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This last week I got approval to take a month off in February and fulfill 14 year old me's wet dream of visiting Japan. I'll be going alone and would ideally live off of about $200 a day on average (I will be getting a $300 pre-tax per diem which should come out to about $200 after taxes). I've never been overseas and don't speak any Japanese so I have basically no idea where to start with planning this trip. Any recommendations for resources to plan my trip? I'd be looking more for things like hikes and museums and stopping by the Japan Go Association and less on the anime and cat cafe front.
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Sep 2, 2018 19:59
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Grand Fromage posted:Wikitravel is a good place to start looking up places. $200 a day is plenty, you won't be able to go crazy but you won't have a tight budget either. Yeah, I'm not super worried about budget. I figured $200 would be comfortable and I planned already on socking some cash away so I can splurge and do some pricier things like maybe stay at a ryokan for a few days. I'm starting to dig into wikitravel and it seems like good info. It seems to be a little sparse on seasonal information. Should I just be less worried about things like castles or shrines being unavailable (or just significantly less interesting to visit) for tourists during the winter months?
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Sep 2, 2018 20:56
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Grand Fromage posted:I've spent a month in Japan in February, didn't have any issues with things being closed. It's also sake making season, and while Japan is awful in summer it is lovely in winter. Any particular things you'd recommend that are particular to the winter/February? One of the many snow festivals I guess? Any recommendations on anywhere that where interesting hiking is possible during the winter? Also, I realize this is really well trod ground but: Tattoos and onsen. I have a fairly small tattoo on my left forearm (I've been considering getting rid of it for a while but just haven't pulled that expensive trigger), it's about 1"x1.5", and I'm seeing really mixed messages about going to onsen with small tattoos. Some people say just go and play a dumb foreigner and they will let you get away with it if it small, other people say to use a tattoo seal or concealer, others say never do either of those and only go to places that say they are tattoo friendly. Any clarification on which works?
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Sep 3, 2018 23:43
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I have a month off in February and I plan on going to Japan. My rough plan at this point is: Feb 2 Fly out of Wisconsin Feb 3 Arrive in Chitose Feb 4-6 Snow festival stuff in Sapporo and adjust to the timezone, possibly/probably swap one of these days to be a trip to Asahiyama or Otaru Feb 7 Ski somewhere Feb 8 Noribetsu for onsen Feb 9 Hakodate Feb 10 Fly to Hiroshima After that my vague plan gets vaguer in that I would spend maybe 4 or 5 days in the Hiroshima area to do things like visit Itsukushima, then take the train up to Kyoto for a week to hit Kyoto and Osaka, and then travel to Tokyo to spend the rest of my time before flying out of Tokyo on the 28th or 1st. I realize these details are way too sparse for much of a critique, but with the snow festival happening when I will be in Sapporo I'd like to get a hotel locked down sooner than I'll have my full plans figured out and wanted to get advice on
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Oct 31, 2018 18:07
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I posted about this trip a few weeks ago but now I've tried nailing down more details. I have a trip from Feb 2 to March 1 coming up. The first leg will be in Hokkaido. I will be traveling alone and this will be my first visit to Japan. My plan seems much slimmer than most other people's plans I've seen posted on here. Thoughts? Day 1 - Chitose
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Nov 12, 2018 19:07
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Nanigans posted:Day 4: Hakone and Mt. Fuji - Not sure about this one. Obviously Fuji is amazing, but would October be a good time, and is visiting it something you would recommend for possibly my only trip to the country or would our time be better spent somewhere else? I generally like nature, but this is the one stop I'm conflicted on If you were thinking about hiking up Fuji, October is not a good time for it. Climbing season for Fuji ends in September. Ninja Edit: And if you plan is to just see Fuji, I've heard it can be kind of tricky to get a clear view since it is usually covered in clouds.
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Nov 12, 2018 20:43
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What's the best way to get from Hakodate to Hiroshima? Fly to Osaka and then trains to Hiroshima? Quick googling isn't showing a lot in the way of flights to Hiroshima.
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Nov 29, 2018 03:51
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harperdc posted:Hakodate-Haneda and then Haneda-Hiroshima. There will be more available through Haneda than anything else. Trains and buses would take a lot longer. Using JAL's website and google flights I was unable to find flights from Hakodate to Hiroshima even with layovers but looking more specifically I can certainly find flights from Hakodate to Haneda and then one from Haneda to Hiroshima. Is this how flights are sold in Japan? Some element of standard lovely Japanese web design? A sign I can't operate a computer and need an adult?
