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Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once

M

m_shortpants

Member
I can definitely see how you'd be overwhelmed.

I studied Japanese when I was in high school and college for a total of 5 years and at the end of that I think I could've made my way through Japan mostly. However, that was 8 years ago at this point and I have forgotten so much.

Thankfully my wife lived in Japan for 3 years and can speak well. I have celiac disease now so I have no idea how I would've made it without her. Basically everything has wheat, soy sauce, or barley so I basically had to live on nigiri and salmon onigiri from conbinis.

Was able to find gluten free ramen in Tokyo station and that was great though.
 
D

danowat

Banned
Little worrying when people who have studied Japanese for years are overwhelmed!!!! ,neither myself nor my wife speak Japanese, apart from a handful of pleasantries, what could go wrong!

Fritz said:
Ah yes I see. They always seem decent enough but like a slight rip off. A bit like your average US family restaurant. We'ld call that System Gastronomie in Germany.
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If it's a toss up between standing around and spending a little over the odds, we'll take spending a bit more ;)
 
F

Fritz

Member
I don't speak a word of Japanese and navigating was never an issue. For me it just played into the "loneliness" factor.

I was overwhelmed by the crowds and the buzz and my own expectations basically.
 
F

Fireblend

Banned
danowat said:
Little worrying when people who have studied Japanese for years are overwhelmed!!!! ,neither myself nor my wife speak Japanese, apart from a handful of pleasantries, what could go wrong!
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Neither me nor my gf knew one bit of Japanese and not only did we survive, it's probably the best trip we've ever had. If anything we're dying to go back - we came back to Costa Rica like 3 weeks ago and we're still constantly talking about how we wish we were there. Mileage may vary but honestly going to Japan was one of the best decisions I've ever made and after how welcoming and "easy" our experience was I'd recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat. Never before has anything beaten my expectations like visiting Japan did. We didn't have issues with language, crowds, food, navigation, anything. It was perfect.
 
L

Laevateinn

Member
m_shortpants said:
I can definitely see how you'd be overwhelmed.

I studied Japanese when I was in high school and college for a total of 5 years and at the end of that I think I could've made my way through Japan mostly. However, that was 8 years ago at this point and I have forgotten so much.

Thankfully my wife lived in Japan for 3 years and can speak well. I have celiac disease now so I have no idea how I would've made it without her. Basically everything has wheat, soy sauce, or barley so I basically had to live on nigiri and salmon onigiri from conbinis.

Was able to find gluten free ramen in Tokyo station and that was great though.
Click to expand...

My wife is allergic to shellfish. I can speak a little but being able to communicate that shellfish is different than normal fish is quite difficult. That's not even considering them putting shrimp and clams in unexpected places.
 
B

Boy Wander

Member
Woo-Hoo! After visiting with my 11 year old son last summer (Tokyo, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nara), I've now booked a trip for next summer where we will explore the North of the country a little. Our itinerary:

Tokyo
Sapporo
Furano/Biei
Otaru
Noboribetsu Onsen
Lake Towada
Matsushima
Tokyo

Any tips for "must-sees" / "must-do's" / "must-eats" appreciated!
 
D

drtomoe123

Member
Boy Wander said:
Woo-Hoo! After visiting with my 11 year old son last summer (Tokyo, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nara), I've now booked a trip for next summer where we will explore the North of the country a little. Our itinerary:

Tokyo
Sapporo
Furano/Biei
Otaru
Noboribetsu Onsen
Lake Towada
Matsushima
Tokyo

Any tips for "must-sees" / "must-do's" / "must-eats" appreciated!
Click to expand...

Make sure to try the jigoku ramen in Noboribetsu and the curry ramen in Muroran (10 minutes away -- where I live hehe). :D
 
Aurelius

Aurelius

Member
Hyrule Warrior said:
If it hasn't been obvious yet, I guess I've been quite a bit overwhelmed by this experience. My year and a half of studying japanese has felt mostly useless while I've been here, and traveling alone has felt more...lonely than I had hoped. I appreciate the help greatly, because I don't know where else to turn.
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While it is crowded in Japan, I am always amazed how much discipline there is. Everybody walks at approximately the same pace. There is usually one lane of people walking each way. Only think I’ve never gotten used to are the bicycles on the side walk. It’s less crowded where I live, but it’s more chaotic. People just walking every which way, stopping all of a sudden in front of you, etc.

