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Iymarra posted:Cool, but do SUICA cards work on every line inside the station? Like, if I'm going from a station at senso-ji temple to say, the closest station near electric town at akihabara and it goes through x line with two changes, does SUICA cover that or is it likely that I'd need to grab a single ticket for one part of that, or use a different card? Suica works on everything in Tokyo except a couple of bus lines and they may have gotten them moved over by now.
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Mar 25, 2022 22:34
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This is a small piece of advice but if you are a daily coffee drinker whatever you do, don’t hit Starbucks every morning. If you just need a caffeine hit all the major conbinis do fresh hot/ice coffee starting from about 100 yen. McDonalds works too. A medium Starbucks will probably cost you 500 at least.
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Mar 26, 2022 00:15
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My local IC card (Iyoca) is incompatible with the suica/pasmo system  JR stations don't even have electric ticket gates. Shikoku people dream of tapping cards to a gate. Suica is kawaii and sugoi.
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Mar 26, 2022 00:45
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OTOH Japan starbucks is probably the best in the world. The drinks are almost always perfect and there are interesting special drinks every month.
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Mar 26, 2022 01:15
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Iymarra posted:Cool, but do SUICA cards work on every line inside the station? Like, if I'm going from a station at senso-ji temple to say, the closest station near electric town at akihabara and it goes through x line with two changes, does SUICA cover that or is it likely that I'd need to grab a single ticket for one part of that, or use a different card? Suica will work on almost all public transit. You might find some inaka bus that you need to get a ticket for if you are well off the beaten path, but it's rare.
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Mar 26, 2022 01:26
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Waltzing Along posted:OTOH Japan starbucks is probably the best in the world. The drinks are almost always perfect and there are interesting special drinks every month. Yeah I would totally recommend going once or twice. I just mean for those who need that morning coffee everyday, it would get way too expensive. Btw I met my wife at my local Inaka Starbucks while she was working there. 
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Mar 26, 2022 01:57
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Pegnose Pete posted:Yeah I would totally recommend going once or twice. I just mean for those who need that morning coffee everyday, it would get way too expensive. Lol if that’s the one in the town you worked in, of course I know that one. Yeah Suica works on everything as a tourist. That includes going from like JR lines to Tokyu or Keio at Shibuya, for example - unless you’re out in the peanut-approved inaka you’ll be fine. I loaded up my spare cards for family last time they visited. They also work to pay at convenience stores (and some others too, like groceries even?) and most vending machines. That’s the real clutch one.
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Mar 26, 2022 02:20
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harperdc posted:Lol if that’s the one in the town you worked in, of course I know that one.
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Mar 26, 2022 02:48
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If you have an iPhone 8 or later, regardless of where you bought it/where you live in the world, you can also just use the Suica/Pasmo cards in the wallet app. And you don't have to be connected to the internet when you pass through ticket gates etc. either. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207154 If you're on Android that's not an option because non-Japanese droids don't support felica.
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Mar 26, 2022 04:14
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Good Listener posted:I've got the idea in my head to go back to Japan next year perhaps when I can, since I know the borders are currently closed to tourism last I checked. I've been once before though it was 2006 on a college study trip for a month. I thought I'd maybe ask a few questions while I'm here since no doubt things have changed in the 16 years since I've been there last. Do you guys like music festivals? Want to go to one (end of July)? Costs Depends on where you fly out of. 400-600 is not uncommon from the west coast, twice that from east coast. Don't know about EU or other places. Lodging can be had for about 80-120 in the city depending on where you stay. Capsules and hostels can be had for about half that. The best deal I personally find in Tokyo is the Millennials "capsule" - it's actually a queen sized bed area instead of a tiny single and it goes all the way up to the ceiling. A block or two away from the scramble in Shibuya for under 100 bucks a night. Honestly the best deal imo. Shared (private) facilities, though. If in the city, I wouldn't really recommend splurging on the hotel. You don't really get much more for what you pay. Food I typically recommend 50 bucks a day on AVERAGE including drinks. You can, of course, go more or less but 50 a day should let you eat pretty much whatever you want barring really special things. Typical costs: 5-6 USD/beer. Ramen and other typical "fast foods" (e.g. beef bowl) ~6-10. Typical conveyer sushi 30-50 (it means "normal" quality, not the super budget/high end ones). Real sushi I'd wager 60-120 (or more, of course). Izakaya typically about 30-40 with drinks unless you go nuts. Transport within Japan is really a hidden expense. People mentioned the JR pass and for 7 days, I think round trip to Osaka plus a day trip to almost anywhere further than Kyoto will make the 7-day pass pay off. If you only go one-way or don't go that far, it's definitely not worth it. But if you do decide to get the pass, see if you can't take advantage of it and really go ham like a day trip to Hiroshima (it would be a really long day and I don't necessarily recommend it but you could theoretically do it). If you ever want to go to the outer reaches, though, it's amazing. I took about a thousand dollars worth of trains on my pass in a week (Tokyo <-> Kyushu and throughout Kyushu). Daily transport can also be more than you'd expect. 10-20/day is not unreasonable if you're hopping around town as tourists tend to do. Similarly, a lot of places have nominal entrance fees like 5-10 dollars that can add up if you're visiting a lot of different places (like you might in Kyoto). Internet: you can get sim cards for really cheap these days. Don't get a wifi dongle - they're expensive, heavy, a hassle, and kind of just suck. A sim card is https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/internet-access/sim-cards super cheap. peanut posted:My local IC card (Iyoca) is incompatible with the suica/pasmo system STILL? Can I get a local IC card or am I going to be buying paper tickets when I visit Shikoku? totalnewbie fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Mar 26, 2022 |
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Mar 26, 2022 04:59
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If you're lucky and can sleep in a chair there are overnight sleeper buses. Tokyo/Osaka is about eight hours and IIRC they're $100ish. Given that it's travel and hotel it's a pretty good deal. As much as I love Osaka I probably wouldn't try to jam it into a short Tokyo area trip though. Plenty of closer areas, and if you wanted to venture out a bit somewhere like Matsumoto is nice and more of a difference than just shuttling between two megacities.
