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Onsens are all over Japan, but as somebody who has been to like every major onsen town, I will openly say that I have strong preferences for certain ones. In Kyushu my top ones for feel is definitely Kurokawa, although there is a lot of good water all over.
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May 30, 2023 20:26
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It's ok --- the service is going to be generally pretty good, with a decent amount of competition on food and just general room quality. The main issue with Kinosaki is that the onsen water is sodium/calcium sulphate, which is one of the most common and simple in Japan. The town center is pleasant, but nothing particularly different or unique compared to other hot spring towns in Japan.
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May 31, 2023 06:54
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Hiroshima
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Jun 2, 2023 08:33
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For tokyo hotels the best time to do laundry is after checkout hours if you are going to drop back by the hotel. Note that you need to be back at the hotel to pick up laundry again.
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Jun 8, 2023 06:13
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surf rock posted:For folks who are knowledgeable about Japan's public transit system, though, I wanted to check first: is Google leading me astray with any of these? Like, are any of these bullshit directions? From what I can tell, these different transit options should be categorized as: You're thinking too hard about inner tokyo transportation. Just get an IC Pass and call it a day.
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Jul 1, 2023 19:17
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You can fill it either way --- yes to be safe, but make sure you enter the red lane (items to declare lane) and hand them the medical waiver (thereby effectively making the declaration). No need to show customs form for immigration. JP customs is very kind (although often procedural) when you are actually trying to follow the rules.
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Aug 29, 2023 22:10
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Never underestimate the ability for Japanese learners and weebs to overthink things. I have been to bumfuck nowhere Kyushu and the most common dialect people speak there is Tokyo dialect. So yeah.
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Oct 12, 2023 06:48
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cheese eats mouse posted:I lost control and spent so much money on ceramics…again. There’s a woman in Tokyo who specializes in rare stuff from the Kyushu region. Only 10 kilns making the stuff she sells. Who specifically?
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Oct 21, 2023 21:17
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What? Why are people recommending that you take the shinkansen? It makes no sense from Tokyo to Fukuoka unless you specifically like trains. It will be more expensive and take more time. A shinkansen ride takes 6 hours and is likely $160. Fukuoka airport is in the middle of the city and it takes 2 train stops to reach Hakata station. Japanese airports are also extremely efficient and you can arrive 60 minutes prior to the flight departing in most cases. Security is like pre-9-11 for domestic, and they will expedite departing flights in through security to the gate. Domestic flights should be about $100-120 one way. If you are looking at November of this year and you don't see any JAL or ANA flights, then it means they havent released the schedule for booking yet. They often do this in 3 month spurts (so next release is around 1/20ish). In the worst case, JAL and ANA also have a special fare for foreign people traveling on an international reservation: https://www.jal.co.jp/world/en/world/japan_explorer_pass/ar/reservation/ https://www.ana.co.jp/en/us/plan-book/promotions/special-fares/ Yeah, Haneda to Fukuoka is the busiest airplane route in the entirety of Japan.
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Jan 10, 2024 21:22
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the real cheapest way is seishun 18 and local trains, but bus is probably like very marginally more expensive and way less difficult.
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Jan 11, 2024 02:11
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On the other hand driving in Japan is cool and fun! You can stop at a SA which is a rest stop (service area)... of which the largest one is two floors of insane food and gift goodness.
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Jan 12, 2024 00:43
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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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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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Hallo! Here is my itinerary and line by line packing situation for April because it is extremely relevant to this thread. I will be using a backpack and carry on. Apr 5 Fri SFO Apr 6 Sat Taipei Take airport line to hotel Apr 7 Sun Taipei Apr 8 Mon Kanazawa Take taxi to airport, rental car to hotel Apr 9 Tue Okuhida Rental car Apr 10 Wed Okuhida Rental car Apr 11 Thu Kanazawa Rental car Apr 12 Fri Tokyo Take luggage onto shinkansen Apr 13 Sat Ibusuki Take luggage to Haneda via monorail Apr 14 Sun Kirishima Rental car Apr 15 Mon Kumamoto Rental car Apr 16 Tue Kurokawa Rental car Apr 17 Wed Kurokawa Rental car Apr 18 Thu Tokyo Take luggage to Tokyo and carry to hotel via keikyu Apr 19 Fri Tokyo Luggage in Tokyo Apr 20 Sat Tokyo Luggage in Tokyo Apr 21 Sun Tokyo Taxi to airport Apr 22 Mon Taipei
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Feb 14, 2024 23:53
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Grand Fromage posted:Not sure if Japanese camping stores have anything different/interesting compared to ones in the US but there are plenty of them to take a peep into. Montbell stuff is basically arcteryx but half the price
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Feb 15, 2024 08:44
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The fancy restaurant I go to in Tokyo books out super fast and as a person who goes there frequently I have to email in my reservation prior to when their reservation book opens up to the public. There are people at the restaurant who will book their next visit after they finish their meal.
