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Phenix Rising posted:Lazy morning so far today which is fine by me. I think we're going to head toward Asakusa and see the shrines there and then check out Meiji later on in our trip when it isn't going to be so overwhelmingly crowded. Meiji will be crowded for the next week or so, the Hatsumode crowds are around for at least a week or two after New Year’s.
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# ? May 18, 2024 18:42 |
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Auritech posted:Cavauro, you will not be disappointed!! But I am not back in Tokyo until Thursday!!! I'm going to look on here at Thursday
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yoyogi park to the immediate south of meiji was really nice when i visited. it's surprisingly easy to find quiet peaceful places in tokyo
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Wow, looks like some fucker drove a car into the crowd at Takeshita at around 4 AM? Doesn't sound like anyone died, just 8 or 9 injured, but I hope no one was there. Stay safe friends
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I'll be in Kyoto until the 4th, I hope everyone is enjoying themselves and continues to do so
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Rumors of most places being closed today look to be greatly exaggerated! Tons of shops do seem to be open. I guess museums and the like are actually closed which is a shame because I wouldn't have minded using today for a couple of museum visits. Edo Tokyo is at least definitely on my list but that'll have to happen on the 3rd I think. Right now I'm heading to Tokyo Station to see whether or not that fabled Character Alley or whatever with all kinds of dumb shops for nerd poo poo is open or not, and also Shochu Authority. Then I'm thinking perhaps Asakusa again, or maybe Ueno Park which I haven't managed to visit yet. a cyborg mug fucked around with this message at 07:37 on Jan 1, 2019 |
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Again guys I recommend checking Koenji out. Legit the friendliest people I've met so far In Japan. A guy we met last night literally bought all of our drinks it was like 180 bucks. We sang rage against the machine drunkenly and he was our best bud for the night.
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Yep, just about everything here is open. This place is ridiculous. Luckily I'm not really a fan of any of this stuff, mostly wanted to ogle at shops and get a gift for a friend at the Pokemon shop.The_Rob posted:Again guys I recommend checking Koenji out. Legit the friendliest people I've met so far In Japan. A guy we met last night literally bought all of our drinks it was like 180 bucks. We sang rage against the machine drunkenly and he was our best bud for the night. That does sound pretty good a cyborg mug fucked around with this message at 07:36 on Jan 1, 2019 |
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I said it before, but Koenji is where I met Hiroyo Matsumoto and it was awesome. I saw a second hand fashion store called Slut and was interviewed by three cheerleaders about karaage chicken. The place is magical.
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Today for us was Asakusa for a big chunk and then Akihabra briefly to check out Super Potato and some more stores where this is more anime merchandise than I ever thought could exist. Asakusa was great! We had amazing street food dumplings, melon pan, and some other weird sweet with ice cream, beans, and these clear gelatinous cubes. Weird, but not bad. We observed the shrines from afar as there were droves of people filling the streets waiting to get in. It was really something to see. We walked around and poked into some shops as basically everything was open for a big street market day. It was an awesome start to the day. Our routine seems to be to fill the day with a lot of activities, then retire to the hotel with quick eats. One of these days we'll have a real dinner... maybe. We'll keep Koenji in mind, too! With 9 or so days left of vacation we've got time to fill. Japan rules, I love Japan.
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Hahaha holy poo poo. My idea was to go check out the Imperial Palace before Gatoh Move today but I grossly underestimated the amount of people who also wanted to be there. If any of you intended to go today, hope you've been queuing up since approximately the start of the Heisei era because I can't see you getting in before the end of it lmao Edit: I mean I really should've guessed, all things considered! a cyborg mug fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Jan 2, 2019 |
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Met with a friend yesterday and he took me to a shrine and I got a lucky stick it was cool. I went to Akihabara and it also was really cool and I went through some shops and had mos burger. My lungs are bad; ten years ago I would have been zipping around this place like crazy; so my suggestion is if you are in good health and want to do this you should because it’s a place that is a bit difficult for me at least, as someone who finds slopes to be difficult (luckily there are elevators or escalators which at least protect me from stairs). But I have still seen a lot of cool stuff and am trying to be guilt free about spending more time in the hotels than I envision while traveling.
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I'm going to be returning to Tokyo at around 2pm tomorrow (3 Jan) and I don't have a schedule aside from getting to Ebrietas before 9:30pm. If anyone wants to hang out before then, just let me know and we can figure something out. Otherwise, who else is going to GWBushi's Ebrietas reservation?
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Auritech posted:I'm going to be returning to Tokyo at around 2pm tomorrow (3 Jan) and I don't have a schedule aside from getting to Ebrietas before 9:30pm. If anyone wants to hang out before then, just let me know and we can figure something out. Otherwise, who else is going to GWBushi's Ebrietas reservation? extradite THIS! harperdc Thauros All responded in the affirmative. I was just going to post a reminder.
