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Woah is that a thing? Will it get you ¥¥¥ during Olympicu?
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Dec 9, 2016 08:27
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It's not just a thing, it's actually legally required if you want to get paid to take gaijins around Japan in some kind of tour guide capacity. But I think the law has never been enforced, ever. I didn't take the test in preparation for the Olympics though I imagine having it wouldn't hurt my chances. For the actual Olympics. I understand there will be two classes of volunteers (i.e. you don't get paid): Olympics volunteers and Tokyo Metropolitan volunteers. The Olympics volunteer recruitment starts in Summer 2018. The Tokyo Metropolitan volunteer thing is already underway, there are already programs where you can register to do this. I think they only take new registrations once a year. And it's not specific to the Olympics, since you'll probably be placed at the airport or whatever. They plan to take 80,000 Olympic volunteers. However there will presumably be a shitload of people willing to help out since Japan. I'm trying to not walk in empty-handed though -- I've already applied to be a 2017 Tokyo Marathon volunteer for example. So I'm hoping that by the time the application period rolls around, and assuming it isn't just a straight-up lottery, some combination of native English, good Japanese, living in Tokyo for a decade, and volunteer experience will get me in the door. My company is also like a Gold partner or whatever so that may help too. Internally we get regular updates about how to sign up and deadlines and poo poo too.
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Dec 9, 2016 08:47
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I hope you will become a suteki na gaijin gaido-san ～
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Dec 9, 2016 09:05
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How exactly do new year's lucky bags / fukubukuro work? I wanna pick up some random bags of clothes from 109 MEN'S for me and a friend. Do I show up a few days in advance to get a ticket and pay for it, or do I show up on the day and hope I can get in?
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Dec 11, 2016 16:34
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Hey peanut, is November a good time to visit shikoku? The weather looks like it's pretty good around then and I'm betting there's good colors. Basically I'm trying to decide between doing shikoku/kyushu or niigata/kanazawa for next November, and the the latter is kind of losing due to poo poo weather around that time. Shikoku and northern Chuubu are the only two areas of Japan I haven't really been to, and I figure it might be time for Shikoku. I wish I could do the Shimanami Kaido but I'd probably be going with my mother who probably cant ride 80km on a bike.
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Dec 13, 2016 20:21
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Mid November is the perfect time for momiji :3 Weather is just bearable with a hoodie. You can rent/return a bike on almost every island, and just going across the first long bridge is p common too.
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Dec 13, 2016 23:36
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Mid November is the perfect time for momimomi.
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Dec 14, 2016 00:50
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nominomi
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Dec 14, 2016 07:32
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Going to be in Tokyo for a couple days next spring and want to go to a baseball game. Any recommendations about which team is more fun to see at home: Chiba or Seibu? I was hoping Yakult would be at home when I'm there (Go Go Swallows!) but they're going to be in Osaka 
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Dec 15, 2016 04:26
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I'm back from Tokyo and was so sad when the 7-11 clerks are no longer polite But I then I get to eat a lot more vegetables!
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Dec 15, 2016 04:57
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Just finished 5 nights in Nozawa Onsen and i don't want to go home. The town is cozy as hell and onsens are fabulous. It only took one night before i shook the feeling of being cooked like an egg. We also had a great snowfall on the first day, and the sun on the second day. The powder was awesome. Dont think ive ever enjoyed snowboarding so much, as my only reference is grinding over the concrete 'snow' in Australia. I do not want to go back to the toaster.
