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paberu posted:New Chitose is a pretty awesome airport, I'd recommend you stop at Ebisoba ramen before you leave. http://www.new-chitose-airport.jp/en/spend/shop/s146.html . Egg tarts (forget the name of store) are quite unreal too and would recommend you pick some up. I think they have a store in Sapporo maybe? Unfortunately I can't drive so no, it's public transport or nothing.  I can bike for hours though.Noted on the ramen / egg tarts, thanks! Shibawanko posted:There's a really good onigiri shop in shinchitose and have you considered eating genghiskhan mutton bbq in sapporo? I think one of the main ones is called Daruma. Noted. Is there anything else in Shin Chitose by the way? Not that I mind heading over just to gorge myself.  ntan1 posted:Exactly when are you going? this is important. 1) At the end of May, for a week. 2) Singapore. 3) I probably should note that I'm returning to my hotel in Sapporo at the end of each day... 4) I was hoping going off-season would remedy that but hahahahahaha  5) See 3) ntan1 posted:Indeed, I'm not big on photos but gotcha.
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Apr 22, 2019 13:48
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eat everything in Sapporo and hokkaido. sapporo loving rules. I never ate better anywhere agh I wanna eat more things
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Apr 22, 2019 14:24
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mikeycp posted:saving that money is fine by me. the minshuku looked more appealing anyway Where in Shikoku? We like Nagoma, on Imabari Oshima. https://www.gambo-ad.com/hotel/?ar=2Translate&id=42
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Apr 22, 2019 14:31
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peanut posted:Where in Shikoku? We like Nagoma, on Imabari Oshima. we haven't decided where all we're going, but this looks great since we're planning on doing shinanami now!
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Apr 22, 2019 17:31
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Martytoof posted:There's no way to create reservations from the Tabelog site, right? Or am I just missing a crucial link somewhere. You can do it from the Japanese Tabelog if the restaurant allows it, but not on the English site. However since you're on your computer you can use the googles to puzzle through, I was able to manage that way.
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Apr 22, 2019 23:21
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I remember in 2004 or 2005 being in times square for new years and seeing groups of bewildered and terrified older Japanese on some kind of package tour with the matching hats etc. They were standing still all huddled together but had the look of people riding a particularly intense roller coaster or shroom trip
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Apr 22, 2019 23:24
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Grand Fromage posted:You can do it from the Japanese Tabelog if the restaurant allows it, but not on the English site. However since you're on your computer you can use the googles to puzzle through, I was able to manage that way. This was pretty much what I thought. Although interesting development -- Tabelog app integrates with Apple Maps, which in turn lets you create reservations right there. Going to try this in two weeks, may prevent me from needing to muck around in the JP app.
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Apr 22, 2019 23:48
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Martytoof posted:This was pretty much what I thought. Orly?
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Apr 22, 2019 23:51
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d0s posted:I remember in 2004 or 2005 being in times square for new years and seeing groups of bewildered and terrified older Japanese on some kind of package tour with the matching hats etc. They were standing still all huddled together but had the look of people riding a particularly intense roller coaster or shroom trip https://youtu.be/_CB7V26jyxc Also Paris, lol.
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Apr 23, 2019 01:16
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One of the cruise ship terminals in Stockholm has 4 lines reserved specifically for asian tourist groups (1 for Koreans, 1 for Chinese and 2 for Japanese), and we're nowhere near them. Last I was there, I think there were maybe 3 such groups of 15-20 people each, complete with guides. Apart from occasionally blocking the way, they were probably better behaved than the Swedes and Finns.
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Apr 23, 2019 02:11
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as an american I will take any asian tourists over a particular type of sloppy drunk european tourist. though I'm sure europe gets an identical share of sloppy drunk american tourists
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Apr 23, 2019 02:40
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When we landed in Hiroshima, the people in the rows behind us, literally would not let me get out of my seat to get my bag and kept moving past me. I looked at my wife like "WTF" and she said, "Chinese tourists. Push into them." and so I did. Sure as poo poo, any time we ran into a group of rude asians that would cut in line, or bodily push past you, invariably they were Chinese. There's my borderline racist story about my time in Japan.
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Apr 23, 2019 03:04
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Nah it's not racist, it's China. Learning to shove is a valuable life skill there. Just the way the place works and if you don't do it you'll be screwed.
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Apr 23, 2019 12:11
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Stringent posted:Orly? Yah never mind, it dumps you back into tabelog to finish the reservation so I guess I could put in the effort to just understand tabelog in general rather than trying to find dumb workarounds.
