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movax posted:Also I accidentally used my Chase Visa to re-up my Suica (Apple Wallet) and it surprisingly went through, so maybe that's fixed / changed now? I always had to use my AMEX. Yeah, wow! I just added 2k to my Suica on my Canadian TD VISA in my Apple Wallet and it went through. Great catch! e: And now I'm fondly reminiscing about my last trip based on my Wallet's SUICA transaction list 
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Feb 25, 2024 20:22
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OK I have 2 last questions I promise! What's a nice cheap sushi place in Osaka where I can just eat tons of it? Chains are fine! Also maybe I can get some stylish glasses for super cheap (based on absolutely nothing). Has anyone ever got glasses in Japan and was it easy or a total nightmare and expensive as hell? I'm in HK right now, and if you've never been you really should!
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Feb 26, 2024 06:03
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Alan_Shore posted:OK I have 2 last questions I promise! What's a nice cheap sushi place in Osaka where I can just eat tons of it? Chains are fine! It's very easy to get prescription glasses from one of the chains if you can get through the eye check in Japanese. The question is if they will arrive in time for you to get them. It takes at least a week.
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Feb 26, 2024 06:10
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Daiki Suisan is decent value kaitenzushi chain in Osaka. If you want fancier than that but still not too expensive, Kaminari Sushi near Dotonbori is pretty good.
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Feb 26, 2024 06:14
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Alan_Shore posted:OK I have 2 last questions I promise! What's a nice cheap sushi place in Osaka where I can just eat tons of it? Chains are fine! There are a few national chains and a number of other kaiten-sushi spots to choose from. quote:Also maybe I can get some stylish glasses for super cheap (based on absolutely nothing). Has anyone ever got glasses in Japan and was it easy or a total nightmare and expensive as hell? The one question I would ask you is how strong your prescription is. I’ve gotten glasses a couple times…since I live here…and because my eyes are real bad, it’s often a ~1 week turnaround to get the new glasses. It’s been a while so I don’t remember if non-residents can without health insurance cards, too. If your prescription isn’t bad and your head isn’t huge, then there’s a ton of styles and stuff from ~$50 on up, chains like Zoff will have a lot (others like Paris Miki go higher end) and most shopping malls have an eyeglasses place at minimum. It doesn’t require an eye clinic visit, just getting checked by the shop’s process.
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Feb 26, 2024 06:18
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I was at Dotonbori last night and Tenman Shotengai this morning and both of these places have a lot of food including sushi. https://maps.app.goo.gl/R6uz4nof2NzPL4iM7 peanut fucked around with this message at 09:18 on Feb 26, 2024 |
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Feb 26, 2024 08:42
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Some nice sushi choices! Thanks!. Can't go wrong with any if those. Thanks for glasses chat. My prescription isn't too bad, but it would have to be next day really. Well I can always pop in and ask!
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Feb 26, 2024 09:53
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One of my fav experiences in Tokyo was just randomly walking down some street and coming across a park that had a random festival set up with food carts and vendors etc. Is there a .. list or .. place to go to see when these things are scheduled. One that's consumable by either english speakers, or through google translate? Going in Novemeber, will be in Tokyo for a while and I don't know if these are just events people know to happen and my only hope is to come across these, or whether there's some kind of local calendar I can check for neighbourhoods that's compiled at a more central level? I can't remember if I asked this before, I feel like maybe I did but way way back so sorry if this is super obvious or already answered.
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Feb 26, 2024 13:00
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Maybe try Walker Plus, you'll have to translate it though. https://www.walkerplus.com/event_list/
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Feb 26, 2024 13:45
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Not an issue, I'll see what's available there, thanks!
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Feb 26, 2024 13:47
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Additionally, local government websites will sometimes have event listings and/or whole tourism sections or sites. Example sites: https://www.city.taito.lg.jp/keyworld/kankou.html https://www.adachikanko.net/en/ https://koto-kanko.jp/ https://www.kanko-setagaya.jp/ 'Ward/city name' + 'kankou' will help you find the 'official' site in many/most cases. The various wards in Tokyo usually have some kind of tourism information centre somewhere too. There's likely to be flyers/posters for local events in such places.
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Feb 26, 2024 14:13
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Anyone have a very, very rough estimate how much I might expect to spend on tolls for, say, two weeks driving around Shikoku? I've never rented a car for my Japan trip but I think Shikoku might finally be the time to do it and I have absolutely no frame of reference for it. Also any suggestions about who to rent from would be welcome.
