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Herr Tog posted:Okay I am gonna get teh Jr rail pass as I am staying about 10 days and will be going from tokyo to hiroshima and back. Do goons recommend the green pass or ordinary? How's your Japanese and how often will you be on the bullet trains while you're there? I would highly recommend the Green Class if you can speak conversational Japanese because it is important when receiving the tickets at the reservation counter - Where are you going? Where do you want to sit? Aisle / Window? Do you want to be sitting behind each other or next to each other? What time do you want to go? Which train do you want to get on? Green class is nice on all the bullet trains but if you know which train is the newest, you will get to experience the nicer green class. However, if you're going from Tokyo to Hiroshima, Regular Class would probably be the best. Unless you're going up north to Akita / Taking the new Hokuriku train / traveling south of Fukuoka.
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May 11, 2015 22:34
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Busy Bee posted:How's your Japanese and how often will you be on the bullet trains while you're there? I would highly recommend the Green Class if you can speak conversational Japanese because it is important when receiving the tickets at the reservation counter - Where are you going? Where do you want to sit? Aisle / Window? Do you want to be sitting behind each other or next to each other? What time do you want to go? Which train do you want to get on? You really don't need to be able to speak Japanese at all to reserve a seat -- you can get by just handing them your pass(es) and saying the name of the place you want to go. They'll just skip any questions they can't figure out how to ask, and then they'll write down the possible times and routes and get you to point at one or whatever. (They'll also probably do all this even if you do speak Japanese, because Japan.) The only time I figure I'd have been in trouble if I couldn't speak Japanese was one trip when the guy kept telling me there weren't any seats available on the train I wanted and I could see on his screen that there were. (He hadn't noticed that I had a green pass.)
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May 12, 2015 00:18
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Herr Tog posted:Okay I am gonna get teh Jr rail pass as I am staying about 10 days and will be going from tokyo to hiroshima and back. Do goons recommend the green pass or ordinary? I got the green last year and really liked it. Necessary no, but it was nice. Note, you can use your JR Pass in Hiroshima on the JR Hiroshima site seeing bus (stops right outside the Sheraton Hiroshima, fantastic hotel) and also the JR ferry from Miyajimaguchi station to Miyajima island. You can also use it on the N'EX from NRT to the big Tokyo stations (Tokyo or Shinagawa).
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May 12, 2015 00:24
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Stumbling Block posted:They usually have the schedules for the shows printed on the table/screen at the counter as well so you won't have to point at the board above them for both you and the guy behind the counter's convenience, so you both won't have to play the "guess what's being pointed at" game. Oh good! Should be easy then!
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May 12, 2015 00:49
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caberham posted:Dates? Ordinary should mostly be fine Freaksaus posted:I got the green pass during my trip last year and while the extra luxery was nice it wasn't really needed at all. peanut posted:10 days, you only need a 1 week pass because you won't need a JR pass for schmoozing around Tokyo. Thank you, a one week ordinary pass it is.
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May 12, 2015 05:13
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Trying to think of a tentative itinerary even though I usually travel without much of one. As of now, thinking: 5/21 fligth into Narita/ travel to where I'm staying in Tokyo that afternoon, chill and try to sleep off whatever jet lag I have. 5/22 try and see Sumo, there's a tournament going on and I figure the morning matches won't be too crowded on a Friday 5/23 whatever in the morning/thing with my friend in the evening 5/24 Music festival assuming I can figure out how to get tickets/they aren't sold out. If that falls through, whatever. 5/25-26 go to Hiroshima, feel like it makes sense for Memorial day. Stay the night, return on the 26th and do whatever that evening 5/27 Whatever. Sushi/fish market? 5/28 whatever/packing/gift shopping in the morning, fly out in the evening Does that seem reasonable? Only definite things are thing with friend and wanting to visit Hiroshima, if I miss something else I don't really care/I can just wander around and enjoy that if I end up not being able to go to something. Main questions now I guess are if it's worth getting a JR pass for the Shinkansen to Hiroshima/back along with the trips to/from Narita, and if it'd be feasible to stop halfway and visit Kyoto briefly coming back from Hiroshima on the 26th, or if I should just go straight back to Tokyo. I'm fine with spending a while just sitting on the train and reading, since travelling is the only time I really ever get reading done anymore. Any thoughts/advice?
