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MODA CHANGE MY NAME TO CABE FIERI PLEASE
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May 15, 2018 05:46
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| # ? Jun 6, 2024 03:54 |
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Original_Z posted:Fuji-Q is almost impressive at how poorly it is run. You'll see a line that would be 30 minutes at a normal theme park have a queue time of 2 hours minimum. It's just so poorly run, they'll send cars out without trying to fill out single seats, and the boarding and unboarding takes an unnecessarily long time since you have to wait for the people to disembark, take the stuff from the storage lockers, leave the platform, then see the next group put their stuff in the lockers, and then be put in. It's absurd, and from what I remember they only run one car at a time. Even on weekdays during non-busy seasons you'd better be prepared to pay for fastpass tickets or you'll never be able to ride everything you want to. Went 3 weeks ago and this is 100% true. You see the line and think it is just going to be a few minutes, but it ends up taking forever because none of it makes sense. With one of the coasters they wait for everyone to get off, collect everything from their locker, leave the platform and then open up the gate for the next batch of people to enter. These first have to worm their way through the carts to the other end to reach the lockers next to he exit, put their stuff in go back to climb aboard the carts. Just do what everyone does and put the lockers at the start of the queue next to the exit, not at the end of the queue. Hell, if you want them at the end of the queue just split the line at the end, assign the next batch of people boarding to an area they enter with lockers so they can stuff everything there before it is their turn to board. Have them exit there as well, all solved. The rides are great, the views are nice, but the waiting times are insane and it isn't because of the crowds.
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May 15, 2018 08:54
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What are the chances that a trade war causes a large fluctuation in the dollar to yen conversion rate?
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May 17, 2018 14:14
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nahhhh
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May 17, 2018 14:45
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It was around 108-9 in recent weeks, now it’s back 110-111. Just small moves. Greatest problem would be if Abe turns on the money taps again.
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May 17, 2018 15:33
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Definitely put all your money on black.
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May 17, 2018 17:00
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sale on Banksy art posted:Definitely put all your money on black. You have to diversify - put half on Red as well
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May 18, 2018 02:23
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Coca-Cola's lemon chuhais are coming out next week, only in Kyushu. Could a Kyushu goon send me one?
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May 21, 2018 04:03
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Thinking of spending two weeks of November exploring Tokyo and Kyoto; any recommendations for flights from Seattle using cash and/or points? Hoping to use Ultimate Rewards points to fly, but also trying to figure out how worthwhile that is to begin with. Costs are generally looking like ~$1000 for roundtrip with a layover, and $1400 for roundtrip without a layover.
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May 21, 2018 20:41
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Yup, that's about right. There are two 3-day weekends in September (Monday 17 & 24) that might affect hotels and crowds. Sometimes people can get almost a week off which affects international flights, but this year is not great.
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May 21, 2018 22:52
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Nur_Neerg posted:Thinking of spending two weeks of November exploring Tokyo and Kyoto; any recommendations for flights from Seattle using cash and/or points? Hoping to use Ultimate Rewards points to fly, but also trying to figure out how worthwhile that is to begin with. Costs are generally looking like ~$1000 for roundtrip with a layover, and $1400 for roundtrip without a layover. yeah $1,000 round trip sounds about right. Seattle should get you direct to Narita with Delta or United/ANA. Kyoto and Tokyo at that time of the year should still have the fall leaves in bright reds and oranges, which should make for good photos.
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May 21, 2018 23:27
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Nur_Neerg posted:Thinking of spending two weeks of November exploring Tokyo and Kyoto; any recommendations for flights from Seattle using cash and/or points? Hoping to use Ultimate Rewards points to fly, but also trying to figure out how worthwhile that is to begin with. Costs are generally looking like ~$1000 for roundtrip with a layover, and $1400 for roundtrip without a layover. There are a couple of flight tricks to use from the west coast, but I already see easier options without the layover. Are you looking for a hotel in Tokyo, even for just a few days? Then, go to united vacations and delta vacations and search for a flight in your given timeframe, with hotel for the very particular timeframe you are looking at. Even then, if you dont want ah otel, still search for a vacation package but use the cheapest hotel available, and skip out on the hotel. I already see directs from 1100 to 1200 this way. Alternate strategy: Book a separate flight to LAX and from LAX to Tokyo. Requires a connection and kinda sucks from Seattle, but will be relatively cheap. For points, use them for business class. There's also the really fun trick that I love to use which is to book a flight on Eva from SEA->TPE->(any eva destination in Japan) for about $1200, then upgrade the SEA->TPE and TPE->SEA leg to business for 30,000 points united miles. But I also often have reason to go to TPE. Availability is great for this.
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May 22, 2018 00:48
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How's the weather in Osaka in early april? I'm making plans for next year with some friends and we want to check Universal Studios there.. speaking of, does anyone know how busy it is there around that period?
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May 22, 2018 09:01
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Windy and wet and very, very crowded (school starts around April 8-10th so plan USJ after that.)
