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Pretty sure there are no more Citibank ATMs at all since they shut down their Japan operations, but Japan Post and 7/11 will do you.
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Mar 5, 2017 00:15
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Also bring a couple hundred bucks in cash to exchange in case your bank fucks up and you have to contact them again when you arrive.
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Mar 5, 2017 04:01
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Can I get some itinerary feedback? It's a bit rough at this point. I generally slot too many things in during each day, and we start to weed them out as we burn through stuff. We are pretty loosey-goosey travelers and we might see something we like on the way to the train station at 9am and blow off the whole day's events to try something that wasn't on the schedule at all. If there are 8 things listed in a day we may or may not make all 8, we might do half. That said, let me know what you think. We are a married 40 year old couple and a 7 year old 1st grade girl. Mar 25 Saturday Arrive 5pm Tokyo Hotel Options: The Prince Park Tower Tokyo Hotel Ryumeikan Tokyo VRBO Near Ueno Would love to hear some folks ring in on what you'd recommend. Sunday Mar 26 - Tokyo Senso-Ji Temple if we’re up early (not sure how jetlag will hit us). 10:10am CONFIRMED - Cruise from Asakusa to Odaiba Seaside Park in a Himiko Dock in Odaiba - look around From Odaiba, ride yurikamome train to Shimbashi Ginza (roads closed to traffic, Hokoten) Eat at Yurakucho under JR track lines hama rikyu onshi teien Monday Mar 27 Tokyo Meiji Shrine treasure house, inner garden Harajuku (Takeshita Dori (Takeshita Street)) Omotesando Shibuya Lunch at Uobei Shibuya Dogenzaka, the conveyer belt sushi place, Tokyo Metropolitan Building - observation tower, 45th floor 1pm Picking up a Go Tokyo tour from there of Shinjuku first basement level of Isetan Department Store, which is famous for its gourmet food stalls Tuesday Mar 28 Tokyo -> Kyoto Wake up before we depart and go to Tsukiji Fish Market, tickets @ 5am to watch the auction Flex day - Tokyo or Kyoto JR Pass to Kyoto (not on a Nozomi train) Hotel San Crane 4pm Tea Ceremony at Ju-An Wednesay Mar 29 Kyoto Various Kyoto, this will be our only day in Kyoto and I'm sure we'll have no trouble filling it, but I haven't picked anything yet Thursday Mar 30 Kyoto Daytrip to Nara Nara: do a walk between Kofukuji, Todaiji, and Kasuga Taisha via Nigatsudo (all of this is within the large Nara Park) Take a bus to Todaiji or Kasuga Shrine Sando to begin your trip is a good idea if you don't want to walk a lot - the walk back to the station is all downhill Osaka on the way home (or not) depending on how much time we spend in Nara Friday Mar 31 - Kyoto -> Tokyo (Tokyo overnight) Depart Kyoto Early - Return to Tokyo - Old Tokyo Senso-Ji Temple Old City Yanaka Imperial Palace Akihabara Koishikawa Korakuen - miniature garden (?) Eat at Shinsuke (dinner only) Saturday April 1 - Tokyo - Fly home Tokyo City Flea Market, Japan, 〒140-0012 Tokyo, Shinagawa, Katsushima, 1 Chome−6−26 Anything we missed in the city or want to see again 5pm Depart Narita
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Mar 5, 2017 08:57
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photomikey posted:Can I get some itinerary feedback? It's a bit rough at this point. I generally slot too many things in during each day, and we start to weed them out as we burn through stuff. We are pretty loosey-goosey travelers and we might see something we like on the way to the train station at 9am and blow off the whole day's events to try something that wasn't on the schedule at all. If there are 8 things listed in a day we may or may not make all 8, we might do half. Since you're visiting during sakura season, you should probably make more time to explore some of the nicer parks or areas. You would undoubtedly see some stuff anyway, but I'd recommend setting some time aside and maybe going for a daytime walk down the Meguro River or having a picnic in a park. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3050.html quote:Sunday Mar 26 - Tokyo Hama-Rikyu Gardens closes around 5pm I think, so I'd put that before the meal (dinner?) at Yurakucho. Also, there're various places near Seaside Park in Odaiba that a young child might enjoy (e.g. Legoland, Joypolis, Takoyaki Museum) so might be worth spending a little bit of time and eating lunch before getting on the train. quote:Monday Mar 27 Tokyo That's quite a lot to squeeze in before 1pm (I know you said the plans are tentative..) but the observation tower stays open until fairly late, so maybe best to go later in the afternoon. quote:Wednesay Mar 29 Kyoto You'll have no trouble filling a day, but if you choose to go to Fushimi Inari Shrine (place with thousands of torii/red gates), be aware that it actually never closes, so you can beat the crowds by going very early (before 9am) or reasonably late (e.g. after 5pm).
