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I am going to Japan for the first time (alone) in May, 8th-28th. Other than a ticket to Ghibli Park I was able to nab (the 9th) I don’t have any concrete plans yet. I have free accommodation in Tokyo through a family friend so I’d like to spend a lot of time there, but I at least want to spend a few days each in Osaka and Kyoto. Does anyone have any recommendations of what to see, or good resources of them? I’m a disgusting nerd so I want do stuff like see Akihabara, as well as Kabukicho and Dotonbori (because of the Yakuza games). But despite my weeb inclinations I’ve realised I don’t really have any grasp of the tourist sights in Japan. Are there any decent ideas for cities/towns beyond the big three to visit? I’ve been looking around but there’s just a colossal amount of possibilities I’ve seen and no real way of deciding between them. I can’t drive btw, so remote mountain towns are probably out.
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Mar 29, 2024 05:38
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| # ¿ May 13, 2024 12:39 |
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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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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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extravadanza posted: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! This is interesting as I'd not really considered Nagoya (maybe because that was the bit of Yakuza 5 I quit out on lol) but I'll definitely check it out. I'm surprised you've suggested so many more days in Kyoto than Osaka - do you think that there's that much less to see in Osaka?
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Apr 4, 2024 18:35
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Okay, I’m thinking I’m using the whole “base” idea for the Sendai trip - how does Osaka sound for the base? My theory is that since I’ll need to catch at least the final final train back to wherever, I should stay in Osaka as that’s the place where I’m most likely to want to do stuff later at night.
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Apr 6, 2024 02:34
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Oh, I meant Kansai lol
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Apr 6, 2024 04:53
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I was thinking of getting tickets to these TeamLab things - but there are two in Tokyo. Which is better, Planets or Borderless? Or are they soo good they're worth going to both?
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Apr 30, 2024 15:15
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Hey, I’m in Japan now, and I’m having trouble with IC cards. I was able to add a Suica card onto my iPhone wallet before I left, and was able to add 1,000 yen before I left and then another 5,000 at Haneda airport. So it was looking good, and I started using it a bunch. But then I started to get low on it, and now when I try to add more money it rejects the payment. In fact, looking at true previous two payments that went through, they show up on my phone as “pending”. I tried the PASMO and ICOCA cards too and they won’t accept my payment either. I guess I should just go and get one of those tourist physical IC cards, but I’d rather not. Anyone got any advice? I’m fairly sure my actual debit card (Mastercard) is working fine, as I bought a Shinkansen ticket with it yesterday.
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May 11, 2024 03:31
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Mister Chief posted:Did you tell your bank etc. you would be in Japan? bee burger posted:If you need to recharge your card but can’t use a credit card I think you can use certain recharge machines with a contactless reader (in train stations, maybe in arcades in akiba) and 7/11 atms and just recharge with cash.
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May 11, 2024 07:32
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| # ¿ May 13, 2024 12:39 |
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Well, for reasons that are a mystery to me, out of nowhere I am now able to add money to my iPhone Suica cards. Thank god, especially since I just found out that the only place I can get one of the tourist Welcome Suica cards is at the airport.
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May 12, 2024 05:20
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