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Get the bus to Ushiku and see the bigass Buddha
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Mar 29, 2024 20:40
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Ghibli park is like an hour from Nagoya station, so you are probably looking at two hour trip each way from Osaka or 2.5 from Tokyo. If you decide to stay a night I recommend checking out Inuyama castle just to the north. It's not huge but it is the original building and the town around it has a lot of charm.
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Mar 30, 2024 02:38
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maybe not the place to ask but have any of you guys bought a guitar in Japan and then either taken it on the plane or shipped it home? If so what were the baggage excess and shipping fees like? recently sold a couple of guitars so might actually seriously look this time instead of just marvelling at the cool stuff. specifically I want a lawsuit sg of some sort but I saw some wild old fenders pricewise last time and the yen is even more favourable at the moment.
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Mar 30, 2024 02:48
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Excess baggage will be way, way more expensive than shipping it because airlines presume they’ve got you by the balls and gouge the gently caress out of you.
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Mar 30, 2024 02:55
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teddust posted:Ghibli park is like an hour from Nagoya station, so you are probably looking at two hour trip each way from Osaka or 2.5 from Tokyo. If you decide to stay a night I recommend checking out Inuyama castle just to the north. It's not huge but it is the original building and the town around it has a lot of charm. That’s the new Ghibli Park, there’s also the older Museum which is in west Tokyo.
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Mar 30, 2024 08:50
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So I've done Tokyo and the Osaka-Nara-Kyoto triangle, and I'm planning another trip around November this year. There's a cheap direct flight from where I live to Fukuoka, and I'm already planning to have five days' worth of going around, with one of those five set aside to attend the November sumo tournament in the city. At least another day for going around the city itself (probably gonna do Hakata Machiya Folk Museum > Kushida Shrine > Canal City > Nakasu Kawabata > Hakata-za), perhaps also Fukuoka Tower > Ohori Park > Nanzoin Temple, and then do a few daytrips. My questions are as follows: 1. I wanna set aside 3 days for daytrips and am looking at the following places: Kitakyushu, Kumamoto (going with my siblings and one of them is really into ancient history and would go nuts over the palaces and shrines) and Beppu (other sibling really wants to have an onsen experience). Are there any other recommended daytrips from Fukuoka I should be considering? 2. Are there JR passes that will cover the daytrips mentioned above or would I be better off buying separate tickets? How much should I expect to spend on tickets/passes per person? 3. Aside from the Fukuoka places I mentioned above, are there any other must-see sights within the city? anakha fucked around with this message at 08:51 on Apr 1, 2024 |
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Mar 30, 2024 15:42
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where can I see tickets prices for shinkansens and potentially buy them? I'll be staying for two weeks at the end of april and doing tokyo -> kyoto -> tokyo -> hakone -> tokyo (and maybe go to osaka or nara somehwere in between). I'm wondering if it's better to buy JR pass or buy the tickets individually? friends have also recommended to reserve tickets on the correct side of the train when going between tokyo and kyoto to get a good view of mount fuji.
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Mar 30, 2024 16:48
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There’s a JR website. The pass isn’t worth it anymore after the price hikes.
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Mar 30, 2024 18:13
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Google Maps is probably the easiest.
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Mar 30, 2024 18:38
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anakha posted:
If your sibling has such an history in ancient history, there’s a place in nearby Saga prefecture that you should check out: https://www.yoshinogari.jp/en/
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Mar 30, 2024 18:59
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hey mom its 420 posted:where can I see tickets prices for shinkansens and potentially buy them? I'll be staying for two weeks at the end of april and doing tokyo -> kyoto -> tokyo -> hakone -> tokyo (and maybe go to osaka or nara somehwere in between). I'm wondering if it's better to buy JR pass or buy the tickets individually? friends have also recommended to reserve tickets on the correct side of the train when going between tokyo and kyoto to get a good view of mount fuji. Smart-ex. They also have a handy app available: https://smart-ex.jp/en/index.php
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Mar 30, 2024 20:37
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DiscoJ posted:If your sibling has such an history in ancient history, there’s a place in nearby Saga prefecture that you should check out: Thanks! Yoshinogari sounds like it would be right up his alley. Just wanted to follow up on my question from earlier. Would the 5-day JR Kyushu pass for 22,500 or the 3-day pass for 20,000 be a good deal given the planned daytrip itinerary? anakha fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Mar 31, 2024 |
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Mar 31, 2024 01:51
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Nope. I think the only one maybe still worth it is the Tohoku one.
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Mar 31, 2024 02:47
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I'm spending 8 nights in japan next week (2xOsaka, 2xNara and 4xKyoto). Is it worth going to Uji for tea shopping + maybe sightseeing? Also, any tips for off the beaten track stuff in Kyoto?