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Mar 2, 2024 07:54
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totalnewbie posted:Anyone have a very, very rough estimate how much I might expect to spend on tolls for, say, two weeks driving around Shikoku? I've never rented a car for my Japan trip but I think Shikoku might finally be the time to do it and I have absolutely no frame of reference for it. Nexco (the highway operator nationally) has toll estimating websites, in English even. Shikoku falls under the Nexco West jurisdiction: https://search.w-nexco.co.jp/en/ If you search on Google Maps/etc for highway routes, it’ll tell you the entry and exit interchanges; plug those into the above site and Bob’s your mother’s brother. I had decent luck with Nippon Rent-a-car and their English site in the past, Toyota or Nissan rental options are also national and decent. Can’t remember if Orix still does rentals or just the car share, but that might be an option. Would try to find one that’s close to where you’re staying or at the airport.
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Mar 2, 2024 09:41
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harperdc posted:Nexco (the highway operator nationally) has toll estimating websites, in English even. Shikoku falls under the Nexco West jurisdiction: https://search.w-nexco.co.jp/en/ Thanks for this! I will definitely be putting it to use. That said, part of the reason I asked is because I haven't even begun to put my itinerary together so it's a bit hard for me to estimate how much driving, maybe back and forth, on the toll roads vs non, I might end up doing. So I'm just wondering if it's a hundred a week? Three because I'm driving around so much? Which, I hope not... So part of my question also includes (your) itinerary experience. Sure I can estimate how much it costs to go from city 1 to city 2 but I don't know yet what attractions I'd be going to, etc. But I get that it's a pretty hard question to answer so it's fine. That website is definitely helpful.
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Mar 2, 2024 10:43
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I’ve never driven in Shikoku so I’m not sure what the rates/distance are like. I’m guessing that’s a Peanut question. Will you be driving solo or with a group? My old math in Kyushu was going Nagasaki <> Fukuoka was maybe faster driving, slightly, but with 2+ passengers was cheaper between gas and tolls versus each person having express train fare. But this was also owning a car. For renting in this case - I would really suggest setting your itinerary first, and seeing both what your travel looks like and if a rental is necessary, and for how long. For example, if you’re basing out of one city and mixing time there with day trips afield, I might suggest a car rental day or two for those specific days where you go out in the morning and back to the rental place by 7/8 pm. If you’re going to multiple cities and small towns for the stay, one longer rental would make more sense, though of course that gets costly.
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Mar 2, 2024 10:59
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Shikoku is relatively cheap for highway tolls, with about 4000 yen from west side to east side total. The parts that are expensive are the bridges out of Shikoku. If you are driving that much you can cap your price with a pass if you are a non-resident: https://global.w-nexco.co.jp/en/sep/
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Mar 2, 2024 21:23
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That's pretty great, thanks very much!
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Mar 2, 2024 21:33
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Anyone try Zipair yet? I saw a vid and it looks like a pretty good option. Looks better than United, I'd say.
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Mar 3, 2024 16:59
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Waltzing Along posted:Anyone try Zipair yet? Yeah, two of my friends took it when we went to Japan this summer. Their lie flat seat is crazy cheap compared to anyone else. Everything else - literally even a basic meal - costs money. So it’s like if Spirit Air, or RyanAir. Seems worth it if you want lie flat, but if it was similar cost to a traditional carrier you’d want to go traditional.
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Mar 3, 2024 19:32
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That's what I was thinking. It depends on when you fly, though. At the right time, the business class seats are about the cost of economy on other flights. Cool that WIFI is baked into every ticket. And you can order food on the flight whenever you want.
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Mar 3, 2024 19:44
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Zipair's baggage fees is the killer for me. I always bring stuff back so I need the baggage allowance but adding it brings the ticket price pretty close to other airlines.
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Mar 3, 2024 22:30
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I wanna double check, do restaurants in Japan still not do free refills? I know the like..family restaurant ones do but I'm assuming if I order a pop anywhere else, I'm gonna get charged per drink right?
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Mar 4, 2024 19:28
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Unless it specifically says 飲み放題 (all you can drink) or ドリンクバー (drink bar) then you should expect it to be a charge per drink.
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Mar 4, 2024 19:59
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Thank you, I thought so but figured I'd double check. I need to do some Japanese refreshing before going. Specifically feel like I should freshen up my sea food vocab so I know what fish I'm getting at some places since I'm expecting a lot more variety than where I live in Ohio.
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Mar 4, 2024 20:31
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Free refills are generally uncommon outside of the United States.
