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Yvonmukluk posted:
if they'll even take your money
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Feb 5, 2024 18:21
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Good Listener posted:I'm not planning on any guided tours, are me and my roomie gonna get hassled for wandering around Tokyo :x? Yeah it's a nightmare. Be sure to hit up a pawn shop as soon as you land to get a big piece of lumber or something, you're going to need it.
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Feb 5, 2024 18:29
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some kinda jackal posted:if they'll even take your money Oh yeah they did start installing those gaijin cameras. You might try covering your face.
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Feb 5, 2024 18:30
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Well, I didn't want to go too far over the top to not be a huge dick to Cheese Thief, but at the same time I wanted to go sufficiently far over the top to make it obvious it was sarcasm, even though this is the Internet and people have a wide range of absurd and incredibly wrong beliefs. Looks like I failed! Japan is super easy to get around as a foreigner. No one will bother you, tattooed or not, unless you go into a bathhouse, in which case you actually will be thrown out.
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Feb 5, 2024 18:32
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Saladman posted:Well, I didn't want to go too far over the top to not be a huge dick to Cheese Thief, but at the same time I wanted to go sufficiently far over the top to make it obvious it was sarcasm, even though this is the Internet and people have a wide range of absurd and incredibly wrong beliefs.
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Feb 5, 2024 18:38
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You are supposed to carry your passport though, that part's real (not the hotel booking). I've never been checked by the cops but all my darker skinned friends have many times. I'm sure that's just a coincidence. If you go on a tax free shopping spree you'll need it for that too. Grand Fromage fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Feb 5, 2024 |
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Feb 5, 2024 18:41
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It's all in good fun. We all asked 'that' question once. I do all the time. I'm a weird looking dude with a nose ring and gauges and no one has ever batted an eye to my face. You'll be fine  But yeah, the passport thing is serious as everyone's saying. I haven't been stopped yet but I'm fully prepared to be, and not take it personally.
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Feb 5, 2024 18:48
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Grand Fromage posted:You are supposed to carry your passport though, that part's real (not the hotel booking). I've never been checked by the cops but all my darker skinned friends have many times. I'm sure that's just a coincidence. I got checked by the cops. They asked for my passport, asked me to take off my shirt and flex, gently caressed my chest, we went on a date to torikizoku and then they let me on my way.
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Feb 5, 2024 19:11
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passport photo + pic of the jp stamp often works too, although technically you are supposed to carry your passport. It's really rare to be stopped by the police but it does happen.
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Feb 5, 2024 19:14
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Shammypants posted:I got checked by the cops. They asked for my passport, asked me to take off my shirt and flex, gently caressed my chest, we went on a date to torikizoku and then they let me on my way. Did they pay?
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Feb 5, 2024 19:18
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BRING A FLASHLIGHT!!!
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Feb 5, 2024 19:18
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I was with a filipino friend and he was stopped by police but once he just pulled out a US passport and they were like, that's fine thank you. They didn't even open it, just saw the face of the passport lol.
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Feb 5, 2024 20:16
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Grand Fromage posted:Did they pay? Absolutely not
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Feb 5, 2024 20:59
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Haha my brain was too focused on work/unnecessary worrying about routine blood work to notice the sarcasm. My bad!
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Feb 5, 2024 21:07
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Saladman posted:Have fun and let us know how it goes though! We get almost no trip reports of Americans traveling alone in Japan. This is very helpful (prayer emoji) I'm adding it to the op.
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Feb 5, 2024 22:54
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And Saladman is usually so helpful, I was telling all my people I was going to be forced to eat out of the snack machine. I had a friend in Tokyo who sent me a mania spree of messages about how he 'got his weed connection back,' and the key is to 'keep it airtight, ''not wear a hoody,' and 'only sell kilos. No nickle and dimes.' In brief, he disappeared from the internet soon after. I tried to tell him but wouldn't listen. Looking at the law, even ADD meds can't be brought into the country.
