons on the mail with time to spare and still be able to activate them early December. Seems antiquated that I have to receive them in the mail and can't just print a barcode and present that instead

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Thanks!

So, I guess I should order them early-October so I can receive the coupons on the mail with time to spare and still be able to activate them early December. Seems antiquated that I have to receive them in the mail and can't just print a barcode and present that instead

I was able to preorder my JR-WEST RAIL PASS and am collecting it in Osaka Station.

 

[catpurrcat]

Let me chime in here.
While in Tokyo you could move around only on JR trains, in Kyoto and Osaka you just can't.
In Kyoto you'll likely just get the one-day bus pass (don't know if there are multi-day passes, but in case they'd be the best value to get around to the landmarks) and only use the JR train to get to Fushimi Inari and Arashiyama.
In Osaka, the JR loop line isn't that useful, while the subway can get you pretty much everywhere worth going.

On the other hand, using Osaka or Kyoto as "bases" to explore the surrounding area, that's where the JR Pass comes in handy.
Shin-Osaka - Kyoto is a 15 minutes shinkansen ride (or 20-25 by "normal" train).
You can use the JR Nara line to get from Kyoto to Nara (even tho the private line gets you closer to the park); same thing to Arashiyama, the private station is closer to the bamboo forest than the JR one, but if you're on a budget (and with a JR Pass), adding 15 minutes walking won't be that bad.
Himeji, Kobe, Hiroshima (and Miyajima) are all JR rides from Shin-Osaka.

Oh, as you can see, I've mentioned twice Shin-Osaka: if you plan to stay in Osaka and get around, try to stay near the Shin-Osaka station, where the shinkansen stops.
It's far from anything interesting in Osaka (except Umeda, 1 JR stop from Shin-Osaka, IIRC), and you'll have to use the subway, but it's a really great location to move between Osaka and nearby cities (including Kyoto, but excluding Koyasan, reachable only via the Nankai line from the Namba station, on the other side of the city).

You are awesome thanks!

 

[nabe_shogun]

Man, sometimes the sensation of being seen as an alien or a not welcomed person is real as fuck.
It might be because i'm visiting very underground scenes (stopping in various punk rock locales across the nation), but it always feels like they start looking at me as soon as i turn away or directly ignore me.

Also it's so weird how in these 12 days since i've arrived i had almost no problem in engaging into conversation with men, like in restaurants or at clubs, while i've probably not talked casually with a woman yet. Not that i'm actively looking into hook up someone (althoigh of course i wouldn't say no to that lol). Feels like there's still a giant gap i can't seem to understand how to fill.

The only people that ever try to talk to me are old men. Usually interested on where I'm from and what I plan on doing in Japan.

When I was on Iki island we went to an onsen, and me and the other guy I was with don't speak much Japanese, which made it difficult because the other old guys there really wanted to chat with us about various things. We felt a little bad because we could barely understand them, and they really wanted to chat with us. Though, afterwards, the two girls we were with on the other side said they could barely understand their Japanese. Which made us feel better since the one of the girls is a native there and the other speaks very good Japanese.

The last time I was in Tokyo, I went to a metal show and everyone was extremely friendly and willing to talk.

I never thought about going to a concert in Japan. I'll have to look into that next trip I make.

 

[Laevateinn]

I never thought about going to a concert in Japan. I'll have to look into that next trip I make.

Good luck at the Lawson ticket machine!

 

[MikeHattsu]

I was able to preorder my JR-WEST RAIL PASS and am collecting it in Osaka Station.

The local JR Passes are different to the JR Pass. Often able to buy them while in Japan and everything.

 

[Tabris]

Not sure if any of you remember me telling you the story about how some singer came into a restaurant we were eating at and sang a song for me, and then another song for the restaurant, as part of some surprise tv show.

I finally found out who it was when I was in Tokyo the 2nd time. This guy sang a song to me:

He's apparently pretty famous.

私はいくぞよしをききました!

wwww私はちょっと日本語を話します。

I should try to type in Hiragana / Kanji in this thread to practice it. I learned a little bit last time I was there, very rough. But ちょっと is probably my favourite word of all time. Actually wait, 時々 (ときど&#12365 is definitely my favourite.

