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Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once

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Raw64life

Member
I'll be in Tokyo June 17-June 30. Would've liked to go in May but two of my best friends getting married 2 weeks apart fucked me over. Guess there will be no shortage of umbrellas available in the airport?

I'm finally starting to put an itinerary together and I noticed the Ghibli Museum is already sold out well ahead of when I'm going. I'm not a huge Ghibli fan or anything so it's not a huge disappointment but it made me wonder about any other must see things in Tokyo that require several months advance reservation that I should know about.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
Raw64life said:
I'll be in Tokyo June 17-June 30. Would've liked to go in May but two of my best friends getting married 2 weeks apart fucked me over. Guess there will be no shortage of umbrellas available in the airport?

I'm finally starting to put an itinerary together and I noticed the Ghibli Museum is already sold out well ahead of when I'm going. I'm not a huge Ghibli fan or anything so it's not a huge disappointment but it made me wonder about any other must see things in Tokyo that require several months advance reservation that I should know about.
Click to expand...

The Ghibli Museum is actually closed for renovations in June (+ most of May and July):
http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/
 
I

inafking

Member
MikeHattsu said:
Hmm... How bout either checking out the view from Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building or people watch at Yoyogi Park or Takeshita Street and then go to Golden Gai after?
Click to expand...

Too bad I didn't know that the cosplayers are not in Yoyogi's park itself but in the bridge outside of Meiji shrine entrance close to Harajuku and Meiji-Jingu-mae Station.

As a matter of fact I didn't even realize that Meiji shrine and Harajuku where so close togheter as I planned a visit to Harajuku and Meiji Shrine separately, LOL.

That aformentioned bridge is just going south from Harajuku Station and then turning right? Or right next to Meiji-Jingu mae exit #3, isn't it?

IIRC it's on Sundays that cosplayer gather there, but we were at the park instead of the bridge on that day. If the bridge I'm talking is there then I remember we went there but it was on another day, not a Sunday.

In the future I'd really like to visit that place so I'd really want to know where it's located. Maybe if someone can give the coordinates (latitude and longitude) to find it in Google Maps.
 
R

Rowena

Neo Member
Fritz said:
I'll be in Tokyo from 30st Sept until 9th Oct. Meetupon the 1st of October?
Click to expand...


I'm all for a meet up. It would be nice to see some friendly faces after being alone for 10 days. I'm pretty much up for anything. Please PM me to keep in contact if we want to do a meet up
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
inafking said:
IIRC it's on Sundays that cosplayer gather there, but we were at the park instead of the bridge on that day. If the bridge I'm talking is there then I remember we went there but it was on another day, not a Sunday.

In the future I'd really like to visit that place so I'd really want to know where it's located. Maybe if someone can give the coordinates (latitude and longitude) to find it in Google Maps.
Click to expand...

It's mostly died down. Japan Guide has removed the stuff about cosplayers in Harajuku from their site as well:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3006.html


Rowena said:
I'm all for a meet up. It would be nice to see some friendly faces after being alone for 10 days. I'm pretty much up for anything. Please PM me to keep in contact if we want to do a meet up
Click to expand...

Somebody will probably make a separate thread about it in a few months.
 
S

SiegfriedFM

Member
Raw64life said:
I'll be in Tokyo June 17-June 30. Would've liked to go in May but two of my best friends getting married 2 weeks apart fucked me over. Guess there will be no shortage of umbrellas available in the airport?
Click to expand...

Umbrellas are literally everywhere. I forgot mine (borrowed a cheap one from the hotel) at an arcade, and then bought a new one for 300 yen at the Trader shop nextdoor.

BTW, even if it's not raining you need to take one with you to try the auto-sheathing thing some shops have so that your wet umbrella doesn't cause a mess.
 
T

Tabris

Member
I hope everyone made their withdrawals or purchased your big items in Yen 2-3 days ago as the US and CDN dollars got killed against the Yen ever since the Bank of Japan announced holding interest rates.

CDN went from 88 Yen down to 85 Yen. That's a lot of money when paying for things like hotels and airbnb accommodations.

USD went from 112 Yen down to 106 Yen.

I'm going to wait before I withdraw any more money or make any big purchases to see if the currency markets normalize again.

EDIT - Question. One of my friends from SE Asia is coming to Tokyo and she wants to see snow as she has never seen snow only having traveled during summers and never to any of the northern continents, I think just SE Asia, Hong Kong, Australia, and India. What's the fastest and easiest (i.e. no car - just trains) to get to somewhere with snow in late May? Hopefully somewhere beautiful or where you can snowboard.
 