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Dec 15, 2016 06:25
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Eastdrom posted:Just finished 5 nights in Nozawa Onsen and i don't want to go home. The town is cozy as hell and onsens are fabulous. It only took one night before i shook the feeling of being cooked like an egg. Sounds awesome, got some pictures? And why did you choose Nozawa over Hokkaido? I only know lots of Australians love Hokkaido and the tourist infrastructure is pretty streamlined for Australians. Oh and I know nothing about nozawa and would love to learn more aboutn your trip
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Dec 15, 2016 06:26
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caberham posted:I'm back from Tokyo and was so sad when the 7-11 clerks are no longer polite I'm super envious of you an the fact that you have 3 hour flights to Japan and have directs to places other than Tokyo, but then I forget that you have to deal with working in China/Hong Kong and that's kinda poo. Eastdrom posted:Just finished 5 nights in Nozawa Onsen and i don't want to go home. The town is cozy as hell and onsens are fabulous. It only took one night before i shook the feeling of being cooked like an egg. Yeah I keep telling people to avoid Kyoto during peak season and to perhaps go to an Onsen for a couple of days and/or go somewhere else, but nobody believes me  . And then they go to Kyoto and say that it was beautiful but too crowded.
ntan1 fucked around with this message at 10:35 on Dec 15, 2016 |
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Dec 15, 2016 10:31
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What makes Japan fun is the small nice things you encounter along the way. And what makes Japan not so fun is the small things you encounter along the way.ntan1 posted:Yeah I keep telling people to avoid Kyoto during peak season and to perhaps go to an Onsen for a couple of days and/or go somewhere else, but nobody believes me And they go to the worst crowded parts of Kyoto as well. The fun thing about Kyoto is going to the smaller lesser known places where you feel way more intimate with your surroundings. During Hanami I was stopping over in some small residential temple in Hakone and it was super beautiful. The streets were just lined with cherry blossoms and you have the whole neighborhood for yourself.
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Dec 15, 2016 10:50
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loving tourists, always wanting to see the famous things they're interested in instead of finding joy in scrutinising the unique pattern of roof tiles in this little side street in bumfuck inaka that no other gaijin has ever seen
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Dec 15, 2016 11:15
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Eastdrom posted:Just finished 5 nights in Nozawa Onsen and i don't want to go home. What was the name of the place you stayed?
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Dec 15, 2016 11:16
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Soricidus posted:loving tourists, always wanting to see the famous things they're interested in instead of finding joy in scrutinising the unique pattern of roof tiles in this little side street in bumfuck inaka that no other gaijin has ever seen Yeah, tourists are dumb as hell.
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Dec 15, 2016 11:23
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Soricidus posted:loving tourists, always wanting to see the famous things they're interested in instead of finding joy in scrutinising the unique pattern of roof tiles in this little side street in bumfuck inaka that no other gaijin has ever seen Do you find this fun 
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Dec 15, 2016 11:34
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That's actually one nice about Japan cherry blossom season. Even boring mundane places can look very beautiful. The country's infrastructure and population is ageing but everything has aged pretty well compared to the rest of East Asia. I have traveled across the country and different cities numerous times but Hanami is just loving amazing. Honestly, even if you are stuck with high season traveling, just go to the sights earlier in the morning. Bring your own snacks and travel light. And when things are getting too crowded just do some chill out activity in the afternoon. There's a lot less in value in 4 overcrowded trips in a day compared to 2 trips and more fun in the afternoon.
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Dec 15, 2016 11:54
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Soricidus posted:loving tourists, always wanting to see the famous things they're interested in instead of finding joy in scrutinising the unique pattern of roof tiles in this little side street in bumfuck inaka that no other gaijin has ever seen This.
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Dec 15, 2016 12:23
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Resident elitism is rife in Asia and it's a sure sign that someone is a dipshit without a personality. Worst case I ever came across was a coworker of mine complaining about people gawking at her when her and her motley crew of homely gaijin wandered around harajuku in lolita clothing.
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Dec 15, 2016 12:26
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If you want to know more about small town Japan, Yakuza 6 is set in Onomichi and the downtown area is crazy authentic Seto Inland Sea working class town. All it needs is more olds and yuru-chara in a stupid costume.
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Dec 15, 2016 13:11
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Aren't the Yakuza games basically Google Street View: The Game? I'm pumped as hell for bike riding. 