 

[MikeHattsu]

I should try to type in Hiragana / Kanji in this thread to practice it. I learned a little bit last time I was there, very rough. But ちょっと is probably my favourite word of all time. Actually wait, 時々 (ときど&#12365 is definitely my favourite.

That's what this thread is for though:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1206948

;P

 

[Laevateinn]

I should try to type in Hiragana / Kanji in this thread to practice it. I learned a little bit last time I was there, very rough. But ちょっと is probably my favourite word of all time. Actually wait, 時々 (ときど&#12365 is definitely my favourite.

ちょっと pretty good. I overuse it quite a bit to the amusement of native speakers. I think 少しい is probably a more appropriate word a lot of the time but it's weird for me to think of it as a Japanese word because I use skosh a lot as someone who grew up in the PNW.

 

[Tabris]

That's what this thread is for though:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1206948

;P

I meant for whatever I'm talking about here - not just talking about the language. There probably needs to just be one thread or a Japan |OT| thread or something.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Looks like the JBL Japan Bus Lines Pass site has been launched:
http://japanbuslines.com/en/buspass/

 

[Laevateinn]

This thread's been making me feel a bit natsukashii so I kind of want to go back this spring. I know I didn't want to go because of the exchange rate but fuck it.

Mike, you have any plans for a meetup around then?

 

[MikeHattsu]

Mike, you have any plans for a meetup around then?

Ey. I'm not always in Japan >_>

Spoiler

Group of us going in February though

 

[Copons]

You are awesome thanks!

Ahah, thanks, but I'm just a guy that has a legitimate good time with Hyperdia.

 

[Fritz]

Is Isetan considered the best fashion department store?

 

[MikeHattsu]

Is Isetan considered the best fashion department store?

Check the ones in Ginza if you want upmarket stuff I guess

 

[ryutaro's mama]

So I have been here since the 23rd. Seen a LOT of Tokyo, riding the subway and wrecking my feet (20k+ steps per day since I got here). Question: I got 3 days left (possibly 4, depending on my plans for Friday). What do I need to see/do?

Here is what I have done thus far:

Akiba recon trip (didn't buy anything, just walked around)

Big Sight, Diver City, Venus Plant (GUNDAM!!!) and JoyPolis

Ueno district, Akakusa (Skytree), Senso-Ji, Downtown Ginza (night) Tsukiji

Meiji Shrine, Harajuku district, Ikebukuro (Pokemon Center, Sunshine City)

Tokyo Disney Sea

Saving Shibuya scramble for Saturday night.

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Fritz]

So I have been here since the 23rd. Seen a LOT of Tokyo, riding the subway and wrecking my feet (20k+ steps per day since I got here). Question: I got 3 days left (possibly 4, depending on my plans for Friday). What do I need to see/do?

Here is what I have done thus far:

Akiba recon trip (didn't buy anything, just walked around)

Big Sight, Diver City, Venus Plant (GUNDAM!!!) and JoyPolis

Ueno district, Akakusa (Skytree), Senso-Ji, Downtown Ginza (night) Tsukiji

Meiji Shrine, Harajuku district, Ikebukuro (Pokemon Center, Sunshine City)

Tokyo Disney Sea

Saving Shibuya scramble for Saturday night.

Thoughts? Thanks!

Area wise probably Marounochi with the Emperial Palace, Ebisu, Daikanyama and Shimokitazawa.

Otherwise it seems like you haven't been to any museum. There are so many for all different kinds of tastes.

 

[TheExodu5]

The transit system in Kansai is confusing as hell. So many lines, operated by different companies. Seems like there's half a dozen ways to get to Kyoto from KIX.

 

[MikeHattsu]

The transit system in Kansai is confusing as hell. So many lines, operated by different companies. Seems like there's half a dozen ways to get to Kyoto from KIX.

Do the Icoca & Haruka, then you don't have to switch trains:
http://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/icoca-haruka/

 

[TheExodu5]

Do the Icoca & Haruka, then you don't have to switch trains:
http://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/icoca-haruka/

Yeah, made a mistake as a misunderstood the lady at the airport. I thought it was basically 3600 yen to take the JR Haruka to Kyoto...but in reality it's only 1600.

