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Taking a trip to Japan in July, thinking about heading down to Hiroshima. Anything particularly noteworthy there other than Itsukushima and the Peace Dome?
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Mar 17, 2016 15:25
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 02:48 |
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Jake Soo posted:If you head down to Itsukushima/Miyajima, be sure to climb up Mt. Misen. If you're lazy, take the cable car up (and down) and enjoy the view. Also, be prepared to eat a lot. The shopping arcade there is full of good food, including oysters. If you're not picky about eating oysters, you're gonna love the Hiroshima oysters. Thanks a lot, that's super helpful. If I do make it down to Hiroshima, I will definitely give you a heads up.
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Mar 17, 2016 21:43
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zmcnulty posted:Oh a gaijin who speaks no Japanese yet demands a high salary because he is director-level biz dev/branding/PR/made up bullshit? You're hired! Do listed salaries include bonuses? Because if not then the pay would seem especially low.
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Apr 5, 2016 15:46
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You need to really make some long/a lot of trips on the shinkansen to make the JR Pass worthwhile. You can check train ticket prices at hyperdia.
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May 12, 2016 12:37
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JacksLibido posted:From Osaka I'd highly recommend you do a day trip to Himeji-jo, it's an amazing castle that's been in quite a few movies. It's also one of the few remaining real castles, Osaka castle is cool but AFAIK it's a concrete replica. I also recommend a quick trip over to Kobe as well to have some beef, it's pretty drat good and you get to say you had Kobe beef in Kobe Japan. If you'd like to see an old historical castle that has been renovated but kept to the old style as much as possible (in other words, mostly empty wooden buildings), check out Himeji-jo. If you'd like to visit a modern museum that will explain the history of the castle and the Sengoku Period (but it looks like a castle on the outside), then go to Osaka-jo. Osaka-jo is basically a normal building that's been dressed up on the outside.
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May 23, 2016 01:52
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Nikko? I don't know what you mean by "on a Suica" since it's pre-paid. You'd want to take a Shinkansen up to Utsunomiya, though, or it will take about 3 hours for the trip to Nikko. About 2 hours by Shinkansen.
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May 23, 2016 05:11
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Good point. I always went down to Nikko from the north so I forgot all about that.
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May 23, 2016 23:43
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Anyone else attending Fuji Rock this year?
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Jun 7, 2016 18:42
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Deltasquid posted:All right, leaving for Japan tomorrow. Been looking forward to this trip for a good year now. I'm going to be in Hiroshima 15-17 too, going to meet my friend who lives there. PM me if you want to join us, though I'll be getting late on the 15th. Going to itsukushima for sure but no plans otherwise.
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Jun 25, 2016 21:08
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Our plan was to do two days of Hiroshima but maybe one full day the 16th is enough? Or am I stupid trying to cram Fukuoka in at the last minute? (The trip is only like an hour, or so I've read.)
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Magna Kaser posted:I am planning a trip to Japan and wanna hit up Osaka and Kyoto and maybe Hiroshima this time. I've heard Osaka is the way cooler of the two if you like food, but a lot of people seem to say Kyoto is worth spending more time in. Would like 4-5 days be too much/not enough for those two? Should I add a day or two to my itinerary and hit up Hiroshima???? For reference, I mainly like to eat food and walk around cities without any clear intent. I'm a jaded, multi-year Asia-liver so rando temples/etc aren't super interesting to me, but nature-y things are p cool. Osaka is just a regular city without many attractions and Kyoto is basically temple central. If you want to basically just "be a tourist" then you can spend a couple days in Kyoto and basically get through all the major attractions. That will free up some time to visit Hiroshima/Miyajima and also maybe you can look into Nara.
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Jun 27, 2016 13:39
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On the other hand, it's a perfect time to go to some podunk town in the middle of nowhere with nothing interesting!
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Aug 26, 2016 16:22
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Curry :P
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Sep 8, 2016 22:50
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I used to live at the end of the Utsunomiya line on the north end of Tochigi. It's a really nice area. My friend just opened a hostel there in July and I stayed there when I went to visit some friends. Definitely recommend. chus-nasu.com
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Sep 15, 2016 13:19
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photomikey posted:I just booked three tickets for myself, my wife, my daughter to go to Tokyo (NRT) 3/25 - 4/1/17. I think this will be on the early edge of cherry blossom season. General suggestion for people visiting Japan for the first time is something like half Tokyo, half Kyoto/Nara.
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Oct 17, 2016 16:59
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peanut posted:Definitely visit Nara with a 7 year old. It will probably be a better memory than Kyoto. Kaiyukan Aquarium in Osaka is a great alternative for bad weather (spoiler: hanami season is usually cold and wet.) I agree, maybe one less day in Tokyo and one more in Kyoto with Nara thrown in. Aquarium is a good call as well. Hiroshima is beautiful and significant but you don't really have the time for it. Waiting until your daughter is older is best.