C

Crash55118

Member
Fritz said:
I didn't know about this. Sounds fantastic. Was it crowded? Great scenery? I'd be do up for a decent hike and a hot tub at the ryokan afterwards.
Click to expand...

It was beautiful scenery. It was a bit more crowded then I would have thought, but still very serene even with all the people. There is a temple up there as well so it was cool to see that in addition to the wonderful views.

Plus it was around an 800 yen round trip from Shinjuku.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
Tabris said:
One of my friends from SE Asia is coming to Tokyo and she wants to see snow as she has never seen snow only having traveled during summers and never to any of the northern continents, I think just SE Asia, Hong Kong, Australia, and India. What's the fastest and easiest (i.e. no car - just trains) to get to somewhere with snow in late May? Hopefully somewhere beautiful or where you can snowboard.
Click to expand...

If you just want to experience snow, then you could check out the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route:
http://www.alpen-route.com/en/

If you want to snowboard then you'd need to go to Gassan or something.
 
R

Rowena

Neo Member
This is my first time to Tokyo and I'll be going by myself. I travel quite a bit by myself and usually I would transport myself, but in the case with Tokyo I'll be relying on their train system. Question to those that have gone...

I want to be able to travel with ease to different parts of Tokyo ( Shinjuku, Akibahara ect.) I have a budget of 1600$ for 13 days of lodging. Does anyone have any recommendations of hotels that would allow me to access the train stations with ease. I'll also be getting a JR Pass to travel north and south at times. Anyone have a favorite hotel?

Thank you in advance
 
K

killertofu

Member
13072644_1080468028692635_3342726997626288775_o.jpg
Click to expand...

This place is nice
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
Rowena said:
I want to be able to travel with ease to different parts of Tokyo ( Shinjuku, Akibahara ect.) I have a budget of 1600$ for 13 days of lodging. Does anyone have any recommendations of hotels that would allow me to access the train stations with ease. I'll also be getting a JR Pass to travel north and south at times. Anyone have a favorite hotel?
Click to expand...

Just find a hotel close to one of the train stations on the Yamanote line and you'll be fine.

North and south? If you're just travelling close to Tokyo then the JR Pass is a waste of money.
 
S

SiegfriedFM

Member
Rowena said:
This is my first time to Tokyo and I'll be going by myself. I travel quite a bit by myself and usually I would transport myself, but in the case with Tokyo I'll be relying on their train system. Question to those that have gone...

I want to be able to travel with ease to different parts of Tokyo ( Shinjuku, Akibahara ect.) I have a budget of 1600$ for 13 days of lodging. Does anyone have any recommendations of hotels that would allow me to access the train stations with ease. I'll also be getting a JR Pass to travel north and south at times. Anyone have a favorite hotel?

Thank you in advance
Click to expand...

Mystays in Kameido was nice and rather affordable (about $70 per night), and it's on the Sobu line close to Akiba. Both Akiba and Shinjuku are on the Sobu line.
 
cj_iwakura

cj_iwakura

Member
Rowena said:
This is my first time to Tokyo and I'll be going by myself. I travel quite a bit by myself and usually I would transport myself, but in the case with Tokyo I'll be relying on their train system. Question to those that have gone...

I want to be able to travel with ease to different parts of Tokyo ( Shinjuku, Akibahara ect.) I have a budget of 1600$ for 13 days of lodging. Does anyone have any recommendations of hotels that would allow me to access the train stations with ease. I'll also be getting a JR Pass to travel north and south at times. Anyone have a favorite hotel?

Thank you in advance
Click to expand...

The Seaside Omori in Shinagawa is cheap and a five minute walk from a train station that connects to the Yamanote. It's a capsule and a room hotel, just spring extra for the room. And yeah, don't get the JR. Just get a Suica and put like $40 on it.
 
T

Tabris

Member
Go with an APA hotel. They are decent and there's so many around train stations.

I like APA Ginza-Kyobashi as it's a 2 min walk to 2 different lines and has a bunch of stuff around but it's not super busy (more business area). And it's a 10 min walk (5 min to the outside but 5 min to getting inside) to Tokyo station which essentially gives you access to everywhere you would want to go in Japan.

And you can get the cheapest rooms for like $50-60 US a day I think.
 
G

graycut

Neo Member
Hi, I will be going to japan for the 1st time with a friend. Landing at haneda on 23 july late night and will be heading back same way on 31 july late night as well, so that gives us almost 8 days there.

So my plan is to head to osaka on 24 july morning and spend 3 nights there covering kyoto and nara, then on 27 july head back to tokyo and spend the remaining time there.

However, my friend wants to go to Mt fuji and disneyland on 2 separate days when we're at tokyo, with this being our first time, is it feasible to proceed with this plan?
 