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Me and my brother will be around the Tokyo Dome area tomorrow too. We were thinking about AJPW in the morning. If you think you can manage two more, is it okay if we tag along to Yanos bar?
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extradite THIS! posted:Hahaha holy poo poo. My idea was to go check out the Imperial Palace before Gatoh Move today but I grossly underestimated the amount of people who also wanted to be there. If any of you intended to go today, hope you've been queuing up since approximately the start of the Heisei era because I can't see you getting in before the end of it lmao Did the old Emperor give the speech this year? He's retiring right? One of the most surreal experiences of my life was queuing up and going along with the crowds into the Imperial Palace grounds, seeing the Emperor and his family come out and the COMPLETE silence after he finished his speech because everybody was absolutely adamant they would NOT make a noise until they were absolutely certain he was done speaking, and then thousands and thousands of people just erupting into rapturous cheering for him once they knew it was safe to do so. I tried to keep my little flag I was handed on my way in but it fell apart pretty quickly ![]()
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Spent a couple hours in Harajuku today and it was fuckin bonkers. Shoulder to shoulder traffic which was to be expected given the sales. We want to go back again when we assume (hope?) it's not quite so insane. Moved from our hotel to the Airbnb today and it's like being in a palatial estate. It's gigantic (for Japan), right above a coffee shop, and right next to a Lawson. Beautiful. Tomorrow we have tickets to the teamLAB museum before we see STARDOM at Shinkiba 1st Ring. Feels like we've been here forever already and tomorrow is the first wrestling thing we're doing. Oh, we also ate hot dog on a stick which was delightful.
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Just want to say thank you to GEORGE W BUSHI for the suggestion to go see Gatoh Move. "Wonderful", "awesome" and "heartwarming" are words I would like to use when describing it.Jerusalem posted:Did the old Emperor give the speech this year? He's retiring right? That's why the palace would've been open, yeah. I was there around 12 and the crowds were so impossibly huge already outside of the fortress that I figured I'd never get in and out in time to get to Gatoh Move, so I just marveled at the amount of people there and left.
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Jerusalem posted:Did the old Emperor give the speech this year? He's retiring right? Yes to both. April 30th is the last day of the Heisei era and for the Heisei-tenno (aka Akihito, no one calls him Akihito in Japan). May 1st begins the new era for whatever it's called (it will be revealed on April 1st) and the first day Naruhito becomes Emperor. It is also my marriage anniversary day. ![]()
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I just decided to explore a bit and found that while it is about a quarter of a mile longer, it is a much flatter way to just walk down Kurmaebashi-Dori street so I had a much more relaxing stroll that I wasn’t zoned out for and also I got to pet an owl. Gonna do a bunch of New Japan catch-up this evening.
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GEORGE W BUSHI posted:extradite THIS! I will indeed be there and looking forward to it. in my hotel now resting up before I explore the neighborhood a bit. My sole experience so far has been a bit of a stroll in ueno and the border of Kabukicho and Higashi where I'm staying but i love the feel of the city so far. I wasn'too worried about public transit but was happy with how easy it was to navigate Narita, redeem the vouchers i had for a skyline ticket and a 72 hour subway pass and get to where I needed to be.
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Auritech posted:Yes to both. April 30th is the last day of the Heisei era and for the Heisei-tenno (aka Akihito, no one calls him Akihito in Japan). May 1st begins the new era for whatever it's called (it will be revealed on April 1st) and the first day Naruhito becomes Emperor. is it considered heisei 31 yet or does the regnal year flip over on the 7th?
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Raeg posted:Me and my brother will be around the Tokyo Dome area tomorrow too. We were thinking about AJPW in the morning. If you think you can manage two more, is it okay if we tag along to Yanos bar? i already have a ticket and will be doing the all japan show
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Raeg posted:Me and my brother will be around the Tokyo Dome area tomorrow too. We were thinking about AJPW in the morning. If you think you can manage two more, is it okay if we tag along to Yanos bar? I got a reservation for one more than I needed so we might be able to convince Yano. I'll send an email and see
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This thread is both a lot of fun to read and super depressing for me because I don't even have a passport
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Thauros posted:is it considered heisei 31 yet or does the regnal year flip over on the 7th? Yes, it is Heisei 31 already because of the special circumstances around this year. The era thing is sometimes hard for me even now to wrap my head around since technically I was born in Shōwa 53 and I can never remember that. Dangerous Person posted:This thread is both a lot of fun to read and super depressing for me because I don't even have a passport Squirrel away some money, get a passport, and come next year! It’s worth it, 1000%. Auritech fucked around with this message at 12:41 on Jan 2, 2019 |
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GEORGE W BUSHI posted:I got a reservation for one more than I needed so we might be able to convince Yano. I'll send an email and see Thanks! No worries if it's full. There's always bowling at CuBAR if it's too busy.
