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harperdc posted:Have you checked the calendar? Until at least a couple years ago, they didn’t have games on Mondays. Also check if it’s the Marine Day holiday Monday or not, because that’s more likely to sell out. Gabriel Grub posted:If it's a weekday, non-holiday game, you don't necessarily have to snap up the tickets quickly, but there's no reason not to buy the tickets in advance at a convenience store as soon as you get a chance. Yeah it's not on Mon, looks like Tues-Wed-Thurs. The thing about buying in advance is that we don't know exactly which day nor how many people will be going until we get to Japan as we're coordinating 3 parties, but maybe it's better to buy early and give away any tickets that won't be used. Thanks for the feedback.
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Mar 22, 2023 19:45
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How terrible will the Shimanami Kaido be during mid August? I already know to expect hot and humid. Plan so far: 8/9 - arrive in TYO 8/10 - shopping and random hobby browsing in Tokyo 8/11 - 8/16 - who knows, Obon seems to make things hard 8/17 - 20 Shimanami Kaido (which direction?) 8/21 - Osaka (staying there for rest of trip) 8/22 - 23 - Kyoto (the usual big highlights) 8/24 - Kinosaki 8/25 - daytrip from Osaka - Nara, Hiroshima? 8/26 - Travel all the way up to Daisen for the Oomagari Fireworks festival, then back down to Sendai 8/27 - Sendai to TYO to go home I'd really appreciate any help, especially with 8/11-16. Any suggestions for stuff in the area that won't be inundated with tourists (since I figure the Osaka/Kyoto days will be full of them)? Is Shikoku even doable without a car?
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Mar 23, 2023 02:53
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socketwrencher posted:Yeah it's not on Mon, looks like Tues-Wed-Thurs. The thing about buying in advance is that we don't know exactly which day nor how many people will be going until we get to Japan as we're coordinating 3 parties, but maybe it's better to buy early and give away any tickets that won't be used. Thanks for the feedback. Well you will already have to be in Japan to do a convenience store purchase. I'm just saying you don't have to wait to get all the way to the stadium ticket window to secure tickets.
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Mar 23, 2023 03:05
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Pollyanna posted:Pity that that Japan doesn’t get the Mario movie until late April, I was gonna drag my dad along to go see it. It will probably only showing in Japanese dub anyway. Gabriel Grub fucked around with this message at 04:37 on Mar 23, 2023 |
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Mar 23, 2023 03:06
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I have a regular Kinokuniya subscription to a picross/nonogram magazine that has big poster-sized picross posters I like to do. If I’m in Tokyo, what kind of place could I go to get even bigger picross puzzles? Or, where could I go to inquire about finding the biggest picross posters tokyo has to offer? Just to give you an idea of what I mean and what I eat for breakfast:  I crave bigger!
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Mar 23, 2023 03:25
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The Robot Restaurant is gone and I learned that the Kawaii Monster Cafe also bit the dust during covid shutdowns. So whats left of over-the-top gaudy and awful tourist traps in Japan? EDIT: NOT related to the above question obv, but it seems the Gundam in Yokohama has been extended again til 2024. I'm glad I am going to get a chance to see it! Blackchamber fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Mar 23, 2023 |
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Mar 23, 2023 04:03
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Gabriel Grub posted:It will probably only showing in Japanese dub anyway. It’s aimed at kids, I would put it at 90% odds it’ll only be dubbed on release here.
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Mar 23, 2023 05:03
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Blackchamber posted:The Robot Restaurant is gone and I learned that the Kawaii Monster Cafe also bit the dust during covid shutdowns. So whats left of over-the-top gaudy and awful tourist traps in Japan? We did the vampire cafe in Ginza, it was surprisingly decent.
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Mar 23, 2023 05:17
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Crampy Grampaw posted:How terrible will the Shimanami Kaido be during mid August? I already know to expect hot and humid. Shikoku is doable without a car, but it depends on how much you try to fit in each day. Yes Shimanami Kaido will be hot and humid like the rest of the country. There's little shade but the wind feels wonderful. I live in Niihama, Ehime so my default is Ehime→Hiroshima, I think most visitors do it the other way and then don't give any time to Shikoku. - My family's favorite minshuku is Nagoma on Oshima island - Oyamazumi shrine (Omishima, Imabari, Ehime) - Kosanji temple (Ikuchijima, Onomichi, Hiroshima) - Dolphin farm (Hakatajima, Imabari, Ehime) - Side trip to bunny island (Okunoshima, Takehara, Hiroshima)
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Mar 23, 2023 06:10
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I thought I was a fan of picross but Jesus loving Christ that thing looks insane.