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Feb 22, 2024 07:17
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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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Would either of you drive?
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Mar 18, 2024 03:20
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kaom posted:I’m mid-30s, he’s turning 40. We’re overworked and I’ve had some family tragedies in the past year, so while I usually try to see and do everything possible on a destination vacation, this time we’re aiming for chill. We’re also celebrating a milestone anniversary (although we had to delay this trip to save up for it, but it counts). His Japanese is good enough for conversations, mine is pretty rudimentary but I can handle directions and shopping and eating. For Nikko, three days is a lot unless you are going all the way to inner oku-nikko or doing a super long hike. One definite possibility is to go there early morning, stay for two nights, and then make the 3rd day the transportation day to get wherever you are going. Other options for Nikko include driving up North into the onsen territory in that area and ending up in Aizu Wakamatsu Fukushima, but that would be more than 2-3 days. This includes Oku Kinugawa, Oku yunishigawa, Oku Shiobara, etc until you get to some onsens in Fukushima. If you want to go this route, then making your trip a Tohoku one could make sense. For Kumamoto, I am going to anti-recommend Takafue if you dont often stay in super luxury ryokans and recommend two nights at Miyama Sanso instead. Takafue is considered amazing, but one night is sort of a shame, and two nights at a luxury inn that isnt that price category is both more relaxing and nice. You get a private bath already with Miyama Sanso and the price is probably 1/2, with access to one of the top public baths. If you go to Kurokawa and are driving, then doing a circle around Fukuoka, Beppu, Yufuin, Kurokawa Onsen, etc will naturally make sense as a possible itinerary. If in season, I also definitely recommend the oyster huts down near Itoshima, Fukuoka.
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Mar 18, 2024 16:35
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I also recommend Motsunabe and Udon around Hakata station and Fukuoka. Motsunabe is a harder one to find (well done) outside of Japan.
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Mar 27, 2024 05:23
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nagoya sux posted from a plane above japan
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Apr 5, 2024 10:01
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Go ahead and try and tell us if its good! I dunno, picking a restaurant in Japan is similar to trying one in any other country as a traveller... there is just an insane selection in major cities in Japan tho (due to people being foodies). You know what you want, and if its not then its a learning experience.
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Apr 9, 2024 22:38
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totalnewbie posted:At a certain point, when you do speak enough of the language and can actually meaningfully keep up then it changes, and where that point is depends on the situation, but before that, it annoys me (again, perhaps irrationally) so much to see tourists stumbling along when I know if they just asked in English, they would get an answer. That point is when you stop getting jouzud the moment you speak any Japanese. (Note, it still can happen as a natural reflex in some cases). Sometimes it's fun to let Japanese people keep struggling in English and doing a reverse jouzu (eigo jouzu desu ne). They're usually really embarassed and it's very cute. One of the benefits of being bilingual! Duolingo cant really teach you Japanese, speaking as a major + having many years of instruction. Sorry, it's the truth. I have the same opinion as all of the other folks here.
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Apr 10, 2024 22:36
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itym the Tokyo Rinkai Kosoku Tetsudo Rinkai Line
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Apr 30, 2024 17:52
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Even in that first image, like What does 1.2 mean and why is that different from 1-4 and 1.2.4. Also what direction are the arrows actually pointing to? Yes I can navigate Shinjuku station with no problems, but given that it's a large station with many people walking through it really fast, a lot of people will face information overload and not be able to process everything. But also, an example issue that I faced was that the folks i was leading wanted to get from the Shinjuku line to the Shinjuku Isetan, which there isnt good signage for. Of course I know that the toei lines deposit you on the west side of shinjuku station so you have to cross under the JR line and then follow signs for the Marunouchi line which will then connect to an underground passageway, but that's really not obvious for most people.
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Apr 30, 2024 20:22
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| # ¿ May 13, 2024 17:16 |
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the only times you really need a reservation for shinkansen is on new years, obon, and golden week
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May 5, 2024 19:06
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