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Mar 5, 2024 04:26
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Midjack posted:Free refills are generally uncommon outside of the United States. Yeah I was going to say, I don't remember the last time I saw a free refill outside of the United States (probably Canada too) that wasn't in a US fast food chain — and even American fast food chains outside the US don't usually do free refills on drinks. Subway is the only one I can think of offhand that often does in Europe, although I only eat US fast food probably 6 times a year.
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Mar 5, 2024 08:27
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You can always get more tea.
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Mar 5, 2024 08:48
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I haven't been to Japan yet (Saturday) but after a week in HK I can confirm that Donki is the best store I've ever seen
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Mar 5, 2024 09:48
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This is probably a very stupid worry but I'm in the middle of booking a flight to haneda for november, passenger details are entered as Surname Firstname Middlename which fits with what the site shows and says but I'm just a little worried with this big YOUR PASSPORT MUST MATCH YOUR NAME EXACTLY message. I know names are family/given in JP which matches the little example the site gives, but should I reorder things to match my passport precisely?
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Mar 6, 2024 13:58
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Do what the site says, Surname still means the last name in Japanese.
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Mar 6, 2024 14:40
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When there's no space for a middle name, it gets stuck on the first name. Covfefe Anne Lastname → LASTNAME, COVFEFEANNE
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Mar 6, 2024 14:51
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Yeah, there's space for a middle on the passenger info bit So following the instructions, it'll be Lastname Firstname Middle Names but obviously passport here shows Firstname Middle Names Lastname. I guess that's something they'd see daily.
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Mar 6, 2024 14:55
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You are way overthinking it, just put the names in the right boxes. Oddly enough a British passport also lists the surname before the given and middle names, and it labels them as such. It’s the only documentation I have that has my full legal name on it since I go by a shortened version for literally everything else in my entire life. Edit: actually a quick google looks like most passports are surname first. The more you know! History Comes Inside! fucked around with this message at 15:08 on Mar 6, 2024 |
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Mar 6, 2024 15:03
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It’s almost like passports are nicely standardized for this very reason.
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Mar 6, 2024 15:26
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I've had a bunch of problems with name shenanigans living in Asia but never just visiting. Hours trying to explain to a Chinese bank that Smith and SMITH are the same name. Good times.
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Mar 6, 2024 17:44
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Waltzing Along posted:Anyone try Zipair yet? I took zipair from sfo to Narita last week and it was like $400 cheaper than United or other options for a round trip. Left at 4pm and landed around 8pm, still enough time to go through customs and catch the train instead of a taxi. The WiFi didn’t really work so download some shows ahead of time.
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Mar 7, 2024 07:15
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Just booked hotel and flight for May 1-5!  Gonna be staying at the Millenials capsule hotel in Shibuya.Are there any bars and izakaya in the area you all would recommend? Especially looking for yakiniku and beer and/or sushi places. Teriyaki Koinku fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Mar 8, 2024 |
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Mar 8, 2024 00:27
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It's easier to just search for those things on Google Maps because there are literally hundreds of them.
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Mar 8, 2024 00:58
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Teriyaki Koinku posted:Just booked hotel and flight for May 1-5! I really like that place. Good choice. And yes, there are literally hundreds of restaurants within a 5 minute walk. Look on tabelog and understand that 3+ is good and 3.5+ is exceptional.
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Mar 8, 2024 01:01
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I've never been to Tokyo before so, even though I live and work in Beijing, the sheer density of shops/restaurants etc in Tokyo must be on a different scale so my sense of things may be way off. Still, I appreciate the help! What is the difference between Tokyo Metro Pass and Suica/Passmo? Apparently the former is meant for tourists and can be used to ride the subway/train for 24/48/72 hours but can only be used on certain lines and not others?  Should I get 72 + 24 hours in my case? Do Suica/Passmo work on other public transit like busses as well?E: totalnewbie posted:I really like that place. Good choice. Yeah, it was mainly down to Millenials and Dai Ichi Ryogoku in Ueno and while the latter still looked very nice, I mainly want to be in the heart of all the action and try out a Japanese-style capsule hotel for this trip. Also just noticed tabelog. Do you need to reserve tables at a lot of Japanese restaurants or izakaya in advance? If so, how far in advance? It also seems like the prices increase a lot between lunch and dinner time. The rating system looks weird too but I'll take your word for it. Teriyaki Koinku fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Mar 8, 2024 |
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Mar 8, 2024 01:16
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