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Mar 5, 2017 09:35
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Get a rickshaw in Nara!
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Mar 5, 2017 10:31
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photomikey posted:Sunday Mar 26 - Tokyo If you're taking Yurikamome from Odaiba back into the city, consider instead getting off at Shiodome and walking to Hamarikyu from there. Then do Ginza and Yurakucho after. Geographically this makes a bit more sense.
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Mar 5, 2017 11:21
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DiscoJ posted:Since you're visiting during sakura season, you should probably make more time to explore some of the nicer parks or areas. You would undoubtedly see some stuff anyway, but I'd recommend setting some time aside and maybe going for a daytime walk down the Meguro River or having a picnic in a park. Kyoto's a nicer place to do sakura watching if you're on a tight time budget. I'd stay away from any touristy hanami spots, though, as they will be packed with people and unpleasant. When I lived there my favorite thing was to just walk along the Kamogawa river, which is beautiful when the sakura is in full bloom. You can do the short stretch between Sanjo and Shijo, which can then lead straight to other activities like Gion or Nishiki market.
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Mar 5, 2017 12:30
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Thank you for all the comments. Monday the 27th we're way overscheduled but geographically that made the most sense - we will write some of that stuff off and do some of it in a different order, I'm sure. Thank you for the tip about Hamarikyu - we will switch order on that. I figure we will get lost in a grove of cherry trees somewhere when the time is appropriate. If we roll in on the 25th and they are in full bloom I will probably add some stops to our tour. I was more concerned they won't be in bloom until we're leaving, and I'd hate to schedule time only to look at bare cherry trees. I'm bummed we only really have one day in Kyoto but I think my kiddo will really like Nara and I figure that will kill most of a day.
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Mar 5, 2017 16:47
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So I've got a similar question to that other goon moving to Japan... I applied to University of Tokyo as like, 40% a joke, for an electrical engineering master's degree. They had a program wholly in English, and the professor I'd be working with seems like a nice guy and does interesting work, so that isn't itself the problem. I expected to get funding at American universities and not at UTokyo, but it was fun to think about anyways. Thing is, the only place I've gotten funding out of ~10 applications and 6 responses so far is UTokyo. I don't know any Japanese, and I'd be starting mid September, so my goals for learning would be to be able to follow along with conversations and reply in only mildly broken Japanese, and maybe like be able to read maps and menus. How dumb is this idea? My main concern is that it would be socially isolating, but other than that it honestly sounds like a lot of fun.
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Mar 5, 2017 18:00
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You can have a social life showing up with zero Japanese. At a university you'll be likely to meet Japanese people who speak English, and if you really want to you can learn fast when you're in the country where the language is used, lots of practice opportunities. It's also easy to not learn because you decide you don't care but that's up to you. I dunno the quality of the program (undergrad is a total joke at Asian universities but grad school is different) but if it's up to western standards and it's the only one offering cash I'd do it for sure. E: Oh but find someone who's done the program and verify it is actually in English. Universities claiming they have an English language master's program and then showing up and surprise, nobody speaks any English and you're hosed is a thing that happens. Grand Fromage fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Mar 5, 2017 |
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Mar 5, 2017 18:27
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University of Tokyo is the #1 most respected school in Japan. Even their undergrad is intense. Absolutely go for it. You could also look at Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT). peanut fucked around with this message at 01:59 on Mar 6, 2017 |
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Mar 6, 2017 01:57
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Ok, thanks! I'll probably pop back in here in a month or two when I know 100% what's going on.