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Oct 18, 2016 13:10
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photomikey posted:She'd love the deer. She'd really like the architecture and Japanese history of the area. I love the idea of Nara. Make sure you understand which trains you are and aren't allowed to take with the JR Pass, in case you decide to schedule your days tightly. I would suggest staying in Kyoto and taking a day-trip to Osaka. Or just skip Osaka. I don't think there's anything there you really need to see, even Osaka castle, which is a reconstruction and just a modern building inside; you'll get much better "architecture" in Kyoto. If you really want castle architecture, there's Himeji a bit to the west. As for Hiroshima, I just went there in July for vacation and basically: You can't do both the Peace Park / museum and Miyajima in a day. Those are the two main attractions. I would say that your daughter is not old enough for the museum. It is fairly graphic in areas (showing injured victims) and the other things on display are not of the "WOW!" variety. It's very much a somber and educational experience. While it was incredibly touching and I think an immensely powerful experience that people should see, I simply can't recommend it with your daughter in tow. As for Miyajima, getting to the island and up to the top, then back down again, will take you the better part of the day. It's beautiful but, unfortunately, I don't think it's doable with your schedule, especially considering travel times.
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Oct 18, 2016 23:05
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photomikey posted:Thank you for all the help. Staying somewhere on the Yamanote line will probably save you a lot of headache. Also know that there's two main train systems (JR and Metro) in case you're having trouble making sense of the maps or have trouble finding the Yamanote line (it's JR).
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Oct 19, 2016 05:29
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Isn't there a Halloween train party?
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Oct 20, 2016 14:51
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PeePot posted:Shinkansen to Hiroshima then Miyajima for two days at a Ryokan. Is your first and second sentence each day? If so, that's a fine plan. Otherwise, the hike up Mt. Misen is pretty steep and if you're not in good shape and can take a while if you're not in decent shape. It's beautiful up there. The viewing platform at the top closes at 4 so be sure to get up there with plenty of time to take in the sights.
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Oct 22, 2016 18:09
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There are some nice areas in Tokyo for nature (a la Central Park). If you want to spend a couple days in Tokyo, you can easily weave that in to whatever sightseeing you actually want to do in Tokyo. Nikko is also close enough that you could go there instead of Tokyo or take a day trip from Tokyo.
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Oct 31, 2016 04:20
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Matsushima? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsushima
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Nov 3, 2016 18:17
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How much traveling will you actually be doing on the shinkansen? It's actually not that great of a deal if you're not traveling quite a bit. For New Year's, most people go home so everything ends up being pretty quiet.
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Nov 7, 2016 05:40
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peanut posted:December is cold "Cold" is a relative term. Kyoto's average low-high for Dec/Jan is 37/34-52/46. That's downright balmy depending on where you're coming from.
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Nov 7, 2016 16:05
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T Zero posted:Good to know on the rail pass. I may fly more than take the train. Use this site below to check your trips. If you're going back and forth a couple times between Tokyo and Kyoto, Osaka, Fukushima then it may be worth it to get the pass. MoofOntario posted:Just to second this, I've never had the cost of the JR Rail Pass work out - you gotta do a fair number of trips in a short amount of time to make it even break even.
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Nov 9, 2016 04:10
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Nikko?
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Nov 16, 2016 03:48
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Go slowly, don't make sudden movements, don't try to brake and turn (well you shouldn't normally, anyway), feather the accelerator (especially when trying to turn), be more aware of inclines, look for ice or slush (which will be slipperier than just dry powder snow) - this is especially important in the morning and evening when things start to melt or freeze respectively. Chains are almost never necessary and can gently caress up the road so don't do that.
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Nov 18, 2016 15:52
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Maybe it's possible to have the hotel make the reservation for you now and then confirm the reservation when you check-in?
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Nov 22, 2016 15:28
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I just did Hiroshima in July and I'd strongly recommend two days there if you want to do both the park/museum and Miyajima. Dedicating a whole day to Miyajima will also give you the chance to see it during both high and low tides.
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Dec 22, 2016 13:17
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Sand Monster posted:General question for visiting Tokyo: how difficult is the language barrier? For context, I have some severe food allergies and thus finding acceptable food and ordering in restaurants is a concern when traveling in a foreign country. When I visited Germany, I was constantly reassured, "oh, everyone speaks English, you'll be fine", but I encountered numerous situations (in major cities) where the restaurant employees spoke zero English and I had to do my best via translating the menus and ordering in German. There's also other non-food service situations like train travel and such that I'm also interested in, but my general perception is that the language barrier would likely be more difficult in Tokyo versus my experiences in Germany, and so just looking for any more detail on that. What allergies do you have? Some allergies are more difficult to avoid than others (I can't imagine how you'd eat in Japan with a soy allergy) but if you list them, we can tell you about specific things you should watch out for that might not be immediately obvious.
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Jan 11, 2017 19:09
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I *JUST* listened to a podcast about (red) meat allergy: https://www.radiolab.org/story/alpha-gal In this particular case, it's related to tick bites.