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May 22, 2018 11:30
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We went at the end of March on a sunday and it was bonkers, by midafternoon we saw 220 minute lines for things.
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May 22, 2018 12:12
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Never go on a weekend no matter what time of year it is
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May 22, 2018 13:31
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Yo - Are there any onsen/sento in Tokyo that do not have chlorine that are recommended? Does such a thing even exist?
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May 22, 2018 20:09
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There's a gensen bath at さやの湯処. I took the Mita line to get there iirc
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May 23, 2018 01:37
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I was posting about 6 months back to get ideas for my trip from July 25 to August 11 and I keep getting great ideas from this thread. I'll be the guy getting an itinerary check in a few weeks, sorry. Here's some shotgun questions for the thread. Someone posted about Context Travel around 10 pages back and they seem awesome. Exactly what I've been looking for - private tours that still do historical and cultural attractions without being superficial and generic. Thanks so much, goon. Did you end up using them? How was it? I expect full poo poo awful weather since I'm coming in on right as summer finishes peaking...I'm from Texas but the super hot and less humid part so I'll be trading heat for terrible moisture. I'm the kind of tight rear end goon that wears slacks and dress shirts everywhere, even on weekends, so I'm trying real hard to loosen up and wear something casual for the trip without looking inappropriate. I'm sure it's a dumb question, but is something like khaki shorts and a polo very out of place? I never see pictures of anyone in shorts when I look at inspiration trip reports and I feel silly wearing them. My travel doesn't seem to benefit from a JR pass so I intend to just load up a Suica and buy from the kiosks. Can I use a credit card to load my ic card or does it have to be cash? If I board a bus that offers roundtrip tickets, do I have to buy the ticket in advance? I saw the ic tap points which made it seem simple but I realized it might not be able to recognize that I'm making a return trip. Being a sperg, I'm mapping out the routes between cities so I have a general idea of when the trains run and their time and cost. The only tricky one I have left is getting from Gotemba (Gotenba?) station to Hakone Ginyu ryokan. My options seem to be to get a taxi which would be around ¥10k, take a highway bus which frightens me a bit because I have to change buses at a side of the road bus stop and I don't trust myself to not get on the wrong bus, or take a series of trains that involves changing trains and takes twice as long as the other options. Is there a better method that I'm missing? Is my taxi price estimate accurate? Am I a giant baby about the buses? I'll be doing marikar, I'm so sorry...
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May 25, 2018 16:45
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God I hate Japanese websites. Where in the holy gently caress can I find shinkansen prices? The only thing I've found is a site that has fares from Tokyo to other places but I do not need to check from Tokyo. I want to know Osaka -> Hiroshima and Hiroshima -> Okayama.
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May 25, 2018 17:37
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Richard M Nixon posted:I was posting about 6 months back to get ideas for my trip from July 25 to August 11 and I keep getting great ideas from this thread. I'll be the guy getting an itinerary check in a few weeks, sorry. Here's some shotgun questions for the thread. There's Fuji Rock Festival 7/26-7/30  Grand Fromage posted:God I hate Japanese websites. Where in the holy gently caress can I find shinkansen prices? The only thing I've found is a site that has fares from Tokyo to other places but I do not need to check from Tokyo. I want to know Osaka -> Hiroshima and Hiroshima -> Okayama. http://hyperdia.com/en/
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May 25, 2018 17:43
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Grand Fromage posted:God I hate Japanese websites. Where in the holy gently caress can I find shinkansen prices? The only thing I've found is a site that has fares from Tokyo to other places but I do not need to check from Tokyo. I want to know Osaka -> Hiroshima and Hiroshima -> Okayama. 13500円 for a 5 day JR West Pass. Off the top of my head, Osaka to Hiroshima is 10k, and Hiroshima to Okayama is 6k.
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May 25, 2018 18:05
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Phone posted:13500円 for a 5 day JR West Pass. Yeah, might be the first time a rail pass is worth it. Have you or anyone here taken local trains from Hiroshima to Okayama? I can't tell what the route is, if the train's along the coast it might be nice to go slow instead.
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May 25, 2018 18:12
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The big thing with the regional pass is that you can hop on the Nozomi and not get stuck on a Kodama with "The JR Pass". It looks like you're just on a normal rear end train for 3 hours (no seat fee). Goes past Onomichi, though. I've only taken the Kintetsu slow train from Nagoya to Osaka (through Mie), but that was a Limited Express.
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May 25, 2018 18:20
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Looks like there's a line from Kure that goes along the coast. I'm apparently not allowed to buy a rail pass for a month so I have time to think about it.
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May 25, 2018 18:42
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totalnewbie posted:There's Fuji Rock Festival 7/26-7/30 Hmm, I'll be in Gotenba July 30 to August 1 and climbing fuji on the 31st...