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Mar 6, 2017 02:17
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peanut posted:University of Tokyo is the #1 most respected school in Japan. Even their undergrad is intense. Absolutely go for it. Meeeeeeehhh to their undergrad. Pretty debatable about intensity and they have a dumb course structure. I hear they were trying to fix it but not sure if it actually went through. Qwazes posted:Ok, thanks! I'll probably pop back in here in a month or two when I know 100% what's going on. If you're gonna do masters in Tokyo then Tokyo U is definitely the way to go because it's extremely respected everywhere in Asia basically, and is on enough ranking lists that it even gets some play elsewhere. If you have the scratch and time it could also be absolutely worth it to go a couple months early and do intensive language study as it will improve your life here massively.
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Mar 6, 2017 03:20
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Qwazes posted:How dumb is this idea? My main concern is that it would be socially isolating, but other than that it honestly sounds like a lot of fun. I can't talk about 'socially isolating' in the context of the university (although I suspect any 'English-language' programme would have a lot of other foreigners), but do remember UTokyo is in the heart of the city and there are many to make friends and meet people outside of any university context. In any case, as Limburg says, learning Japanese would make your time here more enjoyable for sure, but there's no need to worry about isolation in Tokyo as long as you're at least a semi-socially capable person.
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Mar 6, 2017 03:34
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Qwazes posted:How dumb is this idea? My main concern is that it would be socially isolating, but other than that it honestly sounds like a lot of fun. Do you want to work in Japan after graduation? Have you ever been here before? Off the cuff I'd say signing up for grad school in a foreign country that you have basically no connection to could end up being a dumb decision. Yes UTokyo is a good school in Japan/Asia. And Tokyo itself is awesome even if you don't speak Japanese. But American employers will probably look at it and just say "hmm okay, I bet that was an adventure!" So think about your long term plans and how going to grad school in Japan would fit in there. You said you applied 40% as a joke, so is that 60% serious?
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Mar 6, 2017 04:18
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zmcnulty posted:Do you want to work in Japan after graduation? Have you ever been here before? Well, to be honest, the only reason I even looked is that my school sent me an email about a program at Hokkaido University because it's a sister school about a year ago. It caught me at the same time I was looking for study abroad type things so I had wanderlust at the time. I did a little research and found UTokyo was considered the better school and had a similar program, so I sent that in instead. They said there were only going to be about 15 scholarships, and while I'm a good student, I'm not a genius or anything. I fully expected to not get funding there, and I really did expect to get something at the American schools I applied to, but I didn't, so this result kind of blindsided me. I do know a few people that have done/are doing years/semesters abroad in Japan, and I know one guy who's doing JET in Tokyo, and they all seemed to love it, but I haven't actually been there. Like, if I were given funding at all the schools I applied to, depending on how I was feeling on decision day I still might pick UTokyo, and it might have the strongest chance depending on specific details, but it wouldn't be a sure thing. I don't really have a life plan, this is mostly a holding pattern so I can get a feel for research and what I might like to study for a PhD, or if I just want to go into industry. That said, living in another country semi-permanently sounds fun, so I'd definitely consider it if I liked the city.
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Mar 6, 2017 05:03
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photomikey posted:
The kid will absolutely love Nara. Feeding the Deer is pretty great and Todai-ji was easily one of my favorites. I would just plan to skip Osaka entirely, although I've not actually visited it myself. I spent 5 days in Kyoto and 1 in Nara in April 2016 and still felt like there was a lot I hadn't seen. As far as kid-friendly activities go (similar to feeding deer)... There's a spot on the west side of Kyoto to feed monkeys. It's at a beautiful spot overlooking the city, but you have to climb up an (IMO) fairly lengthy trail. Nothing compared to Fushimi Inari, but I had to stop and take a seat for a few minutes on my way up.
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Mar 6, 2017 15:39
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peanut posted:University of Tokyo is the #1 most respected school in Japan. Even their undergrad is intense. Absolutely go for it. I like to look at TIT
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Mar 6, 2017 16:48
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On the website they're very insistent that it's Tokyo Tech
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Mar 6, 2017 17:46
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Qwazes posted:I don't really have a life plan, this is mostly a holding pattern so I can get a feel for research and what I might like to study for a PhD, or if I just want to go into industry. That said, living in another country semi-permanently sounds fun, so I'd definitely consider it if I liked the city. Sorry, this is a very complicated question to answer, and I don't really think any one person here or in any of the Japanese LAN can give you a definite answer. We'd encourage you to take risks, as getting multiple perspectives and living in another country makes you more open to things/people/views in general. At the same time, I definitely faced burnout when studying abroad in Japan and do know that others do as well. However, I still wouldn't take back or have made a different decision reflecting about it. Living abroad made me really think about what my personal values are and what I wanted from my career goals. Just keep in mind that culture shock can be a very real thing and affects everybody differently. Sometimes, you also wont understand or be ready for the culture shock (if you do face it) until you're in the country for a while as well.