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Feb 6, 2024 00:07
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Cheese Thief posted:And Saladman is usually so helpful, I was telling all my people I was going to be forced to eat out of the snack machine. Perscription arthritis medication should be OK, though, right? Do I need to get a doctor's note or something? Yvonmukluk fucked around with this message at 00:20 on Feb 6, 2024 |
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Feb 6, 2024 00:17
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If you mean like Aleve, that's fine. If it's some weird prescription poo poo you might want to look it up. If it's not an opioid or amphetamine it's probably allowed.
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Feb 6, 2024 00:21
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so you're saying take my edibles before I get on the plane?Mister Chief posted:Hey, do you have any other northern Japan hikes you can recommend? Unfortunately I've not been before, I'm just basing my plans off google. If you search stuff like "best hikes tohoku' you'll get some lists from the usual suspects. cheese eats mouse posted:DM for restaurant recs if you head to any of these places. You can get made to order senbei in Matsushima and it’s so tasty paired with their matcha soft serve. There’s a cute couple there that runs a Ryokan that needs some renovations but the couple is so nice with cute poodles and the futon is very comfy. Also has a tattoo friendly onsen. I will! Unfortunately my body is a machine that turns most shellfish into puking, hives and diarrhea, but I'm keen for regional food recs in general. As a reasonably heavily tattooed individual I hadn't even bothered to look into onsens but a night somewhere with an outdoor bath sounds like heaven after some big hikes. field balm fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Feb 6, 2024 |
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Feb 6, 2024 00:27
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Grand Fromage posted:If you mean like Aleve, that's fine. If it's some weird prescription poo poo you might want to look it up. If it's not an opioid or amphetamine it's probably allowed. I took an opioid based medication to Japan last month but I did all the necessary paperwork stuff beforehand and got it cleared at customs on the way in. There's some good info here: https://en.japantravel.com/guide/br...e%20medication.
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Feb 6, 2024 01:40
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Yvonmukluk posted:Not your fault, I'm not great with sarcasm and kind of anxious about travelling right now anyway, given it's the furthest I've ever gone and also the first time I've travelled anywhere in 5 years. Japan got over 20 million tourists in 2023. You ain't special, bud. Keep that in mind and you'll be fine.
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Feb 6, 2024 03:09
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bee posted:I took an opioid based medication to Japan last month but I did all the necessary paperwork stuff beforehand and got it cleared at customs on the way in. There's some good info here: https://en.japantravel.com/guide/br...e%20medication. I brought medicine in my bag and just.. walked into the country. If you need less than a month worth/bring less than a month worth and have a genuine looking prescription no one cares. There are a few drugs they do care about but they didn't apply to me.
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Feb 6, 2024 05:31
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some people have the good stuff, tho stimulants
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Feb 6, 2024 06:03
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I got the med waiver for my stims NBD. Just brought the form with me, said I had stuff to declare, they looked at the form and my bottles and said ok! Wellbutrin has some stimulant and banned, plus I was bringing a 2 month supply.
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Feb 6, 2024 11:25
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I feel kind of in a good space that I can afford to wean down and take a concerta holiday for a few weeks without any repercussions. If I needed it to function I'd be biting my nails. I actually didn't have a good understanding if that's even covered by the import certificate you can apply for, or if they just laugh and send a polite  reply, so this is good info.
some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 12:54 on Feb 6, 2024 |
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Feb 6, 2024 12:46
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cheese eats mouse posted:I got the med waiver for my stims NBD. Just brought the form with me, said I had stuff to declare, they looked at the form and my bottles and said ok! This was the experience :a friend with his adhd meds in early 2020. If your meds aren't flat out banned you can get the wavier over the internet in about a day and the inspection on the way in is about 2 minutes.
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Feb 6, 2024 14:47
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If I have to leave the amphetamine salts at home, it would be helpful to bring like a lot of benzos to help with jet lag/stress of getting stuck by a Hori tattoo master for 5 hours a day for 25 hours. Itinerary might be, Thurs Fri Sat shop in Shibuya, putz around Tokyo, Sunday visit the spring festival in Takayama, Monday a way to Gifu City for 11am appointment, stay through Friday Saturday-Monday ??? Fly home Tuesday, go back to work Thursday. Seems doable except the Takayama to Gifu City short turn around.
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Feb 6, 2024 17:02
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If you’re a foreigner just apply for the waiver it takes a few days max and you can do it online. The form can be buggy but it does work You don’t even need a note from your doctor, only the pill bottle.
