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impossiboobs posted:Jumping on JR Pass chat - what is a good site to buy them from? There are so many sites that pop up when I search and I don't know which one to use. Can anyone recommend a site they've used or know is good? The cheaper way is to buy a voucher from a 3rd party vendor which will letter mail you a exchange voucher which you bring to Japan and exchange for your JR pass. Until recently this was the only way to purchase JR passes. Buying it this way does not allow you to access the online seat reservation system at all. You must do all seat reservations in person after your arrive in Japan. All the authorized vendors on the official website should all be valid and safe to purchase from: https://japanrailpass.net/area_04.html. Zettace fucked around with this message at 18:28 on Jul 31, 2023 |
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Jul 31, 2023 18:24
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Gentleman Baller posted:I've heard that many stores in Japan don't like selling Pokemon cards to adults, does anyone know if that is just for booster packs, etc, or does that include buying second hand cards? We had a couple of teens in our traveling party and they checked about 20 places in Tokyo and Osaka and only found new packs in one location, the Pokemon Center in Daimaru in Osaka. Limited to 5 packs per person, including adults. 
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Jul 31, 2023 19:18
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I have a question about recycling/waste in Japan 1) Is washing trash is common? I saw pictures and signs asking styrofoam be clear of food before throwing away, ok fair enough. But I think the family I stayed with is taking this concept too far. They'll literally wash or cut stickers off of disposable plastic to-go containers "because a sticker isn't clear plastic". Are they taking sorting too literally or is this normal? 2) If it's normal why aren't all stickers super easy to remove? I was floored on how long they spend sorting and cleaning trash but maybe I am just spoiled with our simple glass/trash/recycle system. 
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Aug 3, 2023 21:59
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Keurig disposable coffee cups. The outside is plastic, inside is tea or coffee. Where do you throw it away? Do you disassemble each cup? Defeating the easy to use feature of this product?
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Aug 3, 2023 22:15
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i tend to do my best to remove stickers from plastic, but i don't sweat it if some stuff is left on. plastic coffee pods are burnable, tho they've always been wasteful bs.
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Aug 4, 2023 01:13
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Chunjee posted:I have a question about recycling/waste in Japan
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Aug 4, 2023 01:45
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Everything is burnable when you think about it.
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Aug 4, 2023 02:16
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No, it's not normal to cut holes to remove stickers from plaster bags.
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Aug 4, 2023 05:13
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Thank you for all the answers. That was seriously nagging me Burning plastic still confuses me, but some google searches revealed that this is not as unusual as I was taught growing up
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Aug 4, 2023 08:45
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I recently learned about Kariyushi wear from Okinawa. Does anyone know if you can find authentic Kariyushi shirts in Tokyo or Osaka, and if so where? I have a trip planned later this year, but not to Okinawa. Bonus points for "American" sizes, but I fear that's asking too much.
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Aug 4, 2023 21:27
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If I were to travel from Tokyo to Kyoto, what would be some good places to stop along the way? This would be our first time in Japan.
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Aug 5, 2023 01:42
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Zapf Dingbat posted:If I were to travel from Tokyo to Kyoto, would would be some good places to stop along the way? This would be our first time in Japan. How would you be traveling between Tokyo and Kyoto? Stopping and getting off bullet trains is…a choice, sure. If you’re driving, it’s possible but gets complex fast (the highway system is not as on-and-off friendly as American freeways, closer to how the turnpikes work). Nagoya is the biggest city between them, Shizuoka is also pretty big as well. What are you interested in? What would you like to see, in general and specially?
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Aug 5, 2023 02:18
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Hakone offers a view of Mt Fuji. If you can afford one of the nice hotels near Fuji I would recommend that, even better. What I did this trip was to take the two hour Shinkansen to Osaka (Nozomi not compatible with JR pass) to visit Universal Studios Japan (USJ), it was excellent wish I had planned for a 1.5 or 2day ticket. Sadly school is out now so USJ may be more crowded. 30mins from Osaka is Kyoto. Visited three days before catching another Shinkansen back to Tokyo. Ordering Shinkansen tickets at the Kyoto station was a nightmare so try your best to get it online or as a return ticket. While in Kyoto here is my probably novice list: - Kiyomizu-dera, Buddhist temple on the mountainside - Ujikami Shrine, nearby is Byōdō-in Temple too - Nijo Castle - Kyoto Imperial Palace - Fushimi Inari, 1000+ gates - Tenryu-ji, nearby is 'bamboo forest' but I didn't like it Chunjee fucked around with this message at 03:19 on Aug 5, 2023 |
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Aug 5, 2023 02:40
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harperdc posted:How would you be traveling between Tokyo and Kyoto? Stopping and getting off bullet trains is…a choice, sure. If you’re driving, it’s possible but gets complex fast (the highway system is not as on-and-off friendly as American freeways, closer to how the turnpikes work). Is there a viable slow train at any point between them? We were thinking of taking it a little slow and finding something quiet to do between the big cities if it's practical. We like to get adventurous with food, love the outdoors, gardens, hiking, biking, that kind of thing. Not that it's part of the plan, but my wife sees a place like Kamakura and she thinks it looks like her speed if she ever were to live in Japan. Kind of laid back.
