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[Gacha-pin]

Aburi-mochi in front of Imamiya Shrine gate (今宮神&#31038 is good.
https://taiken.co/single/aburi-mochi-imamiya-shrines-roasted-rice-cake

 

[Laevateinn]

Yo donquoite or whatever sells sex toys, that's crazy shit y'all. Anyway, any great stripclubs or nightclubs in shibuya? Ones that are chill with foreigners and won't mug me or whatevs? Staying here for a week 🎉👌

Donki is basically a giant Spencers so it's not that surprising.

I don't have any experience with Japanese strip clubs but you're in the right place. If you can speak any Japanese, just go into places. Otherwise, there's probably better forums for that kind of info.

About to have a memorial day trip to Kyoto

Any good eating place to hit?

I don't have any specific recommendations but everything I ate in Kyoto was the best thing ever so just go into places and try things.

 

[AHappyPanda]

Looking to try and book the Owl Cafe. Couple questions:

1. Are the owls treated as well as reasonably possible given the situation?
2. Assuming 1 is true, what's the best method for making a reservation?

 

[Laevateinn]

Looking to try and book the Owl Cafe. Couple questions:

1. Are the owls treated as well as reasonably possible given the situation?
2. Assuming 1 is true, what's the best method for making a reservation?

1. It's a little bright in there and there's a lot of people inside. I think most of the owls they have aren't completely nocturnal and they don't let you interact with the owls that are sleeping. That said, it is pretty exploitative.

2. There's several owl cafes. I went to Akiba Fukuro. I made a reservation at the cafe but they seemed pretty annoyed by that. The best way is to fill out the form on their website.

 

[Hexxen-Panda]

Great. Now I've got that song from Your Name stuck in my head bc it plays loud just about everywhere in Tokyo.

Tokyo was amazing and lived up to the hype, despite the weather being depressing for the duration of my stay. On to Kyoto!

 

[daffy]

About how far out do you all plan your trips? I want to go in 2020 for a week or two.

 

[Dandte]

About how far out do you all plan your trips? I want to go in 2020 for a week or two.

Good luck, prepare your wallet if you want to go while the games are up.

Most of the time i plan my trips half a year in advance.

 

[daffy]

Good luck, prepare your wallet if you want to go while the games are up.

Most of the time i plan my trips half a year in advance.

I don't want to go during the summer i mainly want to go for Nintendo Land at Universal Japan. I just want to make sure I have enough time to prepare because I don't know Japanese and I also want to experience as much as possible

 

[MikeHattsu]

Good luck, prepare your wallet if you want to go while the games are up.

Worst season to go and worst time as well with all the expected extra tourism

 

[Dandte]

I don't want to go during the summer i mainly want to go for Nintendo Land at Universal Japan. I just want to make sure I have enough time to prepare because I don't know Japanese and I also want to experience as much as possible

Universal Japan is a lot smaller than universal US and has less action rides. Reachability is great since you only need to hop on the train and take universal stop. I had a great time when i was there. Highly recommend.

Maybe someone else can answer it, but for the Osaka aquarium you can get a combined Public trans and Entrance for the Aquarium pass which allows you to skip the ridiculous long line to enter the Aquarium. Maybe Universal has something comparable, though i only waited around 10 minutes to get in.

Edit: P.S. I love the Summer in Japan 30°+ 75% humidity is wonderful and much better than my grey rainy germany.

 

[daffy]

Universal Japan is a lot smaller than universal US and has less action rides. Reachability is great since you only need to hop on the train and take universal stop. I had a great time when i was there. Highly recommend.

Maybe someone else can answer it, but for the Osaka aquarium you can get a combined Public trans and Entrance for the Aquarium pass which allows you to skip the ridiculous long line to enter the Aquarium. Maybe Universal has something comparable, though i only waited around 10 minutes to get in.

Edit: P.S. I love the Summer in Japan 30°+ 75% humidity is wonderful and much better than my grey rainy germany.

Thanks for the advice. In the process of adding up all the ticket costs so I have a ballpark range for savings. It'll probabaly be my most expensive trip yet. Want to do other parks like Disney Sea and Toyko Disney as well. I'll add the Osaka Aquarium ticket to the list!

 

[danowat]

Anyone recommend a good steak restaurant in Kyoto that won't cost an arm and a leg?

 

[Mendrox]

Great. Now I've got that song from Your Name stuck in my head bc it plays loud just about everywhere in Tokyo.

Tokyo was amazing and lived up to the hype, despite the weather being depressing for the duration of my stay. On to Kyoto!