T

Tabris

Member
graycut said:
However, my friend wants to go to Mt fuji and disneyland on 2 separate days when we're at tokyo, with this being our first time, is it feasible to proceed with this plan?
Click to expand...

You can do Disneyland half day and it's very close to wherever you are probably staying in Tokyo. It's just past Odaiba. I would recommend doing the new Ferris Wheel on the same day as it's on the way to Disneyland. Also a bunch of outlet stores there too if you need to do some shopping.

I never saw it, but I think the Gundam statue is near there too.

I haven't done Mount Fuji yet, I plan to sometime over next 2 months, but it's like 2.5 hours away from Shinjuku, Tokyo via bus so it may be a day and night kind of deal. It's a lot of hiking it seems, so maybe best to head close by, stay at a hotel / inn, then hike in the morning and head back after? Not sure. Others will talk about it more.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
graycut said:
However, my friend wants to go to Mt fuji and disneyland on 2 separate days when we're at tokyo, with this being our first time, is it feasible to proceed with this plan?
Click to expand...

Well, yes, but don't you want to have some days to explore Tokyo as well? :p

If you just want a picture of Mt. Fuji, then you could take one from the Shinkansen when you're going to/from Osaka, or do a stop at Shin-Fuji station and do it.

If you want to get closer to Mt. Fuji, then you'll need to take trains and/or bus to get there. Takes about 2-2.5 hours each way depending on what you choose.

If you're interested in climbing Mt. Fuji then it could possibly be done in 1 day, but you need to get there really early and it would be best if you got previous experience of such altitudes / climbing. If not, then an overnight stay at one of the huts near the top would be the best.

Check out these crowd calendars for Disneyland:
http://tdrnavi.jp/forecast/disneyland?lang=en
http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/disney/

You'd possibly want to avoid 29th and 30th if the first one is correct, so going on the 28th is probably the best. It's best to arrive early if you want to do any of the fastpass rides.


Tabris said:
You can do Disneyland half day and it's very close to wherever you are probably staying in Tokyo. It's just past Odaiba. I would recommend doing the new Ferris Wheel on the same day as it's on the way to Disneyland. Also a bunch of outlet stores there too if you need to do some shopping.

I never saw it, but I think the Gundam statue is near there too.
Click to expand...

Going through Odaiba is a bit of a detour when going to Disneyland, unless you're staying near Shinagawa or the southern areas of the Yamanote line. Of course, if you want to check out both Disneyland and Odaiba in the same day, then it's cool. I'd recommend going to Disneyland first and then Odaiba after if that's the case.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
killertofu said:
What to do in Akihabra? We've been to the sega arcade the tatio arcade, super potato, yobadashi...
Click to expand...

Go to Mandarake, they got pre-owned games, and then you'd possibly find that CD you're looking for cheaper as well.

Go to Friends for cheaper retro games than Super Potato.

If you only went to Taito Station, then go to the Taito Hey arcade as well and check out the shmup and fighting game floors if you're interested in that.

You could also check out all the shops in the Radio Kaikan building? Mostly otaku goods, but they got a gift shop on the first floor and on one of the upper floors they had a military goods / Capcom goods place last time I went.
 
S

Subpar Scrub

Banned
Tabris said:
I hope everyone made their withdrawals or purchased your big items in Yen 2-3 days ago as the US and CDN dollars got killed against the Yen ever since the Bank of Japan announced holding interest rates.
Click to expand...

Aud went from 86 to 80 :/ Luckily I had already paid for my flights, hotels and rail pass when it was higher, but only transferred $1100 into yen.

Still have about $1400 left to transfer... it's going to hurt :(

killertofu said:
A CD cost like 35$ Jesus Christ

I'm on the hunt of the kingdom hearts sound track
Click to expand...

I don't know why, but CDs in Japan always seem to cost like $30 - $60. It's insane.

I wonder if the price is so high because of the cost for printing most niche albums, or if it's fears of reverse importing. Blu-rays for anime are ridiculously priced too.

Edit: Just found out the Ghibli museum is closed while I'm there, will have to add that to the plans for that next time D:
 
cj_iwakura

cj_iwakura

Member
killertofu said:
What to do in Akihabra? We've been to the sega arcade the tatio arcade, super potato, yobadashi...
Click to expand...

Book-Off and Trader are worth seeing, they have a ton of obscure rare imports that the individual rare places didn't. No one had Busin 0, only Trader. They even had the Drakengard 3 CE.

