I went to they one in Kyoto station, food was fantastic.
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Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once
- Thread starter hwalker84
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I went to they one in Kyoto station, food was fantastic.
Zoe
Member
We ate at Katsukura in Yokohama. Apparently the owner is an old colleague/friend of one of the restaurateurs in Austin
That's pretty standard for tonkatsu restaurants.
That's pretty standard for tonkatsu restaurants.
Cherubimon142
Member
My favorite place in Kyoto is the Kiyo-Mizu Temple. It's up in the hills, so it commands amazing views of the Kyoto landscape. You can find it heavily referenced in manga (Ken Akamatsu's Love Hina vol. 3 and Negima Kyoto arc, and a few others come to mind), as "to jump from the stage of Kiyo-Mizu" is a common saying which means, "to do something with all your commitment." (You can survive the drop if you place yourself just right and throw yourself entirely into the literal jump). In winter, the Kanji character of the yer is housed there, and one can drink from the three streams that grant luck in health, wealth, and love. Also the way up passes through a winding row of stalls/stores, which are illuminated by lanterns, again making it very picturesque.
I know I sound like a tourism pamphlet, but this place really deserves a visit if you haven't been there already. I mention this place when chatting with Japanese, and they frequently agree with me and view me as well-traveled to mention Kiyo-Mizu.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
How bad is the rain during early September around Tokyo and Kyoto?
I was just there for the month of September and we had maybe two days of heavy rain and then another two or three days of drizzling rain. Every other other day was bright and sunny.
Sounds really nice, thanks. Will do that. I wonder if there will be some fall colors when I go if the view is good
keep in mind that parts of kiyomizu-dera are under renovations.
Valkerionseven
Member
Usually the month before is a bit wetter in terms of rainfall, it should not be rain for weeks straight. For both areas that is. It will still be fairly warm though.
Fall colors are starting to pop up in various places, generally Kyoto is mid November/late November supposedly for peak color change. Might still see some though.
Oh bummer, well looking it up it doesn't seem too bad.
MikeHattsu
Member
Here we go again
Here we go again
We need to find a way to meet up ;D
Cherubimon142
Member
Here we go again
I look forward to hearing from you in at least 14 hours, as that will be the average time for your flight plus Narita navigation
Laevateinn
Member
Do you know based on analyzing Mikes posts or is that what google tells you?
PdotMichael
Banned
It's all over the Japanese news that Mike comes back home.
Laevateinn
Member
Hide your waifu
Cherubimon142
Member
That's what personal experience tells me.
MikeHattsu
Member
Already through and picked up WiFi device. Now on the bus. ;p
15°, small rain and gray weather, you landed here a few days too late
LonelyGreyWolf
Banned
I might go to the VR Zone in Shinjuku next weekend. Those of you who been there; how are the queues? Am I making a mistake by doing this on a Sunday? I really hate queues, lol.
ThreePiMatt
Member
I went on a Thursday as soon as it opened and naturally it was fine then. Pretty much everyone immediately went to Mario Kart. Shame it seems the Ghost in the Shell attraction isn't open yet. But if you enjoy VR, I'd recommend also the VR thing in Club Sega in Akihabara, which I thought was a lot cooler than any of the Shinjuku stuff since it was all untethered and you were physically walking around a room.
LonelyGreyWolf
Banned
Ah yeah, I've heard about that one. The game in Akihabara is for one player at a time, right? Heard a full game at Club SEGA lasts an entire hour, is that about right?
ThreePiMatt
Member
Definitely not an hour, like 15 minutes at most, but in general I enjoyed it a lot more than the Shinjuku stuff. Its a solo game, but they have like two "rooms" running the game and I think each room can handle two people playing at the same time. The game path kind of keeps you from running into any other players, though I would occasionally see a floating hand or getting a "you're out of the game area" alert that I think was being caused by the system detecting another player.
There's another untethered VR thing that I think is multiplayer at Joypolis in Odaiba, but I didn't get a change to try that out.
http://tokyo-joypolis.com/attraction/1st/zerolatency/index.html
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
I have some friends going next Friday for 2 weeks. They're vegetarian. Any tips/tricks/info I can pass along?
MikeHattsu
Member
Better make your own food
Laevateinn
Member
I was a vegetarian for years but gave up when I went to Japan.
It will be hard.
Even some vegetarian dish in restaurants uses somme meat or fish in their sauces sometimes, it's not impossible to find but it's still the exception rather than the norm
I was flexitarian before coming here but I almost completely gave up, for now vegan lifestyle didn't pick up there and will probably not (at least on the same level than some western countries) before a long time.
Vegetables are a bit expensive as well, minus a few (ninjin, pumpkin, cabbage, potato...)