Eh really? Havent heard it once last week and the week before hmmm I love Zen Zen

 

[MikeHattsu]

Maybe someone else can answer it, but for the Osaka aquarium you can get a combined Public trans and Entrance for the Aquarium pass which allows you to skip the ridiculous long line to enter the Aquarium. Maybe Universal has something comparable, though i only waited around 10 minutes to get in.

Just buy tickets online from http://www.usj.co.jp/ticket/ (use google translate or chrome) and you can just scan the online tickets at the entrance without waiting in any ticket lines. Much better chance to get to buy fast passes as well.

And try to stay away from the weekend, both for the aquarium and USJ

 

[danowat]

Kyoto temples were great, a few were busy, but not anywhere near as busy as Tokyo.

 

[Hexxen-Panda]

Oh lord Kyoto was super crowded. Fushimi Inari and Kyomizudera were lovely though, even with all the tourist crowd. I thought the reparations and scaffoldings would spoil the sights, but it was still pretty awesome despite that.

I am so loving my experience with Japan, even if I couldn't go to all the places that I planned to. I've adjusted from my Tokyo experience to just go to a handful locations per day and spend lotsa time to smell the roses.

 

[Sir Doom]

Oh lord Kyoto was super crowded. Fushimi Inari and Kyomizudera were lovely though, even with all the tourist crowd. I thought the reparations and scaffoldings would spoil the sights, but it was still pretty awesome despite that.

I am so loving my experience with Japan, even if I couldn't go to all the places that I planned to. I've adjusted from my Tokyo experience to just go to a handful locations per day and spend lotsa time to smell the roses.

What time did you hit the places? I was thinking being there really early on my trip

 

[Raw64life]

About how far out do you all plan your trips? I want to go in 2020 for a week or two.

I went to Japan last year and plan on going back in 2020. But I'll be going well before the Olympics. I already know everything I want to do, just not the order I'm going to do them in. I made a Google maps thing for my first trip where I marked all my points of interest and I've been updating it every time I come across something something new that I'd be interested in going to for next time.

 

[danowat]

Oh lord Kyoto was super crowded. Fushimi Inari and Kyomizudera were lovely though, even with all the tourist crowd. I thought the reparations and scaffoldings would spoil the sights, but it was still pretty awesome despite that.

I am so loving my experience with Japan, even if I couldn't go to all the places that I planned to. I've adjusted from my Tokyo experience to just go to a handful locations per day and spend lotsa time to smell the roses.

We went to Inari today, and the crowds thinned out massively a bit further up the mountain.

 

[sfedai0]

Most people dont even make it half way up.

 

[ThreePiMatt]

Most people dont even make it half way up.

I don't remember the top being all that spectacular.

 

[sfedai0]

I don't remember the top being all that spectacular.

It isnt. I was pretty disappointed with Inari. Maybe its better at night. Did have some decent food stall food.

 

[danowat]

Last day in Kyoto today, off to Arashamiya, no doubt it'll be packed with people lol!

Off to Hiroshima in the morning.

 

[MikeHattsu]

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/19/national/tourists-top-10-million-record-pace/

Visitors to Japan pased the 10 million mark last Saturday, three weeks earlier than last year, Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Akihiko Tamura said Friday.

According the latest data, visitors to Japan have exceeded 10 million for five years straight, but this time was the fastest on record.

In April alone, the tally rose 23.9 percent compared with the previous year to a new record of 2,578,900, shattering the previous all-time high set for a single month in July 2016.

The agency said that the trend shows that many tourists took time off for vacations to Japan around Easter Sunday, which fell on April 16 this year, and during the popular cherry blossom season, which peaked later the same month in some places.

By country and region in April, visitors from South Korea topped the list at 554,600, followed by China with 528,800, Taiwan with 413,300 and Hong Kong with 209,400.

 

[danowat]

It feels like 2.5 million people have been following me around!.

That said, it doesn't take much to avoid a lot of the crowds, most people seem quite reluctant to venture past the main focal points of each attraction.

 

[Hexxen-Panda]

I have a big fat mess of 1s, 5s, and 10 yen coins that I almost never use. It's a pain to sift through this mess just to find the 100 yens that I always use, and I haven't found a machine that converts these bills into more useable denominations. What do?

 

[MikeHattsu]

I have a big fat mess of 1s, 5s, and 10 yen coins that I almost never use. It's a pain to sift through this mess just to find the 100 yens that I always use, and I haven't found a machine that converts these bills into more useable denominations. What do?

