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GregNorc posted:cheap places to stay ... duty-free sake When will you be in Tokyo? March-May has a few heavy-season weeks, I think you could get clearer recommendations with specific dates. Don't worry about WWII and anime, just see some flowers and eat some rice. Find some goons to take you to an onsen/osento. Might as well do some sake tasting at a sake bar and find one you like :3 I always just buy local stuff (Ume Nishiki, Yuki Susume, Shizuku Hime) or the legendary stuff (Tengu Mai). Ume-shuu (plum liquor) can be easier to gift-receivers to drink because you drink it on the rocks or with soda like a regular liquor. I also just always buy something local/Shikoku. A lot of izakayas have more than one kind of sake and ume-shuu on the menu, so order a bunch and test them out  Once you know what you like, I'm sure you'll find something decent at duty-free on the way home.Okinawa also has habu-shuu (booze with a dead snake in it) but it tastes like butt so don't worry if you can't afford it.
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Feb 21, 2013 05:35
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maskenfreiheit fucked around with this message at 03:37 on Nov 29, 2013 |
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Feb 24, 2013 01:43
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anyone know about any saint Patrick's day events? I know there's a parade, any bars doing specials?
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Feb 24, 2013 01:58
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Riptor posted:anyone know about any saint Patrick's day events? I know there's a parade, any bars doing specials? Every Irish/English pub will have some sort of special.
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Feb 24, 2013 02:20
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What are some good contemporary rock/popish Japanese bands that are not super Jpopish and overly techno based?
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Feb 24, 2013 03:19
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Bump of Chicken, Bo0wy, Yazawa Eikichi...
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Feb 24, 2013 03:46
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Grand Fromage posted:If you're white and not doing anything the chances you'll be stopped by the police are close to zero. Not zero, but close. I didn't even know you were supposed to carry it when I was there, the only place I've ever actually kept it with me was China. I got stopped by the police several times. I'm white, and wasn't doing anything. The last time was 3 days before I left and I'd lost my Gaijin Card. It wasn't pleasant.
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Feb 24, 2013 08:52
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All I know about Okinawa is there are a lot of beaches/water-sports, a lot of military folk, and a lot of nightlife. Assuming I'm violently allergic to all of those things, what would I find enjoyable on the island? I've gotta go next month (only 3-4 days) and I'm trying to be positive but I've never heard anything about the place that even remotely appeals to me.
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Feb 25, 2013 10:31
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Suntory BOSS posted:All I know about Okinawa is there are a lot of beaches/water-sports, a lot of military folk, and a lot of nightlife. Assuming I'm violently allergic to all of those things, what would I find enjoyable on the island? How do you feel about historical sites and indigenous cultures? I enjoyed the cultural stuff, and Shuri-jo was cool.
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Feb 25, 2013 10:38
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LyonsLions posted:How do you feel about historical sites and indigenous cultures? I enjoyed the cultural stuff, and Shuri-jo was cool. Yes to all of the above, just throw out some things you enjoyed and I can run with it from there!
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Feb 25, 2013 11:12
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Suntory BOSS posted:Yes to all of the above, just throw out some things you enjoyed and I can run with it from there! I was only there for a few days for a work thing so I didn't get to see much of what's available, but here's what I did see: Shurijo is cool, and the view from the top of the hill is beautiful. I really enjoyed the traditional music and dance I saw both at Shurijo and Okinawa World. Okinawa World is kind of a cheesy tourist trap but it was a lot of fun. And of course there's Churaumi Aquarium, which is great. This site is run by military wives and has some of the most thorough tourist info in English I've seen anywhere.
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Feb 25, 2013 12:23
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I've heard the snorkeling and scuba diving in Okinawa is good, but I think the waters might still be quite chilly for that.
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Feb 25, 2013 13:43
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Himeyuri in the southern part of the island is also very much worth visiting if you have any interest in the Battle of Okinawa. Peace park and the war history museum are also worth checking out, but don't miss out on Himeyuri, I found it to be incredibly powerful.