Cherubimon142
Member
When I went abroad for four months on a study abroad program back in college, two of my classmates were vegetarian. One got lucky and managed to be placed with one of the few vegetarians hosting in the city, while the other had to bend her habits to fit in. I'd imagine if someone mentioned they were vegan looking for a vegan family, they'd be laughed out of Japan.
It's worth to try 精進料理 (shojin ryori). It's getting cold lately, 汲み上げ湯葉/豆乳鍋 (kumiage yuba) is great.
https://youtu.be/g5UI5bSZ5S8
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Thanks for the responses everyone - I'll pass on a few key points (mostly that they're going to have a tough time). The girl is super stubborn and thinks that beef/chicken broth will destroy her...Her husband is much more lenient on it, so he should have a good time.
Booked honeymoon in Japan, second trip Going 3rd Aug - 27th Aug. Same time I went last time - I was ok with the heat
Thinking of booking out an airbnb for the month again to use like a base but somewhere more central than last time. Exciting tho~ We wanna go north this time, we did Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima and need to figure out what the rest of our plans will be. Got a lot of Kyoto we missed since we were only there a day or two last.
Going 3rd Aug - 27th Aug. Same time I went last time - I was ok with the heat Thinking of booking out an airbnb for the month again to use like a base but somewhere more central than last time. Exciting tho~ We wanna go north this time, we did Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima and need to figure out what the rest of our plans will be. Got a lot of Kyoto we missed since we were only there a day or two last.
Cherubimon142
Member
If you do go to Hiroshima, make sure that you try the Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. It is a full experience in and of itself.
Also make a detour to Itsukushima shrine on Miyajima island. It'll be worth the photos for your honeymoon.
If some of you are around Tokyo 2nd November, you can join this meetup: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=252355637
Ah shame, I will be leaving a couple days prior. Hope to join one of these meet ups one day, usually fly there twice a year.
Ah, well, things are the way they are.
I land shortly before and I'm only there for just over a week, so it was the only day I could fit in.
Yeah if you are in Hiroshima, both the okonomiyaki and Itsukushima Shrine are musts.
Has anyone spent a decent amount of time travelling around Shikoku? It's the only area in Japan I've never been to, but whenever I think about it, I feel like I don't have enough time to do what I want to do.
I'd like to check out Marugame, Kochi, and Uwajima castles, among a few others that aren't as "authentic". It feels like running around to see all these would take a good chunk of time, but curious to hear others adventures in Shikoku.
Has anyone spent a decent amount of time travelling around Shikoku? It's the only area in Japan I've never been to, but whenever I think about it, I feel like I don't have enough time to do what I want to do.
I'd like to check out Marugame, Kochi, and Uwajima castles, among a few others that aren't as "authentic". It feels like running around to see all these would take a good chunk of time, but curious to hear others adventures in Shikoku.
Also make a detour to Itsukushima shrine on Miyajima island. It'll be worth the photos for your honeymoon.
I missed out on this last time we went to Japan since we didn't know it is a thing. Thinking of staying on the island at a ryokan for my birthday since we're there over that time too. Just trying to figure out if I wanna do Koyasan too hah.
Had Okonomiyaki last time I was there too in both Hiroshima and Osaka. Definitely worth it, yes.
Best suggestions for what to visit in Hokkaido?
No worries, have fun!
Matsuyama itself is worth hitting the island, if you are a fan of Spirited Away I believe Dogo Onsen is used as an inspiration for the hotbath in the movie. I hope to stay a month just exploring the trails and eating as much Udon as possible there one day to be honest.
Cherubimon142
Member
When I was last in Tokyo, I visited the Enoshima caves, and did a full walking tour of the island. It is certainly an invigorating hike, with many amazing views. The best part about the island is that you can finish your day off at the island spa and enjoy an open-air onsen while staring out at the sunset over the bay. I was able to catch a silhouette of Mt. Fuji, elegantly illuminated by a salmon pink sky. Great to do alone or with a significant other.
Visit a super expensive crab restaurant and have a full-course crab dinner.
I would love to do so but my wife-to-be is not a crab fan haha.
The crabs you can eat in Hokkaido is a life changer. Now you have a reason to divorce her. joking.
I missed your first post. Summer is not a good season for crabs.
RoaringMdog
Member
So i want to pick up some recent game releases while im in japan(tokyo), what are some of the shops that are good to go to for that? I want to look for the new Taiko No Tatsujin game that comes with the drum. I have ton of stuff written down for retro games but nothing for new stuff.
I don't know if they are the best choice, but I enjoyed checking out the big electronic stores (Yodobashi, Sofmap, Bic Camera etc.). They always had a big selection of games and game related stuff - I saw a lot of different rhythm game controllers and managed to pick up a used arcade stick for a pretty good price.
Laevateinn
Member
If you're looking for new releases, Bic Camera or Yodobashi will probably be where you want to go. If you want a used copy, there's a million shops in Akihabara that you can probably find it.