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cheese eats mouse posted:No cause it makes you call to verify. If you’re trying to get Ghibli id offer to courier but we are about to leave home base for a few days :/ There’s one called “Ticket Japaaan” that I’ve seen come up a couple of times but I never know who is trustworthy!
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Sep 11, 2023 09:02
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I settled on visiting some shops then hanging out around Dotonbori with our free night in Osaka. I got reservations at the crab restaurant, any recommendations for that area?
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Sep 11, 2023 09:31
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Question Mark Mound posted:Nah we got Ghibli through normal international ticket routes. This is for a Myth&Roid concert in Shizuoka. Sucks that you have to phone up to verify so we’ll probably try one of those ticket broker sites. If the tickets aren't selling out before then, you might be able to purchase them through a terminal at convenience stores once you arrive.
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Sep 11, 2023 10:08
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Chekans 3 16 posted:I settled on visiting some shops then hanging out around Dotonbori with our free night in Osaka. I got reservations at the crab restaurant, any recommendations for that area? Just go people watch and pretend you're in a Like a Dragon game. It's a trip. Get some street takoyaki if you can, sit near the river, take The Glico-Man Photo, do all the tourist stuff.
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Sep 11, 2023 11:04
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nielsm posted:If the tickets aren't selling out before then, you might be able to purchase them through a terminal at convenience stores once you arrive. 
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Sep 11, 2023 11:17
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Waltzing Along posted:You can still do wifi calls on a sim card. All a wifi call is is a call using the internet rather than the cell/phone/whatever company. Oh cool, I had no idea. I assumed an esim would work exactly like my phone normally does. I’m not sure how that works from a technical standpoint but I’ll take your word for it. Edit - to be clear, I know you can still connect to Wi-Fi with an esim. With a pocket Wi-Fi you’re always on Wi-Fi, which means I can always use my phone number. Unless this isn’t how it actually works? Kaddish fucked around with this message at 15:10 on Sep 11, 2023 |
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Sep 11, 2023 15:02
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Chekans 3 16 posted:I settled on visiting some shops then hanging out around Dotonbori with our free night in Osaka. I got reservations at the crab restaurant, any recommendations for that area? Moss man shrine? It's around the corner from the crab restaurant. Assuming you mean the one with the giant crab next to the bridge across from tsutaya.
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Sep 11, 2023 15:56
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Kaddish posted:Oh cool, I had no idea. I assumed an esim would work exactly like my phone normally does. I’m not sure how that works from a technical standpoint but I’ll take your word for it. I think we may be talking about different things. Re-reading it, I think you may have set your phone up to use the wifi for calls when available? I thought you meant something like google voice calls. Or IP calling. Those are calls using your internet service as opposed to your phone/cell service. So if you use IP calling, then you can make calls with an e sim or with any internet connection. But if you need to use your ATT/VZN/TMobile/Whatever number to call, then if you are off their network, I don't think it is going to work. But you should check with your provider to make sure. There are usually roaming options. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Also, I highly recommend google voice.
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Sep 11, 2023 16:00
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Waltzing Along posted:I think we may be talking about different things. Re-reading it, I think you may have set your phone up to use the wifi for calls when available? Yep, that is correct. The advantage is that I can use my cell with my number to text and make calls when I'm connected to WiFi. That would be the primary advantage to a pocket wifi since I don't believe you get a local number with esims. There probably aren't a ton of situations where I would need it but still nice to have.
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Sep 11, 2023 16:23
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I booked tickets and lodging for Oct 29-Nov 17 and will be visiting for the first time. Spending the majority of the trip in Tokyo and 6 days in Osaka. For the Osaka part, we want to try to do a day trip to Kyoto and a quick trip to Nara, but I wanted your opinions on if we should include Kurashiki during one of those days. The videos and photos (and jean making) all look pretty dope. During the Tokyo parts of the trip, we were considering a day trip to Kawakura/Enoshima and were exploring other places that might be easily accessible for us. We will be staying in Shinjuku for the first part and then Itabashi for a second part. I already know Itabashi will be a hike everywhere but wanted to get y'alls ideas and comments.
