Japan: Donki is both the best and worst store I've ever seen

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Tourism & Travel > Japan: Donki is both the best and worst store I've ever seen

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Did you Japan?
	Hai sempai
	No
	Unknown
	Goku

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

caberham posted:

So what kind of things do they like? How many people and what age are they in?

I was more just hoping to chat with folks about stuff they've gotten and maybe brainstorm about new stuff.

# ¿ Sep 1, 2016 02:27

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 18:31

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

the answer is always just stay in Tokyo

# ¿ Sep 2, 2016 15:51

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Kyoto is nice, but the only point to the rest of Kansai seems to be to remind you to stay in Tokyo.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2016 02:47

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Well, any port in a storm I guess.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2016 02:53

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

You're gonna be here in February?

http://www.welcome.city.sapporo.jp/event/winter/sapporo_snow_festival/?lang=en

Just sayin'

# ¿ Sep 4, 2016 09:08

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Stalins Moustache posted:

Okay so far I'm having a pretty good time studying here at Akita International University but gently caress I am not liking Japanese food at all except for the curry

Edit: and this is coming from a Norwegian with the blandest sort of food imaginable as background

Man I had a look at the tabelog entries around there, and it's p grim...

# ¿ Sep 8, 2016 13:23

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Dammit, he found it.

# ¿ Oct 3, 2016 12:34

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

photomikey posted:

I'll be the tall goofy white guy looking at the cherry trees. Wave if you see me!

What does the thread think of something like this:

3/24 - fly to Japan
3/25 - arrive 5pm (Tokyo overnight)
3/26 - Tokyo day 1 (Tokyo overnight)
3/27 - Tokyo day 2 (Tokyo overnight)
3/28 -Tokyo day 3, (Tokyo overnight)
3/29 - train to Kyoto/Osaka (Kyoto/Osaka overnight)
3/30 - Kyoto/Osaka (Kyoto/Osaka overnight)
3/31 - Train to Hiroshima (Hiroshima overnight)
4/1 - Train to Tokyo - 5pm fly home

The traveling contingent are me (40), my wife, and my 7 year old daughter.

Real talk. Skip Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima unless you're really keen to see them. Head up to Nikko or something in Gunma for an onsen instead.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2016 06:22

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

turdbucket posted:

I posted before but I've got a better idea of what we are doing now so I'm interested in any information/suggestions. We are visiting Japan for the third time and want to head north, going to stay in utsonomiya and visit Nikko then visit Ainu wakamatsu on the way to Sendai. We don't want to move around too much and we're thinking five or six days in Sendai to chill out and do some day trips in the area before heading back south to Tokyo.

Is it worth heading to any other major areas in Tohoku while we are in the area? Some places seem a little complicated to get too and I'm not sure if it's worth the extra travel time to spend a day or two in the other cities.

I quite enjoyed Hachinohe when I went but iunno if it's worth the trouble of going. The main attraction was the fish and mushrooms.

Really enjoyed staying in Matsushima too, so if it isn't on your list already it's good.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2016 12:24

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Search here: http://www.tokyocycle.com/bbs/portal/

or

These guys definitely do it but I'm not sure their shop in Aoyama is still open. Definitely worth emailing them though. http://www.gsastuto.com

*edit* did you mean racing bike or just one to get around on?

# ¿ Oct 26, 2016 13:03

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Here ya go http://docomo-cycle.jp/shinjuku/en/pc_index.html

Looking at it I see their Shinjuku coverage is awful, but short of buying one it's your best bet. You can buy one at Don Quixote for like $100 if you'd prefer.

Stringent fucked around with this message at 13:25 on Oct 26, 2016

# ¿ Oct 26, 2016 13:17

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

hot sauce posted:

Thanks for the info! I'll check it out tomorrow. Don't think I'll be buying one as I'm only here until Sunday.

Btw, I just noticed you have to scroll to the bottom to see all the stations. There's actually a bunch in Shinjuku.