And yeah, don't forget Mandarake, notably the artbook section. ;)

Don't be afraid to pick a day and stay local if you need to recover, I did that one day and boy did I need it. That was the day I stayed within Shinagawa and saw the aquarium.
 
S

SiegfriedFM

Member
killertofu said:
What to do in Akihabra? We've been to the sega arcade the tatio arcade, super potato, yobadashi...
Click to expand...

If you track down the Friends store, check out the entrance between that and Segafredo (no relation) next door. There's an arcade shop upstairs with tons of MVS carts and such.

Also check Forest of Owl if you want to touch some birds.

Oh, and definitely go to Kotobukiya, they have a ton of Tales merchandise, as well as lots of Star Wars and Marvel/DC figures, and a bunch of Ghibli. Feels a lot cleaner than the usual otaku stores too, you might actually get through without seeing a single naked breast :D
 
C

Crash55118

Member
Had a lot of fun browsing the shops at Nakano Broadway today. Literally stores for every hobby. Got a Hunter X Hunter douga from a shop that has a ton of cels and such. Also picked up two rad Eva figures for 3k.

Fairly certain the OT title will ring true for me. Tokyo is rad but there is a lot more to the country I'd love to see.
 
E

elhaym

Member
cj_iwakura said:
Check Nakano Broadway, there's a massive game music store somewhere there, they had an entire shelf of IIDX OSTs.
Click to expand...

Vouching for this. When I was there last month they had an entire shelf of Square-Enix discs. Can't recall offhand if I saw KH there or not though.

I've gotten used to the terrible prices. Imagine importing BDs at ~85JPY/1USD. =/
Screw you FMA Brotherhood 16 disc release
 
G

graycut

Neo Member
Tabris said:
You can do Disneyland half day and it's very close to wherever you are probably staying in Tokyo. It's just past Odaiba. I would recommend doing the new Ferris Wheel on the same day as it's on the way to Disneyland. Also a bunch of outlet stores there too if you need to do some shopping.

I haven't done Mount Fuji yet, I plan to sometime over next 2 months, but it's like 2.5 hours away from Shinjuku, Tokyo via bus so it may be a day and night kind of deal. It's a lot of hiking it seems, so maybe best to head close by, stay at a hotel / inn, then hike in the morning and head back after? Not sure. Others will talk about it more.
Click to expand...

MikeHattsu said:
Well, yes, but don't you want to have some days to explore Tokyo as well? :p

If you just want a picture of Mt. Fuji, then you could take one from the Shinkansen when you're going to/from Osaka, or do a stop at Shin-Fuji station and do it.

If you want to get closer to Mt. Fuji, then you'll need to take trains and/or bus to get there. Takes about 2-2.5 hours each way depending on what you choose.

If you're interested in climbing Mt. Fuji then it could possibly be done in 1 day, but you need to get there really early and it would be best if you got previous experience of such altitudes / climbing. If not, then an overnight stay at one of the huts near the top would be the best.

Check out these crowd calendars for Disneyland:
http://tdrnavi.jp/forecast/disneyland?lang=en
http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/disney/

You'd possibly want to avoid 29th and 30th if the first one is correct, so going on the 28th is probably the best. It's best to arrive early if you want to do any of the fastpass rides.

Going through Odaiba is a bit of a detour when going to Disneyland, unless you're staying near Shinagawa or the southern areas of the Yamanote line. Of course, if you want to check out both Disneyland and Odaiba in the same day, then it's cool. I'd recommend going to Disneyland first and then Odaiba after if that's the case.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input guys. I'll be staying near Shinjuku, already got a place booked, disneyland is definitely a go so that's one day reserved for it.

I will need to discuss with my friend about Mt Fuji as I'm not really keen on it with the limited time we have.

Are the anime/gaming goods selection different in osaka and tokyo? If I can loot up the things I want in osaka, then I won't have to spend much time at akiba looking for them.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
graycut said:
Thanks for the input guys. I'll be staying near Shinjuku, already got a place booked, disneyland is definitely a go so that's one day reserved for it.

Are the anime/gaming goods selection different in osaka and tokyo? If I can loot up the things I want in osaka, then I won't have to spend much time at akiba looking for them.
Click to expand...

Try to go on the 28th then. You can take the orange Chuo Rapid Line to Tokyo Station and then the Keiyo Line to Maihama/Disneyland. Takes about 40-50 min. Make sure not to get on the slower yellow Chuo local trains though.

If you're looking for older stuff, then it's different for sure. If you're looking for stuff from this or last year then it should be about the same. Depends on what kind of anime goods you're after as well.
 