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Sep 11, 2023 16:41
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harperdc posted:Just go people watch and pretend you're in a Like a Dragon game. It's a trip. Get some street takoyaki if you can, sit near the river, take The Glico-Man Photo, do all the tourist stuff. Don't pretend too hard, the police do NOT like it if you start throwing people off the bridge.
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Sep 11, 2023 17:09
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Kaddish posted:Yep, that is correct. The advantage is that I can use my cell with my number to text and make calls when I'm connected to WiFi. That would be the primary advantage to a pocket wifi since I don't believe you get a local number with esims. There are a lot of data-only prepaid SIMs out there, but there are some available that do data + voice, which is what it sounds like you want here. I had one a couple of years ago that ran on SoftBank's network but I don't remember who the provider was.
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Sep 11, 2023 20:02
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I wanted to get e-sims, but my wife's AT&T iPhone is still under contract and I've heard they won't unlock them. We got Pocket Wifi from Japan Wireless using a 25% discount code which I think was JWP004. I found it on reddit. Itinerary question. We arrive in Tokyo next Friday and we'll be there until Tuesday, staying in Shinjuku. We'll be back the following Sunday just until our late afternoon flight on Monday and staying in Ginza. We're interested in going to Teamlab Planets and I see tickets available, but trying to figure out what time to go and what other activities to combine it with that day. I've just been adding sites to a big Google Maps list and then I'm going to try and group things efficiently so we're not traveling all over the place each day. I imagine two areas in a day is fine, looping around in each area for awhile. Is it worth doing other stuff out on that island that TeamLab is on? How long do people spend there?
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Sep 11, 2023 23:07
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Midjack posted:There are a lot of data-only prepaid SIMs out there, but there are some available that do data + voice, which is what it sounds like you want here. I had one a couple of years ago that ran on SoftBank's network but I don't remember who the provider was. I'll look into that, thanks! Buying our GREEN car JR Pass tonight, how exciting!
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Sep 11, 2023 23:09
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KingKapalone posted:I wanted to get e-sims, but my wife's AT&T iPhone is still under contract and I've heard they won't unlock them. We got Pocket Wifi from Japan Wireless using a 25% discount code which I think was JWP004. I found it on reddit. I've done both Planets and Borderless. Planets was incredibly disappointing compared to borderless, which is closed until January. I'd go so far to say that Planets was a bit of a waste of time. I think there are 7 room/exhibits. Maybe 8. There's an island relatively near to the island Planets is on. On that island is a place called Tokyo Disney Sea. That's much better. Just walking around is more interesting than Planets. I didn't like Planets. Reasons to do Planets: You like smelly feet. The room w/ the LED lights hanging down and the mirrors was cool, though.
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Sep 12, 2023 00:11
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Planets was fun and good. Ignore the haters and prepare to get your legs wet up to the knees.
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Sep 12, 2023 00:57
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Yeah, I liked it as well. It's not life changing or deep art but it's enjoyable spectacle. A lot of people determined to instagram the gently caress out of it will be in your way but at this point that nearly goes without saying for anything even moderately photogenic. I did really enjoy the installation with the water up to your knees, too. Definitely don't skip it, even though I think they have a special extra path to let you in case you don't want to be that wet.