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Dec 15, 2016 13:51
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Soricidus posted:loving tourists, always wanting to see the famous things they're interested in instead of finding joy in scrutinising the unique pattern of roof tiles in this little side street in bumfuck inaka that no other gaijin has ever seen as someone who does this, it's actually only interesting for like the first seven times
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Dec 15, 2016 14:52
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It looks like I'm going to be back less than 6 weeks after my late March visit next year. Anything in particular I should keep in mind for a late May visit? I'm fairly certain that my girlfriend is going to tag along this time, as well.
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Dec 15, 2016 18:28
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Phone posted:It looks like I'm going to be back less than 6 weeks after my late March visit next year. Avoid Golden Week. Northwest coast of Japan may not be the best, because there's a lot of rain there. May still has some hanami up in the mountains, like nikko/aizu and maybe nagano.
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Dec 15, 2016 20:45
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I can't find info about sumo other than the tournaments. Do they just have public practice or something that you can go to or is it only the tournament times?
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Dec 16, 2016 02:57
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There are some off-season expo matches but for practice you'll have to call/visit a sumo stable directly.
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Dec 16, 2016 08:26
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Just got back to Tokyo from Kanazawa. Also, I made my fixer take me to Joypolis. How ashamed should I be?
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Dec 16, 2016 11:06
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T Zero posted:Just got back to Tokyo from Kanazawa. Also, I made my fixer take me to Joypolis. How ashamed should I be? You should be ashamed if you didn't try out Zero Latency VR.
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Dec 16, 2016 11:38
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Can anyone vouch for whether the Warehouse amusement center in Kawasaki is any good - and worth visiting if I have a free evening staying in Tokyo and don't really mind the transport? If it's good, anything else in Kawasaki worth checking out? edit: Also, is that big spider still in Roppongi? Pretty sure it's not, but just so I know if it's worth keeping an eye out. Question Mark Mound fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Dec 16, 2016 |
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Dec 16, 2016 15:05
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caberham posted:Sounds awesome, got some pictures? And why did you choose Nozawa over Hokkaido? I only know lots of Australians love Hokkaido and the tourist infrastructure is pretty streamlined for Australians. I suppose we took nozawa because they have an assload of hot springs + its easy to get to with the hokiriku arch pass we bought, also we wanted to avoid the popular spots. The town is pretty small and cosy, also a bit labrynthian with all the streets that have hidden places to eat. But aside from a few places theres nowhere really selling 'street food' which is what we spent a lot of time freezing our asses off in the streets looking for. Its not exactly a shopping mecca for tourists. Since it snowed pretty heavily and most of the streets were heated, we also had wet rear end shoes all the time. We only went to two onsens (the first one was super close to the hotel, and easier/quicker to get to in the cold). Onsens are awesome, aside from the initial awkwardness with getting naked with random people its a great way to bath. The onsens are pretty rudimentary so you gotta bring your own towels/soap. They're also super loving hot the first time, and some friendly local sprayed some cold water into the onsen for me first time when i could only get my toes in. Another point, feet and hands hurt the most gettiny in, everythint else is easy. Since the towns so small its fast to get to the lift, which is a bigass gondola that goes for ages up to their 'mid station', then theres various lifts. The runs were limited to the mid/top areas while we there. But we could see the mid to bottom runs on the gondola and they're huge. Like super long winding down the side of the mountain, and theres a good 4 or 5 of them. I can see smashing down the mountain taking a good 20 minutes. We also took a bus to ilyama train station, then went to the snow monkeys which were super cool. I got a really good video of two baby monkeys have a playfight up close before we got surrounde by other people with phones and the mummy monkey cruised over to protect them from instagram. Also they have their own onsen and they poo poo in it, so it smells like monkey poo poo soup. We organized our own tickets there