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Feb 6, 2024 18:01
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some kinda jackal posted:I feel kind of in a good space that I can afford to wean down and take a concerta holiday for a few weeks without any repercussions. If I needed it to function I'd be biting my nails. Concerta is legal. Its the amphetamine ones like Adderall that are banned. I don't know if you need the paperwork for it though.
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Feb 6, 2024 18:42
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cheese eats mouse posted:If you’re a foreigner just apply for the waiver it takes a few days max and you can do it online. The form can be buggy but it does work Yeah my experience with getting the paperwork was pretty smooth. I just emailed everything they asked for with photos and about a week later I got the clearance certificate thing back. I printed it out and the import dude at the airport spent about a minute reading it and looking at the box my medicine was in. Someone mentioned valium, my doctor had put this on my "current medications" letter he wrote me but when I did the application and sent it to the import authority they replied and said that they didn't care about the valium as long as it wasn't more than a month supply.
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Feb 6, 2024 21:13
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"Month supply" can be a little floppy though. They consider two insulin pens a month supply but I'm on two different kinds so I'd be packing four total, and that leaves me no backups if I lose or fry one.
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Feb 7, 2024 01:15
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Grand Fromage posted:Concerta is legal. Its the amphetamine ones like Adderall that are banned. I don't know if you need the paperwork for it though. Basically the non-amphetamine ones are fine if you have 30 days supply or less and don't have more than a certain number of milligrams (which looks like a small amount but is actually shitloads). If you have more than that, you're supposed to fill out paperwork. A bit of googling gets the official website.
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Feb 7, 2024 04:15
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slinkimalinki posted:Basically the non-amphetamine ones are fine if you have 30 days supply or less and don't have more than a certain number of milligrams (which looks like a small amount but is actually shitloads). If you have more than that, you're supposed to fill out paperwork. A bit of googling gets the official website. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/health-medical/pharmaceuticals/01.html
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Feb 7, 2024 06:02
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Thanks lol, i was legitimately feeling too lazy to look it up.
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Feb 7, 2024 08:11
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Planning a trip to Fukuoka and trying to decide on which onsen town to hit. Kurokawa, Beppu, and Yufuin all seem popular. Looking at the 80-120k/night range for 2 but could be convinced to go higher. In room bath is a plus. Anyone have trip reports/recommendations? First time to Kyushu.
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Feb 8, 2024 05:48
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Kurokawa is by far the best of the three if you are willing to spend on it. I recommend Miyama Sanso.
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Feb 8, 2024 10:17
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How bad is traveling during Golden Week? I have a friend arriving to Japan on the first week of May and wants to take the Shinkansen to Kyoto on Thursday, May 2nd or Friday, May 3rd. Is it more that's it's extra crowded or more that he won't be able to buy the bullet train tickets since it'll be sold out?
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Feb 9, 2024 12:31
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Busy Bee posted:How bad is traveling during Golden Week? I have a friend arriving to Japan on the first week of May and wants to take the Shinkansen to Kyoto on Thursday, May 2nd or Friday, May 3rd. Had to stand/sit on our luggage in the train car with the bathroom/vending machine pretty much the whole shinkansen trip from Hiroshima to Sapporo because tickets were sold out. Book in advance!
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Feb 9, 2024 13:13
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EDIT: Misread the dates of this year's GW.
DiscoJ fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Feb 9, 2024 |
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Feb 9, 2024 14:47
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| # ? May 15, 2024 02:49 |
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This year, the fastest trains (Nozomi) will only have reserved seats during Golden Weekquote:JR Central and West alluded to this back in September, when they announced they would not be offering unreserved seats on Nozomi trains during the then-upcoming New Year’s period and were planning the same for other heavy travel times. The policy has now been officially formalized for April 26 through May 6 of this year and affects all Nozomi trains along the Tokaido and Sanyo lines, the most popular shinkansen route which connects Tokyo and Hakata (Fukuoka), with stops in Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima along the way. Friday the 3rd will be the worse day, as that is a very long weekend (Friday and Monday both holidays this year).
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Feb 9, 2024 15:25
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