Japan: Donki is both the best and worst store I've ever seen

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Tourism & Travel > Japan: Donki is both the best and worst store I've ever seen

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Did you Japan?
	Hai sempai
	No
	Unknown
	Goku

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Update February 2024:

Saladman posted:

You aren't supposed* to be walking around alone without a Japanese chaperone, or at the very least a Japanese-speaking foreigner. You'll definitely get a lot of very strange looks on the street, and you definitely won't be able to get served in any restaurant. Fortunately, there are vending machines all over the place so you won't starve to death, but you'll have to survive on sugary liquids from vending machines, or whatever you can get from 7/11.

Make sure to carry your passport on you at all times in case a policeman stops you, and be ready to show your visa and hotel booking.

There's a reason that very, very few foreigners go to Japan every year, and next to none of them go without guided tours. It does mean it's almost entirely virgin territory for foreign tourists though, so the hassle makes up for it in the untouched splendor of sites you'll never see on travel blogs or YouTube.

*Further context: it's not explicitly forbidden, it just goes against social mores, like drinking water in public during Ramadan in most Muslim-majority countries, or picking your nose and wiping it on your pants while in a crowded bus.

Have fun and let us know how it goes though! We get almost no trip reports of Americans traveling alone in Japan.

Goons like Japan. Some goons live in Japan. Japan goons and goons coming to Japan and goons that have been to Japan and other goons with no Japan experience can discuss Japan things and talk about Japan in this thread. :japan:

The internet already has all the Japan information ever but you can post here anyway.

Vegetarian Food: you won't easily find more than this tbh
https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3758863&pagenumber=13&perpage=40#post457670099

GHIBLI TICKETS
https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3758863&perpage=40&pagenumber=180#post493789658
First, figure out the starting date and time of the sale for the tickets you want. Tickets for any given month go on sale at 10am JST on the 10th of the previous month. So, for all tickets in March, the sale date is February 10th at 10am in Japan, which may be, if you're in many other parts of the world, February 9th for you.
(See link for full guide.)

Caberham's P Good Tokyo Food Guide
https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3758863&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=182#post493871614

punk rebel ecks posted:

Maybe. In reality I'm a 32 year old virgin who has since childhood dreamed of having an Asian girlfriend ever since playing as Chun Li in Street Fighter 2 for the Super Nintendo. Since then I have gradually become more and more obsessed with Eastern, and especially Japanese, culture. During highschool I insisted on my peers adding honorifics to my name. So I'd be called something similar to "Punk-chan". I'd also frequently call my teachers "sensei" in school. I've went to detention a few times because of this, where I'd usually draw Dragonball fanart of various characters as my girlfriend. Since leaving school I've worked odd jobs that while they don't pay much, they are enough for me to live on my own apartment. I spend my free time either watching anime while eating my favorite cup noodles, or just posting on these dead gay forums. I typically like shows similar to Recovery of an MMO Junkie, ReLife, and Aggretsuko as they remind me there are women in my dating range with similar insecurities waiting for me. That's where I am in life right now.

peanut fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Feb 5, 2024

# ¿ Jan 5, 2016 10:50

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 13:41

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

lol my kawaii face got garbled, mods fix the title if you care ヽ(ｏ`皿′ｏ)ﾉ

# ¿ Jan 5, 2016 10:53

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Use a convenience store microwave to boil water to reconstitute dry seaweed, hth

# ¿ Jan 5, 2016 11:40

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Can someone please ask about travel cell phones then another person answer that question, but in a current and accurate way tia

# ¿ Jan 5, 2016 13:21

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Maybe all sushi is bad if u don't like sushi, makes u think

# ¿ Jan 5, 2016 14:13

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

2 days Hiroshima (one day in your town), 3 days Kyoto + Nara, 1 day Osaka, 1 day Nagoya
Check JR passes for West Japan/Kansai only

Everyone please photobomb this thread with nice pictures

# ¿ Jan 6, 2016 12:03

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

They used to say 3 months from interview to flight. April, August and January are common start times (beginning of semester) but eikaiwa jobs will hire year-round.