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May 12, 2015 11:43
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Hiroshima in one leg is doable but it's at least 6 plus hours long and eats a whole day. Value wise it's a good call on the train pass. However I think you should just do tokyo and fly lcc to Hiroshima instead of taking a train. Then again you like long train rides so it's your call
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May 12, 2015 12:38
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Can anybody tell me what time of day the Edo Firemen’s Annual Memorial on May 25 is? We'd like to check it out. Thanks.
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May 12, 2015 13:02
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From 11am http://www.city.taito.lg.jp/index/event/kanko/syoubouzyunsyokusya.html (Japanese)
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May 12, 2015 13:31
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2 days in Hiroshima is good if you can swing it. That gives you 1 day to take in all of the Bomb dome, peace park and museum, then have okonomiyaki at Nagataya for dinner. The 2nd day you can take the ferry to Miyajima island and spend the day there. The following day you can take the train back to Tokyo or wherever. I think it was a 7 hr ride from Tokyo to Hiroshima. I believe I was on the Sakura train which made every stop in between. The fastest train (Nozomi) makes the fewest stops and is faster, but it doesn't work with the JR pass. Also, you can take as many shinkansen trips as you want as long as your pass is valid. I would say take the train. It's part of the Japan experience, and you can relax/read as you travel. Radiohead71 fucked around with this message at 16:59 on May 12, 2015 |
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May 12, 2015 16:52
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Radiohead71 posted:I think it was a 7 hr ride from Tokyo to Hiroshima FiftySeven fucked around with this message at 17:16 on May 12, 2015 |
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May 12, 2015 17:09
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FiftySeven posted:its more like 5 Hours. 3 to Shin Osaka, 2 to Hiroshima. I would recommend spring the travel up by stopping in osaka and kyoto though because 5 Hours basically wastes a day if you spend all of it on a train. I did start at NRT, so that's probably the difference. I started at NRT at 3:30 PM and got to Hiroshima after 10:00 PM.
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May 12, 2015 17:55
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Radiohead71 posted:I did start at NRT, so that's probably the difference. I started at NRT at 3:30 PM and got to Hiroshima after 10:00 PM. Yeah that's easily an hour or two Depending on the train you take out of NRT. That is a long long travel day if you did that straight after a flight, you deserve a medal.
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May 12, 2015 18:19
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FiftySeven posted:Yeah that's easily an hour or two Depending on the train you take out of NRT. That is a long long travel day if you did that straight after a flight, you deserve a medal. I was up for over 24 hours. Got up at LA at 4am (my flight from LAX-NRT was canceled the previous day, after a 6 hr delay). After another 3 hr delay finally took off, LAX-NRT was 11 hrs, then a 7 hr train ride. I couldn't sleep on the plane and I didn't want to sleep on the shinkansen and miss my stop. Was a very long day, but it was worth it. I loved Japan. I didn't want to leave.
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May 12, 2015 18:38
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DiscoJ posted:From 11am Thanks Radiohead71 posted:I couldn't sleep on the plane and I didn't want to sleep on the shinkansen and miss my stop. Last time I was in Japan I almost missed getting off at Hiroshima. Not because I was asleep, but because I was sitting on the toilet and didn't realize we were there. Thank god I was wrapping things up when my group started pounding on the door.
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May 12, 2015 18:42
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Radiohead71 posted:I was up for over 24 hours. Got up at LA at 4am (my flight from LAX-NRT was canceled the previous day, after a 6 hr delay). After another 3 hr delay finally took off, LAX-NRT was 11 hrs, then a 7 hr train ride. I couldn't sleep on the plane and I didn't want to sleep on the shinkansen and miss my stop. Was a very long day, but it was worth it. I loved Japan. I didn't want to leave. Literally everyone I know who had ever visited here wants to stay, I am going home tomorrow and i am dreading it. That said, Japan it's amazing to visit and everything but living here might be a bit much. Western life is so much more laid back in general that i doubt I would enjoy a "regular"life here. However this is my third time in the country so it seems to be doing something right.
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May 13, 2015 05:02
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You can join the army and live a very American life anywhere in the world
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May 13, 2015 05:11
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caberham posted:You can join the army and live a very American life anywhere in the world How American is life in the British army? ☺
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May 13, 2015 14:25
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FiftySeven posted:How American is life in the British army? ☺ You get a gun, that's more American than most British career options
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May 13, 2015 18:54
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caberham posted:You can join the army and live a very American life anywhere in the world Goons in Platoons › RESOURCE- Ask Us About Joining The US Military! > "Should I join the Army to live a comfortable American life in Japan?"
