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As long as you're not climbing Mt. Fuji, I think a (very long) day trip is possible. Check return bus times carefully!
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Mar 21, 2019 23:25
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If you’re fit you can climb Mt. Fuji in a day as well but try not to die
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Mar 22, 2019 00:09
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Uhh that poster is coming in May right? That's way before the season starts, climbing off-season without extensive preparation and experience is very likely to result in death Should(?) be able to catch a bus up to the 5th station though, but I guess going further up than that would be pretty tough zmcnulty fucked around with this message at 00:59 on Mar 22, 2019 |
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Mar 22, 2019 00:56
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Yeah I’m being facetious anyway. But I’m also always legitimately confused when people talk about “going to Mt. Fuji” because from context people usually seem to just mean going close to it? A lot of people seem to not mean climbing it and I’m not sure what the point of going all that way just to look at it is.
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Mar 22, 2019 01:41
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LimburgLimbo posted:Yeah I’m being facetious anyway. mods please rename all threads in this subforum to ask/tell > tourism & travel > $PLACE: I'm not sure what the point of going all that way just to look at it is
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Mar 22, 2019 01:48
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It was over 10 years before I finally saw Mt. Fuji on a clear day (from the train and shinkansen window) and it's p dang impressive!!!
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Mar 22, 2019 01:58
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It’s a mountain. You can see that poo poo from Tokyo usually. Why even bother unless you’re scaling that fucker
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Mar 22, 2019 02:13
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He has a good point though. If you just want to "see Mt. Fuji" you don't even need to leave Tokyo, on a clear day. Hell you can technically see it from half the country if you get high enough and the conditions are right. Tokaido Shinkansen, Hokuriku Shinkansen, and Joetsu Shinkansen also go by it. If you want to see Mt Fuji closer, the question becomes, how close? For example you can get awesome views of Fuji while sitting in an onsen in Izu. Or do you want to see it from across one of the Fuji Five Lakes, or do you actually want to go to the 5th station and be on Mt Fuji, etc.
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Mar 22, 2019 02:27
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zmcnulty posted:If you want to see Mt Fuji closer, the question becomes, how close? For example you can get awesome views of Fuji while sitting in an onsen in Izu. Or do you want to see it from across one of the Fuji Five Lakes, or do you actually want to go to the 5th station and be on Mt Fuji, etc. From the top of Kitadake
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Mar 22, 2019 07:02
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The correct answer for all things Mt. Fuji is to ride a bicycle around the circumference.
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Mar 22, 2019 09:42
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why travel to japan at all when google street view exists
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Mar 22, 2019 10:05
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paperwind posted:The correct answer for all things Mt. Fuji is to ride a bicycle around the circumference. It's about a metric century with 1500m of combined elevation over the course of it, so yeah that would actually be a good workout.
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Mar 22, 2019 10:12
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LimburgLimbo posted:It's about a metric century with 1500m of combined elevation over the course of it, so yeah that would actually be a good workout. but why travel all that way when there are gyms in Tokyo?