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Apr 23, 2019 22:28
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Anyone ever been to that Yurei Izakaya horror restaurant place? https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1060900-d1676913-Reviews-Kichijoji_Yurei-Musashino_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html It looks like cool tacky fun and I was thinking it might be a neat place to take my friend for her 40th birthday this October. Just curious as to whether us only having pretty basic Japanese might make the whole experience a bit less fun by not always knowing what's going on. Also, is it the kind of place you'd need to book in advance or could we just waltz up on the day?
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Apr 24, 2019 11:09
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Question Mark Mound posted:Anyone ever been to that Yurei Izakaya horror restaurant place? https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1060900-d1676913-Reviews-Kichijoji_Yurei-Musashino_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html I went just recently actually! It's pretty amusing. There's just a few themed foods but the atmosphere really makes it. The price is really good for the amount of food as well, unlike many themed places. For birthdays you need to reserve in advance. I think it said at least three days, but I don't recall exactly. If the birthday that was there when we visited is an accurate representation there is a jelly brain involved. Definitely get the course for a party. The russian roulette food includes a funeral for the loser.
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Apr 24, 2019 13:06
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So how is the Tokyo Skytree for a touristy kind of attraction? Annnnnnd my friend mentioned an aquarium but I forget if it was in Tokyo or Kyoto..? My trip is now in less than 2 weeks and holy hell can I not wait.
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Apr 24, 2019 13:54
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Now that I'm back in the US, do you guys want to hear my thoughts on being at Tokyo, or will I just come across as lame and annoying?
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Apr 24, 2019 14:07
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Johnny Truant posted:So how is the Tokyo Skytree for a touristy kind of attraction? Annnnnnd my friend mentioned an aquarium but I forget if it was in Tokyo or Kyoto..? Skytree is...it's really tall. But nothing else is nearby, so if it's a cloudy day, you won't really have much for comparison. The Tokyo Metropolitan Building is in Shinjuku, so lots of other skyscrapers nearby, and has a good view of Fuji on a clear day. Oh, and it's also free, whereas Skytree is something like $25 to go up. There is an aquarium at Skytree (along with like four or five others in the general area) but it'd be a separate fee to get in, and the central attraction for it is a penguin pool, so judge whether that's of interest. Tokyo doesn't have the best of the aquariums in Japan (Churaumi in Okinawa is tops, and the one in Osaka is runner up) but there are a bunch of them.
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Apr 24, 2019 14:09
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punk rebel ecks posted:Now that I'm back in the US, do you guys want to hear my thoughts on being at Tokyo, or will I just come across as lame and annoying? Go nuts.
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Apr 24, 2019 14:22
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When I went to skytree last year there was a cool university robotics exhibition at the top floor of one (?) of the buildings attached, though I don’t know if it was permanent or just temporary. They had a really cool Macross cockpit mockup. I was super interested in it and the guys running the exhibit let me cross the crowd barrier and climb the ladder so I could look inside and take photos as long as I didn’t post them anywhere. That’s my cool skytree story, thanks for coming to my Ted talk.
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Apr 24, 2019 14:49
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Johnny Truant posted:So how is the Tokyo Skytree for a touristy kind of attraction? Annnnnnd my friend mentioned an aquarium but I forget if it was in Tokyo or Kyoto..? Skytree is neat and I don’t regret going but as mentioned there are other places you could go as well. The line was 45 minutes which was pretty much the limit of our patience. You can get express tickets but they cost more and was starting to get to the not really worth it range unless you really want to go. There are some other things and touristy shopping to see nearby so it’s probably worth a morning if you go when the weather is good.