Go to a 100 yen store and buy something ;P

 

[danowat]

10's are easy, as vending machines take them, as for 1's and 5's, I've been tossing most 1's into the boxes at shrines, and the rest we just use when buying things from a conbini, guy was most amused the other night when I paid for something that was 108 yen in 5's and 1's!

 

[shadow2810]

Flying to Osaka tomorrow!

 

[Laevateinn]

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/19/national/tourists-top-10-million-record-pace/

9,999,998 too many

I have a big fat mess of 1s, 5s, and 10 yen coins that I almost never use. It's a pain to sift through this mess just to find the 100 yens that I always use, and I haven't found a machine that converts these bills into more useable denominations. What do?

Just dump it all on the counter at Bic Camera and they will figure it out for you.

 

[Big Chungus]

Planning a trip to Japan with a bunch of cousins. staying 14 days.

Should we stay in a hotel or at a AirBNB?

 

[kubus]

I have a big fat mess of 1s, 5s, and 10 yen coins that I almost never use. It's a pain to sift through this mess just to find the 100 yens that I always use, and I haven't found a machine that converts these bills into more useable denominations. What do?

I always have a shortage of them, while a friend here has started making stacks of 10 of each coin keeping them in her room because she has too many of them. It's just a matter of paying smart.

When you have to pay 266 yen, don't just use a 1000 yen bill, throw in a 10 yen coin and six 1 yen coins too. You'll get 750 yen back in 500+2x100+1x50, all convenient coins and you'll have rid yourself of some small change at the same time, instead of paying with just the 1000 bill and getting back even more 10 yen and 1 yen coins.

It takes a while to get used to maybe, but you'll see your wallet slimming down really fast if you consistently apply this tactic.

 

[daegan]

Planning a trip to Japan with a bunch of cousins. staying 14 days.

Should we stay in a hotel or at a AirBNB?

On a trip w/ 2 others rn and we went all AirBNB for this trip. I like being in neighborhoods but I am also really conscious that my presence may weird someone out bc there isn't exactly a hotel there. But the space/money ratio is killer especially if you have more than 2 people traveling. I liked the hotels my wife and I stayed in last year too; if we were just us two again in the future I'd probably do hotels again. But in a larger group I'd just go straight to AirBNB.

 

[KillGore]

So what's the deal with the DragonBall Heroes arcade card game? Do they not sell boosters or decks for this game? Only individual cards?

 

[Subpar Scrub]

.

 

[Hexxen-Panda]

Thanks for the tips, you guys.

I'm not old enough to drink by Japanese standards, so I try to pass nights at the arcades. I think I lost my Nesica card so I also might have lost all my progress at the Love Live arcade game Didn't even get to print the character cards that I got.
The taiko drum game is hype as hell, but it feels embarassing playing next to an amazing player.

 

[Subpar Scrub]

.

 

[Subpar Scrub]

There was something going on today in shibuya, lots of drums and groups in differently coloured traditional clothing standing around. Was on the street that declines into the shibuya scramble. Anybody know what it was? Pretty cool regardless.

 

[MikeHattsu]

There was something going on today in shibuya, lots of drums and groups in differently coloured traditional clothing standing around. Was on the street that declines into the shibuya scramble. Anybody know what it was? Pretty cool regardless.

https://tokyocheapo.com/events/shibuya-kagoshima-ohara-matsuri/

 

[dani_dc]

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/19/national/tourists-top-10-million-record-pace/

How many of those tourists were actually just you?

I have a big fat mess of 1s, 5s, and 10 yen coins that I almost never use. It's a pain to sift through this mess just to find the 100 yens that I always use, and I haven't found a machine that converts these bills into more useable denominations. What do?

I always have a shortage of them, while a friend here has started making stacks of 10 of each coin keeping them in her room because she has too many of them. It's just a matter of paying smart.

When you have to pay 266 yen, don't just use a 1000 yen bill, throw in a 10 yen coin and six 1 yen coins too. You'll get 750 yen back in 500+2x100+1x50, all convenient coins and you'll have rid yourself of some small change at the same time, instead of paying with just the 1000 bill and getting back even more 10 yen and 1 yen coins.

It takes a while to get used to maybe, but you'll see your wallet slimming down really fast if you consistently apply this tactic.

Reminds me of a friend of mine, when our internship was ending he had a few thousand yens in 1/5/10 yen coins.

I found out when he went to pay our restaurant bill with nothing but those coins, the staff ended up triple checking the amount with several different staff members.