Too bad you are missing out on the food, it is one of the best things about Japan. Try some Japanese chains, conbini food or conveyor belt sushi if you don’t want to step to far outside of you comfort zone. Restaurants in shopping malls or at a station might be a bit less intimidating too. Just look at the plastic displays to see if the food appeals to you!

I recognize the feeling of loneliness from my first trip to Japan too. But for me, it was one of the reasons to go (I was just getting over a divorce). I did meet some other travelers, but overall I did enjoy my time alone. Especially when I left Tokyo and went to the more rural part of the country. I think this feeling is worse in Tokyo because there are so many people and everybody is moving around fast with a purpose. As a tourist, you do feel subconsciously left out just taking your time.
 
T

TheBryanJZX90

Member
Hyrule Warrior said:
This has been a part of it a little for me. There are still elements of Japan that seem wonderful compared to back home. I envy just the technological conveniences they have put into place that most places in the US are too lazy or cheap to add, because what we have is "good enough." The land and some of the places I've seen are the coolest and most beautiful places I've been to so far.

Then there's just the elements of this is still a land full of humans, and humans can be assholes. I'm from Wisconsin, which isn't the most populated of states, but not small either. I still wasn't prepared for the crowds here though. I am constantly taken aback by just how many people there are, and how many of them just walk in front of me, and show no courtesy. I'm constantly making sure I don't walk right into anyone, but no one else seems to give a fuck. This is new to me, because I'm not used to the crowds.

One of the most startling realizations for me though is, even before I came here, I had not really have many opportunities to eat Japanese food, let alone anything authentic in Wisconsin that often. I was eager to try them here, because I'm open to that...Even before getting food poisoning, I came to realize that I don't think I like Japanese food...except maybe the sweets. So much of my food time has been finding bread, and seeking out a grocery store in Tokyo so I could get PB and J, which was hard to find in how the store was organized. That and McDonalds has kinda become my diet while I'm here, because ever since I got sick, I've been too afraid to go out of my comfort zone again.
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Yo everyone likes Japanese curry even the people who are scared of Japanese food. Also you should try omurice. This is assuming you have issues in line with other Midwestern Americans that don't eat much seafood. There should still be plenty of stuff you like. At least try a Japanese burger chain, there are plenty of good burgers too! Or pasta, or Indian food, or crepes, or a kebab. Oh tonkotsu is pretty easy to approach too, it's just a fried pork chop basically.
 
D

danowat

Banned
Just a bit of a heads up, I've just head that Kiyomizudera in Kyoto is undergoing maintenance from spring 2017 to 2020, and the main hall will be covered and have scaffolding in place.

It's a shame, but I am still going to visit there while I am in Kyoto.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
More and more tourists in Japan:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...sitors-japan-tops-20-million-mark-first-time/

The number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a whopping 24.03 million last year, topping the 20 million mark for the first time and renewing the annual record high for the fifth straight year, tourism minister Keiichi Ishii said Tuesday.

But the 22 percent increase in the number of international visitors from the year before is smaller than the 48 percent surge logged in 2015, showing that maintaining phenomenal growth in the tourism sector is an increasingly tall order.

The government wants to keep what's left of the momentum so it can achieve the target it set last March of accepting 40 million visitors in 2020, when a huge influx is expected before and during the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
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Numbers for 2015 were 19.73 million and 13.41 million in 2014.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
Fritz said:
Most of the tourists are coming from Asia?
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Detailed breakdowns are coming next week, but if it's anything like previous years, then yes.

16.64 of 19.73 million foreign visitors were from other Asian countries in 2015.

1.24 million from Europe, 1.31 million from North America and 429k from Oceania in 2015.
 