We got the Nakai Kyoto Access Ticket for 1280 which gets us there...but the journey is pretty confusing...albeit interesting. Some interesting people on the Hankyu line in the evening.

 

[Laevateinn]

Ey. I'm not always in Japan >_>

Spoiler

Group of us going in February though

It's going to be hard for me to go anywhere before April.

Spoiler

But you'll probably be organizing another one then, right?

 

[MikeHattsu]

Yeah, made a mistake as a misunderstood the lady at the airport. I thought it was basically 3600 yen to take the JR Haruka to Kyoto...but in reality it's only 1600.

We got the Nakai Kyoto Access Ticket for 1280 which gets us there...but the journey is pretty confusing...albeit interesting. Some interesting people on the Hankyu line in the evening.

Well, at least you got the cheapest option then

It's going to be hard for me to go anywhere before April.

Spoiler

But you'll probably be organizing another one then, right?

Maybe... >_>

 

[SiegfriedFM]

hey japan-gaf. I'm going to be in japan for work, and I'm thinking of taking 2.5 days for myself in tokyo. I've always wanted to go to akihabara, even though everyone tells me it's a total waste to try and get deals. I think I'll go just to check things out, anyway. I have zero interest in any of the maid cafes.

This thread has been very helpful, lots of great ideas. Luckily, my phone works there (google fi), so I don't have to worry about picking up a sim or anything.

So far my list of interests are:

hakuhinkan toy park
ginza lion beer hall
the gate/red light district area from the yakuza series (anyone know any good bars there?)
lock and load shooting bar EA
ramen shop (using tabelog or gurunavi)
shinjuku gyoen national gardens
finding japanese copies of metal gear solid and the yakuza series (book off in other areas besides akihabara)
sony building in ginza

I know the japan rail pass is good for inter-city travel, but what do you do for the in city metro? Same thing?

A lot of those things were on my list as well, so let me make a quick review.

Hakuhinkan was fine... a couple of floors with all kinds of toys, with some gimmick/robot stuff on the bottom floor. If you're doing Ginza anyway, it's a nice place to stay. If you do, you can go across the street outside it and find underground lunch places in a tunnel. That said, Sony building was completely lame. They didn't have anything really hot except for a few custom PS4 faceplates. Really. All the phones and cameras were things that were already out. So basically, you could take Ginza off your list if you're in a hurry. If you do go, you must check out the Lindt Chocolat Café. They make an AWESOME milkshake.

Go to Akihabara, to anywhere but Super Potato, and just browse for neat stuff. Akihabara is for selection, rather than price, but you might never find that cool thing again. Mandarake Galaxy and the Trader shop on the main street are well worth your time. If you want fighting or shooting games, look up HEY (Hirose Entertainment Yard), Taito's arcade. There is another Taito arcade which was dull - it has to be the real thing. If you want figures, check out Kotobukiya, or some of the shops right near the station.

Shinjuku Gyoen was very nice, we caught it right at the end of the sakura season. It's nice as a breather, especially if you're doing the rest of Shinjuku which can be... overwhelming. I wouldn't recommend Robot Restaurant, it looked obnoxious even from outside. The Capcom bar was rather nice if a little gimmicky. We didn't check out the Square bar. Try to have more courage than us and check out a proper hostess bar, and hope you don't get robbed/murdered by yakuza.

If you only have three days, I wouldn't recommend more than three areas. There's more than enough to spend a day at each. If you want to buy more cool stuff, you could split the Shinjuku day with going to Nakano Broadway. I'd also recommend Odaiba over Ginza, as it feels more modern and cool, rather than just expensive.

 

[Laevateinn]

hey japan-gaf. I'm going to be in japan for work, and I'm thinking of taking 2.5 days for myself in tokyo. I've always wanted to go to akihabara, even though everyone tells me it's a total waste to try and get deals. I think I'll go just to check things out, anyway. I have zero interest in any of the maid cafes.

This thread has been very helpful, lots of great ideas. Luckily, my phone works there (google fi), so I don't have to worry about picking up a sim or anything.