I'd recommend going to a grocery store (such as Maruetsu), now a days they tend to have automatic paying machines, so you just throw all the coins in there and let the machine do the math for you. So just take the chance to buy some Japanese sweets and drinks!

 

[MikeHattsu]

How many of those tourists were actually just you?

Hey! >_>

I've only been in Japan for 2 weeks this year so far!

 

[danowat]

Stumbled across a great little Mall in Hiroshima today, lots of cool little shops and a girl at a stall doing hand drawn manga, really cool.
In fact, I would almost say that little area was cooler than somewhere like Akihabara, loads of little hobby stores and a whole floor dedicated to figures, and a really odd 'doll' store.

 

[Subpar Scrub]

https://tokyocheapo.com/events/shibuya-kagoshima-ohara-matsuri/

Yeah this was it, it was pretty cool!

 

[Mendrox]

Stumbled across a great little Mall in Hiroshima today, lots of cool little shops and a girl at a stall doing hand drawn manga, really cool.
In fact, I would almost say that little area was cooler than somewhere like Akihabara, loads of little hobby stores and a whole floor dedicated to figures, and a really odd 'doll' store.

Hiroshima is just beautiful to look at. I really really loved it there.

 

[danowat]

Yeah, we were saying today it's probably our favourite place we've been during our trip.

 

[Deleted member 245925]

I need some advice on the general structure of my visit to Japan in August. I've made a rough plan for now:

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/0XodBQu.png[/IMG]

I'd like to make do with a 7 day JR Pass, so I have ~6.5 days for day trips (I need to travel from Osaka to Tokyo with my luggage on one of these days). All the trips and accomodations (besides Kobe in the first week) on the image above are not fixed yet, I can move them around to whatever would be best, same for the JR Pass. I'll arrive at KIX early on July 29th and go back from NRT around noon on August 19th.

So some questions:
- Two day trips to Kyoto should be enough to visit most of the interesting places?
- A day trip to Himeji is worth it for the castle, right?
- I still need one or two more day trips (12th, 13th) for the JR Pass, what would be interesting cities/places to visit? Nagoya, Nikko, Mt. Fuji, anything I haven't thought about yet? I'm very glad for recommendations. Nagoya or Fuji would maybe be convenient stop overs with the move from Osaka to Tokyo (keep the luggage at the train station)? I don't really want to climb Mt. Fuji when it's so hot, so is a trip there even worth it? I could also move to Tokyo earlier (though Friday 11th is a national holiday with one of the heaviest travel loads in the year, from what I know) and do day trips using the JR Pass based from Tokyo (e.g. Nikko). In short, what would be interesting day trips from either Osaka or Tokyo using the JR Pass?
- Is there anything I need to book/make reservations well in advance? Ghibli museum online sale is on July 10th for me. JR Pass voucher can be bought 3 months in advance, so I will do that soon. Pocket wifi/SIM can be bought 1-2 weeks in advance from what I've seen, with delivery to KIX airport. Anything else I didn't think about?
- 5GB/21 day SIM should be ok for Google Maps etc.? It's way cheaper than pocket wifis and their battery life sucks it seems.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mendrox]

I need some advice on the general structure of my visit to Japan in August. I've made a rough plan for now:

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/0XodBQu.png[/IMG]

I'd like to make do with a 7 day JR Pass, so I have ~6.5 days for day trips (I need to travel from Osaka to Tokyo with my luggage on one of these days). All the trips and accomodations (besides Kobe in the first week) on the image above are not fixed yet, I can move them around to whatever would be best, same for the JR Pass. I'll arrive at KIX early on July 29th and go back from NRT around noon on August 19th.

So some questions:
- Two day trips to Kyoto should be enough to visit most of the interesting places?
- A day trip to Himeji is worth it for the castle, right?
- I still need one or two more day trips (12th, 13th) for the JR Pass, what would be interesting cities/places to visit? Nagoya, Nikko, Mt. Fuji, anything I haven't thought about yet? I'm very glad for recommendations. Nagoya or Fuji would maybe be convenient stop overs with the move from Osaka to Tokyo (keep the luggage at the train station)? I don't really want to climb Mt. Fuji when it's so hot, so is a trip there even worth it? I could also move to Tokyo earlier (though Friday 11th is a national holiday with one of the heaviest travel loads in the year, from what I know) and do day trips using the JR Pass based from Tokyo (e.g. Nikko). In short, what would be interesting day trips from either Osaka or Tokyo using the JR Pass?
- Is there anything I need to book/make reservations well in advance? Ghibli museum online sale is on July 10th for me. JR Pass voucher can be bought 3 months in advance, so I will do that soon. Pocket wifi/SIM can be bought 1-2 weeks in advance from what I've seen, with delivery to KIX airport. Anything else I didn't think about?
- 5GB/21 day SIM should be ok for Google Maps etc.? It's way cheaper than pocket wifis and their battery life sucks it seems.