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Mar 23, 2023 13:10
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Crampy Grampaw posted:Is Shikoku even doable without a car? I live in southwest shikoku with no car If it’s the city there should be no problem — it just depends on how time your willing to spend
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Mar 23, 2023 13:31
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I'm planning on going to Shikoku for my next trip back to Japan - even though a car is not required, I'm sure it would make the experience 100x better, no?
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Mar 23, 2023 14:53
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peanut posted:Shikoku is doable without a car, but it depends on how much you try to fit in each day. Thank you! How much will Obon affect things in terms of closures/crowdedness, or is that mostly a Tokyo thing?
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Mar 23, 2023 15:14
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Busy Bee posted:I'm planning on going to Shikoku for my next trip back to Japan - even though a car is not required, I'm sure it would make the experience 100x better, no? A car opens up many new places to explore and makes exploration much easier. You might find it very frustrating driving in cities like Matsuyama or Kochi, so if you are staying a large city maybe don’t rent the car. Yet if you are exploring the countryside and you like to go off the beaten path, then the car is a must. Remember that even in small countryside towns here, parking is at a premium and you might find it frustrating finding parking in a place you don’t know well. So it depends — where are you going in Shikoku?
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Mar 23, 2023 15:25
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Yeah, parking is going to be kind of a pain while we’re renting one in Shikoku. We’re gonna have to figure out overnight options for Kurashiki, Imabari, Kotohira, and Takamatsu at the least. I need to practice looking up parking lots, I’ve already forgotten the word(s) for “maximum fee” 
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Mar 23, 2023 15:54
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If you're staying at hotels the hotels usually have parking and so do temples and shrines and grocery stores
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Mar 23, 2023 17:00
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Shikoku, especially Kochi, is going to be the hotness in 2023 when the new NHK drama about Tomitaro Makino starts this April.
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Mar 23, 2023 17:02
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peanut posted:If you're staying at hotels the hotels usually have parking and so do temples and shrines and grocery stores The one in Takamatsu doesn’t 💀 but other attractions will, so I’m not worried about going to those places. Just a place to put our car overnight and while we explore on foot.
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Mar 23, 2023 17:38
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mongolia posted:So it depends — where are you going in Shikoku? Ideally I would like to spend 1.5 to 2 weeks there and visit as many places as I can. I figured staying the places I stay in will have free parking. Are there months that I should avoid traveling there?
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Mar 23, 2023 18:22
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mongolia posted:A car opens up many new places to explore and makes exploration much easier. How does parking work in general in small-town Japan? Like can I just generally assume that anywhere that has a publicly-listed EV charger is probably also in a public parking lot? Is there any clear indication like coloration or a common sign for whether parking is paid or not? Do people in Japan use the little parking disks like in Europe, or are the two modes of parking either (a) unlimited free or (b) paid? Kind of interesting how different parking is there, now that I'm looking into it. On-street parking is like... super rare, even in the middle of nowhere. We're still thinking of renting a car for 3 or 4 days (group of 4 or 5 friends) to go around the hilly countryside somewhere - I forget the names, but people gave a couple good recommendations before when I asked. I never even thought to investigate parking before, as I've never been anywhere where countryside or small town parking is not brain-dead easy. Or is it brain-dead easy? I am looking at some little villages like this one: https://www.google.com/maps/@35.0832583,138.1059964,1217m/data=!3m1!1e3 and I don't see anywhere that looks like I could leave a car for 8 hours. If I'm driving on a tiny mountain road like this one: https://www.google.com/maps/@35.0638714,138.1335616,3a,75y,83.27h,95.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7-sQNg_uLgBjpfTr_EUg_w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 Is it generally OK to just park the car anywhere you can safely pull off the road that isn't blocking access to anything, like next to that overgrown pile of wood, or would that cause anarchy and rioting?
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Mar 23, 2023 19:11
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Just two more days til I fly out, so now is a good time to ask: any interest in officially scheduling a Shikoku-Ehime goonmeet? I know we’ve got at least one or two takers. I’ll be in the area from about 3/28 to 4/7, and we’re flexible-ish on dates. I don’t mind either driving or public transport, tho it’d depend on how early on in my trip it’d be!