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Sep 12, 2023 01:42
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Speaking of TeamLab. Planets just opened a new exhibit in August and plans to expand into the lot next door, with the new section slated to open in January 2025. https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000037.000037065.html https://toyosu.tokyo/news/teamlab-planets-addition-to-building/ Planets was originally supposed to run until December 2020 but it's proven popular enough that they will remain open until at least the end of 2027. Since the Odaiba one closed alongside the rest of Venus Fort/Palette Town, Borderless reopens in its new location in Azabudai Hills in January 2024. https://www.teamlab.art/e/borderless-azabudai/ As for other stuff to do in the Toyosu area. There's plenty of places to have a BBQ along the water, grill/food included, if you want. For a lighter itinerary, Citabria has a daytime/evening bar and several food trucks. Citabria was infamously the place where groups of "Olmypics-related foreigners" were *gasp* drinking alcohol without masks, outdoors, despite the supposed Olympic Village lockdowns. (It was not Olympics staff... it was mostly local foreigners, including me) https://citabria-baypark.com/ It's also easy enough to take a stroll along the water in the other direction to LaLaport Toyosu... a lot of shopping/dining options there as well. https://mitsui-shopping-park.com/lalaport/toyosu/ Senkyaku Banrai opens in February 2024. There's a full-on onsen complex slated to be part of that: Manyo Club. Given the location and target clientele, I suspect it will take over from Oedo Onsen in Odaiba which closed a few years back. https://www.enjoytokyo.jp/article/201143/
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Sep 12, 2023 02:32
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Is it worth doing that stuff around there given the other options all over the city? Should we just plan to go over there for Planets and then head over to some of the more must see/well known areas given the amount of time we have in the city? First day is short since we land at 2pm, then 3 full days, and then whenever we want to take the train to our Ryokan in Hakone on the 4th day. Probably have about 24 hours at the end of the trip too.
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Sep 12, 2023 04:44
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Sorry, missed that you would only be in Tokyo a handful of days. In that case, yes, there are definitely higher-priority sights found across the city. Toyosu has easy access to Yurakucho, for example. You can also take a bus right across the street from Planets that connects you directly to Ginza and Tokyo station. Ginza's main drag is closed is closed for just pedestrian traffic on Sundays, so it's easy to do. From Planets you can also get on the Yurikamome to cross the Rainbow Bridge by way of Odaiba, putting you back in Shiodome/Shimbashi. If I were you I'd probably do Ginza in the morning/lunch, some post-lunch street food in Tsukiji, head to Planets in the late afternoon, then take a dusk ride on the Yurikamome back towards Ginza. Shower up at the hotel then go to dinner somewhere decent. You probably don't want to have a huge one the night before your flight back.
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Sep 12, 2023 07:08
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I like the physical data only SIM cards from Amazon Japan. Just have it shipped to a local convenience store near your hotel or directly to your lodging. Just make sure you get the SIM card that's not roaming and connected direct to SoftBank. Some of the cheaper prepaid SIM cards are roaming to some Chinese, Hong Kong or Korean cell provider.
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Sep 12, 2023 09:41
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What do people think of Ubigi?
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Sep 12, 2023 15:10
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zmcnulty posted:Sorry, missed that you would only be in Tokyo a handful of days. In that case, yes, there are definitely higher-priority sights found across the city. Toyosu has easy access to Yurakucho, for example. You can also take a bus right across the street from Planets that connects you directly to Ginza and Tokyo station. Ginza's main drag is closed is closed for just pedestrian traffic on Sundays, so it's easy to do. From Planets you can also get on the Yurikamome to cross the Rainbow Bridge by way of Odaiba, putting you back in Shiodome/Shimbashi. If I were you I'd probably do Ginza in the morning/lunch, some post-lunch street food in Tsukiji, head to Planets in the late afternoon, then take a dusk ride on the Yurikamome back towards Ginza. Shower up at the hotel then go to dinner somewhere decent. You probably don't want to have a huge one the night before your flight back. Thanks. We'll be coming back from Osaka that Sunday so I'll probably have to adapt this a little bit. Our flight on Monday from Haneda is at 4pm so we'll have time on Monday for stuff too. Is going to Tsukiji at the crack of dawn still the thing to do or was that only relevant when all the fish stuff was happening there? I figured we'd go there Monday morning since waking up really early could help with jet lag adjustment a little bit before coming home.