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Apr 24, 2019 15:35
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Stringent posted:Go nuts. - The country, at least Tokyo, is super advanced. I heard of other nations being ahead of America but it has to be experienced to truly understand. A city designed solely around walkability. Public transportation with speed, pricing, and reliability that makes cars antique. Not an inch of building space not used for retail. - Toilets are like from some a sci-fi movie. Heated seats. Butt bidets. Noise makers. Remote control lids. I'm not sure whether I should be impressed or baffled. - While the Japanese people may initially seem cold, if you have a basic conversation, as in say a few Japanese words, they become extremely nice and friendly. - The entire city is super clean, which is a bit odd as it is near impossible to find a trash can anywhere. - It's also difficult to find a toilet and drinking fountains. - The food is delicious. They say Tokyo outranks Paris as the best city for food and I can imagine. So many good restaurants and eats. - I'm going to get eye rolls for this, but the women are absolutely gorgeous. I've never been to a city with so many beautiful women. It made me jealous. - Arcades are everywhere. That said in terms of "new games", it's always the same dozen games or so. I didn't realize that such few companies made modern arcade games in Japan. - There's almost an endless amount of things to do and see. - A near cash only society sucks, I prefer using cards. - It gets very lonely not being able to speak the language. Despite being surrounded by a sea of people I felt alone. There were at times I was sitting across from people and I would want to talk to them, and vice versa, but I knew I couldn't. Makes me really emphatic to non-English speaking immigrants in my country. - Despite many obvious cultural differences, I didn't feel that day to day life in Japan was THAT removed from America. Maybe I would have to live there for a bit to see. But I really felt that "they were all people just like me, just from a different place".
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Apr 24, 2019 15:37
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punk rebel ecks posted:- The country, at least Tokyo, is super advanced. I heard of other nations being ahead of America but it has to be experienced to truly understand. A city designed solely around walkability. Public transportation with speed, pricing, and reliability that makes cars antique. Not an inch of building space not used for retail. punk rebel ecks posted:- Toilets are like from some a sci-fi movie. Heated seats. Butt bidets. Noise makers. Remote control lids. I'm not sure whether I should be impressed or baffled. punk rebel ecks posted:- While the Japanese people may initially seem cold, if you have a basic conversation, as in say a few Japanese words, they become extremely nice and friendly. punk rebel ecks posted:- The entire city is super clean, which is a bit odd as it is near impossible to find a trash can anywhere. punk rebel ecks posted:- It's also difficult to find a toilet and drinking fountains. punk rebel ecks posted:- The food is delicious. They say Tokyo outranks Paris as the best city for food and I can imagine. So many good restaurants and eats. punk rebel ecks posted:- I'm going to get eye rolls for this, but the women are absolutely gorgeous. I've never been to a city with so many beautiful women. It made me jealous. punk rebel ecks posted:- Arcades are everywhere. That said in terms of "new games", it's always the same dozen games or so. I didn't realize that such few companies made modern arcade games in Japan. punk rebel ecks posted:- There's almost an endless amount of things to do and see. punk rebel ecks posted:- A near cash only society sucks, I prefer using cards. punk rebel ecks posted:- It gets very lonely not being able to speak the language. Despite being surrounded by a sea of people I felt alone. There were at times I was sitting across from people and I would want to talk to them, and vice versa, but I knew I couldn't. Makes me really emphatic to non-English speaking immigrants in my country. punk rebel ecks posted:- Despite many obvious cultural differences, I didn't feel that day to day life in Japan was THAT removed from America. Maybe I would have to live there for a bit to see. But I really felt that "they were all people just like me, just from a different place".
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Apr 24, 2019 15:58
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punk rebel ecks posted:- I'm going to get eye rolls for this, but the women are absolutely gorgeous. I've never been to a city with so many beautiful women. It made me jealous. Oh man, Japanese women snowboarders are my loving kryptonite.
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Apr 24, 2019 16:03
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highme posted:Oh man, Japanese women snowboarders are my loving kryptonite. Oh, cool, you hate self-entitled bitches sitting in the absolute center of a piste for two hours straight too.
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Apr 24, 2019 16:05
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I've only been to Niseko & there was a solid crew of 8-10 girls that were killing it. Since I don't go to Japan to ride groomers I'm not terribly put out by this behavior, though I'm sure it's annoying as gently caress.
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Apr 24, 2019 16:12
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Stringent posted:Swap arcade with smartphone and subtract the resources needed and you have an answer I think? Honestly I figured it was smartphone games (gachapon games) or gambling games (Be it the coin games for kids or pachinko for adults).
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Apr 24, 2019 16:14
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Johnny Truant posted:So how is the Tokyo Skytree for a touristy kind of attraction? Annnnnnd my friend mentioned an aquarium but I forget if it was in Tokyo or Kyoto..? Unless you have a super hardon for penguins the aquarium by the sky tree is kinda small and boring especially for what it costs to get in. The Kaiyukan one in Osaka however is the tits, it's gigantic and can easily kill most of a day all by itself.