G

graycut

Neo Member
MikeHattsu said:
Try to go on the 28th then. You can take the orange Chuo Rapid Line to Tokyo Station and then the Keiyo Line to Maihama/Disneyland. Takes about 40-50 min. Make sure not to get on the slower yellow Chuo local trains though.

If you're looking for older stuff, then it's different for sure. If you're looking for stuff from this or last year then it should be about the same. Depends on what kind of anime goods you're after as well.
Click to expand...

I'm looking for ps4/ps3/vita games only. Anime goods I'm getting are mostly magazines, I have no idea what else to get, I'm afraid I may just end up camping in one store for hours because they're sure to have everything in one roof right.
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
graycut said:
I'm looking for ps4/ps3/vita games only. Anime goods I'm getting are mostly magazines, I have no idea what else to get, I'm afraid I may just end up camping in one store for hours because they're sure to have everything in one roof right.
Click to expand...

For newer stuff you'll probably find better prices at Book Off than game-specific stores.
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
graycut said:
I'm looking for ps4/ps3/vita games only. Anime goods I'm getting are mostly magazines, I have no idea what else to get, I'm afraid I may just end up camping in one store for hours because they're sure to have everything in one roof right.
Click to expand...

If you're just getting magazines, then they should be everywhere. Unless you're looking for back issues or something.
 
K

killertofu

Member
cj_iwakura said:
Book-Off and Trader are worth seeing, they have a ton of obscure rare imports that the individual rare places didn't. No one had Busin 0, only Trader. They even had the Drakengard 3 CE.

And yeah, don't forget Mandarake, notably the artbook section. ;)

Don't be afraid to pick a day and stay local if you need to recover, I did that one day and boy did I need it. That was the day I stayed within Shinagawa and saw the aquarium.
Click to expand...

Ha, yeah I'm gonna head back to Mandarake next week. By the time we got there they were about to close. That art book section is AMAZING. I only randomly picked up one book to buy because I was afraid for my bank account.

I wish my friends would slow their roll though. We've chilled a bit since the first day but man I wanna soak it all in.
 
T

Tabris

Member
graycut said:
Thanks for the input guys. I'll be staying near Shinjuku, already got a place booked, disneyland is definitely a go so that's one day reserved for it.

I will need to discuss with my friend about Mt Fuji as I'm not really keen on it with the limited time we have.

Are the anime/gaming goods selection different in osaka and tokyo? If I can loot up the things I want in osaka, then I won't have to spend much time at akiba looking for them.
Click to expand...

Honestly, what would you really want re: gaming goods or anime?

It's not like like the 90s and 00s. Everything you would want re: gaming goods is available in North America, often cheaper.

The only things I've purchased re: gaming goods in Japan was a Vita 64GB memory card, White Slim Vita, and a PS4 controller charger. I got all that at sofmap (famous 8 floor electronic store) which is basically right at the train station.

If you like anime figures and novelties, then yeah, it may be worth exploring. Honestly, Akiba is the most disappointing part of Tokyo to me. I had it built up so much in my mind thanks to 90s and 00s. It's not even good for people watching, I think the dress up crowd moved to Harajuku.
 
G

graycut

Neo Member
Tabris said:
Honestly, what would you really want re: gaming goods or anime?

It's not like like the 90s and 00s. Everything you would want re: gaming goods is available in North America, often cheaper.

The only things I've purchased re: gaming goods in Japan was a Vita 64GB memory card, White Slim Vita, and a PS4 controller charger. I got all that at sofmap (famous 8 floor electronic store) which is basically right at the train station.

If you like anime figures and novelties, then yeah, it may be worth exploring. Honestly, Akiba is the most disappointing part of Tokyo to me. I had it built up so much in my mind thanks to 90s and 00s. It's not even good for people watching, I think the dress up crowd moved to Harajuku.
Click to expand...

I would take precedence on anime goods over gaming, as you said gaming goods are common to find everywhere else. Only games I will be looking for are the japan-only released games with easy ps trophies that you would normally get at import sites with jacked up prices.

Well, I do plan to chill in akiba for the whole day but my friend wouldn't agree to that.
 
T

Tabris

Member
graycut said:
Well, I do plan to chill in akiba for the whole day but my friend wouldn't agree to that.
Click to expand...

No way could you fill a day in Akiba. It's like a 2 to 4 hour trip at most in my opinion, and there's so much better things to do.

Since you'll be staying in Shinjuku, go check out the stuff around there. Actually here would be a fantastic half-day walk in my opinion:

Shinjuku > Isetan for shopping > Meiji Shrine > Harajuku (if your friend is a woman then shopping here too) > Omote-sando for shopping > Shibuya for shopping, check out 109 > Take the subway back.

Much better shopping there then Akiba.
 
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