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Starting from late march, Nijou castle in Kyoto has a night cherry blossom viewing event going on.
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Mar 9, 2016 20:39
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| # ¿ May 13, 2024 01:48 |
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http://www.digistyle-kyoto.com/event/lightup/post_246.html It looks like they'll be open this year staring from March 25th. I have no idea if the cherry blossoms will be blooming but there are art pieces to see and walking through the castle grounds at night is pretty cool on it's own.
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Mar 9, 2016 22:05
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If you know where you're going to be already and the exact dates then you can start looking for hotels to book right now.
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Mar 11, 2016 23:11
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2 bed rooms are super common.
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Mar 13, 2016 00:55
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Deltasquid posted:I'm mostly worried about my friends getting burnt out on temples in between meals, especially in Kyoto. However, I've lived in Kyoto for a couple of months and did the whole temple and shrine viewing experience and I would say that there is a whole lot of variety in the main tourist temple/shrines. You won't be viewing the same thing over and over and each place is very unique. Kinkakuji, Fushimi Inari, Ryoanji, Ninnanji, Kiyomizudera, Sanjusangendo, Hongan-ji all have their own uniqueness and each one is a whole different experience. They all have something that you won't be able to see and Ryoanji and Ninnanji are less temples and more beautiful gardens. Other than temples, Kyoto also has the really cool castle in the middle of the city (Nijou-jo), the Imperial Palace, and hiking up the Daimonji mountain is fun and it gives you a great view of the entire city. Arashiyama is also a really nice. One thing you should think about is that in July, Kyoto is super humid and it will be like 40 degrees Celsius so you probably won't be able to do as much as you want to in one day since you will be exhausted from the heat. It's also on the crowded side with tourists (especially Chinese and Korean tour buses) which will eat some of your time.
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Mar 18, 2016 10:42
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Deltasquid posted:Any hidden gems you'd recommend? Even things like a particularly neat-looking game center, a street full of mom and pop stores, some neat bars to have drinks at night, stuff like that? Teramachi is an entire shopping district of small stores and it's worth checking out. It's also right beside the "downtown section" of Kyoto (Sanjo-Shijo) where lots of bars and karaoke places are located. I was a student when I was in Kyoto so I only really went to the cheaper bars but if you're interested. Bar moon walk was one of my favorite bars. It's a chain with about ~20 stores across Japan and Kyoto has 4 stores iirc. I believe I went to the one at Sanjo. It's a tiny, tiny bar (can probably only fit like 8 people at a time) but it was heavily decorated and it's also really cheap (400yen cover charge + 200 per drink). It's also on the second floor of some unlabeled building and the only think that would tell you that it's there is a sandwich board sign pointing in to this shady hallway. Torikizoku was also one of my go Izakayas. The food is tasty and a cheap place to eat and get drunk; the perfect place for a University student. It's also a chain so there's a couple of stores around Kyoto. Also, Karaoke places are also all you can drink places and if you get the all night package you can stay from like 11 until 5am singing and drinking for like 2500yen/person if that's your thing. Zettace fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Mar 18, 2016 |
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Mar 18, 2016 21:57
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In retrospect, you probably should lump your stay in Kyoto with the one in Osaka. They're only like 30mins apart by train and if you wanted to stay longer in one city or cut the trip short to move on to the next city it wouldn't be a big deal. And Kyoto does have a lot of repetitive temples and shrines but the big main ones are nothing alike and you do not have to actively search for how they're different at all. Hiking up a mountain through thousands of torii is a whole different experience from the Zen Garden at Ryoanji or the sheer impact of Sanjusangendo. By the way, under no circumstances should you ever visit the zoo in Kyoto or any zoo in Japan for that matter unless you want to be depressed. Zettace fucked around with this message at 03:05 on Mar 19, 2016 |
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Mar 19, 2016 02:55
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Yeah, bikes are a popular mode of transportation but there's very little actual bike infrastructure. The only real difference between Japan and NA in regards to bikes in my opinion is that drivers won't be actively trying to kill you.
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Mar 21, 2016 11:02
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Unless it's a major road, most roads won't have a sidewalk.
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Mar 21, 2016 20:14
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You really have to have a good think if you really want that stuff you want to ship over. Shipping things like the bikes and the kotatsu will be expensive enough that the shipping cost will be 50% to 100%+ of the cost of the actual item depending on how expensive your stuff is. For the electronics, you have to be more specific since stuff like a laptap or game console can easily be taken as luggage but if we're taking about a TV or a microwave or something then it'll be the same as the above situation. My advice? Sell and buy new in the US. Even shipping your clothes and other smaller items in a medium sized box weighing ~20kg by surface will set you back about ~10000yen so try and fit as much as possible in your luggage. Zettace fucked around with this message at 09:13 on Mar 25, 2016 |
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Mar 25, 2016 09:08
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Look at your debit card and check if you have the Cirrus logo on it (most will). If it does then you can use it at some atms in most countries around the world. In Japan, post office atms (which are everywhere) are part of the Cirrus network so using a foreign debit card is really easy in Japan. Zettace fucked around with this message at 11:04 on Mar 26, 2016 |
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Mar 26, 2016 11:01
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When I first did a Sakura viewing festival, I was kind of disappointed that all it was was sitting on a plastic mat eating snacks. Then I realized people were passing around beer and it became an awesome event.
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Apr 3, 2016 07:49
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While I was living in Japan (wasn't eligible for the JR pass), I made a weekend trip from Kyoto to Hiroshima using the Shinkansen. Cost me about $200 for the round trip. If I had a full 7 days to travel, just adding a trip to Kyushu would send me over the cost of the JR pass. If I started from Tokyo, the JR pass would have also been even more worth it.