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Mar 7, 2017 00:42
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There's also a Shibaura Institute of Technology but sadly it's SIT instead of poo poo
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Mar 7, 2017 02:11
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extravadanza posted:The kid will absolutely love Nara. Feeding the Deer is pretty great and Todai-ji was easily one of my favorites. The monkey thing looked and sounded like a tourist trap. Was it cool?
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Mar 7, 2017 02:21
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photomikey posted:Osaka has no draw to me and it's really just a backup plan. I assume Nara will take most of a day, I just don't want to be leaving Nara at noon and think "what now?", so Osaka is Plan B. Actually, now that I only have one full day in Kyoto, I will probably just return to Kyoto if that were to happen. I felt like Nara took a whole day. When we saw Nara it went like this: leave the hotel in Kyoto by 8am.. Train to Nara arrives at 10:30.. Walk to the deer, see deer and feed the deer.. Get lunch at 12ish. Head to todaiji, spend 2 hrs there. Walk back the train, depart at 3:30. Arrive in Kyoto at 5:30 and start thinking about dinner. IMO the monkeys felt like less of a tourist trap than many other shrines and stuff because it wasn't swarming with Chinese tourists. I think that's because there's monkeys in China already? At the end of the day, if you want to feed some monkeys, it's prob worth it, but if you want to see some shrines, go do that! The monkeys are also by the famous bamboo forest, arashiyama(def a tourist trap, but very cool) and the, IMO, very underestimed temple, Otagi Nenbutsuji. The little stone guys at Otagi Nenbutsuji are awesome and the grounds are very tranquil. There were probably only 5 other people there sharing the grounds with us. extravadanza fucked around with this message at 03:38 on Mar 7, 2017 |
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Mar 7, 2017 02:55
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Yeah, the monkey park is oddly not that popular it seems. Most other parts of arashiyama will be swarming with tourists but the monkey park has an odd tranquility about it (I went in December 2015). It's also up a hill and the view of the city from there is well worth the walk.
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Mar 7, 2017 03:24
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Hey, quick question. So my trip is coming up pretty soon, and I wanted to pick up a sim card. From what I can see, bmobile seems to be the recommended sim card. I looked at their website, but it looks like they only ship to japanese addresses. Do I have to buy it from the online store, or will I be able to pick them up from the airport? (I'm arriving in Narita). Also, I'm arriving at about 430 pm on sunday, how screwed will I be getting on trains?
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Mar 7, 2017 06:17
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An option is to send it to the airport or your hotel. Another is to just go to Bic or Yodobashi and buy one in person.
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Mar 7, 2017 06:45
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I liked Osaka for food and the long street market northeast of Umeda. It was also at the end of our trip when we were happy taking it easy.
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Mar 7, 2017 06:47
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Argona posted:Also, I'm arriving at about 430 pm on sunday, how screwed will I be getting on trains? ?? Not at all.
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Mar 7, 2017 08:11
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Grand Fromage posted:There's a bus from Shinjuku station to Matsumoto, the internet told me it's faster/cheaper than the train. Three-ish hours. I'd say Matusmoto is worth a day on its own if you won't have any wandering time during work. Eat the pickled wasabi greens thing they do, and wasabi in general is fresh there and good. Thanks again! The plan is now: 2 days in Kyoto, 2 days in Tokyo and 1 day in Matsumoto. I'm thinking of getting a Japan Rail pass, but I'm not sure if I qualify. I don't need to apply for a temporary visitor visa because of a visa free agreement with Japan. Can I just show my passport to receive the JR pass, or do I need to get a stamp first? If I need to get a stamp, do I get one that doesn't qualify, because I go for both business and vacation, or is there just one temporary visitor stamp?
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Mar 7, 2017 10:49
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You usually need to buy a jr pass in advance online. Your passport doesn't require an embassy visa, just the free on-arrival non-resident tourist visa.
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Mar 7, 2017 12:32
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peanut posted:You usually need to buy a jr pass in advance online. Your passport doesn't require an embassy visa, just the free on-arrival non-resident tourist visa. Thanks! That's what I thought. I was concerned couldn't get the stamp needed to redeem the JR pass.