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Nov 29, 2018 15:05
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ntan1 posted:Google Maps probably just doesn't have the information from JAL (and has periodically been poo poo at booking domestic Japanese flights). Turns out it was the "can't use the internet and needs and adult," option. I was able to get that sorted out and got a flight purchased on the domestic side of the site. Anyone stay at a temple on Mt Koya? Any recommendations on which temple to stay at?
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Dec 5, 2018 04:03
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Pththya-lyi posted:Persona 5 has you navigate a portion of Shinjuku Station on the way to your first day of school. It's just as confusing and frustrating as it is in real life! This is a really cool idea. I never saw it coming. I might decide to structure part of my Tokyo visit on this. Other than Akihabara, Shinjuku, what are some of the other real-life places from the game to visit (it's been a while since I played)?
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Jan 22, 2019 05:27
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I'm flying out in a week for my first trip overseas. Starting to freak out a little bit especially since my plans are a lot foggier than most of the other itineraries I've seen. Can I get some feed back for my itinerary, I posted it over on reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/ak8m9i/itinerary_feedback_for_solo_first_timers_4_week/), let me know if linking out is verboten and I can re-type it all with BBcode formatting.
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Jan 27, 2019 05:06
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teddust posted:Since your tattoo is small, you should just get some waterproof bandaids that will cover it. Can you link me to an example of the waterproof bandaids you're thinking of? But I assume if I want to try using a waterproof bandaid I should clear that with the onsen?
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Jan 27, 2019 07:23
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sale on Banksy art posted:Your plan seems perfectly fine except I still don't know why everyone plans a blank week in Tokyo. I mean, there is definitely a week's worth of stuff to do in Tokyo, but don't dedicate a third of your trip to it if you don't have any idea what you want to do. Honestly for the whole trip I basically picked how long I thought I might want to stay in each area and then backfilled everything. Tokyo's blank because it's the end of the trip and I'm hoping I will have time to figure it out before I get to Tokyo!
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Jan 27, 2019 15:39
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Currently on my way to Japan. I'm learning that I suck at sleeping on the plane. EDIT: The lady in the window seat who randomly decides to open her window to gaze at the blinding white abyss that is the cloud cover under us is not helping the situation. captkirk fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Feb 3, 2019 |
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Feb 3, 2019 01:04
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Not a Children posted:Next time bring melatonin It's in my checked luggage :-/ Lesson learned. EDIT: Stringent posted:You're supposed to drink until you sleep. If hangovers weren't so miserable while traveling I'd be poo poo faced right now. captkirk fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Feb 3, 2019 |
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Feb 3, 2019 01:09
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Getting on a domestic flight with JetStar I don't know if I bungled my way through security or if security here is just crazy lax in comparison with the TSA.
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Feb 3, 2019 08:53
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Pollyanna posted:I only know about that AQB or whatever chain that's racist against foreigners. Is there more (besides the usual xenophobia)? APA hotel rooms have a history book in the nigh stand with a nationalistic Pro-Japan spin. Denies/downplays the Rape of Nanking and stuff like that. But from what I've read you won't get a worse treatment there just the owners support some shady causes.
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Feb 3, 2019 23:07
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Train doors do not gently caress around. I boarded a little slow and nearly got my roller bag stolen by the train door. Also, gently caress walking around with a roller bag in Chitose. The sidewalks aren't shoveled all the way down to the concrete.
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Feb 4, 2019 03:20
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Anyone do goshuin collecting? I kind of wanted to but when I went to Hokkaido Jingu today I had trouble trying to find a stamp book to buy.
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Feb 5, 2019 07:40
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Knuc U Kinte posted:You can get the book at the shrine usually. I know for a fact that Hokkaido shrine has one because my wife almost bought it when she finished her last book Do you remember where you saw it? I walked up and down where they were selling the charms and I couldn't find the goshuin books. It doesn't help that I'm too nervous to have any interaction with anyone that doesn't come down to pointing or handing over my passport.
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Feb 5, 2019 11:21
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Where can I buy a handkerchief? I'd like to stop wiping my hands on my jeans every time I hit a train station bathroom but I can't seem to find them at the Mega Donki nearby (though that probably is because it is hard to find a thing in a store that has everything in existence including roving packs of young women blocking everything).