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Nov 12, 2016 20:59
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Yeah, a day trip in Hiroshima will make that schedule tough. You can easily do the Peace museum/park and Miyajima in one day with time to spare if you start and end in Hiroshima but it's a tight squeeze if it's a day trip especially from Kyoto since you'll lose a ton of time just travelling there and back.
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Dec 24, 2016 05:19
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No, local train fare is pretty cheap so it'll be cheaper to pay per use. A JR Pass is only worth it if you're going to ride the expensive shinkansen 3 times +.
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Dec 29, 2016 16:11
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It's not that hot. It's just really humid-hot in that stepping outside and walking for 10 minutes will leave you drenched in sweat. Also, things won't shut down but heat stroke is a thing you have to watch out for if you're doing a lot of moving during the day time.
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Jan 28, 2017 06:09
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Yawgmoft posted:If I lived in an area with 90 degree temperatures and 80% average humidity would I notice the difference? 
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Jan 29, 2017 08:18
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I have an Icoca and the masoct is awesome and the word pun is good. However, I regret not picking up a Kitaca while in Sapporo because the flying squirrel is so cute.
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May 23, 2017 06:33
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It's also a 1 hr train ride from the airport to Sapporo. You have to make sure your trip is worth while for sure.
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Sep 14, 2017 15:13
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Japan during Chinese new years sounds terrible.
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Nov 13, 2017 08:35
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mikeycp posted:Also DisneySea has a water ride that gets wetter in the summer and I think it's the most soaked I've ever gotten at a theme park.
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Jan 6, 2019 03:45
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Okay, which one of you is the guy on the Japan Travel reddit looking for XXL shirts in Akihabara.
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Jun 1, 2019 02:10
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akihabara is good for people who like anime and people who like to laugh at anime. if neither interest you then yeah it's not worth going. Edit: Also the sex shop on the main street. You can go for that. Zettace fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Jun 1, 2019 |
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Jun 1, 2019 04:52
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arisu posted:EDIT: Also holy poo poo airbnbs are a great value when traveling as a group. Worked out to under $60/night per person after taxes and fees. During off peak seasons you each can get a separate room at a business hotel for ~$60. Even cheaper if you share a room per 2 people. Though I guess you kind of are in the middle of kouyo season.
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Jun 11, 2019 01:39
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prompt posted:Japan likes to charge per person, not per room. And at a similar price the AirBNB is going to be more spacious and have more amenities. Oh I know it's per person but the per person cost is always cheaper for a shared room in hotels.
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Jun 11, 2019 20:25
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JET is really popular now with more people applying every year so you should be doing every little thing you can to improve your chances. If you just want to be an English teaching assistant in Japan getting into an Eikaiwa is a lot easier. Zettace fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Oct 3, 2019 |
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Oct 3, 2019 04:10
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Guys, any large city in Japan will have good European style bread. You just have to look for it. Of course you're not going to find it in convenience stores and supermarkets. I mean if you walk in to a walmart in America you're not going to find the best bread there either and American white bread is sweet as gently caress too.
Zettace fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Nov 6, 2019 |
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Nov 6, 2019 03:12
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A JR pass is only slightly more expensive than round trip Tokyo-Osaka Nozomi Shinkansen tickets. If you go to Kyoto you'll probably break even or win out by a few bucks. However with a JR pass you have to take the slower Hikari Shinkansen which isn't that big of a deal since it's only 30mins slower for a Tokyo to Osaka trip. Also Osaka to Nara is doable with JR but the private line is faster. If you add another day trip to places slightly further out like Himeji, a JR pass becomes a lot more worth it.
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Nov 28, 2019 18:36
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Pocket wifis are nice if your going to be a group that sticks together all the time. Solo or groups that will split up occasionally should go with the sim card.
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Jan 2, 2020 23:37
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Tokyo during golden week is fine for touristy stuff that appeals to foreigners and getting around will be easier since the commute rush hour times won't really be a thing. However stuff like theme parks, hiking trails, camp sites, museums, malls, and any other thing that would appeal to locals to spend their time off will be packed. Also you won't be able to take advantage of doing stuff during the quiet regular working hours which kind of sucks.
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Jan 24, 2020 08:59
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I would trust a hotel desk a lot more than a 7eleven to be able to help a foreigner ship their luggage. If you can speak Japanese then either one should be fine but if you don't then the hotel should have more experience dealing with clueless foreigners lol
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Jan 24, 2020 23:20
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Was it this guy? https://www.instagram.com/chikyu_nishimura/
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Jan 25, 2020 06:26
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Tokyo's historically famous spot for fugu is Asakusa. Not sure if the area becoming a tourist trap has affected the quality of the fugu restaurants though.
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Feb 3, 2020 18:45
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Japanese domestic tourism is based on that entire idea lol. "Let's go to [specific region] to eat their [regional specially item]".
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Dec 6, 2020 14:35
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The megabeers were actually happoshu. There was an increase to happoshu tax rates this year so that's probably the real reason if they dropped it from their menu.
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Dec 9, 2020 22:41
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Yeah your right. I got it mixed up with the cigarette increase this year.
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Dec 10, 2020 02:05
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Kyoto is in a basin so it's summers are extra fun and by fun I mean feeling like you're in an oven.
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Dec 21, 2020 03:32
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Wow Magnitude 7
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Feb 13, 2021 15:17
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Unit baths are so easy to clean tho
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Mar 5, 2021 06:47
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| # ¿ May 13, 2024 01:48 |
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Depends on your opinion of cruises since it's basically a mini-cruise. It's a cool weekend thing to do if you're in Japan for a long period of time but as someone visiting with limited time it might not be the best use of time in Japan. On the other hand if you're the type that enjoys cruises and are just using it to recharge from your Hokkaido trip then I'm sure it'll be fine.
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Apr 23, 2021 02:26
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