Z

Zyzyxxz

Member
Laevateinn said:
Chinese people love going to Japanese pharmacies and buying everything. It's their new national pastime.
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and shoving you in crowds, using their outdoor voice indoors and their mountain yelling voice outdoors, and just in general having no sense of class (for the majority).

Last time I went to Tsukiji I was really put off by all the Chinese tourist... why can't they try to be more inconspicuous like me?
 
N

N0VAM0D

Member
I posted in this thread a while back with plans for a trip, which unfortunately had to be cancelled last minute due to shitty circumstances. But, this year, I'm gonna give Japan another shot and I've booked my flights for 28th of March until April 18th! So, 3 weeks in total. A much nicer time of year than when I previously tried to go too, which is great. Very keen to be able to do some hanami. It's still a while away but I'm totally bursting with excitement, and I'm already getting stuck into my itinerary and all that sort of thing. I already had a pretty cool plan set out so I'm just using that but tweaking it to suit the time frame and season. This is what I've got so far — any tips?

MARCH

28TH – Sydney > Tokyo (Narita)
29TH – Tokyo
30TH – Tokyo
31ST – Tokyo

APRIL

1ST – Tokyo
2ND – Tokyo
3RD – Tokyo
4TH – Tokyo
5TH – Tokyo > Kyoto
6TH – Kyoto
7TH – Kyoto
8TH – Kyoto
9TH – Kyoto
10TH – Kyoto > Osaka
11TH – Osaka
12TH – Osaka
13TH – Osaka > Kanazawa
14TH – Kanazawa
15TH – Kanazawa >Takayama
16TH – Takayama > Tokyo
17TH – Tokyo
18TH – Tokyo > Sydney

While I'm in Kyoto/Osaka there will likely be a day-trip to Nara at some time (seeing those 'lil deers is a must), and I'm probably going to try see Shiwakarago between Kanazawa and Takayama. I feel like that bit seems rushed though so I'd love some advice on spacing out that time a bit better! But yeah, spending most of my trip in Tokyo mainly because I have a hell of a lot I want to do there and I'm visiting some friends and they have a bunch of day-trips in mind.

Once I've sorted out my itinerary, I suppose my next question is whether I would benefit from a JR Pass or if I should just cop the train/bus prices and just use Suica/Pasmo?

And lastly, any other ideas on absolute MUST DO things? I've already got a lot in mind as I mentioned, but I'm always open for recommendations!
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
N0VAM0D said:
Once I've sorted out my itinerary, I suppose my next question is whether I would benefit from a JR Pass or if I should just cop the train/bus prices and just use Suica/Pasmo?

And lastly, any other ideas on absolute MUST DO things? I've already got a lot in mind as I mentioned, but I'm always open for recommendations!
Click to expand...

You should definitively get a 14 day JR Pass for the Tokyo->Kyoto->Osaka->Kanazawa->Takayama->Tokyo part of the trip.

Day trip to Hiroshima from either Kyoto or Osaka and check out the Peace Memorial Park?
 
F

Fireblend

Banned
My trip was very similar to that. I wouldn't spend that much time in Kyoto, but using it as a hub instead to check out nearby places like Arashiyama and Nara should work pretty well like you say. Hope you're getting a JR Pass. Makes life extremely easy.
 
N

N0VAM0D

Member
MikeHattsu said:
You should definitively get a 14 day JR Pass for the Tokyo->Kyoto->Osaka->Kanazawa->Takayama->Tokyo part of the trip.

Day trip to Hiroshima from either Kyoto or Osaka and check out the Peace Memorial Park?
Click to expand...

Sweet, I'll look into it! When would you recommend activating the pass?

I may take the opportunity if I'm in the mood at the time, for sure. I've even got Koyasan as a likely option for a day-trip when I'm staying in that region. Overall, I want to be as flexible as possible so it's awesome to have a bunch of choices.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
N0VAM0D said:
Sweet, I'll look into it! When would you recommend activating the pass?
Click to expand...

Depends on what you're planning to do on the 3rd and 4th of April. If you're planning a day trip to like Nikko or something you could do that on one of those days and use the JR Pass for that.
 