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Sep 12, 2023 16:21
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I would blow Dane Cook posted:What do people think of Ubigi? I was told that's the eSim to go with, but we can't use eSim.
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Sep 12, 2023 16:21
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KingKapalone posted:Thanks. We'll be coming back from Osaka that Sunday so I'll probably have to adapt this a little bit. Our flight on Monday from Haneda is at 4pm so we'll have time on Monday for stuff too. Is going to Tsukiji at the crack of dawn still the thing to do or was that only relevant when all the fish stuff was happening there? I figured we'd go there Monday morning since waking up really early could help with jet lag adjustment a little bit before coming home. It's Toyosu now, they still do the tuna auctions starting around 5:30 am (closed Wed/Sun last time I checked). The view from the free viewing area isn't bad.
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Sep 12, 2023 16:43
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zmcnulty posted:Sorry, missed that you would only be in Tokyo a handful of days. In that case, yes, there are definitely higher-priority sights found across the city. Toyosu has easy access to Yurakucho, for example. You can also take a bus right across the street from Planets that connects you directly to Ginza and Tokyo station. Ginza's main drag is closed is closed for just pedestrian traffic on Sundays, so it's easy to do. From Planets you can also get on the Yurikamome to cross the Rainbow Bridge by way of Odaiba, putting you back in Shiodome/Shimbashi. If I were you I'd probably do Ginza in the morning/lunch, some post-lunch street food in Tsukiji, head to Planets in the late afternoon, then take a dusk ride on the Yurikamome back towards Ginza. Shower up at the hotel then go to dinner somewhere decent. You probably don't want to have a huge one the night before your flight back. Ok so no real need to go to Tsukiji really early based on peanut's reply. Sounds like for the Sunday we get back to Tokyo from Osaka that we should eat breakfast in Osaka and then take the train to arrive early afternoon in Ginza. Eat lunch, maybe do some Ginza stuff with the street closed (I need to get Pokemon stuff for my friend's kids) and then go to Planets late afternoon. Take that Yurikamome (I see it on Google Maps, I'll just have to figure out the ticketing situation because of the Suica issue) back to Ginza. I know you mentioned not having a huge dinner, but we were thinking of going to Ginza Steak for wagyu. On Monday our flight isn't until 4:20pm from Haneda so we'll have some time. Probably go to Tsukiji in the morning and maybe just more Ginza stuff and lunch before the airport? Is there some specific thing we should fit in nearby? For when we first arrive in Japan next Friday at Haneda at 2:15pm, should we just plan on getting to our hotel in Shinjuku, going to eat, and seeing how late we can stay up wandering around Kabukicho and Golden Gai? Any first dinner recommendations? We'll have to get our pocket wifi in the airport and at some point before Tuesday I have to redeem our JR Pass voucher but I heard doing it at the airport takes a long time.
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Sep 12, 2023 17:55
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I would blow Dane Cook posted:What do people think of Ubigi? Six of us used it back in March/April and it was perfect. Zero issues, good connection everywhere we went, cheap, simple to set up and use.
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Sep 12, 2023 22:08
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KingKapalone posted:Sounds like for the Sunday we get back to Tokyo from Osaka that we should eat breakfast in Osaka and then take the train to arrive early afternoon in Ginza. Eat lunch, maybe do some Ginza stuff with the street closed (I need to get Pokemon stuff for my friend's kids) and then go to Planets late afternoon. There’s a Pokémon Center at Nihonbashi, that’s a stop or two away from Ginza. quote:On Monday our flight isn't until 4:20pm from Haneda so we'll have some time. Probably go to Tsukiji in the morning and maybe just more Ginza stuff and lunch before the airport? Is there some specific thing we should fit in nearby? Do you mean going to Toyosu market? Yurakucho Station is on the Yamanote Line, so going to see sights or shop in Ueno, Akihabara, Shibuya, Shinjuku are all possible in that morning/day before going to the airport. Just connect to the airport monorail at Hamamatsucho Station and you’re fine.