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May 25, 2018 18:44
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Grand Fromage posted:Yeah, might be the first time a rail pass is worth it. Have you or anyone here taken local trains from Hiroshima to Okayama? I can't tell what the route is, if the train's along the coast it might be nice to go slow instead. You could maybe take the shinkansen from Okayama to Mihara and then use the (mostly coast-hugging) Kure Line across to Hiroshima. The Rabbit Island is on that route and is a worthwhile side trip if you have the time (for the general scenery and WW2 ruins as well as the obvious).
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May 25, 2018 18:52
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Goog maps is decent for shinkansen prices too. There's also countryside fun option: http://global.w-nexco.co.jp/en/sep/
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May 25, 2018 19:23
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Richard M Nixon posted:Hmm, I'll be in Gotenba July 30 to August 1 and climbing fuji on the 31st... You'll be glad to know that July 30th, the Monday, is really the "everybody get out" day. You should have no trouble getting back to Tokyo and onward to Gotemba that day. But if you actually seriously consider attending, here's the lineup: http://fujirock-eng.com/lineup.html and the meetup group I'm leading: https://www.meetup.com/Fuji-Rockers-2018/
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May 25, 2018 20:05
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Richard M Nixon posted:
I don't think there is any direct train route between those places, so a bus is your best bet to do it cheaply. From google maps street view it looks like the bus stop you change at is well marked, and it's blurry but at least some of the signs on it are bilingual. It's not a stop in the middle of nowhere, either, so if you miss your bus you could go to a shop or restaurant and ask someone to call you a cab.
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May 27, 2018 05:10
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Will be staying in Tokyo for 10 days next month, our apartment is in Ikebukuro. Can anyone recommend some places to check out or avoid around there? Is it worth getting a 7-day train pass? We'd like to check out Akihibara and Harajuku etc but not sure if the passes cover that. Am I going to straight up die from the heat?
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May 28, 2018 18:19
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StabMasterArson posted:Will be staying in Tokyo for 10 days next month, our apartment is in Ikebukuro. Can anyone recommend some places to check out or avoid around there? Is it worth getting a 7-day train pass? We'd like to check out Akihibara and Harajuku etc but not sure if the passes cover that. Am I going to straight up die from the heat? Unfortunately you are going to die from being 300 pounds, but at least it will be in Japan.
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May 28, 2018 20:23
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afaik passes for tokyo depend largely on what you want to do since they're company/line specific. i haven't crunched any numbers, but i'm sure that just getting an ic card is going to burn infinitely less calories than trying to min/max a week long rail pass in tokyo.
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May 28, 2018 20:59
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Phone posted:afaik passes for tokyo depend largely on what you want to do since they're company/line specific. i haven't crunched any numbers, but i'm sure that just getting an ic card is going to burn infinitely less calories than trying to min/max a week long rail pass in tokyo. Didn't know it was specific to the line and company, guess I'll have to figure that out first. Thanks sale on Banksy art posted:Unfortunately you are going to die from being 300 pounds, but at least it will be in Japan. haha lol!!
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May 28, 2018 21:21
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So how much side eye will I get for wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt as a guy when visiting from July through August?
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May 28, 2018 22:07
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StabMasterArson posted:Didn't know it was specific to the line and company, guess I'll have to figure that out first. Thanks So. There are at least six rail companies around Tokyo and surrounding. When most people talk about the “rail pass,” it’s for JR, Japan Rail. But that only covers one. You can buy either a Suica or Pasmo commuter card, put yen on it, and it will work for all rail companies. This is especially important for changes, and to make life easier versus buying paper tickets each time.
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May 28, 2018 22:29
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Let's be clear- No don't buy a JR Pass for just Tokyo. A JR pass is for long-distance travel. You want a rechargeable IC card.
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May 28, 2018 22:35
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You can get 1-day unlimited passes for both Tokyo Metro (600 yen) and JR in the Tokyo area (730 yen). You can also get a combined ticket for 1590 yen that adds buses and some of the non-Metro trains. http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/tokyo_free.html Pretty convenient since you can decide on the day of whether or not you want one. Depending on where you're going, it can be worth it. On the other hand, the savings will only amount to like  tops, even if you abuse the hell out of it. So if you don't mind spending the money, yeah, an IC card is worth the convenience. You can buy chuhais at the combini with IC cards too. If you'll be making daytrips to Kamakura or Nikko or whatever you can also look into the Tokyo Wide Pass, it covers most of the Kanto area for any JR and some other lines.
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May 28, 2018 23:24
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putting 10k on an ic card and using it for all train fares and conbini trips removes almost all of any possible friction points of visiting japan reading a train map and buying the appropriate fare is easy enough; however, slapping your wallet against the turnstile is infinitely easier no matter how you size it up
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May 28, 2018 23:29
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| # ? Jun 6, 2024 03:54 |
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Richard M Nixon posted:So how much side eye will I get for wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt as a guy when visiting from July through August? People will just think you look like a tourist. You are a tourist, so that's fine.
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May 29, 2018 00:21
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