So far my list of interests are:

hakuhinkan toy park
ginza lion beer hall
the gate/red light district area from the yakuza series (anyone know any good bars there?)
lock and load shooting bar EA
ramen shop (using tabelog or gurunavi)
shinjuku gyoen national gardens
finding japanese copies of metal gear solid and the yakuza series (book off in other areas besides akihabara)
sony building in ginza

I know the japan rail pass is good for inter-city travel, but what do you do for the in city metro? Same thing?

If you do go to a bar in Kabukicho, know that they will try to rip you off. My now-wife was not happy with me that I had us go to a sketchy, probably-Yakuza-run bar without warning her first. They rushed us out because we don't drink but here's something really important to be aware of: there will be a button on the table to call help. Every time you press that button, they will charge you. Gaijin smash that racket by shouting the waitress down. They won't know how to react to it. They will also try to charge you for time so if you're there for more than an hour it can get expensive.

 

[Tabris]

Is Isetan considered the best fashion department store?

Yes, I would consider Isetan the best fashion department store in Asia.

You can of course go more high end on specific kind of fashion. For example, instead of going to Isetan Mens department store, you can go to Ginza Tailor to get bespoke suits.

 

[Fritz]

Yes, I would consider Isetan the best fashion department store in Asia.

You can of course go more high end on specific kind of fashion. For example, instead of going to Isetan Mens department store, you can go to Ginza Tailor to get bespoke suits.

Cool, thanks for the heads up. I'ld like to look for younger japanese brands I can't necessarily find over here in Europe. Like I'ld feel either H&M or Hermes would be a waste of time since it's the same everywhere.

Flying out tomorrow. Hope the weather is going to be alright.

 

[Tabris]

Cool, thanks for the heads up. I'ld like to look for younger japanese brands I can't necessarily find over here in Europe. Like I'ld feel either H&M or Hermes would be a waste of time since it's the same everywhere.

Flying out tomorrow. Hope the weather is going to be alright.

Isetan has a bunch of high end Japanese brands. I got this really amazing Ganzo bag/briefcase. But it's pricey there, that bag cost me 145,800 Yen.

H&M is on the low end. If you want an equivalent to that, with Japanese brands, you can't find anywhere else (you can find Uniqlo everywhere now), check out shopping in Shibuya 109 (both men's and women's are different buildings) or Harajuku (seems to be mainly young women fashion, not sure for men's).

For Hermes specifically, you can find a full Hermes store in Ginza near the crossing area. Sure it's same as elsewhere, but the difference is in the customer's experience as Japanese service is above and beyond most everywhere else. I love how they walk the bag out for you.

 

[woober]

How does buying tickets for the Ghibili Museum work? I want to go late October, but it's all sold out online. Can I go there and buy tickets locally the day of? Will they even be available?

 

[MikeHattsu]

How does buying tickets for the Ghibili Museum work? I want to go late October, but it's all sold out online. Can I go there and buy tickets locally the day of? Will they even be available?

Nope. Gotta get them online since they sell out fast. Luckily there's still some Japanese tickets left for late October (16:00 on 20th, 21st, 24th, 26th, 27th, 28th and 31st and 14:00 on 26th and 27th right now every other day is completely sold out).

You can try this company for help getting Japanese tickets:
http://www.bridge.jpn.com/services/tickets

Better contact them ASAP if you want to go, or get somebody in Japan if you know anybody to help you.

 

[Copons]

Nope. Gotta get them online since they sell out fast. Luckily there's still some Japanese tickets left for late October (16:00 on 20th, 21st, 24th, 26th, 27th, 28th and 31st and 14:00 on 26th and 27th right now every other day is completely sold out).

You can try this company for help getting Japanese tickets:
http://www.bridge.jpn.com/services/tickets

Better contact them ASAP if you want to go, or get somebody in Japan if you know anybody to help you.

At this regard, please remind your Japanese contact to use your own name for the ticket, and not theirs, if you want to avoid a couple of minutes of fear and despair when, after 1h in line, the museum attendant checks your ticket and pull you out of the line because the name doesn't match with your passport (in my case they said "next time buy it yourself" and let us go in, but still!).