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Jan 12, 2017 00:33
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Yeah I'll second that you will probably be fine. If, for example, soy sends you into anaphylactic shock then that's an entirely different matter from trying to avoid meat. Meat broths may be an issue, but I'm sure you're used to that sort of consideration. Peanuts and fruits are generally not mixed in with stuff so you should be able to avoid those pretty easily. Places MIGHT cook with peanut oil but if your allergy isn't severe then you should be okay.
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Jan 12, 2017 01:08
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Also when you'll be in Japan, as then there can be suggestions of festivals, etc.
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Jan 24, 2017 13:56
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Eh, you'll probably be fine. It'll be hot so a bit of rain might be welcome. Bring appropriate clothing and it'll be even better (rain-proof bag, jacket, quick-dry pants, appropriate footwear). Consider going to Fuji Rock if you're into music 
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Feb 23, 2017 17:39
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Have you considered a backpacking backpack instead of one of those suitcases? Don't know your daughter but relying on a 7 year old to ALWAYS drag a suitcase around may be optimistic. Also, having two hands free is always nice. So long as it's frameless or a small internal frame, it will fit in the overhead.
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Mar 1, 2017 16:37
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Stringent posted:Oh and apparently they have the best pizza in Japan, so there's that. Setting a pretty high bar, there.
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Mar 2, 2017 16:19
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sarujin_nz posted:Thanks - Yurakucho looks like a good point to start looking into hotels. As I just want a place that I can wander around in the evenings where there is interesting things to look at, or to eat at. Yurakucho is also on the Yamanote line, so you're less than 30 minutes away from main areas Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, etc. Don't feel like you're obliged to stay around Yurakucho. Tokyo Station area is dead, though, don't stay there.
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Mar 9, 2017 16:53
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Rail pass, use something like this to figure out if it'll be worth it or not: http://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/ You can't ride the Nozomi between Tokyo and Kyoto. Use hyperdia to check schedules (they have an option to exclude nozomi): http://www.hyperdia.com/en/ Also remember that there are multiple train systems and only some of them (i.e. JR ones) are covered by the rail pass. Especially if convenience is your biggest concern, buy a suica card when you get to Tokyo and put some money on it. Then you can just scan in/out of stations instead of buying tickets. It works for all systems, not just JR (for which you can use your rail pass). Worst case scenario, the gate doesn't let you go out and you take your card to the station attendant who will type out how much you owe on the calculator and show you. 2000 yen for 1500 credit. Again, number one convenient way to get money is bring traveler's checks and exchange at the airport. Rates are reasonable. Other people can probably better guide how much you should bring depending on what you want to do. Don't bother bringing a dictionary for kanji - a phrasebook or something is infinitely more useful if you're going to be there a week. If you actually speak some Japanese then maybe, but even then my money is on you never using it. Learning katakana will be better than not knowing it, but I'm skeptical on the effort/reward ratio. Report back with your experience
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Mar 14, 2017 16:11
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I mean, you can just download a Japanese dictionary app on your phone and have that with you. You should then be able to look up kanji pretty easily. There's some apps out there that probably do auto translation, too.
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Mar 14, 2017 16:18
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Saikonate posted:Hmmm. Yeah, I did mean you can't take the Nozomi on the JR pass. As for kanji, if you learn radicals and/or proper stroke count/order, it's a lot easier to look up kanji. Really depends on your Japanese level, obviously. But I think it shouldn't come to that. If you have questions that can be answered quickly (i.e. what is this food) then the staff should just be able to tell you what the reading is and let you type it in to look it up (or they can look it up for you).
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Mar 14, 2017 17:17
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 02:48 |
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sale on Banksy art posted:That's right. Outside of Tokyo and Osaka I've never dealt with many non-JR trains. Depends on your itinerary. I was curious so I looked it up. Of the major private railways listed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Japan I basically took Tokyo Metro Area to be the whole Yokohama/Chiba/Saitama region + whatever is to the west. Tokyo Metropolitan Area - Tobu Railway Tokyo Metropolitan Area - Seibu Railway Tokyo Metropolitan Area - Keisei Electric Railway Tokyo Metropolitan Area - Keio Corporation Tokyo Metropolitan Area - Odakyu Electric Railway Tokyo Metropolitan Area - Tokyu Corporation Tokyo Metropolitan Area - Keikyu Corporation Tokyo Metropolitan Area - Tokyo Metro Kanagawa - Sagami Railway Nagoya Metroplitan Area - Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu) Osaka/Kyoto/Nara/Nagoya/Tsu/Ise/Yoshino - Kintetsu Railway Osaka/Wakayama - Nankai Electric Railway Osaka/Kyoto/Shiga - Keihan Electric Railway Osaka/North Kansai - Hankyu Corporation Osaka/Kobe - Hanshin Electric Railway Fukuoka - Nishi-Nippon Railroad Basically, outside of local travel in Osaka/Tokyo/Nagoya metro area, there are a few tourist destinations where you might take a private rail. For example, Ise is accessed by the Kintetsu line. totalnewbie fucked around with this message at 14:52 on Mar 16, 2017 |
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Mar 16, 2017 01:03
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