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Mar 26, 2022 06:34
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totalnewbie posted:STILL? Can I get a local IC card or am I going to be buying paper tickets when I visit Shikoku? The IC cards only work on the local Iyotetsu lines in Matsuyama (い～カード not Iyocard, lol), but Kotoden in Takamatsu (Iruca) is compatible with outside systems. JR Shikoku is all paper, baby! The express train tickets get hand-stamped and collected in a cookie tin. There are also tiny unmanned stations with no machines or roof or walls, you just get on the train and pay cash to a conductor if they notice you, or declare after arriving at your destination, if it has staff. (So yes, sometimes you can ride for free from tiny station to tiny station). peanut fucked around with this message at 08:33 on Mar 26, 2022 |
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Mar 26, 2022 08:29
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if you really want to do a shinkansen daytrip from tokyo there's kanazawa or kyoto, osaka is different from tokyo in terms of food and attitudes but this probably won't be obvious to a tourist, it will probably just look like a smaller version of tokyo
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Mar 26, 2022 09:27
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This is all really helpful and I definitely appreciate all the help being given. I work for a hotel chain here and I've actually poked at our Tokyo location like "Hey guys...you do the employee discount over there?" lol Also I forgot to factor in internet stuff..so you would just potentially buy a lil sim card and use that for the 2ish week stay then? Also I have been to Kyoto before but not Kanazawa...though I could always go back because my friend hasn't been to Japan at ALL. Another question since someone brought it up to me. With souvenirs is it better to try and ship them home from Japan or just bring them on the plane with us? I don't think we'd be bringing home something huge or crazy but there's always the chance awkward packing might happen otherwise.
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Mar 26, 2022 14:35
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International shipping used to be cheap and awesome but everything is weird since 2020. Overweight baggage is 60 bux, an extra suitcase is 200… idk like just go with 4 shirts and do some laundry. No, I haven't achieved travel simplicity yet either. https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/international/prepare/baggage/checked-in/baggage-over.html
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Mar 26, 2022 15:12
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kyoto is also close enough to osaka that you really don't need the shinkansen to travel between the two; i remember when my japanese friends took me and a few others to the tokaido corridor we stayed the night in osaka and then in the morning we just took the JR kyoto line from osaka station to kyoto station to spend two days in the latter
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Mar 26, 2022 15:39
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Waltzing Along posted:OTOH Japan starbucks is probably the best in the world. The drinks are almost always perfect and there are interesting special drinks every month. sbux is the same everywhere, it's like their thing to be consistent. china, japan and taiwan in my experience have more special drinks but if you don't care about calorie bombs their basic coffee tastes the same everywhere (aggressively mediocre). china actually recently started having chemex, immersion and pour over for the same price as americanos which was weird and significantly better than their burnt americanos, idk if japan also does this, but like anywhere you can do better at a convenience store or a local joint. mcafe coffee is weirdly very good everywhere in asia and 1/5 the price of sbux/peets/etc.
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Mar 26, 2022 16:36
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peanut posted:International shipping used to be cheap and awesome but everything is weird since 2020. Overweight baggage is 60 bux, an extra suitcase is 200… idk like just go with 4 shirts and do some laundry. No, I haven't achieved travel simplicity yet either. There's also the old trick of packing clothes you don't want anymore and just throwing them away as you go.
