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Grand Fromage posted:SK has a registration thing now where you pay money to get an authorization that then allows you to travel "visa free", which is a pretty fun way to impose visas on everyone and collect some bucks without actually having to change the treaties or whatever. Wouldn't be surprised if Japan did something similar. Alongside the ESTA and Europe’s, I think Australia also has an eVisa that takes a couple dollarydoo fee on your visit. Kind of shocking so many people have filled ESTAs for Hawaii and Japan hasn’t decided to reciprocate as of yet.
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May 30, 2022 06:33
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| # ? May 23, 2024 15:10 |
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Thread poll results 30 May 2022 Did you Japan? You have already voted on this poll. Hai sempai 166 38.16% No 44 10.11% Unknown 26 5.98% Goku 199 45.75% Total: 435 votes
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May 30, 2022 10:12
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So how difficult is it to make your own "tour group". I was supposed to meet up with a friend in Japan a few years before covid and it didn't work out due to scheduling and I'm still mad about it.
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May 30, 2022 10:38
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mobby_6kl posted:So how difficult is it to make your own "tour group". I was supposed to meet up with a friend in Japan a few years before covid and it didn't work out due to scheduling and I'm still mad about it. If you’re asking this now by the time you’re ready normal tourists will be let in.
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May 30, 2022 10:40
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For those who live in Europe and want to travel to Japan - keep in mind that since Russia closed it's airspace, account for 3 to 5 hours extra of flight time. My friend's 9.5 hour flight from Finland to Tokyo is now 14.5 hours.
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May 30, 2022 11:26
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Last thing we need is another KAL007.
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May 30, 2022 12:25
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Welp https://twitter.com/japantimes/status/1531222077033926660
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May 30, 2022 12:55
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wow, who could've ever foreseen this?
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May 30, 2022 13:59
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Looks like someone forgot to revere the emperor, expel the barbarian.
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May 30, 2022 17:29
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Hey we all revere the emperor in our own way Mine is by turning my lungs to mush
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May 30, 2022 17:48
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I mean, I don’t know what they expected. Covid still exists and it’s not like the virus goes away if you declare that it’s over. If independent, non-tour travel is open back up by October (which it looks like it will), I’m going to revive my Shikoku plan.  Dad’s interested in doing parts of the Kumano Kodo, though. Kumano isn’t near Shikoku, and my thought would be to start from Osaka and curve southwest towards Ehime, ending by riding the expressway to Onomichi->Hiroshima. I’m sure there are good trails like the Kodo in Shikoku, and I wanna work something like that into the trip. Any recs? Other Shikoku ideas are well appreciated too! It’d be during the second half of October. Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 06:03 on Jun 4, 2022 |
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Jun 4, 2022 05:39
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Shikoku has its own famous pilgrim route you could do instead: https://www.shikoku88-japan.com/en/pilgrimage/
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Jun 4, 2022 05:43
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You should do the art islands. Naoshima is awesome
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Jun 4, 2022 15:12
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Grand Fromage posted:Shikoku has its own famous pilgrim route you could do instead: https://www.shikoku88-japan.com/en/pilgrimage/ El Mero Mero posted:You should do the art islands. Naoshima is awesome Hell yeah, that works. Guess we’ll make a trip of Seto and the north shore of Shikoku. How easy is public transportation across the island? We had little to no trouble out east, but I suspect the southwest is less extensive. Should we rent a car?
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Jun 4, 2022 16:08
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lol the mid-thirties year old virgin who has since childhood dreamed of having an Asian girlfriend ever since playing as Chun Li in Street Fighter 2 for the Super Nintendo in the op, just autobanned  anyway i was gonna ask about the iyonada monogatari train in matsuyama since apparently that's a really nice ride, but it looks off your route anyway
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Jun 4, 2022 18:31
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probably going back again in winter this year. now that russian airspace is blocked i wonder what the "normal" route from europe to japan will be, when my wife left last march she had to fly over the north pole. i guess it will either have to be that or the dubai route. it sucks that there's no feasible overland connection, or ever likely will be
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Jun 4, 2022 19:33
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Pollyanna posted:Hell yeah, that works. Guess we’ll make a trip of Seto and the north shore of Shikoku. There's decent transport for the most part. It's a bit more complex though getting to Kobe and you might need to do transfers to bus or ferry (at least that's what I did when I was there). I didn't need to rent a car personally, but I also had a bunch of savvy friends in the area who tourguided and knew how to navigate everything. We also had bikes.
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Jun 4, 2022 22:56
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On Shikoku, one regular train and one express train go each direction once an hour. Takamatsu and Matsuyama have street cars and frequent buses, but connecting with local buses anywhere else is pretty miserable for tourists. Ehime and Kagawa have some massive festivals in October, but we're still waiting to hear official declarations about cancellations. At least, the news said that Dogo's mikoshi smashing will happen. Our local festivals will be Oct 14-18, I hope.