N

N0VAM0D

Member
Fireblend said:
My trip was very similar to that. I wouldn't spend that much time in Kyoto, but using it as a hub instead to check out nearby places like Arashiyama and Nara should work pretty well like you say. Hope you're getting a JR Pass. Makes life extremely easy.
Click to expand...

How did you end up enjoying your trip overall? Was it well-paced? I'm just hoping I'm not doing too much running around. Seems manageable at this stage, and it looks like I'm gonna be copping a JR Pass for sure.

Ooh, yup. Arashiyama is definitely happening at some point, I can't miss that. I was planning on spending my time in Kyoto as a base for those day-trips, then spending the rest of my time riding a bike around the city checking everything out. Something I'm really interested in seeing in Kyoto is Kokedera. I'm a bit confused as to how to gain entry, though... Anyone been before that can help me out?
 
N

N0VAM0D

Member
MikeHattsu said:
Depends on what you're planning to do on the 3rd and 4th of April. If you're planning a day trip to like Nikko or something you could do that on one of those days and use the JR Pass for that.
Click to expand...

I see! I probably won't be heading to Nikko, so I'm guessing it'll be best for me to active the pass on the day I leave for Kyoto, huh. That gives me the flexibility of almost the rest of the trip to use it, too, which is pretty good!
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
N0VAM0D said:
Something I'm really interested in seeing in Kyoto is Kokedera. I'm a bit confused as to how to gain entry, though... Anyone been before that can help me out?
Click to expand...

You'll need to send them a letter in the mail to apply, get somebody in Japan to do it for you or get a reservation company or concierge to help you :p


N0VAM0D said:
I see! I probably won't be heading to Nikko, so I'm guessing it'll be best for me to active the pass on the day I leave for Kyoto, huh. That gives me the flexibility of almost the rest of the trip to use it, too, which is pretty good!
Click to expand...

If you're leaving from Narita you can use the JR Pass for the NEX on the way back if you activate the JR Pass on the 5th.
 
F

Fireblend

Banned
N0VAM0D said:
How did you end up enjoying your trip overall? Was it well-paced? I'm just hoping I'm not doing too much running around. Seems manageable at this stage, and it looks like I'm gonna be copping a JR Pass for sure.
Click to expand...

It went super well, we didn't have any issue with the pacing at all. For reference, we stayed 6 days in Tokyo (3 at the beginning of our trip and 3 at the end), 8 in Kyoto (which we used as a hub - went 2 days to Osaka, 1 to Himeji, 1 to Arashiyama and 1 to Nara. Then we spent our last 2 days in Hiroshima (one for Hiroshima and one for Itsukushima). This is ignoring travel days, we timed our traveling well enough to also use those. Zero regrets overall, literally the only thing I wish I'd had was more days but not because we couldn't squeeze in everything we wanted to do, more because there's a limitless amount of stuff to do :p
 
N

N0VAM0D

Member
MikeHattsu said:
You'll need to send them a letter in the mail to apply, get somebody in Japan to do it for you or get a reservation company or concierge to help you :p




If you're leaving from Narita you can use the JR Pass for the NEX on the way back if you activate the JR Pass on the 5th.
Click to expand...

I'll get one of my friends to do it, it'll be easier that way I reckon.

Thanks so much for your help! I'll do that.

Fireblend said:
It went super well, we didn't have any issue with the pacing at all. For reference, we stayed 6 days in Tokyo (3 at the beginning of our trip and 3 at the end), 8 in Kyoto (which we used as a hub - went 2 days to Osaka, 1 to Himeji, 1 to Arashiyama and 1 to Nara. Then we spent our last 2 days in Hiroshima (one for Hiroshima and one for Itsukushima). This is ignoring travel days, we timed our traveling well enough to also use those. Zero regrets overall, literally the only thing I wish I'd had was more days but not because we couldn't squeeze in everything we wanted to do, more because there's a limitless amount of stuff to do :p
Click to expand...

That sounds so wonderful! I'm glad you had a rad time. And I'm totally feeling that overwhelming feeling of having so much to do and wanting more time, and I'm not even there yet, hahaha.