Idk just apply for a lot

# ¿ Jan 6, 2016 23:13

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

There are 3 main Japan threads: Ask/Tell, Travel/Tourism and LAN.
D/D is terrible, don't go there. The Language thread is also terrible.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2016 04:13

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Kawaii pics arigato

# ¿ Jan 7, 2016 23:38

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Hostels have private rooms too. And the shared lounge should take the edge off travelling alone.
In Kyoto I've stayed at K's house and Rakuza, and I wanted to stay at JAM but they were booked up.
Tokyo I've stayed at Kita Shinagawa. It was basic but v easy to get to.

You could stay at Toyoko Inn the whole time but it's not very... cultural.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2016 23:57

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Forums user turdbucket, it may please you to hear that sumo is in Osaka in March.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2016 11:30

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Russian visas are also a bitch to apply for. I'd say Sakhalin isn't worth the effort unless you have family there.
You should definitely visit friends in Hokkaido.

You're traveling during Spring Break so start booking hotels soon.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2016 23:38

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

All students. And university students are moving in/out.
Russian visas are cheaper with a Japanese passport but you still need to apply in advance. Sakhalin and the Kurils might have some exemptions because of the history of mixed colonization, but the only people I know who've been there were born there :shrug:

# ¿ Jan 23, 2016 02:24

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

net work error posted:

Those options are new to me but yeah probably not the best.

Anyone ever gone to Hashima Island and used one of the ferry companies to visit it? Since I'll be getting a JR Pass most likely I'm expanding my list of things to see.

Please elaborate on Hashima I've never heard of it tbh

# ¿ Jan 25, 2016 05:19

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Ohhhhhh Gunkanjima

# ¿ Jan 25, 2016 15:04

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Keep staring at your phone and you'll miss everything.

# ¿ Jan 28, 2016 01:02

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Replace Osaka with Hiroshima.

# ¿ Jan 28, 2016 03:28

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Kochi would like to challenge those claims

# ¿ Jan 29, 2016 01:41

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

That sounds like every karaoke video ever but maybe it's Quruli?

# ¿ Feb 1, 2016 00:09

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

You can get touristy katana at the Sensoji souvenir market, or get some fancy cooking knives made by real sword smiths that will actually be useful (and easier to carry home.)

# ¿ Feb 8, 2016 06:01

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

kinmik posted:

My cousin and her dad (60+) are coming to visit in the summer and she'd like to know which tour groups are the best for Japan travel. Can anyone recommend?

My parents did their own thing plus some day trips booked at the jr travel office in most major stations.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2016 02:17

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Movies marketed to kids will often only have a dub release in average theaters. Likewise, 3D doesn't do subtitles well.

And people are nearsighted and illiterate :shrug:

Oh you mean like on a dvd? I've never seen a major release without subtitles, but I can imagine comedy tv dvds without it.
Yes, deaf are poors and not a part of the market

peanut fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Feb 11, 2016

# ¿ Feb 11, 2016 02:10

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

I sometimes watch a talk show about disabilities, and they subtitle the host with cerebral palsy who has some pronunciation difficulty, but not everyone else, unless a guest is using sign language because ???

# ¿ Feb 12, 2016 13:22

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Nagoya: I'd bounce on the weekend for Kyoto, Nara, Kanazawa some other historicy place

# ¿ Feb 17, 2016 01:07

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Hello, i am a japanese. I have am found your comments on another site is link. I think maybe you are so confuse about meaning of customer service. In Japan, customer service is famous O MO TE NA SHI, also customer service is have manner, also is use keigo, and have politeness when talk to other. Also is have bow.
In America, it's call danger country. Customer serivce equal clerk is not get shoot by gun of customer. Also cusotmer service equal don't say racism to black human. So America standard is too low. But America is teach Japan one thing. It's name 糖尿病 in english say "DIABETES". this is because america is eat many sweet, candy and also hamburg.

# ¿ Feb 18, 2016 01:24

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

No fish, soy or sesame? You're boned, dude. Just accept that you'll eat nothing but pizza and will have diarrhea constantly.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2016 01:06

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Enjoy being drunk and hungry!

# ¿ Feb 20, 2016 13:01

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Tequila Sunrise posted:

Hey guys I have some questions maybe you can help me with.

I met my wife in Japan 2 years ago while I was over there teaching English for a semester. I'm now 32, she's 22. We started dating, got engaged, married, and she came over to the US via the K1 visa program about 5 months ago.