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Mar 31, 2024 21:17
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100% loved Uji. Just wonderfully chill. Go to the oldest teahouse in the world and get the soba. Thank me later.
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Mar 31, 2024 22:07
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ARRGHPLEASENONONONO posted:I'm spending 8 nights in japan next week (2xOsaka, 2xNara and 4xKyoto). Is it worth going to Uji for tea shopping + maybe sightseeing? You could do the fushimi inari hike from the east side. Not sure where it starts, but there is an entrance on the opposite side from the torii gates. Apparently, very few tourists do that.
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Mar 31, 2024 22:35
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Waltzing Along posted:You could do the fushimi inari hike from the east side. Not sure where it starts, but there is an entrance on the opposite side from the torii gates. Apparently, very few tourists do that. I've done that twice and yeah it's a very quiet route compared to the main super crowded route - outside of my group I only saw one other person along that route both times. That being said it's basically a hike since there's very few Torii on that route and the footing is not nice stone/concrete staircase/pathing like the main route. It's mainly dirt paths. The route itself is marked on google maps so it's not hard to find.
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Mar 31, 2024 23:56
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ARRGHPLEASENONONONO posted:
Shogunzuka and the Toei Kyoto Studio Park were reasonably free of foreign tourists when I went.
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Apr 1, 2024 00:16
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anakha posted:Thanks! Yoshinogari sounds like it would be right up his alley. Use Google Maps to price it all out. I like passes and non-reserved seats (purchased in advance) so I can just roll through the gates without waiting in line at the ticket office.
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Apr 1, 2024 02:14
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Waltzing Along posted:You could do the fushimi inari hike from the east side. Not sure where it starts, but there is an entrance on the opposite side from the torii gates. Apparently, very few tourists do that. After the first like 100 torii, the number of people on the route drops dramatically, at least in off-season (mid summer) when I was there, and I went around it twice on different years with different friends. There's a little viewpoint at Fushimi Inari Taisha where you can see Kyoto before the "loop trail" around the top, and most of the remaining people seemed to stop there. I mean there are still some people around, but it was not at all crowded or hard to get a photo without people in it after that point. It's absolutely massive. Might be crowded all the way to the top in seasons when it's not 70°C and 80% humidity, like some sort of hellish hammam, but the substantial majority of tourists just seemed to want a photo with the torii at the very start, and then they give up when they realize that it actually goes on forever. I think someone here lives in Kyoto and can probably give a better impression, but that's how it was for my two trips (both of which in August - I have to stop visiting Japan in loving August).
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Apr 1, 2024 10:50
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I've been to Fushimi Inari with tour groups twice in the past month. Minimum: walk (counter clockwise) through the main loop to the first tea shop, then keep going and exit (turn left) at the T intersection with the big map. Ideal: Turn right at the big map and go up to the second tea shop in the area with all the mini fox shrines. Max: Go to the top and follow the "nice view" sign. Earlier is definitely better.
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Apr 1, 2024 14:38
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Anyone know of any cool technology/computer museums in the Tokyo area? Ideally historically focused and diverse, not like something Sony would have in their lobby about the "history of Sony" or something. Non-Japanese equivalents for what I'm thinking of would be places like https://museum.syssrc.com, https://www.retrocollective.co.uk/the-cave.php, https://computerhistory.org, etc. Not getting any obvious hits when googling, and if the answer is that there's nothing outside of stuff companies put on then that's fine, just wanted to see if anything obvious was going under my radar.
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Apr 2, 2024 12:34
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IPSJ lists a bunch of satellite museums, but they're mainly held in academic institutions rather than specialised exhibits. There might be something you're interested in: https://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/satellite/index.html
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Apr 2, 2024 13:00
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Grand Fromage posted:The Hakata Station area is not all that great IMO, I stayed near there and always went somewhere else to find good stuff. It's not a huge distance but if you can find a hotel for the same price around Tenjin/Tenjin-minami I'd stay there instead. Thanks for the tip, I found a few hotels to think about 5-10 minutes away from the tenjin station/mall.
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Apr 2, 2024 19:26
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Charles 2 of Spain posted:IPSJ lists a bunch of satellite museums, but they're mainly held in academic institutions rather than specialised exhibits. There might be something you're interested in: Awesome, thank you! I'm absolutely down for a few side trips. Appreciate it 
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Apr 2, 2024 19:42
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It's not quite what you're asking for but I really enjoyed the science museum in Odaiba. In particular there's an exhibit that demonstrates signal transmission that's worth checking out
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Apr 2, 2024 20:53
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Thanks for the tips!