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Mar 22, 2019 10:14
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Because you miss out on the actual chance of the sweet embrace of death that comes with sharing mountain roads with bad drivers
LimburgLimbo fucked around with this message at 10:48 on Mar 22, 2019 |
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Mar 22, 2019 10:42
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Soricidus posted:why travel to japan at all when google street view exists why use google street view when you have a perfectly good imagination
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Mar 22, 2019 15:22
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Pththya-lyi posted:why use google street view when you have a perfectly good imagination why imagine anything when you could just die instead
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Mar 22, 2019 15:38
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Chillyrabbit posted:I didn't actually pay for it, my brother did but their online menu says the Lunch trial course is 5800 Yen. So I would assume its around that price.  I didn't even see that they had the menu online. That's really reasonably priced, I think I'm going to set up a reservation.LimburgLimbo posted:If you’re fit you can climb Mt. Fuji in a day as well but try not to die zmcnulty posted:Uhh that poster is coming in May right? That's way before the season starts, climbing off-season without extensive preparation and experience is very likely to result in death Haha wow this escalated quickly! We are definitely not climbing Mt. Fuji, we have an explicit "no dying" policy on this trip. Next time though I'll see about wiggling my way out of that clause.. zmcnulty posted:If you want to see Mt Fuji closer, the question becomes, how close? For example you can get awesome views of Fuji while sitting in an onsen in Izu. Or do you want to see it from across one of the Fuji Five Lakes, or do you actually want to go to the 5th station and be on Mt Fuji, etc. This is a good question, I honestly am not sure how close is good! It looks like, from a cursory search, if we do decide to Mt. Fuji it up I think the Fuji Five Lakes you mentioned would be good? They have bike rentals around there, is that a kind of scenic thing to do? We're taking the shinkansen from Tokyo->Osaka so hopefully we can get a nice far-off view of Fuji there. Basically my partner and I are just trying to do a bit of outdoorsy type stuff, nothing super intense like a full day long hike or anything. We're going to the Iwatayama monkey park/mountain for sure, which my friend said was a fun hike? mactheknife posted:why imagine anything when you could just die instead 
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Mar 22, 2019 16:12
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Hike Mt. Takao and appreciate Mt. Fuji from there
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Mar 22, 2019 17:15
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Johnny Truant posted:It looks like, from a cursory search, if we do decide to Mt. Fuji it up I think the Fuji Five Lakes you mentioned would be good? They have bike rentals around there, is that a kind of scenic thing to do? Yep that's a very scenic thing to do, and around Fuji is mostly flat so not even a strenuous bike ride. Just keep in mind that if it's cloudy you won't be able to see much of Fuji at all, so your "cycle around a lake at the base of Mt Fuji" could easily become "cycle around a lake"
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Mar 22, 2019 21:03
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How worth it is visiting Himeji Castle? I'm already stretching myself thin while visiting Kyoto/Osaka by trying to do a Nara day trip and possibly going to Kobe to eat. The caslte looks breathtaking but I also don't want to rush Kyoto/Osaka for it. Looking at about 3 days in Kyoto and 2 days in Osaka right now.
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Mar 23, 2019 17:36
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I say substitute Osaka for a trip a the Yamasaki distillery and himeji, then go to Osaka for a dinner or something. Nara and Kyoto are super beautiful but you might Templed out depending on your interests and the kind of sights you see in those areas. Fushimi inari is a plus for me. Arashimaya is decent, especially if you are coming from another contingent. The rock gardens are cool. It really depends on your pace to be honest. I actually have an interest in subtle details of Buddhist art, history, and kinds sects etc. if you don’t care as much then you can easily be “templed out” after 5.
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Mar 23, 2019 19:22
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the yamasaki distillery is legit there's also a nice tiny little okonomiyaki place on the walk up to it from the train station
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Mar 23, 2019 20:50
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zmcnulty posted:Yep that's a very scenic thing to do, and around Fuji is mostly flat so not even a strenuous bike ride. Just keep in mind that if it's cloudy you won't be able to see much of Fuji at all, so your "cycle around a lake at the base of Mt Fuji" could easily become "cycle around a lake" Yeah that's everything I've read, ha. I think we're scrapping the Fuji plan just so we don't eat an entire day of Tokyo. Homie who went semi-recently highly recommended a tour of it, but a quick search showed it was anywhere from 10 to 15+ hours and that's gonna be a no from me, dog. Here's a stupid question: is Google Maps pretty accurate with the best ways to get around Japan, outside of the shinkansen? For example, our first night in we're going to check in to our hotel then take a quick jaunt to a tattoo-friendly sento over in Shinjuku. Google Maps gives this route via the Shinjuku Line. Just wanna make sure it's not missing something important or anything.
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Mar 24, 2019 13:34
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Johnny Truant posted:Here's a stupid question: is Google Maps pretty accurate with the best ways to get around Japan, outside of the shinkansen? For example, our first night in we're going to check in to our hotel then take a quick jaunt to a tattoo-friendly sento over in Shinjuku. Google Maps gives this route via the Shinjuku Line. Just wanna make sure it's not missing something important or anything. Google Maps is good, but you'll still get lost if you're not watching what building / floor some locations are in. It should say in the address but for some places (especially shops inside malls or around train stations) it can get a touch confusing.