which was 2k yen or so cheaper but the amount of time spent waiting for buses added like 3 hours to what a tour would be. And the buses dont run that often there. All in all it was really fun and would do it again. sale on Banksy art posted:What was the name of the place you stayed? We stayed at Villa Nozawa, which is one of 4 places owned by some aussies. I dont know about thr others, but the rooms were nice and big, and the breakfast was very australian. Not exactly a cultural experience but very comfortable for aussie families i guess. I thi k we were the only couple there without kids. Its Kind of a mix of japanese and aus but 'not too much japanese'. The staff were mostly expats from everywhere. Sorry for typos typing on phone. Edit- Ive got heaps of photos but getting them off my phone to here is a bit of a shitfight, unless anyone knows a super ez way. Vilgefartz fucked around with this message at 15:14 on Dec 16, 2016 |
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Dec 16, 2016 15:11
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Question Mark Mound posted:Can anyone vouch for whether the Warehouse amusement center in Kawasaki is any good - and worth visiting if I have a free evening staying in Tokyo and don't really mind the transport? If it's good, anything else in Kawasaki worth checking out? It's worth for it just for the toilets. The Kowloon-themed part may feel pretty limited but entering and exiting the building is an 'experience' in itself. As an arcade, it has a decent selection of modern titles (and is very good for music games) whilst the retro section is small, but full of games with special cabinets (e.g. Street Fighter with the pressure sensitive buttons, Space Harrier with the moving cab, Virtual On, etc.). If you're into Japan's various 'gimmick' places, I'd recommend eating at the Ultraman-themed restaurant afterwards. http://kaiju-sakaba.com/
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Dec 16, 2016 15:58
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DiscoJ posted:It's worth for it just for the toilets. The Kowloon-themed part may feel pretty limited but entering and exiting the building is an 'experience' in itself. As an arcade, it has a decent selection of modern titles (and is very good for music games) whilst the retro section is small, but full of games with special cabinets (e.g. Street Fighter with the pressure sensitive buttons, Space Harrier with the moving cab, Virtual On, etc.). Oh god I'm already overrun with gimmick cafes and restaurants but I wonder if I can find some time to go here. I have no real knowledge of Ultraman but I love awful rubber monster costumes!
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Dec 16, 2016 16:51
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Question Mark Mound posted:edit: Also, is that big spider still in Roppongi? Pretty sure it's not, but just so I know if it's worth keeping an eye out. You mean Maman outside the mori tower? That's still there.
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Dec 17, 2016 08:50
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Eastdrom posted:We stayed at Villa Nozawa, which is one of 4 places owned by some aussies. Haha, cool. We do some tax work for them. I work with all these Aussie ski lodges and am tempted to go stay at one even though I don't do snowsports.
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Dec 17, 2016 08:56
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sale on Banksy art posted:Haha, cool. We do some tax work for them. I work with all these Aussie ski lodges and am tempted to go stay at one even though I don't do snowsports. I can see it being fun for a few days without snowboarding, but past that and unless you like chilled out onsen town, theres not much to do there. Though the hotel was super nice just to stay inside while it snows and drink hot chocolate or whatever.
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Dec 17, 2016 09:18
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Abashiri and Shiretoko in February, anyone have recommendations? So far we are looking at: -Abashiri Prison -Frozen waterfall/ice flow snowshoe walk -Ice flow walk/swim -Ice fishing -Dog sledding Are the five lakes worth visiting in the winter? We won't have a car because lol at driving. I went up to Monbetsu a few years ago in February, so yes I know its cold af. Will probably be walking around in my snowboarding getup most of the time.
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Dec 17, 2016 09:47
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... how much can tourists see around Abashiri Prison? Edit: I see that it's just a museum now. Enjoy the ice! peanut fucked around with this message at 12:11 on Dec 17, 2016 |
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Dec 17, 2016 12:08
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| # ? May 12, 2024 16:19 |
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Axel Rhodes Scholar posted:You mean Maman outside the mori tower? That's still there.
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Dec 17, 2016 14:11
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