Thanks in advance.

I would recommend not doing too much in a short time. Kyoto you wont see half of the things in two days lol Would recommend more Kyoto rather than Osaka (which was a little bit boring in comparison to Tokyo Kyoto)
Buy a SIM card at Bigcamera, PocketWifi is imo not worth it, Google Maps does not take much data. I had 2GB for 16 days, always surfed reddit and co, used WiFi everywhere with the Free Japan WiFi App and still had 400mb left at the end.

Reservations for Gibhli or Parks ala Disney I guess? JR Pass reservations for trains can only be made in Japan. You can plan your trains with Hyperdia which is the best app for that and 100% accurate with the times. I never did a reservation in advance and it took only 5 minutes at most when I made one with my pass.

Also do Hiroshima for a day which was one of the best things on my trip a few days ago. Nara Deer Park is also cool for a day.

Edit: Sorry just looked at your chart and see Nara and Hiroshima but why so much in Kobe?

 

[Deleted member 245925]

Reservations for Gibhli or Parks ala Disney I guess? JR Pass reservations for trains can only be made in Japan. You can plan your trains with Hyperdia which is the best app for that and 100% accurate with the times. I never did a reservation in advance and it took only 5 minutes at most when I made one with my pass.

Also do Hiroshima for a day which was one of the best things on my trip a few days ago. Nara Deer Park is also cool for a day.

Edit: Sorry just looked at your chart and see Nara and Hiroshima but why so much in Kobe?

I meant just in general tickets etc. I need to buy/reserve before the trip even starts, like for the Ghibli museum. I know I have to do the seat reservations for the JR trains in Japan.

The first week in Kobe is due to a scientific conference I will attend from Monday to Friday. I'll already arrive on Saturday morning because the flights were cheaper, so I have the weekend to spend there. Since I won't have the JR pass at that time, I thought Kobe and surroundings should offer enough for the weekend. Also, my colleague will be with me in Kobe for the first week until we go our separate ways on Friday 4th after the conference.

You said two days for Kyoto won't be enough? I guess I could easily add a third day trip there. Osaka was recommended to me in this thread, so I thought spending a weekend sightseeing there would be fine. Thanks for the info.

The general plan is to be based for a week each in Kobe, Osaka and Tokyo to minimize travel with luggage. Then it's day trips mostly in the week where I stay in Osaka, as suggested by someone in this thread.

 

[Laevateinn]

I meant just in general tickets etc. I need to buy/reserve before the trip even starts, like for the Ghibli museum. I know I have to do the seat reservations for the JR trains in Japan.

The first week in Kobe is due to a scientific conference I will attend from Monday to Friday. I'll already arrive on Saturday morning because the flights were cheaper, so I have the weekend to spend there. Since I won't have the JR pass at that time, I thought Kobe and surroundings should offer enough for the weekend. Also, my colleague will be with me in Kobe for the first week until we go our separate ways on Friday 4th after the conference.

You said two days for Kyoto won't be enough? I guess I could easily add a third day trip there. Thanks for the info.

Kyoto's public transportation is bus-heavy so it's a lot harder to get between places. Spending only two or three days there will only give you a sample of what the city has to offer. If that's all you plan on spending, make sure you have a really good idea of what you want to see in advance.

Personally, I liked Osaka a lot better though.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Using your JR Pass for travel from Osaka->Kyoto is a bit of a waste since it only costs like 560 JPY one way and you'll most likely use the buses to get around in Kyoto. You can take JR trains up to Arashiyama or down to Fushimi Inari Shrine though.

If you're planning to go to Miyajima at the same time as Hiroshima, you could possibly skip Nara since there's deer on Miyajima as well.

Himeji is great, but it's more llike half a day unless you really spend a lot of time at the castle or just walking around town looking at stuff.

I'd usually recommend Hakone over Nikko since you could get a nice view of Mt. Fuji from there, and you could stay the night on the journey from Osaka to Tokyo at a nice hotel or ryokan with an onsen.

Another day trip you could do from Tokyo is to Nagano and Yamanouchi to see the hot spring monkeys. And you could go climb Mt. Takao as well in Tokyo, much much easier than doing Mt. Fuji.