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Feb 6, 2019 23:53
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Sorry, maybe I'm blind ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Feb 7, 2019 04:37
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gently caress, Google Maps finally lead me astray. I nearly missed the Liner Bus to Noboribetsu because I was standing outside the Lawson's but the wrong Kamori Building. I had to sprint 1.5km with backpack and hiking boots, past Odori Park during Snow Festival and made it with like 2 minutes to spare. Now I'm sitting on the bus trying very hard not to cough up a lung.
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Feb 10, 2019 06:02
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I accomplished my mission of going to an onsen in Noboribetsu. The onsen that lets people with tattoos in was not open to day trippers by the time I got into Noboribetsu so I was just very careful to keep my forearm tucked against my body and went to my hotels public bath. Nobody complained and the Old Lady Bath Attendant didn't notice even when I walked by her to get into a tub. It may have helped that everyone else in the onsen was Chinese and didn't care.
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Feb 10, 2019 13:38
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Pollyanna posted:It took a while and a good bit of convincing to get the fact that it is not a thing through his head. He is now trying to reconcile the fact that rates are per-head and not per-room. I'm glad you were able to convince him. Your posts have given me new insight to the complaints about room size I've seen.
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Feb 11, 2019 04:39
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Any hope of am English only speaker recovering a camera lost in Hakodate Airport, Haneda Airport, or one of the planes I flew out of those places on?
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Feb 12, 2019 09:53
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The Great Autismo! posted:tbh I’d just recommend not losing a camera to begin with That's what I do on all my domestic trips. I figured I'd do something different to mix things up a bit!
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Feb 12, 2019 10:03
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I've just encountered my first train delay in Japan. Apparently a dog ran out onto the tracks and was hit by a train. Guess I'm grabbing lunch by the monkey park.
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Feb 17, 2019 03:43
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ntan1 posted:Hokkaido was very beautiful in October because it isn't on the mainland chinese lists because it isn't summer when a mainland chinese person should go to Hokkaido. I went to Sapporo during the Snow Festival/Lunar New Year. So many mainlanders. Day trips to Jozankei and Noboribetsu it would be like me, one other Westerner, a handful of Japanese and then 60 Chinese in the onsen.
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Feb 23, 2019 01:51
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Stringent posted:Might want to stay at an APA hotel.  That got me to laugh outline outloud in the goshuin line at asakusa shrine.
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Feb 23, 2019 06:35
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Lid posted:In my month in Japan it is a beautiful country and places but seriously I don't know why anyone goes to Osaka other than making people look awkwardly at claims Osaka is the food capital of Japan. God it's boring. I skipped Osaka to chill in Kyoto longer. Currently in Tokyo and would be bored if I didn't play Go. EDIT: I guess my point is that Kyoto rocks.
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Feb 24, 2019 10:29
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Stringent posted:you wanna hang out? i'm bored. If you're serious sure. I'm fixing to head back to Asakusa from Nagahara.
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Feb 24, 2019 10:57
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I can hop on the Yamanote the other way and go to Shinjuku instead.
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Feb 24, 2019 11:10
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Stringent posted:Ok, get off at Takadanobaba, what time? Train estimates 16 minutes. So about 7:30.
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Feb 24, 2019 11:15
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Stringent posted:Alright I'm the white guy with a beard and a blue shirt. I'm the white dude in a red flannel and a sad excuse for a beard.
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Feb 24, 2019 11:21
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Last night I learned that conbini are a weird place while drunk at 1:00 AM.
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Feb 25, 2019 02:35
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Also, what the hell is in lovely beer in Japan? I've never had this bad of a headache from just beer before.
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Feb 25, 2019 03:05
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gently caress, I didnt realize Melonkuma merchandise would only/mostly be available in Hokkaido. Anyone know of somewhere in Tokyo I could pick up a Melonkuma t-shirt? Trying to get souvenirs for my nephews.
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Feb 26, 2019 03:07
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Stringent posted:Yup. This is one thing that has confused me. In Asakusa by my hotel they just throw down some stickers on the side walk that have a bike symbol on it. Is that how biking rolls in Tokyo? Just get a slice of the sidewalk and hope one of those old ladies with a back bent like a U doesn't wander into your lane?
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Feb 27, 2019 09:49
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I'm down to my last day and a half in Japan. Not sure yet what I'm going to do tomorrow but does anyone have recommendations on something to do in Tokyo my last day before flying out of Haneda airport? My flight doesn't take off until 7:00 PM so I've got a lot of the day to burn.
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Feb 27, 2019 11:02
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