# ¿ Oct 27, 2016 03:11

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Google maps does busses now. Otherwise I think you might be kinda screwed, I just use the website but it's awful: http://tobus.jp/blsys/navi?LCD=e That's just for Tokyo btw.

# ¿ Oct 27, 2016 15:17

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Works pretty well in Tokyo, not sure about the rest of the country.

# ¿ Oct 27, 2016 15:20

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

caberham posted:

What kind of buses are you taking?

The metro in Tokyo and the trains are good enough. When I mean Tokyo I mean the whole 23 wards. As a tourist of course

Buses are the undiscovered gem in Tokyo transport imo. Only ppl who know about them are olds and some commuters because they're a zillion times harder to figure out than trains. But they go pretty much everywhere, take about the same time as trains and you can see the city while you ride.

# ¿ Oct 27, 2016 23:46

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Ethereal posted:

Anyone have some 7 day iterinaries for Japan that they're fond of? We'd like to do both Tokyo and Kyoto. It's definitely not enough time and more of a taste of Japan than a full exploratory thing. Luckily we have no desire to go shopping, our main things are excellent food + beautiful sights. Natural beauty in particular. Still trying to figure out if we can add 2 days or not for a total of 9 but most likely not.

What time of year? If you're after nature why not skip Tokyo and Kyoto and spend a week in Hokkaido or Kyushu or something like that?

# ¿ Oct 31, 2016 03:55

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

If I wanted a week of nature and food in Japan, I'd pick a location based on the season (i.e., don't go to Hokkaido in the winter unless you want to see a lot of snow), then I'd book rooms at ryokans at onsens throughout the area. Ryokans will generally have good to excellent food, lots of it sourced locally. Onsens are often located in areas with lots of beautiful scenery, and onsens are pretty much the best thing in Japan anyhow so.

# ¿ Oct 31, 2016 06:03

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Yorkshire Pudding posted:

Is there any rules about shipping knives from Japan? I wanna get some handmade cutlery from a local store to send home for gifts but I didn't know if there was some sort of restriction on mailing that kind of stuff.

There isn't. I had some Taro at the post office tell me there was, but there isn't. I've shipped a couple chef's knives from here, one to the US and one to Australia and they both made it fine.

# ¿ Nov 1, 2016 02:56

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Yeah, best to not mention it. Just say souvenirs or whatever.

# ¿ Nov 1, 2016 05:18

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Grand Fromage posted:

Yeah I'm still trying to talk them into it, just checking other options.

Hit me up I'll call for you.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2016 01:45

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

But you repeat yourself.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2016 10:43

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

My money's on Hyogo.

# ¿ Dec 1, 2016 03:04

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

They've got that spiffy new Legoland too: https://www.legoland.jp/en/

Oh, and miso katsu. Eat all the miso katsu.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2016 02:30

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Soricidus posted:

loving tourists, always wanting to see the famous things they're interested in instead of finding joy in scrutinising the unique pattern of roof tiles in this little side street in bumfuck inaka that no other gaijin has ever seen

Yeah, tourists are dumb as hell.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2016 11:23

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Or maybe they just want to kill you.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2017 04:47

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

orenronen posted:

Sure, common western allergies aren't exactly wide-spread in Japan, but knowledge about them have improved vastly over the last decade or so, especially in the food industry.

Lol, 欧米人論.

# ¿ Jan 12, 2017 01:12

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Sounds like maybe Kusatsu would fit the bill?

# ¿ Jan 17, 2017 01:32

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Piano Maniac posted:

What's up, Japan thread.

I have married my beautiful Japanese wife, gotten my visa and next week I am starting my new life in Japan.
I'm quite worried about it, as I have learned quite a lot of Japanese, but I still can't properly read newspapers etc.
So next week, I'm going to take a dip in the deep end of the pool and start swimming.