Laevateinn said:
I'll be there during the same period. If anyone else is we might want to set up some kind of GAF thing.
Click to expand...

um YES that would be heaps good. Arcades, nightlife, alcohol, and Japan Travel-GAF sounds like an interesting time, to say the least!
 
N

N0VAM0D

Member
Okay so I'm on the JR Pass website and far outtt that's so expensive. Ah well!

Also, in Tokyo, what would be the best way of getting around? I plan on moving about a lot through the city and was thinking that Suica/Pasmo would be my bet bet?
 
F

Fireblend

Banned
N0VAM0D said:
Okay so I'm on the JR Pass website and far outtt that's so expensive. Ah well!

Also, in Tokyo, what would be the best way of getting around? I plan on moving about a lot through the city and was thinking that Suica/Pasmo would be my bet bet?
Click to expand...
It's very much worth it though, I'm pretty sure I saved upwards of $1000 with our passes. With a JR Pass you can use the Tokyo Yamanote line for free. For the rest Suica/Pasmo is OK.
 
N

N0VAM0D

Member
olympia said:
i'll be in tokyo during the first two weeks of april. i'm down to do this, too. first time visiting the country
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!

Fireblend said:
It's very much worth it though, I'm pretty sure I saved upwards of $1000 with our passes. With a JR Pass you can use the Tokyo Yamanote line for free. For the rest Suica/Pasmo is OK.
Click to expand...

Oh wow, that's insane! Issue for me using the JR Pass on the Yamamote means that I would need to get a 21 day pass instead which would probably be overkill. I'm not sure. Hmm.
 
H

Hyrule Warrior

Member
Hey guys! I wanted to thank you all for your help in what stores to look at for some of the things I was looking for. Sadly it seems some of the rumors about retro game stores in Japan are true these days. Prices don't seem that great, and my idea of getting something like a Famicom or PC engine don't seem worth it.

That being said, I still found browsing there to be a lot of fun...I might actually be going back there tomorrow, because yesterday was more of a scouting operation. However, I am glad that someone told me about the store Jungle, because I found the two Persona 4 figmas I wanted there :)

It's funny how in Akihabara, you can just go into a store and be like...I wonder what they got in here..oh, there's naked anime ladies right there. lol

One thing that I'm kinda bummed I haven't really found yet is a cool souvenir t-shirt of some kind to get. Am I just missing them? Even just something with a cute idol anime girl would be nice to get. Something that says Akihabara, ya know.

Speaking of cute anime girls, I got yet another prize from a UFO machine. 4 tries only, and I got a school idol project figure of Chika Takami. I actually knew who she was because I messed with the game on my phone before, so I thought I'd try, and was happy I got lucky. Can't beat 400 yen for a nice figure.
 
S

SiegfriedFM

Member
N0VAM0D said:
!



Oh wow, that's insane! Issue for me using the JR Pass on the Yamamote means that I would need to get a 21 day pass instead which would probably be overkill. I'm not sure. Hmm.
Click to expand...

I'd rather use Suica entirely until it's time to activate the JR Pass. It's quite inexpensive unless you travel a lot each day. But there's generally enough to do in one area without skipping around by train.
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Fireblend said:
It went super well, we didn't have any issue with the pacing at all. For reference, we stayed 6 days in Tokyo (3 at the beginning of our trip and 3 at the end), 8 in Kyoto (which we used as a hub - went 2 days to Osaka, 1 to Himeji, 1 to Arashiyama and 1 to Nara. Then we spent our last 2 days in Hiroshima (one for Hiroshima and one for Itsukushima). This is ignoring travel days, we timed our traveling well enough to also use those. Zero regrets overall, literally the only thing I wish I'd had was more days but not because we couldn't squeeze in everything we wanted to do, more because there's a limitless amount of stuff to do :p
Click to expand...


We did Hiroshima and itsukushima in two days starting from Chiba - effectively half a day in each when you allow for the trains either way. So I think you could possibly squeeze that into a full day from a closer hub if you think you might be tight for time.
 
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