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Apr 2, 2024 21:18
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some kinda jackal posted:Anyone know of any cool technology/computer museums in the Tokyo area? Ideally historically focused and diverse, not like something Sony would have in their lobby about the "history of Sony" or something. Non-Japanese equivalents for what I'm thinking of would be places like https://museum.syssrc.com, https://www.retrocollective.co.uk/the-cave.php, https://computerhistory.org, etc. I'd like to know this too. Beep in Akihabara isn't a museum but it's pretty cool
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Apr 3, 2024 00:22
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As I start to itemize some spots for November I’ll check back in if I find anything that fits the bill.bee posted:It's not quite what you're asking for but I really enjoyed the science museum in Odaiba. In particular there's an exhibit that demonstrates signal transmission that's worth checking out Ha! Yeah I hit that up last time and it was a good use of two or so hours. I think it went a little more conceptual than I’m looking for but I wouldn’t discourage anyone from checking it out. The signal transmission thing was really neat, and the little exhibit at the beginning with various audio/visual contraptions was really cool to boot.
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Apr 3, 2024 00:28
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Thanks for your replies to my query earlier. From what people said, I think Hakone looks cool, and Nara seems like an obvious choice if I'm also going to Osaka and Kyoto. I'm now thinking of an itinerary like this: 8 May - Arrive in Tokyo 9 May - Leave early to go to Nagoya -> Ghibli Park. Spend day there and then spend night in Nagoya (this is already fairly set in stone as this was the only day I was able to get for GP) 10 May - Return to Tokyo 11-12 May - Tokyo 13 May - Leave early to Kyoto 14 May - Fully day in Kyoto 15 May - Half day in Kyoto, train, half day in Osaka 16 May - Full day in Osaka 17 May - Half day in Osaka, train, half day in Nara 18 May - Half day in Nara, train back to Tokyo 19-27 May - Tokyo, with a trip and overnight stay to Hakone somewhere in the middle. 28 May - Fly home. How do people think that sounds? Should I give more time (or less) to places at the expense of Tokyo? Would it be worth adding another day trip from Tokyo, or another location on my trip to Kansai?
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Apr 3, 2024 19:26
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If I were in your shoes, I would take the western leg of my trip first since you're already travelling out to Nagoya, rather than coming back to Tokyo immediately. You're already 3/4 of the way to Kyoto/Osaka/etc. Like ultimately it probably doesn't matter too much and I wouldn't stress about it -- it'll just mean an extra two or three hours of train travel in the long run. But you'll also probably be jetlagged and slammed from travel at the start as well so maybe minimizing travel would be beneficial. Depending on your accommodations, I'd also kind of play the Nara-Kyoto stuff by ear in terms of "half a day in X". Anecdotally I never really was able to judge in advance how much time I wanted to spend in each every time I go. Or at least what I judged was never in line with reality. A walk around the gardens in Nara I thought would take an hour or two I ended up stretching into an all day thing because I was so taken by it, etc. I guess my suggestion would be to just try to be as flexible as you can be. some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Apr 3, 2024 |
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Apr 3, 2024 19:48
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Agree there. Make Nagoya a stop on the way to Kyoto/Osaka instead, it'll be a lot less stress from moving hotels, and cheaper too. Also keep in mind that you should probably not bother with multiple hotels there, you can easily travel between Kyoto/Osaka/Nara with local trains.
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Apr 3, 2024 19:57
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Oh yeah, I agree there too. Honestly I would base myself out of Kyoto (only because I like it the most of all three) and make Nara and Osaka day trips out. I'd trade an hour on the train each way for the hassle of checking in/out of multiple hotels any day.
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Apr 3, 2024 20:01
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Another thing to keep in mind is that most airlines will let you book non-symmetric trips, so you could have an outbound flight to Osaka and go home from Tokyo. That might be for another time, seeing your trip is only a month away, but it can make some planning easier. (In fact, that's what I'll be doing for my own trip from May 14-31.)
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Apr 3, 2024 20:10
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+1 to all this. I would base in Osaka but either that or Kyoto is fine. With so little time I'd just avoid the hotel shuffle. You also won't have to plan the "half day" parts around changing hotels, you can just chill wherever until last train if you want. I would not add any more day trips or stops. Six locations in 19 days is plenty.
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Apr 3, 2024 23:05
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Thanks for the suggestions. Yeah, the Nagoya bit is the obvious weak point of the itinerary, but here’s my rationale: basically, going to Ghibli Park literally the day after arrive is not what I wanted at all. But I’m a huge Ghibli fan and even delayed this trip from last year so that the new expansion would be open (Kiki’s Delivery Service is my favourite movie), and when I went to check tickets the entire month of May was almost entirely booked out, with only 9 May being available and possible for me. So the obvious thing to do would be to go straight from Nagoya into my Sendai trip, since they’re on the same Shinkansen line - but at this point I’m possibly completely exhausted from a 15 hour plane ride, likely jet lag and then wandering around a park for a whole day. I arrive at about 7:30am on 8 May so I will have a whole day to recover, but I have to prepare for the possibility I get no sleep on the whole flight. So a few days back in Tokyo to rest a bit and also get my bearings some more before I go on a grand tour seems like a good idea. BTW, the flights are already booked into Haneda, and I have a family friend letting me stay in Tokyo so I do kind of have to be based there. The idea of staying in one of the Sendai cities and commuting to the others sounds like a great idea and not one I’d considered. It would definitely allow me to be more flexible which would be fantastic - tbh the whole idea of carefully planning an itinerary for a holiday is kind of anathema for me, but since I have to book trains and hotels I don’t really have a choice. Also, what’s the best move on Suica/Pasmo cards? From my research it seems like the best idea might be to use an iPhone app since that sidesteps card shortages and I can sort it before I even leave, but I’ve heard that apparently there are problems getting them to accept non-Japanese banks/cards?