What could I do so that my life in Japan would be as painless as possible? I have come in terms with the fact that it'll be hard as hell to find a new job there, move in with my wife etc. etc., but I try to stay optimistic, since my wife has been very supportive so far.
I am already reading/writing kanji every day to get them into my mind, but man, it's hard to remember new vocabulary in a functional sense.
What sort of techniques do you use to prepare for a N3+ level exams and so the new terms would become functional as well?
Are there any common gaijin pitfalls you would definitely like to warn about 100%?

Anyway, pray for this gaijin and I'll do my best!!

Congratulations, this is the Pro way to come to Japan (aka, the way I did it).

Where will y'all be living?

# ¿ Mar 1, 2017 23:55

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Grand Fromage posted:

I was told the food is bad but there is beer and bros. LimburgLimbo has a stack of coupons from his point card that can probably keep him in free beer for months.

Who told you that? The food at the Hub is quite passable and almost certainly better than what you could get in England, gastropub or otherwise.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2017 14:40

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Oh and apparently they have the best pizza in Japan, so there's that.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2017 15:17

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Mark Twain posted:

Give an Irishman lager for a month and he's a dead man. An Irishman's stomach is lined with copper, and the beer corrodes it. But whiskey polishes the copper and is the saving of him.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2017 00:08

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

The best thing to see in Osaka is the shinkansen to Tokyo pulling in.

# ¿ Mar 16, 2017 07:12

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

swalk posted:

I'm going to Japan during May and happen to be getting my bonus during that time.

Figured I might as well treat my wife and I to one or two really good meals. I'm looking for recommendations for restaurants in either Tokyo or Kyoto for two things:

1. Sushi
2. Kaiseki

Let's say there's (almost) no budget, but I don't want to spend money just for the sake of it.

Besides specific restaurants, any tips for this kind of thing would be appreciated too.

I went to Yoshitake last year and won't hesitate to recommend it. They open up reservations on the first of the preceding month, so for a May reservation you'd need to call April 1st.

If you're interested PM me and I can give them a call for you, else check out the listings on luxeat, she does a pretty good job of listing things up and writing about them. Most of the highest rated places do get booked pretty far in advance, so beware.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2017 03:24

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

If you're up for an original take on kaiseki this is a place I like which does kaiseki inspired dishes with Chinese flavors: https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1309/A130903/13170301/

# ¿ Mar 22, 2017 08:54

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Goonami is the 8th.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2017 12:02

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

photomikey posted:

How do you find a good restaurant that's near you now, ideally with some kind of map functionality?

https://s.tabelog.com/en/tokyo/rstLstMap/?SrtT=trend

Foursquare is also somewhat usable in Japan if the tabelog interface is too much to bear.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2017 23:32

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Magna Kaser posted:

Finalized all my plans so I'll have 2 and a half days in Osaka, and then like 3~4 in and around Kyoto depending on how I play it with trains before heading off to Tokyo and beyond.

Anyone have any super awesome recs for food in Osaka or Kyoto? There's a ton of suggestions for Tokyo, but I haven't found much for the other two trawling through this thread. I eat everything.

I already have a few from friends, but eating is p much my favorite thing to do so more is always better. I'll be traveling alone and willing to splurge on a good meal or three.

I don't have anything I've been to personally, but this guy on foursquare's recs have usually been p good: https://foursquare.com/fuyuhiko?all=lists&geoId=72057594039781845

# ¿ Mar 29, 2017 04:49

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

Japanese incense is really good.

# ¿ Apr 2, 2017 09:24

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

It's fine, go to the dentist. Here's a good one in Harajuku if you're around there: http://www.harajuku1st.com/english/index.html

# ¿ Apr 13, 2017 22:30

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 18:31

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

There's still a bunch around:

http://www.first-kitchen.co.jp/wendys-fk/shop.php

I rode by the one in Akasaka just the other day and it was open.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2017 10:21

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Tourism & Travel > Japan: Donki is both the best and worst store I've ever seen

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