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May 13, 2015 23:33
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So looks like I'll be living in the Akita prefecture come this July. Any goons there, or just general information about this area?
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May 14, 2015 23:01
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Hooray we booked our Nagomi Visit and the family looks really fun 
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May 16, 2015 01:15
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Prepaid SIM (for a docomo smartphone) recs? Would want a few gigs of data for Google Maps, minimal amount of talk time. Like I said before, if they require proof of residence I can always have my GF buy it for me. Kessel posted:IIRC there are basically three ways a residence card will be issued: Womp womp  I could have sworn you could maybe get one on the old system, but maybe that was only for working holiday visas (which Americans aren't eligible for).
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May 16, 2015 01:59
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Like Tequila Sunrise, we'll also be living in Japan come July, except on Yokota Air Base in Fussa city. Is there any chance a kind goon or two would be willing to show me the ropes? Especially when it comes to JR passes. We lived in Misawa in Aomori prefecture four years ago and took a train once to Narita airport. While we did passably, it could have been smoother and missed a train once. I'd love to be able to show my parents around and not look like a complete fool when they inevitably visit.
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May 16, 2015 21:22
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kinmik posted:Like Tequila Sunrise, we'll also be living in Japan come July, except on Yokota Air Base in Fussa city. Is there any chance a kind goon or two would be willing to show me the ropes? Especially when it comes to JR passes. We lived in Misawa in Aomori prefecture four years ago and took a train once to Narita airport. While we did passably, it could have been smoother and missed a train once. I'd love to be able to show my parents around and not look like a complete fool when they inevitably visit. If you're talking about the unlimited one that comes in 1, 2, and 3 week increments, you have to show a tourist visa in your passport to redeem the voucher. (IDK what SOFA status people do for visas but I'm pretty sure it's not that.) Your parents would be eligible for one when they come, but without a tourist visa yourself, you'd have to buy your tickets normally like a resident. You could always leave Japan and re-enter on your regular US passport and receive a 90 day tourist visa, and redeem a JR Pass voucher that way, but I have a feeling both Immigration and the military would look askance at it. If you were doing a trip after your tour had ended and before you PCSed, you might be able to change to a tourist visa at the local Immigration office without leaving and re-entering Japan (can do it on a work visa, but again, not sure how it works with SOFA status), IIRC it costs like 40 bucks. Totally worth it if you're going to do any traveling by rail though.
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May 17, 2015 00:04
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kinmik posted:Like Tequila Sunrise, we'll also be living in Japan come July, except on Yokota Air Base in Fussa city. Is there any chance a kind goon or two would be willing to show me the ropes? Especially when it comes to JR passes. We lived in Misawa in Aomori prefecture four years ago and took a train once to Narita airport. While we did passably, it could have been smoother and missed a train once. I'd love to be able to show my parents around and not look like a complete fool when they inevitably visit. You mean like the Suica etc. charge cards? If you live in Fussa you're probably gonna be using the train all the time while you're there, so don't sweat it too much.
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May 17, 2015 10:50
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I got my JET placement and it looks like I'm going back to Tokyo. I really wanted to get placed in a city so I feel like this is a win even though I'm already familiar with the place. I'll take it.
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May 19, 2015 02:47
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Lol where in Tokyo, it is a huge region
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May 19, 2015 15:49
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Hachijo-jima.
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May 20, 2015 03:00
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Ganguro King posted:Hachijo-jima. Psh, Miyake-jima quote:The residents of the island are required to carry gas masks with them at all times, but need not wear them constantly. Raid alarms go off if there is a dramatic increase in the levels of sulfur in the air.  It's also an actual JET placement, or at least it has been up until relatively recently. Not sure whether Hachijojima is or isn't... or if it was, if the ALT would occasionally chopper over to the elementary school on Aogashima (population: ~170, living on what is basically just a volcano caldera jutting out of the sea).
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May 20, 2015 06:25
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In nishi-tokyo not far from where I used to live, which is uncanny.
