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Famine Poodle posted:I heard somewhere that most Japanese accommodations don't open up for booking until 3 months before the date you want to book... is this complete bullshit? I started browsing Miyajima places for my November trip and it seems almost everything is already booked up. Am I going to be sleeping on the streets my whole trip or what? I just booked my flight for May and I'm starting to look for a place to stay -- I'm seeing availability on most hotel reservation sites almost 10 months out. I'm also looking at post-crackdown AirBnB and still seeing plenty of affordable alternatives so I think you should be able to find decent accommodations this far out.
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Jul 10, 2018 13:42
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Did AirBnB actually finish removing noncompliant listings? All the ones I'm trying to book ten months out have a license number in their listings so I'm hoping I'll be good.
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Jul 11, 2018 18:06
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Has anyone been to the railroad museum in Saitama who would know how equipped the staff are to explain everything in English, if at all? I know some of the exhibits like "work at a JR ticket counter" are a lost cause, but I'm hoping to try one of the cab simulators and my Japanese isn't at "operate heavy machinery" levels yet. I'll go either way because it seems fun, just wondering if anyone has any firsthand experience.
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Jul 29, 2018 22:14
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May '19 seems popular. I'll be there 8-28.
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Jul 30, 2018 14:34
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I was a little underwhelmed by Akihabara when I visited but I think it was so hyped up that there was really no way it could have lived up to expectations. That said, I still had fun shopping for dumb souvenirs.
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Aug 1, 2018 16:34
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Actually, never mind. This is something I could easily have researched online. Looks like there's enough to maybe keep me there overnight so I'll probably do that. some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 16:15 on Aug 22, 2018 |
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Aug 22, 2018 15:34
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Is there a recommended pocket wifi vendor for unlimited 4G or are they all pretty much the same and rolling the dice is safe?
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Aug 29, 2018 22:14
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I hear Logan Paul has some ideas on what you could do in Tokyo.
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Sep 7, 2018 21:09
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Pththya-lyi posted:Okay, here's a list of things I enjoyed on my trip that weren't food (warning - most of this stuff is pretty nerdy): I'm not an avid shopper, but slogging through Donki, Yodabashi Camera, Tokyu Hands, etc. was one of my favourite things when I went this year. The sheer size and selection was cool to take in, even if you're not looking for anything specific or even doing any shopping. Yodabashi was the first thing I did on my first day after landing and being in full on jet lag mode walking into a shop where everything is cranked up 200%, including the lighting was pretty surreal so that may be why I have a soft spot for it. some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Sep 8, 2018 |
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Sep 8, 2018 15:23
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I don't think I could ever pull off a yukata outdoors. Huge case of "look at whitey over here" 
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Sep 11, 2018 17:43
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I told my IT dept I was flying to Japan and I needed an international data plan. They said "okay no problem". I landed at HND and within 20 minutes I got a text saying "You're 75% through your 500mb data plan". Enjoy the bill, suckers.
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Sep 19, 2018 17:43
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ALFbrot posted:I miss having "IRRASHAIMASEEEEE" shouted at me indiscriminately when shopping I miss walking into a store and being blinded by the lights cranked to 200%
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Oct 3, 2018 13:54
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And now you have me realizing that I don't have a single ryokan or onsen on my May itinerary. Need to fix.
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Oct 22, 2018 21:46
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Cbear posted:What is the best way I can buy sumo tickets for May in advance? I'd like to attend a match in Tokyo while I'm there. May basho goon meet? 