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Feb 25, 2013 14:50
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Suntory BOSS posted:Yes to all of the above, just throw out some things you enjoyed and I can run with it from there! See if you can catch a boat to the Senkakus.
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Feb 25, 2013 15:53
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I've always wanted to trigger the Third Sino-Japanese War  Thanks for the suggestions all!
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Feb 26, 2013 02:22
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I'm planning to go to Hiroshima in November, are there any recommendations on what to do, where to stay, etc. while there? Also planning to be there for three days. Is that enough or too much? The plan is to catch a flight from Narita, avoiding the train since that takes 5 hours(the fastest shinkansen express out of the question as my friend will be using his JR pass and you can't use that for that train) and the flight only takes little over an hour I think? We're mainly going there as we've never been that far South(West?) before. Before the furthest was Himeji.
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Feb 26, 2013 22:34
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3 days is a good amount of time. The first you can get into town, do the Peace Park and see the museum and A-bomb dome, and do it at a slow pace. It's not the kind of thing you're gonna want to feel rushed doing, and it will ruin your day for a little bit. But in a good way, which is weird. It's a strange and very very, very sad place, but it's really well done and I think it's an important thing to do. Then go eat okonomiyaki and feel a lot better about life The second day you should take the trip out to Miyajima. It's really easy to do and you can see Itsukushima shrine and take the picture of the bigass torii in the water everyone loves and get assaulted by adorable deer and feed them crackers  Third day just wander around town a bit more, go to a Carp game if you can! If you want to go to a great Western style run bar owned by the nicest guy in the world, head here: http://wikimapia.org/7858567/Sam-s-Cafe
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Feb 26, 2013 23:41
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Three days is definitely too much, I lived in Hiroshima for a year and don't recommend you stay more than a day+night there. Do the Peace Park/A-bomb dome in the morning (the latter is literally just ruins in the middle of a park -- takes 15 minutes tops), take the boat to Miyajima for lunch, then come back to the city for okonomiyaki and drinks at night. Done. Besides people drinking a bit more, Carp games are fun but not really different than any other baseball game in Japan. Also the baseball season ends in October. If you have three days, consider Fukuoka as well. Pretty cool town.
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Feb 27, 2013 01:21
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Cool, thanks. I’ll take another look at the itinerary with my friend again. Any ideas on the hotels in the area? We’re not looking into 5-star stuff of course. Just accessibility and reasonable costs.
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Feb 27, 2013 03:14
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j-hoppers Hiroshima is a great hostel with private tatami rooms you can rent for pretty cheap
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Feb 27, 2013 05:05
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Things will be pretty quiet in November, don't overthink it too much. You can start booking stuff in September. Hiroshima airport is off to the East of the town, you'll need to take a 45minute bus to Hiroshima station. Most flights go to Haneda, not Narita. Where are you starting from? 3-days including travel should be just right.
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Feb 27, 2013 06:20
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My pal is planning to arrive in the country in Narita. If the local shuttles are only from Haneda we may have to switch some of the plans a little. Coming in instead from Osaka is another option, just a little closer to Hiroshima I guess.