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Aug 5, 2023 23:09
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Not direct that I know of, but you can take local trains all the way. Takes about ten hours IIRC. If you want to get really slow and have a few weeks you can walk, the Tokaido and Nakasendo still exist. 
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Aug 5, 2023 23:18
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I'm looking at Hakone and that looks good for us.
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Aug 6, 2023 00:37
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So, I've been buying tickets for various events I want to attend next month. Earlier this weekend, I was able to get tickets for a Yakult Swallows home game and a day at the big sumo tournament. In both cases, the tickets were bought via the Pia website. I'm now trying to buy a ticket for a DDT wrestling show, which also uses Pia, but this time it's requiring an account. I tried to do so, but I don't think you can as a foreigner? It requires a name in katakana, which I did via a translation app, but it also requires a Japanese phone number. I think there's a workaround (this site seems to be a proxy service that would let me get a ticket for an additional markup), but this makes me wonder whether this'll be a persistent challenge. For example, tickets will open up for the Ghibli Museum in a couple of days; I dunno if the same thing will happen there. edit: Went ahead and used the proxy service! Seems to have gone pretty smoothly. I'm gonna have so much poo poo to pick up from 7/11 when I arrive surf rock fucked around with this message at 14:50 on Aug 8, 2023 |
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Aug 6, 2023 16:15
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Zapf Dingbat posted:Is there a viable slow train at any point between them? We were thinking of taking it a little slow and finding something quiet to do between the big cities if it's practical. I mean, you could get off the shinkansen in Shiga, which is notoriously quiet.
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Aug 10, 2023 06:42
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Zapf Dingbat posted:Is there a viable slow train at any point between them? We were thinking of taking it a little slow and finding something quiet to do between the big cities if it's practical. Kamakura is a nice day trip. We had it built in to my study abroad program an embarrassingly long time ago when I was in college. Just enough time to walk around the shrines and see the big buddha. I wouldn't say it's worth altering your whole itinerary from a bullet train to Kyoto into a lengthy multi-stop trip at the expense of time in the main cities, but if you end up deciding to make that change for other reasons Kamakura's a great place for a day stop.
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Aug 10, 2023 18:08
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putting together a spring 2024 Japan trip to visit my brother who's out on shikoku island with his wife and kids. We're traveling with our infant. 1). JAL or ANA? is there any meaningful difference? We might do premium economy since we've got an infant. It looks like we can even do a SFO->Haneda -> takamatsu flight with a short layover rather than doing Osaka. 2) Anything to be conscious of when traveling with infants in Japan?
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Aug 13, 2023 06:28
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Have you flown with the baby? That's a very long flight for a child. Little ones often have a much harder time than adults due to the air compression or something like that. Apparently, it can be quite painful.
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Aug 13, 2023 06:37
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Babies are basically fragile luggage. If they're small enough you can reserve a wall-mounted bassinette that makes everything easy. Give up on movies and sleep and hot food in advance, then be delighted when you get the chance to do any. JAL and ANA are very similar, so book whichever lets you transfer at Haneda instead of Narita→Haneda. ANA has some sofa-like flat economy seats. https://www.ana.co.jp/ja/jp/guide/inflight/service/international/couchii/ You can bring a stroller on the plane. Your brother can probably find a car seat at a used shop if he doesn't have an extra.
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Aug 13, 2023 07:26
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I think that ANA feature is only on a select few flights, specifically to Honolulu. I prefer JAL over ANA but I wouldn't be upset if I had to fly with ANA. I found JAL to have higher quality seats + features, and seat layout in economy.
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Aug 13, 2023 10:23
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My kids were 2 and 3yo when we did HND-ATL last year. We got something like this, and they basically slept the whole time. I guess some kids hate flying, especially for 12+ hours, but ours were fine. https://www.fly-tot.com/ Also yeah you can rent car seats. https://www.kasite.net/rent/sp/cart/ShowCategoryList.do?category=010800 zmcnulty fucked around with this message at 11:03 on Aug 13, 2023 |
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Aug 13, 2023 10:59
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For Shikoku, get your IDP so you can rent a car.
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Aug 13, 2023 14:47
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Yeah, after years of international travel I was very surprised to find that Japan is the first country I've ever been to that cared whether you had an International Driver's Permit.