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Mar 23, 2023 20:00
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Hi Japan goons! Going to Japan the second half of September and would love some recommendations. We really love food and drink (we work in restaurants, by choice). We will be in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya, and then it's looking like Hiroshima, Kumamoto and Kagoshima. I've been before but it was many many years ago, and spent time in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima, so we can probably go for more of the deep cuts as far as tourist attractions go in those particular cities. If there are any interesting dishes and/or drinks unique to a particular city please let me know. I read about a place in Tokyo that serves raw eggs over rice, and you can choose eggs from different breeds of hen and hens with different diets, like yuzu zest and whatnot, that can impart a flavor to the eggs. Sounds really cool and absolutely not something one will find in the US. I do especially love seafood, also love wagyu and want to eat some Kagoshima wagyu in Kagoshima. I also have a deep, deep love for uni. We are spending 2-3 nights in Nagoya because we will be at the F1 race at Suzuka, so any general restaurant/bar/things-to-do-at-night in Nagoya would be much appreciated. It seems a bit harder to find recommendations there than some other places. I love odd/esoteric museums, for example the hunting and nature museum in Paris, or the Abba museum in Stockholm (vasa museum there is also awesome). So if there is anything up that alley in any of the cities I mentioned, please recommend. Looks like there's a sumo tournament going on in Tokyo when we will be there, so that seems like a lot of fun. Good shops for kitchenware/knives, and chips/candy/snack recommendations please! We have a big interest and decent knowledge of sake. Do sake kuras do tours or anything of that sort? Are there any cool ones in or near the cities we will be in?
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Mar 23, 2023 22:31
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If you're going to Kagoshima, definitely shochu. Shochu kura do tours as well.
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Mar 23, 2023 23:12
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zmcnulty posted:If you're going to Kagoshima, definitely shochu. Shochu kura do tours as well.
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Mar 23, 2023 23:29
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Saladman posted:How does parking work in general in small-town Japan? Yes, you can park on the shoulder of a road if there's enough space. Yes, people tend to leave their cars in free parking lots like at grocery stores, convenience stores, or city hall. Anything that's a decent tourist attraction will have a free or paid lot nearby. Small businesses (like hair salons) are likely to report abandoned cars so big lots are always a safer choice. Keep in mind that some lots might be chained closed at night. In Tokyo you can park almost anywhere for a short time if you leave your hazard lights on. The left lane is unusable on many streets for this reason. (Only bus zones and the shoulder Immediately before a left turn are kept clear.) Paid lots either have a flat rate (gate or trust system), or hourly rate (ticket or sensor system). Sensor systems are common for small lots. After parking, a block pops up to prevent the car from leaving. When you're ready to leave, you type the parking space number and pay cash (sometimes card) at the machine. https://times-info.net/info/utilization.html peanut fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Mar 23, 2023 |
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Mar 23, 2023 23:39
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Gabriel Grub posted:Well you will already have to be in Japan to do a convenience store purchase. I'm just saying you don't have to wait to get all the way to the stadium ticket window to secure tickets. Right on, that's what we'll do then- Cheers!
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Mar 24, 2023 02:01
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Driving in japan is super easy. If you have driven in the bigger cities like Boston new York or LA then Tokyo is fine. Even in the bigger cities drivers don’t really honk and are super polite. That being said, dealing with parking, rush hour traffic jams, directions, tolls, is another matter. I deserve a dumbass medal, I drove from hakuba to Nagano and navigated around the Osaka loop to KIX returning the car in 8 hours for a 750km trip. Had fun collecting stamps and chatting with my cousin and saw some nice views. I should have flown out of NRT (lol) instead of KIX
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Mar 24, 2023 02:29
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I told your dumb rear end to take the train but noooo "we want to save $50"
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Mar 24, 2023 03:38
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The train wasn’t much better though, 3 transfers and at a set time. And carrying ski equipment. Take the 4 hour bus or train with 3 transfers to Nagoya. Take the 1 hour shink to shin Osaka, and then 1 more hour to KIX. Least this time we managed to drop someone off in Nagano and go to the airport. I had to be in Kyoto this trip, thanks air miles
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Mar 24, 2023 03:52
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Oh, I also really want to try chochin yakitori! It sounds super delicious and I’ve never been able to find it in the US. How common is it at yakitori spots? I assume it sells out because there’s only one per chicken?
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Mar 24, 2023 04:28
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I found this outside Shimbashi today, and they had some what looked like to be… movie programs? Handed out at the cinema when you go see a movie? Cool poo poo.  
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Mar 24, 2023 04:44
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Awesome. They are usually in the lobby free to take, advertising upcoming movies. I always think about starting a collection but always forget to grab some on the way out.