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Jan 8, 2019 14:18
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Trying to figure out my train situation right now. All the calculators have my itinerary as a toss-up for value so I will probably just do it and try to use the rails more while I can. Cbear posted:I'm game. I'll be there May 14-27. I'm there 8-28 with a stint in Kyoto/Nara in the middle. Definitely doing at least one day of the tournament. You should come get hyped up in the Sumo thread if you haven't yet. New tournament starts this weekend  some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Jan 9, 2019 |
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Jan 9, 2019 01:38
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Phone posted:Where are you starting, where do you want to go, and for how long? Mainly Tokyo to Kyoto roundtrip, with a day trip to Nara while I'm there, all within a week. Maybe a trip to Saitama to do the railway museum if I have to squeeze value out of a pass. I mean, I'll be doing it either way but my schedule is really wide open right now other than my Kyoto/Nara trip smack dab in the middle of my stay. The calculators also factored in my travel to/from the airport but they're way too far apart, timewise, for me to use any rail pass. I'm not terribly fussed about it either way. some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Jan 9, 2019 |
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Jan 9, 2019 14:36
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I only have four days outside of Tokyo so I'm probably fine with a seven day window. I was ready to do the bus thing but I've never done the Shinkansen before and man.. when in Japan..
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Jan 9, 2019 18:20
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Archer666 posted:This. Some of the most memorable experiences I had was just walking through Tokyo everywhere and seeing what I can find. Found a good meat restaurant in takadanobaba that way, Red Rock. I have a list of maybe five concrete things I want to hit in my upcoming 20 days -- the most fun I had last time was just wandering around so I definitely took this route when "planning".
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Jan 10, 2019 14:24
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Also I booked a ten day stay with APA in Ikebukuro before I knew they were run by a racist. My biggest worry to date was that they don't let you control the AC in your room 
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Jan 10, 2019 16:24
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harperdc posted:Also good lord people stop packing vacation days so full of trips and plans. Plan some time to just wander and explore. Immediately after reading this thread I came across: https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/aejv8f/itinerary_check_20_days_in_tokyo_osaka_and/ 
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Jan 10, 2019 18:10
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My anecdotal experience with ATMs in Japan was that they were fairly picky. Post office ATMs straight up refused to work with my debit card, and only a handful of Lawson’s ATMs were able to cash me out. Not saying that’s the norm, but don’t instantly panic if you get there and one location doesn’t work for you. I never did figure out why, but I did end up making more sizeable withdrawals from those small sets of ATMs on the regular when I needed money.
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Jan 17, 2019 05:55
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TD Bank our of Canada. It’s a Plus card, I’m just saying anecdotally that it didn’t work with some Plus advertised machines.
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Jan 17, 2019 06:22
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I’m trying to figure out the logistics of watching the sumo tournament on tv. I’ll be in a mix of Airbnb’s and hotels for three weeks. Is this something simulcast on tv or is it just highlights similar to what we get on NHK? Should I be going it bars to watch like I would any sports here in North America? I can manage to figure it out when I get there but I figured I’d ping you guys to see if you have any info.
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Jan 27, 2019 16:19
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Cool cool cool, that’s good news. Thanks!
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Jan 28, 2019 01:11
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Thanks for giving me the heads up about the racist hotel thing. Just switched all my reservations to Airbnbs. Looks like the quantity of rooms is going back up after the whole crackdown. Snagged an Airbnb across the street from Fushimi Inari for some night time climbing action  .. hopefully less crowded.
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Feb 3, 2019 22:03
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Yeah I want worried about being treated poorly, I’d rather just not support some weird ultranationalist. peanut posted:omg ghosts will eat you Wow, so much for the fabled Japanese politeness >:[
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Feb 4, 2019 01:32
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I’m getting excited doing the night climb just reading that Knuc U Kinte posted:There’s a good fish and chips craft beer place near that station. The hangover. One of my Airbnb’s is a min from this stn by foot so I’m taking notes.
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Feb 4, 2019 10:51
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I’m going to Japan to wrestle with my wanderlust comma wild boars.
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Feb 4, 2019 19:10
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Trying to gameplan the middle of my trip. Is there somewhere in central Tokyo I can store two big suitcases for four days? I gather there is some storage at Tokyo station but I’m not sure how short-term it is and I’d rather not lug ALL my luggage to Kyoto.