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Mar 24, 2019 13:55
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harperdc posted:Google Maps is good, but you'll still get lost if you're not watching what building / floor some locations are in. It should say in the address but for some places (especially shops inside malls or around train stations) it can get a touch confusing. Awesome, thanks for the heads up! If we can get to the general building location I'm not going to be too salty about figuring out what floor we're going to, so long as we don't plan to go to Shinjuku and end up in Nara, haha. Followup question! Can you load the Suica cards online, or is it only with cash? And if so, are the kiosks to refill them only in certain areas?
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Mar 24, 2019 13:59
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Johnny Truant posted:Followup question! Can you load the Suica cards online, or is it only with cash? And if so, are the kiosks to refill them only in certain areas? You purchase the Suica cards (JR) or Pasmo (Tokyo Metro and other private lines) at the actual train station from the ticket machine the first time, and you charge the card (insert cash and apply to the card) at the same machines later on when you need to add value. There’s usually a bank of three-five machines just outside any station, and there’s usually at least one machine just inside the gates if you need to add cash to make it out (not enough on the card to pay).
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Mar 24, 2019 14:08
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harperdc posted:You purchase the Suica cards (JR) or Pasmo (Tokyo Metro and other private lines) at the actual train station from the ticket machine the first time, and you charge the card (insert cash and apply to the card) at the same machines later on when you need to add value. There’s usually a bank of three-five machines just outside any station, and there’s usually at least one machine just inside the gates if you need to add cash to make it out (not enough on the card to pay). Excellent. We already have our Suica cards through the website we purchased the JR pass from, and that sounds almost identical to the transit kiosks here in the states so I think after the initial visit to one we'll be good. Is there a currency exchange in the airport that isn't running crazy exchange rates? I'm just hoping to get off the plane and exchange some money real quick so we can have a relaxing night of getting over any possible jetlag.
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Mar 24, 2019 14:22
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Johnny Truant posted:Yeah that's everything I've read, ha. I think we're scrapping the Fuji plan just so we don't eat an entire day of Tokyo. Homie who went semi-recently highly recommended a tour of it, but a quick search showed it was anywhere from 10 to 15+ hours and that's gonna be a no from me, dog. Are you going to Shinjuku for other reasons or just the sento? There’s others that are closer; sento are almost always fine with tattoos.
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Mar 24, 2019 14:24
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Johnny Truant posted:Yeah that's everything I've read, ha. I think we're scrapping the Fuji plan just so we don't eat an entire day of Tokyo. Homie who went semi-recently highly recommended a tour of it, but a quick search showed it was anywhere from 10 to 15+ hours and that's gonna be a no from me, dog. If either of you has an iPhone (or could conceivably borrow an iPhone or an iPod touch or whatever) I found apple maps on my wife's phone to be a lot better than google maps on my android at navigating around public transport in Osaka and Tokyo. YMMV but for me google maps kind of sucked at getting in and out of the right entrances and exits to the various train and metro stations and transferring to busses etc, whereas Apple maps had all the right numbers and any getting lost was wholly down to me being a moron (and shinjuku being an actual underground labyrinth) It was weird because in every other scenario google maps has always been my go-to but this is that one weird edge case where Apple maps shone.
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Mar 24, 2019 14:32
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History Comes Inside! posted:If either of you has an iPhone (or could conceivably borrow an iPhone or an iPod touch or whatever) I found apple maps on my wife's phone to be a lot better than google maps on my android at navigating around public transport in Osaka and Tokyo. When was this? Because google maps fairly recently improved to have exits displayed as well. I only use google maps these days and it’s good for me, but I’m also aware of how the system works and read Japanese so not sure if there’s some caveats that impact tourists.
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Mar 24, 2019 14:41
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Johnny Truant posted:Is there a currency exchange in the airport Yes. quote:...that isn't running crazy exchange rates? If you have a Visa/MC debit card: 7-11 and Japan Post ATMs are your best bet. They will be if you need cash normally. Otherwise the exchanges are...fine.