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Mar 26, 2022 18:56
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Ailumao posted:sbux is the same everywhere, it's like their thing to be consistent. china, japan and taiwan in my experience have more special drinks but if you don't care about calorie bombs their basic coffee tastes the same everywhere (aggressively mediocre). Japan is also home to hundreds of little coffee shops run by cranky old people who have spent decades obsessively perfecting their coffee game, if you actually want to drink coffee. I'm pretty sure most tourists just go to Starbucks to ogle high school girls.
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Mar 26, 2022 22:50
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peanut posted:International shipping used to be cheap and awesome but everything is weird since 2020. Overweight baggage is 60 bux, an extra suitcase is 200… idk like just go with 4 shirts and do some laundry. No, I haven't achieved travel simplicity yet either. I read a book about Japan on a budget before going there and it was written pre pandemic it still suggested doing laundry and it would be cheaper to buy a couple outfits from Uniqlo and leave some space in your luggage to take stuff home than to bring a second bag. I was on such a shoestring though that I knew I wasn't bringing much home anyway so I might as well fill that space with just in case clothes.
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Mar 26, 2022 23:54
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Everyone here talking about Suica while I am on the Pasmo grindset.
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Mar 27, 2022 02:22
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icoca 4 lyfe
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Mar 27, 2022 02:59
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Laundry is pretty common in Japanese hotels anyway. I travel just with a backpack so I only have a few days of clothes and had no issues. If there isn't one in the hotel, there'll be a laundromat somewhere nearby.
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Mar 27, 2022 03:16
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japanese laundromats are awesome cause they have combined washing machines & dryers that also weigh your stuff and dose the detergent for you. all you gotta do is put your clothes in, pay the ¥400 or so and 80min later you have clean, dry laundry you do have to take your shoes off first tho
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Mar 27, 2022 07:07
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Aix posted:japanese laundromats are awesome cause they have combined washing machines & dryers that also weigh your stuff and dose the detergent for you. all you gotta do is put your clothes in, pay the ¥400 or so and 80min later you have clean, dry laundry What? Where?
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Mar 27, 2022 09:37
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Grand Fromage posted:There's also the old trick of packing clothes you don't want anymore and just throwing them away as you go. I've done this with socks and underwear in the gaikoku  For domestic trips, I have also mailed my own dirty laundry home. And mailing the whole suitcase and shinking home with just a wallet and bottle of tea is awesome.
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Mar 27, 2022 09:39
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Mister Chief posted:What? Where? ive used em both in oosaka and kyoto & loved it! set it & go eat lunch & pick up your stuff. i wish theyd have that in every country
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Mar 27, 2022 10:08
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Aix posted:japanese laundromats are awesome cause they have combined washing machines & dryers that also weigh your stuff and dose the detergent for you. all you gotta do is put your clothes in, pay the ¥400 or so and 80min later you have clean, dry laundry I live in the inaka of Saitama and I have not yet seen such wonders. Or it just so happens that all the coin laundry in my town suck.
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Mar 27, 2022 15:52
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For whatever reason, every time I’ve gone to Japan I packed as if I was travelling to a third world country where laundry doesn’t exist, and there isn’t a Uniqlo or other shop max 30 minutes away if I really need something else to wear.
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Mar 27, 2022 23:51
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At the very least, I can spend this time with Covid to work out and trim down so as not to disgust innocent locals.
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Mar 28, 2022 00:11
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You can dress yourself at a combini pretty much.
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Mar 28, 2022 00:46
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Yes but I look like I’m wrapped in newspaper all the time. I travel to experience something new.
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Mar 28, 2022 00:54
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Well we wouldn't want tourists stealing our looks anyway.
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Mar 28, 2022 00:56
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The family mart socks are thick and durable, I'm impressed.
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Mar 28, 2022 02:00
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I just wash my clothes in the sink or shower with soap. I usually inlu carey 3 sets of clothes, though, so I have to do laundry every day.
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Mar 28, 2022 02:05
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peanut posted:The family mart socks are thick and durable, I'm impressed. Took a lot of my willpower to resist buying those last year.
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Mar 28, 2022 03:45
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7 11 carries good men's boxer shorts
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Mar 28, 2022 06:33
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I've pondered about and done some preliminary planning for doing a bicycle camping tour and the thread is giving me useful ideas for what isn't necessary to pack for it now.
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Mar 28, 2022 07:32
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bicycle = shimanami kaido
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Mar 28, 2022 15:46
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I had a trip to japan planned in 2020 before Corona, and since corona cancelled it I channeled all my rage and ticket money into learning japanese. So I guess I'm not too upset about not being allowed in because i feel like now at least I'll be able to have a different type of fun. Might even take the JLPT N1 in December this year.
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Mar 28, 2022 18:03
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