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Mar 24, 2023 04:53
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movax posted:I found this outside Shimbashi today, and they had some what looked like to be… movie programs? Handed out at the cinema when you go see a movie? Cool poo poo. There’s flyers but also almost always some kinds of goods on sale in the lobby of theaters, things like clear file folders or small handkerchiefs or otherwise. It’s another front in the gentei war, and when I went to movies more often I didn’t buy anything but it was cool to see.
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Mar 24, 2023 08:30
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Found out the fun way that Yamato luggage delivery from Haneda has lousy cutoff timing - we got through customs and got in line for Yamato at around 8 PM, and they told us that the earliest they could deliver to Shinjuku was in two days. Given the cost and the long-rear end queue, we should have just taken a taxi or the limo bus. Caveat emptor, but that was at least the crappiest of things so far. Goons are strongly advised to weaponize your jetlag and go to Toyosu Market if you're up at 4 AM anyway. A real spectacle, worth every moment. Plus amazing fresh sushi for breakfast. Humidity sucks but antiperspirant is great. It's not raining, it's Blade Runner weather. Also, the Hyatt Regency is a darn nice hotel, directly connected to both major subways via underground passage and there's some kickass looking restaurants and lunch spots that I'm guessing cater to the Daiichi Seimei working crowd. One place looked kinda izakaya-ish and definitely had a team of co-workers coming off a (hopefully not compulsory) meal/booze fest. Lotsa laughter, good stuff. MJP fucked around with this message at 08:59 on Mar 24, 2023 |
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Mar 24, 2023 08:53
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^^^ can't stop winning won't stop winning 
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Mar 24, 2023 09:17
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I'm going to post my working itinerary so far for some advice. I'm planning our honeymoon which is a two week trip in October, it's both of our first times out of the US so we're nervous/a little clueless. I have a rough idea but the first week in Tokyo is where I want to flesh it out the most. Restaurant advice would be great but we're both not sushi fans. We also don't drink so no brewery tours. Someone mentioned curry recently and I realized I hadn't looked up anything about that and I definitely want to hit up at least one place for it when I'm there. 10/7 Arrive in Tokyo and spend day at Hotel/Explore immediate area 10/8 Gotoku-ji Temple 10/9 Imperial Palace tour (is this worth it?) 10/10 Sanrioworld and Dragonquest Bar/Restaurant 10/11 Pokemon Center/Nintendo Store and Pokemon Cafe if we can get tickets 10/12 No Plans yet, possibly Shibuya 10/13 Leave for Ikaho, Gunma to stay at Ryokan 10/14 Explore area, udon at nearby temple 10/15 Same 10/16 Head to Tokyo Disney Sea hotel, explore area around it 10/17 Tokyo Disney Sea 10/18 Osaka, check into hotel. Explore area. Maybe Capcom cafe/store 10/19 USJ 10/20 Back to Tokyo to stay at airport hotel 10/21 Fly back Thanks! Any advice for first time international/Japan travelers would be great too. I already saw that I need to register our vaccination status, which I didn't think about before. I've been learning Japanese phrases for a bit just in case as well. I'm looking at getting JR rail passes since we're going to be taking a shinkansen to and from Osaka, although it doesn't look like it will work well for going to Ikaho. Chekans 3 16 fucked around with this message at 10:34 on Mar 24, 2023 |
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Mar 24, 2023 10:25
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Is there something you are planning to see in Ikaho or are you just going for the Ryokan? I have literally never heard of the place before and I'm not sure what you are going to do for three days there. I think moving at least one of those days over to Osaka would let you see a lot more.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:39
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teddust posted:Is there something you are planning to see in Ikaho or are you just going for the Ryokan? I have literally never heard of the place before and I'm not sure what you are going to do for three days there. I think moving at least one of those days over to Osaka would let you see a lot more. Mostly just enjoy the hot springs and relax. We have a room with a private bath and it looked like a nice place to take it easy for a bit since the rest of the trip is going to be packed.
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Mar 24, 2023 11:46
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Chekans 3 16 posted:Mostly just enjoy the hot springs and relax. We have a room with a private bath and it looked like a nice place to take it easy for a bit since the rest of the trip is going to be packed. You’ll be bored as gently caress after 1 day let alone 3.
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Mar 24, 2023 13:07
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Mister Chief posted:You’ll be bored as gently caress after 1 day let alone 3. One night is fun, but unless there’s a whole town center of hot springs you can walk around (ala Kusatsu, from what I can tell, or Hakone) then that is way too much time stuck in a hotel room with nothing else to do.
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Mar 24, 2023 13:34
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