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Sep 13, 2023 05:57
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Another +1 for Ubigi. Could not have been easier. I had to top up my data near the end of my trip because I used my phone as usual, podcast downloading, music streaming, a few facetime calls, etc., and it was all a breeze. Setting it up on my phone and tablet was super convenient, though the tablet was mostly superfluous and I only added it as cheap insurance in case hotel wifi was wonky. Unless something drastically better comes along, I'll be keeping their eSIM installed and using it for all my travel abroad from now on.
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Sep 13, 2023 11:40
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My partner and I are planning on a trip to Japan for sakura season 2025. I've always been against the idea of it before now because I was like well there's lots of beautiful places to go and things to see at other times of year in Japan, why go during the most expensive/annoying time to go? But our birthdays are both in early April and it would be cool to do a birthday trip, and surely it can't be that bad, right? The main thing that I'm trying to work out is that it looks like the sakura forecast is only released in January of whatever year, but accommodation usually can be booked up to six months in advance, so I assume the best places are booked up by the time the forecast is announced or instantly afterwards. I can also see that this year the sakura were much earlier than April, but not sure if that's an indication of future years (thanks climate change) or a freak occurrence? How do people usually manage this? Do I just guess and hope? If it makes a difference I'd most like to see the sakura in Kansai since I was there on exchange over a decade ago and I still remember how gorgeous kiyomizudera was at night.
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Sep 13, 2023 15:37
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You just guess and hope. You can be in one part of a city and none of the Sakura have bloomed yet in another all the petals are on the ground. Just book end of March start of April and odds are you will see some. For instance, first time I saw them, we went to Ueno and they were on the ground. The next day we went to Gyoen Garden and the place was blasting with them. This year, I was in Kyoto and the park on the hill near the monkey park in Arashiyama had both plum blossoms and the normal Sakura. And down the hill they were going near the station. The day before, on the philosophers path on the east side they were just starting to bloom. (this was a week or two before the forecast for them, iirc) Good luck!
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Sep 13, 2023 15:57
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You can also go down to Kawazu to see the cherry blossoms earlier. I think one time I saw it in full bloom in late February / early March. I find the cherry blossoms very overrated though. Crowded and too busy - the autumn leaves are where it's at.
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Sep 13, 2023 16:18
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When last I posted I'd planned a trip, done a bunch of planning, found good hotels, booked them, and then unfortunately had to cancel my trip. Now I'm organized to go again and book things. Figured it would be easier and faster this time since I already had this list of hotels I'd booked before that I can simply try to book again. But woe is me, got too late of a start on booking some hotels and some of the good spots I'd previously booked are all full and unavailable (especially on the weekends)  Of course I've lost/thrown out my notes I previously made collecting the various runner up good looking hotels. Feel like I'm starting all over. Two questions: 1) Does anyone have any favourite hip/boutiquey hotels (or hostels with private rooms) for a single traveller in Kyoto and Tokyo? Could help me kick start my search. Not staying in Kyoto too long so spending a bit more money in Kyoto on some fancier place or some renovated Machiya apartment type place could be possible. 2) Do folks have some fav neighbourhoods to stay in in Tokyo outside of Shibuya? One of the spots I was planning on staying in in Shibuya is available during the weekdays but becomes unavailable on the weekend, so I could stay there for a while and then move elsewhere to a different area for the weekend. My stay in Tokyo is long enough that that wouldn't be a burden and could actually be an interesting change of pace. Something I'm considering.
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Sep 13, 2023 17:32
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Meguro Abesto Hotel, decent price and stupid good location. Meguro/Gotanda was hella convenient.