 

[MikeHattsu]

At this regard, please remind your Japanese contact to use your own name for the ticket, and not theirs, if you want to avoid a couple of minutes of fear and despair when, after 1h in line, the museum attendant checks your ticket and pull you out of the line because the name doesn't match with your passport (in my case they said "next time buy it yourself" and let us go in, but still!).

Yeah, it says that the name of the ticket needs to match with the person going when you order.


And all the tickets for 14:00 are sold out for October now. Only ones for 16:00 left on the dates i stated above.

 

[Zatoth]

May be a good idea to put "get your Ghibli tickets ASAP!" in the title of next thread.

 

[MikeHattsu]

May be a good idea to put "get your Ghibli tickets ASAP!" in the title of next thread.

Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once, because the Ghibli tickets are sold out the first time

 

[SiegfriedFM]

They even inquired with us because one out of four of us didn't go on the trip after all, so that person wasn't in our group. Ghibli Museum is serious business.

 

[kubus]

Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once, because the Ghibli tickets are sold out the first time

This is 100% true

I'm not making the same mistake again, though this time I'm here for a year so I should have plenty of time

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once, because the Ghibli tickets are sold out the first time

Too true ;D

 

[sycam0re]

oh shit. i guess we should buy our ghibli tickets for april now?

 

[Raw64life]

Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once, because the Ghibli tickets are sold out the first time

Or in my case, it was under renovation when I went.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once, because the Ghibli tickets are sold out the first time

Or you book it in advance, fly over, get it in your head it's for two days after you have it booked and have your heart broken by the guard / ticket checker.

Spoiler

Was able to buy a ticket in the nearby Lawson for a few days later.

 

[MikeHattsu]

oh shit. i guess we should buy our ghibli tickets for april now?

Nah, but you'll need to be around at March 10th at 10 AM Japan time to get the tickets because they sell out fast (unless they change the system again).

Or get somebody in Japan to get some for you if you're not going to be around for that exact time.

 

[TheExodu5]

If I had to give any advice based on my current experience to future travellers, it would be this: just buy a Japan Rail Pass and ICOCA card and be done with it. Don't mess about with JR West passes or individual tickets...you'll end up losing far too much time sorting through the confusion.

We wasted so much time taking the Kansai and Henkyu lines from KIX to Kyoto. What should have been just over an hour ended up being a 3+ hour ordeal. The deal we got only allowed us to use very specific private railways and that ended up being incredibly slow and confusing.

Picking up our JR West passes at Kyoto was a pain. We got the Kansai Hiroshima Area passes and we're sent to 3 different JR counters before arriving to the right one at the central gates. Then we went to take the Shinkansen to Osaka only to find that the pass only allows you to take the Shinkansen from Osaka to Hiroshima, not Kyoto. We then went to the tourist information counter to find out how to get to Osaka, and they said we had to buy tickets...which ended up not being the case since our area passes did indeed work for the Kyoto JR line to Osaka.

When we got to Hiroshima, we expected our JR passes to allow us to use the JR sightseeing bus (we picked an Airbnb on the loop for this reason) only to find out that the JR West pass does not work for this bus.

In the end we didn't save that much money compared to just getting the Japan Rail Pass and just ended up wasting a lot of valuable vacation time. So don't penny pinch...get the full pass and an ICOCA card for where the pass doesn't work and travel hassle free.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Nope. Gotta get them online since they sell out fast. Luckily there's still some Japanese tickets left for late October (16:00 on 20th, 21st, 24th, 26th, 27th, 28th and 31st and 14:00 on 26th and 27th right now every other day is completely sold out).

You can try this company for help getting Japanese tickets:
http://www.bridge.jpn.com/services/tickets

Better contact them ASAP if you want to go, or get somebody in Japan if you know anybody to help you.

I used them and they were excellent. Delivered my ticket to my hotel before I even got there. Also, I went this past Thursday at 10am and it was amazing. The only bummer was no pics inside but I bought the book so eh.

The video they showed was magical in its own right. I couldn't stop smiling. Also, when you go, go through Mitaka station and walk up. My Google mapping had me doing all kinds of fuckery to get there.