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Feb 5, 2019 16:38
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All my stays are Airbnb’s so there’s really nowhere to stash them. I’ve got three bags, two of which I don’t plan to take to Kyoto, so I guess the plan would just be to ship two to my next Airbnb? Can I specify a delivery date? As in, I don’t want them showing up like the day before I get back from Kyoto. Sorry I feel like this is stuff I could have googled but here we are.
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Feb 5, 2019 18:55
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My experience was that the prices seemed a bit higher but nothing drastic. What really changed was the availability. When I went last April it was a chore to go through all my options. For May now I had to hawk precious few availability options. That said, when I cancelled my racist hotel reservations and picked out an AirBnB there seemed to be more options than when I booked part of my stay in December so it could just be that more and more are making their way through the process and we'll normalize out. Tough to say how it will look though, given the upcoming olympic tourism wave. The only bummer with what I booked now is that there's no washer/dryer on site so I have to find a laundry nearby for the last eight days in Japan.
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Feb 10, 2019 20:05
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That's my plan. I am spending two weeks and change in Tokyo, with four days in Kyoto. I kind of want to just wander around and discover things every day.
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Feb 27, 2019 02:05
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I can't really get a clear answer on this from google so I'm assuming it's fine, but is there any issue going to onsen or sento with body piercings the way that there is with tattoos? In general, I mean. I know there are onsen where tattoos aren't a problem. edit: And by issue I mean refusal, not "some old man is going to look at me and frown"
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Mar 5, 2019 13:20
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peanut posted:Ears and nose isn't a big deal. Anything That was my thought as well. I don’t expect problems but who knows This’ll be my first Onsen, assuming I can decide on a place to go around Tokyo. Excited!
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Mar 5, 2019 23:53
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If you have a travel rewards credit card check to see if they have any kind of travellers insurance. My bank’s travel visa is surprisingly comprehensive.
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Mar 18, 2019 13:42
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My TD Aeroplan Infinite covered me last time and I’m leaving on it again this year. I’m not sure how much of a hassle it would be to invoke over, say, a regular insurance policy though (and knock on wood I hope to never find out)
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Mar 18, 2019 14:13
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I switched my iphone to Japan region and just followed some online instructions on generating a new suica that I can reload at the push of a button. Still keeping my separate physical card with like 2000 yen in my wallet in case I lose my phone but I guess at that point I may as well just be dead because I'd literally just be lost 24/7. Looking to cut down on the coin clutter if I pay for all my snacks and such with suica so here's hoping. I still have bags and bags of coins from my last trip. e: Here's the site I used to set up my virtual suica: https://atadistance.net/all-about-suica-app/#Creating-a-Virtual-Suica-Card I guess you can get around a bunch of these steps if you just transfer an existing suica card to your phone, but again, I wanted to retain a physical one just in case and didn't really want to drop another 500y on a second card just to import it to my phone. some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 01:23 on Mar 26, 2019 |
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Mar 25, 2019 23:44
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arisu posted:poo poo my Japan trip's still almost 7 months out and I'm already daydreaming all day at work instead of working. I've been one foot out the door since the day I got back from Japan. It's loving nutters what travel does to you. 40 days for me.
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Mar 26, 2019 20:10
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Nanigans posted:I was wondering if anyone had any experience using Sprint in Japan If I'm reading the fine print right then: "Sprint may terminate service if off-network roaming usage in a month exceeds: (1) 800 min. or a majority of min. or (2) 100MB or a majority of KB." So like... 100MB of data will get you out of the airport, maybe. In any event, I would go with the router every time. Last year I had three devices all sucking down data with no problem. I turned on WiFi calling on my iPhone since my provider supports it and I seemed to incur no extra charges for making voice calls back home either. Then again work pays for my phone so I didn't really scrutinize it that carefully. some kinda jackal fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Mar 31, 2019 |
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Mar 31, 2019 20:59
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Yeah actually looking at the T&Cs it looks like it is roaming rates even with WiFi calling. I guess I can always facetime over WiFi but most of my friends have iPhones so there's that I guess. Anyway, everyone's asleep while I'm out and about so no big deal
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Mar 31, 2019 22:53
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