There are several issues that have come up since we got married and moved in together. I'm hoping for some goon advice from others in relationships, even if they're not exactly like this. Keep in mind she has been in the US officially for about 5 months. I understand there is a huge cultural change and learning curve, but some of this is crazy.

1) She still hasn't learned to drive. But not through lack of trying. She has extremely bad nerves, and every time she even gets in the driver's seat she freaks out and starts shaking and sweating. We tried parallel parking once and she just floored it while the E-brake was still on. I had to physically pull her foot off the pedal. We try driving at least half an hour a day and she's gotten no more comfortable with it.

2) Her English is pretty good, but she still prefers speaking Japanese all the time. My Japanese is alright, but I don't catch everything, especially slang and things like that. Many times after an argument she'll run into the bedroom, lock the door, and start yelling things at me in Japanese that I don't understand.

3) We are having some money issues - mostly tied to the fact that I'm the only one working. I'm a substitute teacher, and work is spotty at best. I also do work as a landscaper but it's winter so there's nothing going on. So finances are TIGHT right now. We've looked for work she can do from home until the driving situation is fixed, but most of it needs a way better understanding of English.

4) We still haven't consummated our marriage. The most she's willing to do is some stuff with her feet, no actual intercourse. This is a nerves thing again.

lmao sugoi

# ¿ Feb 22, 2016 07:50

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

A stay in Akita will be authentic, that's for sure. Like Idaho authentic, but in a good way. Help the locals stay warm

# ¿ Feb 23, 2016 23:24

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Kyoto yolo

# ¿ Feb 26, 2016 06:51

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

It's good for living but not good for more than 2 days sightseeing. But whatever I live on Shikoku where a half day is all you need for each city :sadpeanut:

# ¿ Feb 26, 2016 12:36

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Kawaii imo thx senpai

# ¿ Feb 28, 2016 05:28

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

ntan1 posted:

Hey peanut,

When's the best time to visit Shikoku? Also, I'm an onsen/mountain/nature person more than a sea/beach person do you have any recommendations for onsen towns? Do you know any good tourism websites for Shikoku (JP ok).

Im already going to be in Kyushu in spring and then Hokkaido/West Tohoku/Tsurugaoka/etc. in October, but I feel next year it's either going to be Chuubu/Chuugoku or Shikoku.

thx.

Hello! I recommend now through May to avoid mosquitoes, or October for festivals in Ehime. There's not too many onsen on Shikoku, but Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama is the oldest, and Iya Valley in Tokushima has all the onsen ryokan (and Kazura-bashi bridge). We stay at Nagoma on Oshima (Imabari) at least once a year (not real onsen water but the food is excellent).
There are some cool temples on the 88 pilgrimage like Ishiteji, Sankakuji, Zentsuji...
Ride a bike across Shimanami Kaido.
My town has MINETOPIA if you like bubble era money drains. There's also a new art museum but please don't come just for that :sadpeanut:

Summer offers rafting (Happy Raft), Yosakoi, Awa Odori and 90% humidity!

# ¿ Mar 1, 2016 05:21

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

I went to a Gundam Cafe yesterday lol the food was meh and the coffee was meh but the staff wore uniforms and it was a chill place for my kid to take a nap

# ¿ Mar 1, 2016 10:59

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

U jetlagged mate

# ¿ Mar 4, 2016 21:36

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

You don't need to worry about that stuff for just a few months. If your school doesn't require you to enroll in national insurance, don't bother.

# ¿ Mar 5, 2016 04:20

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Lol idk how you could get takeout ramen. Put it in a plastic bag in a bucket like a goldfish? As long as you're 1 person you should get seats easily.

# ¿ Mar 7, 2016 23:35

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Big souvenir bowl with a neck strap

# ¿ Mar 8, 2016 00:41

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

If you don't have a special rail pass, you'll need separate Hiroshima-Himeji and Himeji-Osaka tickets.

Himeji is close enough to Osaka you could do it on a cheaper non-shinkansen train.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2016 07:29

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 13:41

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

International airports tend to be KIX, HND and NRT, but if you change in Korea or other nearby countries you could arrive in FUK, then fly out of Tokyo.
Even if you fly into Tokyo, starting your trip in the farthest city (Hiroshima) and working your way back towards the airport is a good and efficient way to move imo.

# ¿ Mar 11, 2016 02:36

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Tourism & Travel > Japan: Donki is both the best and worst store I've ever seen

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