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Apr 24, 2019 16:19
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Ah thanks everybody, it was the Osaka one I was recommended by a colleague, I just couldn't remember! And thanks for the Skytree tips, sounds like we'll kind of play it by ear depending on the weather. I'll try one last time, but anybody got recs for a romantic restaurant somewhere in Tokyo? We scrapped the Ginza Steak idea and are in search of something else. Just wanna try to have a nice anniversary meal, no real specifics other than I guess preferably Japanese cuisine?  I'll ask a question that will get me ridiculed: how do you, uh, use a bidet? Do you spray your bum then.. wipe afterwards? Is it like, a fuckin pressure washer jet right on your browneye? Or does it spray and then a little fan dries you off? I've never used one, and I think the last time I even saw one I was single digits in age. 
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Apr 24, 2019 16:31
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It's better to go in blind, trust me you'll be pleasantly surprised Maybe in more ways than one 
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Apr 24, 2019 16:40
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I also did not realize that Japan's Nigerian population was somewhat visible. I kind of wanted to ask them how their experiences with the country were.
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Apr 24, 2019 16:41
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I happened to visit Skytree by accident right as they were doing the holiday illumination ceremony, complete with a parade of some international beauty pageant contestants, so that was a neat experience. It was at night, so probably less crowded generally but I didn't have to wait in line more than 2 or 3 minutes before getting on the elevator. I think it's a really cool view, and was a nice capper after spending the day mostly in Asakusa. Also, a pleasant walk away through an urban park area is the new (2015) Tobacco and Salt Museum. I'm a big fan of hyper-specific museums and this fits the bill. Very modern with nice exhibits, all with English available.
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Apr 24, 2019 17:01
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QuasiQuack posted:It's better to go in blind, trust me you'll be pleasantly surprised Wait the bidets will blind me!? Haha. Alright, I withdraw my bidet information request, and will post a live update of my first experience on a Japanese toilet. Hargrimm posted:Also, a pleasant walk away through an urban park area is the new (2015) Tobacco and Salt Museum. I'm a big fan of hyper-specific museums and this fits the bill. Very modern with nice exhibits, all with English available. I actually just found out about this place last night! I don't think we'll visit it, but I did a little perusing of their website and learned some interesting stuff.
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Apr 24, 2019 17:29
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Hargrimm posted:Also, a pleasant walk away through an urban park area is the new (2015) Tobacco and Salt Museum. I'm a big fan of hyper-specific museums and this fits the bill. Very modern with nice exhibits, all with English available. As an addict of both substances, thank you for mentioning this museum. Granted my wife and I hope to quit smoking (again) before we visit in November, but I can sense a lapse when we get there based on the prevalence of smoking.
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Apr 24, 2019 17:33
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japan is good and cool
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Apr 24, 2019 17:41
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Johnny Truant posted:Ah thanks everybody, it was the Osaka one I was recommended by a colleague, I just couldn't remember! And thanks for the Skytree tips, sounds like we'll kind of play it by ear depending on the weather. The outdoor cafe at the Godzilla hotel (Gracery) in Shinjuku is great for that ‘dining right behind the head of a kaiju’ romantic feel. And the food was good.
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Apr 24, 2019 18:04
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Question Mark Mound posted:Anyone ever been to that Yurei Izakaya horror restaurant place? https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1060900-d1676913-Reviews-Kichijoji_Yurei-Musashino_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html the Yurei Izakaya is a ton of fun. definitely go.
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Apr 24, 2019 18:10
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punk rebel ecks posted:Public transportation with speed, pricing, and reliability that makes cars antique. This is my biggest complaint about the good ol' US of A. Obviously some places do it better than others here, but the trains in Japan didn't smell like piss, nobody poo poo on the escalators, are pretty clean in addition to the already mentioned piss/poo poo -freeness, not full of loud idiots and pan handlers, on time, and people dont crowd the door so you can get off. Did I mention the lack of piss and poo poo on every surface? Oh and the lack of murders at the train station, I'm looking at you BART (bay area rapid transit).
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Apr 24, 2019 18:19
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Blackchamber posted:This is my biggest complaint about the good ol' US of A. Obviously some places do it better than others here, but the trains in Japan didn't smell like piss, nobody poo poo on the escalators, are pretty clean in addition to the already mentioned piss/poo poo -freeness, not full of loud idiots and pan handlers, on time, and people dont crowd the door so you can get off. Seattle didn't seem so bad when I was there a while back. Los Angeles and Kansas City were a lot less convenient.
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Apr 24, 2019 19:29
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