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Raeg posted:Thanks! No worries if it's full. There's always bowling at CuBAR if it's too busy. I'm going to have to bow out so if that makes the numbers work (paging George W Bushi) then all the better! Apologies, but anyone wanting to find lunch on the 4th, I should be free to head out.
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harperdc posted:I'm going to have to bow out so if that makes the numbers work (paging George W Bushi) then all the better! Apologies, but anyone wanting to find lunch on the 4th, I should be free to head out. Okay, then that works out. Sorry you can't make it but glad Raeg and his brother can
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Went to Nakano broadway today. Super cool mall. So many collectible things. Lots of cool old Japanese wrestling things. Then from there went to diver city to see the gundam. The gundam base was cool but the rest of the place is kind of a poo poo show, and we finished it off with Akiba. Didn't do too much there as a lot of stuff was still closed. Tomorrow we're going to DDT, and Friday is Wrestle kingdom. Japan is very good.
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Dangerous Person posted:This thread is both a lot of fun to read and super depressing for me because I don't even have a passport I don't get to travel nearly as much as I'd like but it is seriously one of the best and most invigorating things a person can do. I cannot endorse enough the below: Auritech posted:Squirrel away some money, get a passport, and come next year! Its worth it, 1000%. Even if it isn't Japan (go to Japan!) you should definitely try to go somewhere (Japan!) because travel is good for the mind AND the soul.
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The_Rob posted:Went to Nakano broadway today. Super cool mall. So many collectible things. Lots of cool old Japanese wrestling things. Then from there went to diver city to see the gundam. The gundam base was cool but the rest of the place is kind of a poo poo show, and we finished it off with Akiba. Didn't do too much there as a lot of stuff was still closed. I think we're going to hit up DiverCity today too to kill some time. Were going to the teamLab Borderless museum this morning, then we have STARDOM at Shinkiba in the evening but will need to fill the afternoon up in that area. If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know!
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Phenix Rising posted:I think we're going to hit up DiverCity today too to kill some time. Were going to the teamLab Borderless museum this morning, then we have STARDOM at Shinkiba in the evening but will need to fill the afternoon up in that area. If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know! If you like cars, Toyota has a big showroom and museum right next to where TeamLab is, both are free to enter (the museum area is mostly older stuff from all kinds of brands and also motor sports). Including DiverCity there are four malls in the area, and one of them (about a 10 min walk from DiverCity) has a big SEGA Joypolis amusement arcade and ride area. But otherwise yeah Odaiba is for shopping and events.
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Unrelated to anything in particular but an important thing to note - pocket wifi rules. Just pop this little sucker into your bag and have wifi all day long. I think it totaled $70 for our 12-day trip with insurance. If you're coming here at any point, definitely pick one up. I don't know how it compares to SIM cards, but it's been flawless this whole time.
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Heads-up for anyone considering going: I'm at Edo-Tokyo Museum right now and it's free today!
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We just got done with the teamLab Borderless digital art museum. If you still have time here and haven't purchased tickets, DO IT. It's amazing. The line outside for ticket holders was massive but only took about 45 minutes to get through. I think we easily spent 3 hours here. We'll probably do their Planets exhibit before we go home, too.
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Phenix Rising posted:Unrelated to anything in particular but an important thing to note - pocket wifi rules. Just pop this little sucker into your bag and have wifi all day long. I think it totaled $70 for our 12-day trip with insurance. If you're coming here at any point, definitely pick one up. I don't know how it compares to SIM cards, but it's been flawless this whole time. i have at&t international day pass which is 10 bucks a day and i didn't have to worry abut it. more expensive but it's all paid through work anyway
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My wife used Ninja Pocket Wifi when she was in hospital since her bandwidth cap would have been maxed watching a bunch of movies. She was quite pleased with it, and when she got home, she just popped it back into a bag and mailed it off at the 7-11 at the end of the block. Super easy, painless, relatively inexpensive. Also, I'm back in Tokyo now!
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Thauros posted:i have at&t international day pass which is 10 bucks a day and i didn't have to worry abut it. more expensive but it's all paid through work anyway I finally turned this on. I have been getting by with Wi-Fi hot spots just fine to be honest, but I am meeting some friends tomorrow before the show and being an hour late because I didn’t use map apps because I didn’t want to spend ten dollars seems incredibly silly at this point. I did have to abandon my grandfathered plan but it isn’t even really a deal anymore.
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# ? May 18, 2024 18:42 |
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Being on T-Mobile is nice because I get unlimited data internationally, but also can barely connect anywhere here. I did find some networks to connect to with roaming turned on and speeds were actually pretty fast but finding someone to connect to wasn't as reliable as pocket wifi. Heading to STARDOM in an hour or so!
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