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May 20, 2015 07:51
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Busy Bee posted:How's your Japanese and how often will you be on the bullet trains while you're there? I would highly recommend the Green Class if you can speak conversational Japanese because it is important when receiving the tickets at the reservation counter - Where are you going? Where do you want to sit? Aisle / Window? Do you want to be sitting behind each other or next to each other? What time do you want to go? Which train do you want to get on? I got the Green JR pass and used it on my Hikari trip from Nagoya to Hiroshima. It was really nice and I passed out immediately, but I was stuck on the Kodama and 8-car Hikari for all of my other shinkansen trips, so I didn't really get to use it that much. If you just get the normal JR pass and reserve a seat at the counter, you'll be more than fine. Question time: I'm planning on going back to Japan next year near the end of March/beginning of April. I didn't plan my trip this year which was for half of March, and it bit me in the rear end a bit when I was trying to find hotels after once I was in the country. Is it a good idea to start booking hotels now for March/April 2016? I'm going to be mostly hanging out in Kansai (Osaka/Kobe, etc).
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May 21, 2015 00:44
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Phone posted:I got the Green JR pass and used it on my Hikari trip from Nagoya to Hiroshima. It was really nice and I passed out immediately, but I was stuck on the Kodama and 8-car Hikari for all of my other shinkansen trips, so I didn't really get to use it that much. If you just get the normal JR pass and reserve a seat at the counter, you'll be more than fine. Haha, yeah, the Kodama sucks if you're in a hurry. I remember the second time I visited, with a friend (this was before you could check Hyperdia on your smartphone), who insisted we grab the Kodama leaving in 5 minutes rather than waiting another 25 for the Hikari. Cue waiting as we stopped at every pissant station between Hiroshima and Osaka (or something, I forget the exact route). That seems a little excessive, not sure you even can book quite that far out. My sample size is mostly Fukuoka (I lived about 90 minutes away, but if I was going out my options were either hotel, all-nighter, or catching the all-too-early last train home) but you could still get a cheap hotel any night of the week up to ~4 weeks out. Saturday nights would begin to fill up quickly around then, but most weekdays and even Fridays you'd be OK booking the week of, assuming there weren't any holidays or other special events. That said, if your travel plans lend themselves to booking in advance (staying in one place for a while), it can only help. I feel like I post about this too often, but if you're winging it, love hotels are a solid bet. I don't think many take reservations, so you're on a level playing field with everyone else. Just rock up to a group of them around 9pm (or whatever the extra charge drops off the "stay" rate) and grab the cheapest room, probably 4-5,000 yen, which isn't much worse than a business hotel. I think most have a "no single occupancy" rule, but employees don't seem particularly fussed about enforcing it, although my GF and I did get flat-out turned away in the lobby in Hiroshima once, for being foreign. Have heard from both a love hotel employee and a taxi driver you're pretty much guaranteed not to get hassled if you say you're waiting for your GF to join you, then  when she doesn't show up by morning.
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May 21, 2015 01:05
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Lol no you don't need to book hotels a year in advance. Start next January.
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May 21, 2015 01:39
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I tried booking a hotel 4 days out for both Osaka and Hiroshima, and I wound up in Kobe (wasn't bad, the hotel was kinda awful though) and Fukuyama (owned). I was thinking about trying to get a train out to Tokyo from Fukuyama, and it was not happening. The Kodama from Hiroshima wasn't that bad.
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May 21, 2015 03:09
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Phone posted:Fukuyama (owned). gently caress yeah!
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May 21, 2015 03:13
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Lemmi Caution posted:gently caress yeah!  Sixteenth floor of the Richmond.
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May 21, 2015 03:32
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peanut posted:Lol no you don't need to book hotels a year in advance. Start next January. I'm pretty sure most hotels in Japan don't even let you book your rooms more than 3 months in advance.
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May 21, 2015 15:05
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Thanks guys I ordered my Rail pass. Hopefully I get stuck in Fukuyama I managed to find a stay in the Adachi ward (?) of Tokyo. Any tips for the area?
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May 21, 2015 19:33
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Well, I didn't get lost coming from the airport, but I did do some dumb things and am trying to find where I could buy stuff to fix them: 1) Apparently pretty much none of the plugs here have a ground pin. Where could I buy a simple converter from US 3-pin to Japan 2-pin wall sockets for my laptop? 2) I rented a SIM card, but helpfully got a nano card despite my phone using a micro card (the next size up). Are there any shops where I could buy one in person? Amazon.co.jp definitely has them but not entirely sure how to use it, as it doesn't work with my US account. I think the Apple Store might have them despite me having a Nexus 4, but I'm not sure. I'm near Akabanebashi metro in Tokyo. If anyone could point me in the right direction, any help would be much appreciated.
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May 21, 2015 23:25
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