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Mar 7, 2017 14:05
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Turns out I'm going to Japan for the first time in April for an Expo in Tokyo/Chiba. The Expo is in Makuhari Expo Centre in Chiba. As I'm traveling by myself, and would love to squeeze as much sightseeing of Tokyo in as possible, is there anyone who could recommend a good business level hotel close to Tokyo, (but still within easy travel to Makuhari Expo centre)? So I get more of a chance to see Tokyo. As I'm only going to be in country for maybe 4-5 days - are there any recommendations of sights to see that would be early morning (7-9am), or 6pm on? As it isn't exactly a tourist trip. I'm already planning to check out Shibuya intersection, Shinjuku (from Yakuza 4), Akihabara.
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Mar 9, 2017 15:25
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sarujin_nz posted:Turns out I'm going to Japan for the first time in April for an Expo in Tokyo/Chiba. The Expo is in Makuhari Expo Centre in Chiba. As I'm traveling by myself, and would love to squeeze as much sightseeing of Tokyo in as possible, is there anyone who could recommend a good business level hotel close to Tokyo, (but still within easy travel to Makuhari Expo centre)? So I get more of a chance to see Tokyo. As for sights, you can go up the Tokyo Skytree until 10pm I think to get a great view of the city.
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Mar 9, 2017 15:43
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Anywhere near Tokyo or Yurakucho station should be good to stay. Direct train to makuhari and good connections for Tokyo too.
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Mar 9, 2017 15:45
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DiscoJ posted:Anywhere near Tokyo or Yurakucho station should be good to stay. Direct train to makuhari and good connections for Tokyo too. Thanks - Yurakucho looks like a good point to start looking into hotels. As I just want a place that I can wander around in the evenings where there is interesting things to look at, or to eat at. Worst thing that can happen on international expos is being stuck out in a hotel in a business part of town that is dead at night.
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Mar 9, 2017 15:55
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sarujin_nz posted:Thanks - Yurakucho looks like a good point to start looking into hotels. As I just want a place that I can wander around in the evenings where there is interesting things to look at, or to eat at. Yurakucho is also on the Yamanote line, so you're less than 30 minutes away from main areas Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, etc. Don't feel like you're obliged to stay around Yurakucho. Tokyo Station area is dead, though, don't stay there.
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Mar 9, 2017 16:53
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Don't go to skytree go to the tokyo metropolitan on a weekday instead. If you plan on sleeping normally at like 12am or 1am anywhere is fine (within yamanote and near a train station) if you plan on partying 24/7 then you want to be near shibuya. or roppongi if youre that sort of person or kabukicho if you're that sort of person
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Mar 9, 2017 18:51
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sarujin_nz posted:Worst thing that can happen on international expos is being stuck out in a hotel in a business part of town that is dead at night. The Park Hyatt and Hyatt Regency in Shinjuku are exactly this. This is also where the Tokyo Metropolitan towers are with the nice view of the city. Btw if you are on an expense account, going to the New York Bar at the PHT is pretty fun. Luckily the fun part of Shinjuku (east of the station) is a 20 min walk / 5 min $10 taxi ride away.
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Mar 9, 2017 19:20
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So my goal in 2017 is to move to Japan. I lived there for a year a decade ago and I've always wanted to go back. I'm currently living in Taiwan and have eight years of English teaching experience and a TESOL certificate. I just got turned down by AEON, and I'm a bit uncomfortable with Nova given their history, even though they have new owners. I'm planning to apply to Gaba but it doesn't look like they give much support to new people moving into the country. What are some other places I should apply at? I would prefer to live in a medium sized city, like a Sendai or a Sapporo or a Hiroshima, but I'd be willing to go wherever for that first job. EDIT: Should mention that my Japanese language skills are pretty much nonexistent; I was conversational ten years ago but haven't practiced at all since. DOUBLE EDIT: I should also say that I prefer teaching adults, but I've taught plenty of kids in the past and don't mind that either. Moon Slayer fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Mar 10, 2017 |
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Mar 10, 2017 06:21
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You should probably apply to smaller local eikaiwa (hire year-round) in big cities or directly to bilingual schools. Your timing is bad, the new school year starts in April so I'd be wary of a place without a teacher lined up right now.
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Mar 10, 2017 10:28
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