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Aug 14, 2023 22:47
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Trying to get a very loose itinerary together. We will have Oct 5-Nov 1 to do anything. Oct 5-11 is week to myself. My partner arrives in Tokyo, Oct 11 in the late afternoon. We do have mutual hard dates in Tokyo Oct 21 & 22 for tattoo sessions with Horimitsu  We both want to go to Hiroshima, Nihama Taiko Fest and Mt Fuji I have a Kyoto Pottery festival I'd love to get to. Starting in Yasugi since I'll be there all of September: Oct 5-11 I plan to work my way down the coast and end up in Hagi to explore pottery there and I'm not sure what else on the coast? I'm open to ideas here. Oct 12-14 Hiroshima and meet up with partner there? Oct 15 travel to Niihama and leave the 17 in the evening 17-20 Kyoto, first day of pottery fest is the 20 and leave for Tokyo in the evening 21/22 tattoo days in Ikebukuro, Tokyo From there I'm just???? We aren't big city folk as we've spent enough time in NYC. I was thinking we head back to Kyoto and set up base there, Fuji area/Hakone with relaxation time and be back in Tokyo for Halloween. Nice last dinner Nov 1 Fly out Nov 2 I'm thinking we might have to drop Niihama and save for another time to spend more quality time Kyoto? This would open up the back half of our trip after tattoos to do more. I'm afraid Kyoto will be like Antigua, Guate and overrun and a terrible time unless we do the weekday there. Notes on us He's into sashiko and kintsugi, of course me with pottery Adventurous eaters not big drinkers. I think a contemporary wrestling match would be fun. He wants to visit the big fish market. Private onsens before tattoos Both love to browse flea markets/antique markets/craft markets. If we don't go to Niihama then what's another good big festival that would be later in the month? cheese eats mouse fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Aug 15, 2023 |
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Aug 15, 2023 04:06
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Niihama is good
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Aug 15, 2023 05:12
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Saijo, Ehime festival Oct 14-16! (it's next to Niihama) Saijo, Hiroshima sake festival! Nada no Kenka Matsuri is similar to Niihama, with smaller floats, but in a more accessible location (Himeji). https://www.setouchi.travel/en/see-and-do/spot/0046/
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Aug 15, 2023 05:23
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Anyone fly on Zipair yet? I'm taking a trip with my cousin and his son next Spring, and Zipair's full flat seats are around $1000 one way. We're thinking of springing for it for the flight from LAX to NRT. I know since it's a low cost carrier that I'll have to pay separately for a checked bag, meals, and drinks, but the thought of having business class level seats for that price seems pretty great. Youtube reviews look decent too.
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Aug 15, 2023 05:25
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Waltzing Along posted:Have you flown with the baby? That's a very long flight for a child. Little ones often have a much harder time than adults due to the air compression or something like that. Apparently, it can be quite painful. We'll have a couple of domestic practice flights before, yeah. Dreading the flight a little, but we'll live (especially with some of the tips above, thank you!). Since my brother has kids, he has a car, carseats, strollers, etc, etc, so I think that will make some stuff easier.
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Aug 15, 2023 05:53
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Babies are the easiest to fly with. They're going to sleep most of the way anyway. The really difficult part about traveling with babies is it is much harder to get them to adjust to the time zone than older kids, because they just sleep when they're tired and don't care about being wide awake at 3 AM.
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Aug 15, 2023 06:44
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pezzie posted:Anyone fly on Zipair yet? I'm taking a trip with my cousin and his son next Spring, and Zipair's full flat seats are around $1000 one way. We're thinking of springing for it for the flight from LAX to NRT. Spent 2600 USD one way from LAX to NRT lie flat. So 1000 is a good deal. The inflatable pillow sucks so bring your own pillow lol. Also no blanket  need to buy. But if you buy the package it includes baggage check, meal, and blanket etc .Pillow is bad. Oh and there’s wonky Wi-Fi but you can stream inflight movies to your phone
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Aug 15, 2023 06:57
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I guess one more question is I’m a women’s size US 6 or small and about 5’7”. I was thinking of picking up field work clothes over there but really concerned about finding my size esp with long sleeves. Puts me at a JP 11. Is that approaching plus size there?
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Aug 15, 2023 09:41
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What do you mean specifically by field work clothes? Length-wise you should be able to find something, sometimes in the men's section, but rear end-wise it might be a limited selection.
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Aug 15, 2023 12:04
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Define “field work,” but if all else fails, Uniqlo should work. Probably in the women’s M or L range.
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Aug 15, 2023 12:38
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harperdc posted:Define “field work,” but if all else fails, Uniqlo should work. Probably in the women’s M or L range. We will be working on a strawberry farm, succulent farm, tea farm, field clearing, fruit tree pruning, green roofs as some examples in 30s temps with humidity and some rain. Hot, sweaty work.
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Aug 15, 2023 17:22
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lmao JAL's website is so jank: (their FAQ says they can't allow for names over 25 characters in totality - first +middle+last??) I also tried booking over phone to start with and they said they'd charge me $50 to do it over the phone e: I made the concierge flight bookers on my chase card do it for me. El Mero Mero fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Aug 16, 2023 |
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Aug 16, 2023 00:16
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It says first + middle can't be longer than 25 characters together. Last name doesn't count towards the word count.
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Aug 16, 2023 01:56
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You don't need a middle name anyway I think.
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Aug 16, 2023 02:33
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