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Mar 24, 2019 14:52
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Johnny Truant posted:Here's a stupid question: is Google Maps pretty accurate with the best ways to get around Japan, outside of the shinkansen? Just a heads up, but it seems Google recently stopped working with Zenrin, a large Japanese mapping company, and have switched to some kind of (propietary?) big data-supported system. https://japan.googleblog.com/2019/03/GoogleMapsRefresh.html (Japanese) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-22/zenrin-falls-on-speculation-that-google-maps-partnership-is-over Key thing to note right now is that the switchover degraded the service being provided. People have been talking about no longer being able to find locations/landmarks that were definitely in the system before the switchover occured. I've had first-hand experience of the degradation myself. I use the geocoding API at work and a certain set of addresses, the match rate dropped by ~30% vs. the same addresses in February. https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/b414ho/google_map_have_degraded_in_japan_since_last_night/
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Mar 24, 2019 15:17
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The exchange rate at the airport is close enough to 1:1, and with the newish foreign atm fees on top of the 1% fee your debit card will charge, it’s a wash. The booths at the airport will give you 109:1 versus 111:1, but pulling cash out at an ATM will be 108 per 10k + 1% transaction fee. Just don’t exchange money in the US, the rates are always 101:1.
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Mar 24, 2019 15:20
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The airport rates aren't outlandish like they are in some other places. Also you get the fun of seeing Japanese bureaucracy as one person takes your money, which goes to another person, and there's an old guy who exists only to stamp a paper, which gets stamped again by yet another person, and on and on until eventually your money arrives.
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Mar 24, 2019 15:24
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Thanks for all the directions knowledge. I have an Android and my partner an iPhone, so we'll make sure to reference both when trying to get anywhere. If most sento accept tattoos I'll definitely look at places closer to our hotel, Mannenyu was just on a list of tattoo-friendly bathhouses. It also looks really cool, too! But if anyone has recs closer to our hotel(APA Hotel Nihombashi-Ekimae), I'm open and appreciative! I'm going to have to look at our ATM fees again. Those ATM fees are on top of whatever our banks charge, so I want to make sure we're not eating a 20¥ charge on every 100 we pull out or something. I had the poor timing of just closing my Wells Fargo account, cause gently caress them, but I should've waited till after our trip I think. Ah, well.
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Mar 24, 2019 15:52
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LimburgLimbo posted:When was this? Because google maps fairly recently improved to have exits displayed as well. November 2018 was the last trip and to be fair I rarely tried google maps on my phone this time because of how suck it was compared to Apple maps the first time we visited, so yeah if it's specifically been updated to have exits and such it's probably a wash now.
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Mar 24, 2019 15:53
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Johnny Truant posted:Thanks for all the directions knowledge. I have an Android and my partner an iPhone, so we'll make sure to reference both when trying to get anywhere. i just did the math using a 1% rate and today's exchange rate and if you wanted to pull out 20k, your bank would charge you 185.74. i'm probably doing the order of operations wrong, i think they put the 108 per 10k on before the 1% so it looks like you're withdrawing 10108 JPY code:Phone fucked around with this message at 16:31 on Mar 24, 2019 |
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Mar 24, 2019 16:27
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My wife and I are going to be in Japan for our honeymoon at the end of April & May. We've got most of the trip locked in, but are still finalizing some last pieces. A few questions: 1. How have people found driving in Japan? We've thought about renting a car as a way to see more of the countryside, specifically from Tokyo to the House of Light in Tokomachi and then down to Ishakawa. 2. What are your favorite day trips outside of Tokyo? We're not particularly interested in Mt Fuji, but anything else is fair game. 3. A friend of ours recommended we fly down to Yukashima. Has anyone been? 4. Yukashima seems like it's off the beaten path for most international tourists. Can anyone recommend similar places (i.e. stuff that doesn't make every single travel guide?). Anywhere in central / southern Honshu, Shikou or Kyushu is fair game. Thanks++
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Mar 24, 2019 17:00
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What's recommended for carrying loose yen coins if you don't want them rattling around in your pockets/don't want to carry a purse or fanny pack or something? Basically, what do guys in Japan do with their yen coins?
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Mar 24, 2019 17:03
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a coin purse?
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Mar 24, 2019 17:05
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