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Jun 5, 2022 01:15
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Jerry Manderbilt posted:lol the mid-thirties year old virgin who has since childhood dreamed of having an Asian girlfriend ever since playing as Chun Li in Street Fighter 2 for the Super Nintendo in the op, just autobanned what
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Jun 5, 2022 06:56
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Weatherman posted:what Some guy came in shortly before COVID and posted literally that, basically that he was a 32 year old virgin who is obsessed with anime and Japan and he asks people to call him "[his name] chan", plus iirc additional embarrassing details. He just posted asking to be banned from SA since you can't delete accounts, but it looks like he was banned and then reregistered? since he doesn't have a "BANNED" note next to his avatar. He made a lot of oddly childish but not particularly bad posts, but just the type of stuff you'd expect a shy, nerdy 14 year old to post. Also on the topic of countries that charge you for visa waivers, in addition to the USA, Europe (from 2023), and Australia, Turkey also does that. And many other countries do it in hidden ways, like charging it in the airport ticket, like Panama.
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Jun 5, 2022 07:53
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Saladman posted:Some guy came in shortly before COVID and posted literally that, basically that he was a 32 year old virgin who is obsessed with anime and Japan and he asks people to call him "[his name] chan", plus iirc additional embarrassing details. He just posted asking to be banned from SA since you can't delete accounts, but it looks like he was banned and then reregistered? since he doesn't have a "BANNED" note next to his avatar. He made a lot of oddly childish but not particularly bad posts, but just the type of stuff you'd expect a shy, nerdy 14 year old to post. Autobans don't change your avatar for a while now. They used to, though.
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Jun 5, 2022 08:04
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Saladman posted:Some guy came in shortly before COVID and posted literally that, basically that he was a 32 year old virgin who is obsessed with anime and Japan and he asks people to call him "[his name] chan", plus iirc additional embarrassing details. don't quote me on this, but i think that might have been a joke?
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Jun 5, 2022 08:29
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Stringent posted:don't quote me on this, but i think that might have been a joke? I doubt it. He wayyy too consistently posted the kind of stuff that someone who was seriously like that would post. Maybe it’s a decade-long bit that he was doing, but I doubt it.
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Jun 5, 2022 09:54
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nm, this isn't the place for that.
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Jun 5, 2022 10:02
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Man...that exchange rate. Doubt it will still be this good when I can come back. Alas. If you weren't aware it's at 130 yen to 1 usd now.
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Jun 5, 2022 22:02
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Kind of makes me want to buy some right now. I mean there’s no way I don’t spend less than a few grand so it’s not even a big gamble. Just more of the logistics of actually using that in Japan since I don’t have a JPY account. So in true spirit of being lazy, I will do nothing.
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Jun 5, 2022 23:30
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Had some funds just sitting around doing nothing so i made my way to the currency exchange to pick up some yen at a decent price... hopefully i'll be able to use it over there sooner than later
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Jun 6, 2022 00:55
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Come before October before alcohol prices increase.
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Jun 6, 2022 01:32
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Charles 2 of Spain posted:Come before October before alcohol prices increase. and everything else too, RIP Sushiro having 100 yen plates. though costs going up may be enough to actually get companies to nudge wages up. lol. lmao.
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Jun 6, 2022 08:28
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El Mero Mero posted:There's decent transport for the most part. It's a bit more complex though getting to Kobe and you might need to do transfers to bus or ferry (at least that's what I did when I was there). I’m not afraid of bus transfers, did that a few times in the TKO trip. But I was thinking maybe the ferry from Osaka/Kobe to Naruto, actually - would give us a nice scenic view of Awajima. Then the Kaido from Imabari to Onomichi. The question is transport along the island itself… What was traveling with bikes like? How did you transport them, or did you ride them the whole way? Where exactly did you go, and what route did you follow? Dad’s a cyclist, but I’m a lazy rear end in a top hat who hasn’t ridden a bike in years. peanut posted:On Shikoku, one regular train and one express train go each direction once an hour. Takamatsu and Matsuyama have street cars and frequent buses, but connecting with local buses anywhere else is pretty miserable for tourists. Good to know. Looks like we’ll be in the clear once we’re in Imabari (though we might go check out Matsuyama too!), it getting around the north shore - something like this - might be tricky.  Keep in mind that I’d considered arriving on the island at Naruto, though. Should we maybe approach from Okayama instead? There’s also the fact that dad wants to do a few days of the Henro trail:  And I’m not terribly sure what part of that would make sense to do here. Maybe the part right north of Kochi? Or closer to Kagawa? quote:
It’s probably gonna have to be the later half of October, sadly, so festivals might be over by then  Hopefully not, or hopefully they go later. Still going to be fun anyway!!