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Sep 13, 2023 17:49
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harperdc posted:There’s a Pokémon Center at Nihonbashi, that’s a stop or two away from Ginza. That's the Pokemon center I figured we'd try, thanks. Don't think we'd go to Toyosu, but we're certainly interested in Tsukiji for the food. Is that not really a morning place then? Should we try to leave Osaka, get to the Hyatt in Ginza, then to go Tsukiji for lunch, before going to TeamLab that Sunday instead of doing Tsukiji on Monday morning before out flight later that day? Would probably free up more time for one of the areas you mentioned on Monday. I wasn't sure how far we'd want to get from the hotel on Monday since we'd have to pick up our bags I assume. I definitely want to go to Akihabara, but wasn't sure if leaving it to the last day would feel too rushed. Getting there from Ginza rather than when we're staying in Shinjuku certainly looks easier, but maybe it could be worked in somewhere yet since I haven't figured out those first days of our Tokyo leg. The only plan we have is to go to the sumo tourney on Sunday. I heard getting there at 2:30 and staying until the end is probably good enough? Maybe going to Akihabara all morning and early afternoon before that makes sense? It seems things might shape up like: Friday - Land at 2:15pm - Hotel/dinner Shinjuku - Kabukicho and Golden Gai Saturday - Meiji shrine - Takeshita - Shibuya (Crossing, Sky) - What else? Sunday - Akihabara - Sumo - Where for dinner? Asakusa? Monday - No idea Tuesday - Leave for Hakone just for one night in a Ryokan. What time should we get there? I'm pretty clueless about restaurants and evening activities. In general I need to figure out more of the attractions in each area rather than just knowing the area to go to check out and wander. After this we go to Kyoto and Osaka so haven't figured that out either. We will probably go to a baseball game and I figured we'd go to the game on 9/30 in Osaka (Kyocera Dome) as opposed to the one on 9/23 in Tokyo (Meiji Jingu) although the outdoor stadium would be cooler. Any thoughts there? KingKapalone fucked around with this message at 22:43 on Sep 13, 2023 |
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Sep 13, 2023 18:15
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Going to consider the following when I visit Tokyo for evening life after the day time tourist stuff. Kyoto and Osaka are still in development. Tokyo Doing Bar Benfiddich upon arrival and settling in the first night. Doing Warayaki Ya and Tantra Doing Whiskey Library and V2 Tokyo Doing Golden Gai and Bauhaus Considering the following in Kyoto thus far Walk around Gion at night...figuring out where to eat Bee's Knees Kyoto and Restaurant Kamehameha Loco Chicken and L'Escamoteur Bar Osaka is still open Spa World and Dotonbori Street Pending Pending
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Sep 14, 2023 00:37
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One thing that caught me by surprise about Kyoto is how early the city closes. If you want to eat dinner out, you'd have better found a restaurant and put your butt in the seat before 6 pm. So many places seem to close 7.30 or 8,and will stop taking orders well before then.
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Sep 14, 2023 00:48
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nielsm posted:One thing that caught me by surprise about Kyoto is how early the city closes. If you want to eat dinner out, you'd have better found a restaurant and put your butt in the seat before 6 pm. So many places seem to close 7.30 or 8,and will stop taking orders well before then. This is the reason I pushed my crew to use Osaka as a base for that portion of the trip. I love Kyoto, beautiful and quiet when I stayed there last time, but the people I'm rolling with are more night owls. Reminded me of Napa California actually, every drat thing shuts down so early that if you wanted to take a date out at night you had to leave town. As a younger man this bothered me so much.
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Sep 14, 2023 04:18
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Gatts posted:Walk around Gion at night...figuring out where to eat We ate at a place called Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu. The Gion one where we visited closes at 10 -- from Higashiyama/Shijo walk south and it's on the east side of the road. There was a line in February so it's probably even worse now. Come prepared to stand or try another location because it's a chain.
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Sep 14, 2023 06:45
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Go to Pontocho
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Sep 14, 2023 07:58
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