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Feb 27, 2013 06:54
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zmcnulty posted:Three days is definitely too much, I lived in Hiroshima for a year and don't recommend you stay more than a day+night there. Do the Peace Park/A-bomb dome in the morning (the latter is literally just ruins in the middle of a park -- takes 15 minutes tops), take the boat to Miyajima for lunch, then come back to the city for okonomiyaki and drinks at night. Done. I did the peace park and Miyajima in one day in the fall and I do not recommend trying to do it in one day if you also go to the museum. It was way too rushed. We took the museum and peace park at a normal pace and basically flew by the seat of our pants at Miyajima. Almost no time to look around - we took the tram to the top and basically hurried down and got back on the boat. If the museum is skipped, which I highly advise against, you can probably do it in a day. Edit: In other words, if you want to take it at an easy pace, I'd say two days at most and a third day at Fukuoka or Okayama. Maybe ride the Shimanami Kaido on the last day if you're feeling adventurous. If you're not into museums, do the one-day blitz and take a couple of side trips. Fryhtaning fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Feb 27, 2013 |
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Feb 27, 2013 21:11
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zmcnulty posted:
Not trying to attack you or anything but this is kind of an tremendously huge understatement. I know you lived there for a year so you may have just become accustomed to it but this is the spot of a nuclear detonation and the site where countless people were killed, so for a lot of people it takes wayyyyy longer than 15 minutes to see
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Feb 27, 2013 22:07
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maskenfreiheit fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Nov 29, 2013 |
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Feb 27, 2013 22:28
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You don't have PMs, but I can help you in detail about shuttle buses and stuff if you gmail me at jlaney. So your friend is flying in, you want to go to Hiroshima together as soon as he arrives, he can use the JR pass but you're short on time so you'd prefer air. Right?
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Feb 27, 2013 22:55
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Whatever you do, just don't waste any time with Hiroshima castle unless you've got absolutely nothing better to do or just really like looking at old building foundations. If you're coming down the Sanyo line you'd do better to just stop in Himeji since it's right there.
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Feb 27, 2013 23:22
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Riptor posted:Not trying to attack you or anything but this is kind of an tremendously huge understatement. I know you lived there for a year so you may have just become accustomed to it but this is the spot of a nuclear detonation and the site where countless people were killed, so for a lot of people it takes wayyyyy longer than 15 minutes to see What else is in the park? I guess there are some other memorials and such but I don't remember it being a massive time spend, even the first time I went there. Then again that was 12 years ago so maybe it's different now. Agreed about Hiroshima Castle, don't go. zmcnulty fucked around with this message at 00:58 on Feb 28, 2013 |
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Feb 28, 2013 00:24
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peanut posted:So your friend is flying in, you want to go to Hiroshima together as soon as he arrives, he can use the JR pass but you're short on time so you'd prefer air. Right? Basically that's the idea though we haven't planned anything properly yet. It's still some 8-9 months away and we're putting together a general idea on what and where to go right now. I'm mulling thru the transport details since he would have just got off a 12-15 hr plane trip so I'm trying to see what we can do to minimize that last leg of travelling time to ease his suffering. So air is an option we're looking at, but if he can work out a way to arrive in Osaka I guess the shinkansen is a good option as well. We don't know yet which is why I'm trying to get as may details as possible at the moment. Sheep posted:Whatever you do, just don't waste any time with Hiroshima castle unless you've got absolutely nothing better to do or just really like looking at old building foundations. zmcnulty posted:Agreed about Hiroshima Castle, don't go. Noted, screw Hiroshima castle. I wouldn't mind visiting Himeji again but I think it still resembles a giant plastic box at the moment. I guess the renovations still aren't done yet?
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Feb 28, 2013 00:54
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GregNorc posted:Financial Crypto? beg pardon?
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Feb 28, 2013 01:40
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zmcnulty posted:What else is in the park? I guess there are some other memorials and such but I don't remember it being a massive time spend, even the first time I went there. Then again that was 12 years ago so maybe it's different now. I was there a couple years ago for the first time with my father, and I agree with zmc here. Although maybe 30 minutes is more realistic. There really isn't anything in the A-dome park, other than the ruins of the one building, and like... 3 info signs about it. Definitely worth a walk around, but there really isn't anything to do other than look at the building (from a slight distance, as it's roped off). No real information, nothing to interact with, nothing to explore, just a regular park with a ruined building to look at. We did see a couple of high-schoolers making out there, though. The Peace Park / museum (which is separate from the A-dome park) is where it's at, and is worth a few hours.