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Jun 6, 2022 14:32
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For the ohenro trail, Saijo is flat and straight except for No. 60 (Yokomine-ji) on top of a mountain, and I also recommend Unpen-ji and Kompira* in Kagawa. Matsuyama has super cute trains and an excellent castle. I live in Niihama, if you need a festival or izakaya guide…
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Jun 6, 2022 15:29
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Oh poo poo yeah, I’ll take any and all help getting around when my conversational skills are worse than a bucket’s  Sounds like we’d do at minimum the trail from Kanonji to Yokomineji (other temples not marked), with a stop-off in Niihama.  I’ve been suggested four days straight of the henro, and I have no idea how much of that I’ll be able to handle  but we might well walk to Matsuyama, too.Google Maps is giving me directions directly through cities (not surprising), and dad’s gonna want to see a lot of nature. We might take some more scenic routes instead, but something tells me that won’t be terribly easy. I’ll do some research. If the festivals are still going on by the time we’re in the area, I’m super down for going to see them!!!! E: Welp, that got nixed. Too urban, was hoping to connect with nature.  More interested in the Nakahechi trail over in Kumano - maybe we’ll get a tour guide for that 3-4 day leg, then take a ferry across the bay. Still gonna dedicate a large chunk of the trip to Shikoku!
Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Jun 7, 2022 |
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Jun 7, 2022 02:23
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Pollyanna posted:
Are you planning on driving? The route you selected is a highway. If you want to bike you can go along Rte 11. I wouldn't suggest coming from Okayama by car or bike (bike not even possible since they closed the ferries), but if you're taking the train that's the best way. If you're driving you will save a lot of money and time going across at Awajishima. If you want to do a short Henro experience, the first 10 or so temples in Tokushima are pretty close together and you can walk to all of them in a day or two.
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Jun 7, 2022 03:53
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LyonsLions posted:Are you planning on driving? The route you selected is a highway. If you want to bike you can go along Rte 11. Sorry, that was just meant to be illustrative of the general direction we’d head in. Clockwise along the inland sea. I would love to hear about our options for traveling along the coast, cars might be doable but trains or buses would be awesome. quote:I wouldn't suggest coming from Okayama by car or bike (bike not even possible since they closed the ferries), but if you're taking the train that's the best way. If you're driving you will save a lot of money and time going across at Awajishima. I was actually thinking of coming in via Awajima. Fly into Osaka, travel across Awajima to Naruto, yada-yada our way to Niihama and gaze upon the sea, hang out in Matsuyama, cycle across the Kaido, chill in Onomichi, travel back to KIX and fly out. …well, that’s what I would do. But 4-5 days are prolly spent in Kumano now, so I don’t know what I can realistically get done anymore. quote:If you want to do a short Henro experience, the first 10 or so temples in Tokushima are pretty close together and you can walk to all of them in a day or two. Runs into the same problem of being heavily urban.  All green or get the gently caress out.  Temple walks like the Kodo or the 88 are unfortunately not going to work, because the nature of pilgrimages means that towns and cities pop up to serve pilgrims over the years, so temples are surrounded by civilization. I know this, you know this. My dad does not. Admittedly, the Kodo seems to be manicured well enough that it’s mostly green. But I suspect my dad is thinking of his favorite parts of el Camino de Santiago. I dunno how well he’ll take the asphalt roads. I’ll also admit I’m a little annoyed that we’re going the opposite direction from my original plan
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Jun 7, 2022 04:43
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This is the first time anyone told me Shikoku is too urban Btw there's an overnight ferry between Osaka and Saijo, and a daytime ferry between Kobe and Niihama https://www.orange-ferry.co.jp/sp.php peanut fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Jun 7, 2022 |
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Jun 7, 2022 04:49
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To be fair that was my dad, not me. I’m probably going to boil it down to (Daikoji-)Unpenji-Sankakuji and the lead up to Yokomineji, see if that’ll appease him.
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Jun 7, 2022 05:00
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Welp, pulled the trigger on May 5-28 2023 since I need to lock in my availability for work projects in FY23 and plan any extra resourcing, so this was as good a time as any. Air Canada /destroyed/ the Aeroplan program so I spent way more travel points than I expected (~190k vs 100k last time I booked), but also the cancellation policy is less flexible than "PLEASE SPEND MONEY DURING COVID" bookings so I'm hoping everything is back to ez-travel-mode next May. Rescheduling is still free for now, so worst case I can push my plans back if necessary. Anyway, hoping to catch the sumo tournament while I'm there,
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Jun 8, 2022 13:17
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Looking forward to jackal's "well I went ahead and booked my ticket for October 20th 2024" post in the coming months
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Jun 13, 2022 02:43
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AHH F/UGH posted:Looking forward to jackal's "well I went ahead and booked my ticket for October 20th 2024" post in the coming months Hey, third time's the charm 
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Jun 13, 2022 15:28
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Well goons, it’s finally happening. Radiation levels have dropped enough and the Grand Atlantic Duchy is opening the Iron Gate to anyone emitting less than 3.6 roentgen per diem. I bought a new suit and jury rigged a new plasma harpoon and if the skies are clear of razor hyenas, I’ll soon be welcoming our new golden era by riding blinksharks under the Neo Tokyo-4 ruins! See you all in 2050, and remember: the Moon never happened. The Moon never happened. The Moon never happened. The Moon never happened. The Moon never happened. The M
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Jun 13, 2022 17:34
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