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Apr 4, 2024 04:38
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Comrade Fakename posted:Also, what’s the best move on Suica/Pasmo cards? From my research it seems like the best idea might be to use an iPhone app since that sidesteps card shortages and I can sort it before I even leave, but I’ve heard that apparently there are problems getting them to accept non-Japanese banks/cards?
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Apr 4, 2024 12:22
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On the Nagoya->Tokyo rubber band: Like I said, I don't think it's a red flag or anything. It'll be a few extra hours on a train over the course of the trip but I wouldn't sweat over it if you don't want to uproot your entire trip at this point. If you've got some place to chill in Tokyo then I'll say just be zen about it and enjoy the train scenery on your way back and forth. I love zoning out on the shinkansen, but could be an opportunity to close your eyes and recoup. Glass half full! The rebasing around Osaka/Kyoto/whatever is the part I'd probably be more "strongly" encouraging of. But that's just because I hate moving around with my suitcases if I can avoid it. On iPhone Suica, when I went in 2023 it outright refused my Canadian VISA Credit and VISA Debit, but had no issues with my international AMEX. I forget if you can just create a Suica card while you're abroad with an app, let me do a little googling, but if you can then it's no effort to just try ahead of time and see if it will let you reload. When I tried a few weeks ago it miraculously let me reload with my VISA but I wouldn't bank on that being consistent. If you have an AMEX I can verify that worked last year and don't expect it will stop working. All my card related issues in Japan were with my foreign VISA. I couldn't order Universal tickets with a foreign card either so I think this is just something they're doing with domestic vs international VISAs. e: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207155 Try setting your iPhone region to Japan (should be non-destructive, I used to do it all the time) and following the above if it's not available to you in your home country. If you can add a Suica and refill it with a card in your wallet you should be good to go. e2: Don't want to try this on my personal phone in case I mess up my existing card but I just tried on my work iPhone 14 Pro (Canadian) and I got the option to add Suica without switching to Japan which is cool. I don't have any credit cards in my wallet so I couldn't complete the addition but I'm optimistic that if I just got the option then it should work end to end. Give it a shot. Best case you have a Suica card ready when you land. Worst case it didn't work and you know you have to source one somewhere or something. some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 12:56 on Apr 4, 2024 |
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Apr 4, 2024 12:48
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Comrade Fakename posted:Thanks for your replies to my query earlier. From what people said, I think Hakone looks cool, and Nara seems like an obvious choice if I'm also going to Osaka and Kyoto. I'm now thinking of an itinerary like this: Your trip plan looks amazing and will totally work out great, I'm sure. You know what you will enjoy better than us randos on the internet. It's a lot of train time, BUT train time is fun and a tourist experience on its own! If you want to consider some changes, here's my thoughts: Through my work I spent a few months in Nagoya between 2014~2019. It's obviously not a famous city for tourism, but it's not *terrible*. Because of that, Nagoya's attractions generally don't have the crowds you have to deal with in Tokyo and Kyoto. You have 8 days in Tokyo already, which is quite a lot. Consider this? 8 May - Arrive in Tokyo 9 May - Leave early to go to Nagoya -> Ghibli Park. Spend day there and then spend night in Nagoya (this is already fairly set in stone as this was the only day I was able to get for GP) 10 May - Day in Nagoya (Options: Toyota Museum, Nagoya Castle, Shopping Osu Kannon, Atsuta Jingu) 11 May - Nagoya -> Osaka 12 May - Day in Osaka 13 May - Leave early to Kyoto, short train ride 14 -17 May - Kyoto (Work in a day trip to Nara somewhere - there and back in 1 day) 18 May - Train to Tokyo 19-27 May - Tokyo, with a trip and overnight stay to Hakone somewhere in the middle. 28 May - Fly home. I'm probably the only person advocating for a day in Nagoya because, really, it's not a tourist destination... but if you're gonna be there anyway for ghibli park... extravadanza fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Apr 4, 2024 |
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Apr 4, 2024 17:56
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I also like Nagoya. Did not regret spending a few days there.
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Apr 4, 2024 18:04
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