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Feb 28, 2013 03:20
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zmcnulty posted:What else is in the park? I guess there are some other memorials and such but I don't remember it being a massive time spend, even the first time I went there. Then again that was 12 years ago so maybe it's different now. my point is the park is more than what physically comprises it, and I would say that the vast, vast majority of people who go there take some time to reflect on what happened there and what that means. Also the museum there is spectacular and deserves at least an hour and a half or so
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Feb 28, 2013 04:27
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I will be in Tokyo for 10 days in April. We're pretty much set for restaurants, bars and sightseeing there but we're also taking a day trip to Kyoto. We have some ideas about what we'd like to do but I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the can't miss sights in Kyoto are (and what places are crappy, overrated tourist traps that should be avoided). Also, are there any absolutely can't miss restaurants there?
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Feb 28, 2013 04:40
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If by "take some time to reflect" you mean roughly 30 seconds, I agree Anyway we've made our points and Stumbling Block can make his own decision so I have nothing else to add. It didn't sound to me like he's going to Hiroshima to get emotional for several hours in a park in November SammyWhereAreYou posted:I will be in Tokyo for 10 days in April. We're pretty much set for restaurants, bars and sightseeing there but we're also taking a day trip to Kyoto. We have some ideas about what we'd like to do but I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the can't miss sights in Kyoto are (and what places are crappy, overrated tourist traps that should be avoided). Also, are there any absolutely can't miss restaurants there? A lot of people suggest Ginkakuji over Kinkakuji, maybe worth looking into. Though after having been to both, neither felt like a tourist trap you'd get in, say, Thailand. Even the tiniest little villages in the countryside have souvenir shops (for Japanese people), so if that's what makes you call something a tourist trap, you're SOL. But things you'd find in tourist traps in other countries (scams, local vs foreigner pricing, pickpockets, people trying to be your friend/tour guide without prompting) are non-existent so you don't need to worry about that anywhere. Worst case scenario you'll get approached by some middle school students trying to practice English. zmcnulty fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Feb 28, 2013 |
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Feb 28, 2013 04:40
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Kinkakuji is just boring. A wooded path to see a gold-plated thing in a lake, then you move on. 90% of the time 60% of your time there is spent waiting for people to get out of the way so you can take your own pictures. It's not even the original Kinkakuji! It's burned down or they tear it down and rebuild it all. Seen one gold house, seen 'em all.
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Feb 28, 2013 04:47
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Thanks to Original_Z for replying to me earlier.  Stumbling Block posted:I wouldn't mind visiting Himeji again but I think it still resembles a giant plastic box at the moment. I guess the renovations still aren't done yet?
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Feb 28, 2013 05:20
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http://www.himejijo-syuri.jp/repair/progress/
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Feb 28, 2013 05:23
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Yes, still a box: http://www.himeji-sakura.com/index.php?himeji_live
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Feb 28, 2013 05:43
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Kyoto is impossible as a "day trip" from Tokyo, unless you want to punish yourself. Plan for 3 days - 2 days for Kyoto, a 1/2 day for Nara, and transportation. Lots of hostels in Kyoto also offer bike rentals. Kyoto is flat and gridded, it's easy to find your way back after wandering around. The most popular temples are concentrated on the East side. Gion has a good wandering atmosphere, and lots of hostels. If I didn't have a kid I'd stay at Sake Bar JAM hostel. Their website is out-of-date but if you call them up directly you might be able to get a room. They fill up really quickly though! ANA and JAL offer 10,000 domestic connections for international flights. So after Canada - Narita or whatever, adding on Tokyo - Hiroshima etc. is just another 10,000 (each way?) It's a steal and everyone should know about it before suffering on overnight buses to Tokyo. Eat a bento in Hiroshima Peace Park duh. There might be some festivals if you plan right. http://www.rurubu.com/event/list.aspx?KenCD=34 http://www.miyajima.or.jp/event/event_shiwatari.html Himeji is in Hyogo. Matsuyama Castle is also great but I wouldn't come to Shikoku just for that.
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Feb 28, 2013 06:43
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zmcnulty posted:Yes, still a box: Well here ya go, looks much better 4 years ago (own hosting) 
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Feb 28, 2013 07:04
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