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Heading to Japan
- Thread starter Vyse
- Start date
ForAcademicPurposes
Member
Don't come back without a Gundam. I don't care how big it is.
jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Have fun OP!
My wife and I went (for the first time) back in May, and it was fantastic. When you say "gaming spots" - do you mean arcades? Game stores? Used game shops? Fan / hobby stores? Or do you mean like... places from games (Shenmue, Yakuza, etc.)?
My wife and I went (for the first time) back in May, and it was fantastic. When you say "gaming spots" - do you mean arcades? Game stores? Used game shops? Fan / hobby stores? Or do you mean like... places from games (Shenmue, Yakuza, etc.)?
Punished Miku
Human Rights Subscription Service
Beer from a vending machine never got old.
Personally, I'd say ignore gaming stuff and just see all the historic sites. Go to a good mall if you can. Retail in Japan is a thing of beauty. Hope you have a great time.
Personally, I'd say ignore gaming stuff and just see all the historic sites. Go to a good mall if you can. Retail in Japan is a thing of beauty. Hope you have a great time.
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ForAcademicPurposes
Member
There are several listening bars in Tokyo. Don't miss out.
Dirk Benedict
Gold Member
It really isn’t as fun as it used to be. Soaking in the historic sites and their mountainous areas was one of the highlights for me. Also beer in a vending machine and drinking while maintaining my cool, that was awesome. Clubbing till 5am, JR train by 6am. Extremely fond memories and friends I made that I still have. Japanese really do value friendships, imho.
Vyse
Gold Member
Seriously, kinda all of the above.
Jack Videogames
Member
Super Potato deserves a visit but keep in mind it's a very touristy place and the prices are appropriately high. You're better off shopping for prices elsewhere in Akihabara.
The Nintendo store in Kyoto looks super nice. They're opening a museum in October too.
Places from games, Shibuya crossing appears in a lot of games. Kabukicho in Tokyo and Dotonbori in Osaka feature in a lot of the Yakuza series and Yokohama also appears in the newest ones.
The Nintendo store in Kyoto looks super nice. They're opening a museum in October too.
Places from games, Shibuya crossing appears in a lot of games. Kabukicho in Tokyo and Dotonbori in Osaka feature in a lot of the Yakuza series and Yokohama also appears in the newest ones.
NecrosaroIII
Ultimate DQ Fan
You picked the worst time of year. Enjoy getting melted by 98% humidty and 100 degree weather. Youre gonna swear so much youre gonna lose 15 lbs.
Youre not going to be able to stay hydrated.
Youre not going to be able to stay hydrated.
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Punished Miku
Human Rights Subscription Service
That's the normal where I live anyway. Just drink water and wear a hat.
P.S. beer vending machines
Vyse
Gold Member
From Vegas so used to heat and staying hydrated. Looks like it will be in the mid 80’s at the high, but who knows.
Mrs and I are planning to hit a few CrossFit's, so I am sure the humidity is going to suck.
Punished Miku
Human Rights Subscription Service
Yep, it's incredible. The historic sites are basically real life Sekiro.
Punished Miku
Human Rights Subscription Service
This is the one that made the biggest impression on me personally. In Nara.
en.wikipedia.org
Look at how small the people are next to those doors. It's basically one giant room inside, but it was still insane to see it.
Tōdai-ji - Wikipedia
Look at how small the people are next to those doors. It's basically one giant room inside, but it was still insane to see it.
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This is one of the places I haven't been to yet. I want to go to Nara to see the deer!This is the one that made the biggest impression on me personally. In Nara.
Tōdai-ji - Wikipedia
Look at how small the people are next to those doors. It's basically one giant room inside, but it was still insane to see it.
NecrosaroIII
Ultimate DQ Fan
Vegas heat is nothing like humid heat. Be safe, brother.
Nara Park - Official Nara Travel Guide
World Heritage temples, relaxing parklands and friendly deer
jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Jack Videogames
mentioned above but Akihabara and Shibuya Crossing should be on your to-do list for sightseeing. Super Potato is cool but (like most things in Japan) has been overrun and made worse thanks to foreign tourists. If you're mostly looking for retro stuff, Akihabara is your best bet for finding the most number of stores in the smallest area, but keep in mind that you'll pay more for them there.My favorite shop in Japan was Geo / Hyper Media Shop. It's a chain, and they're everywhere. It's like GameStop in the US, if GameStop was staffed by knowledgeable people and had actually good quality used stuff and no (or little) extra bullshit like merch. Okay, so nothing like GameStop. Think more like EBGames or Babagges in the US in the 80s and 90s. Just be mindful of what games work on US systems, I'm sure you already know this but the Switch and PS4/PS5 are both region free, anything older and it may or may not work with US systems without tinkering. And I mention older, because these shops typically stock things as far back retro as PS1 and Saturn games - and might have a small selection of things even older depending on the location. They also have movies, sometimes small electronics, and also sometimes books. Games are always a mix of new and used, but even the used games I bought were all in amazing condition - better than what GameStop here calls "New". I brought a few hundred extra dollars with me just for used Switch games, and I came back with a great haul.
Another fun nerd haunt of mine in Japan was Hard Off and/or Book Off - another chain store that's everywhere. Instead of being largely focused on consumer entertainment like Geo was, Hard Off is closer to like... an upscale Goodwill? People in Japan, as a general rule, take excellent care of their stuff, so it was fun rummaging through second hand stores to me. The selection of games at Hard Off or Book Off was always really hit or miss for me, but there was usually a variety selection and they typically had older stuff than Geo. Book Off in particular typically has a lot of other nerd-adjacent stuff (in addition to a massive selection of books). Gundam, crane game prizes of anime figurines, manga, pins, buttons, trading cards (mostly pokemon, but also saw a lot of One Piece and a few Magic: The Gathering cards), gachapon recycles, etc. Also a fun way to spend an afternoon just seeing what they have and looking through everything if you're weird like I am.
BOOKOFF Tax free shop
BOOKOFF in Japan provides tax exemption for tourists from overseas.
www.bookoff.co.jp
ViperZombie
Neo Member
If you are looking for gaming stuff check out a store chain called Hard Off they have a ton of used games and consoles they had one in Akihabara when I was there years ago, in fact Akihabara has a lot of little gaming stores. Also if you haven't already you might want to look into getting a JR Pass it saved me a load of money when I went.
kruis
Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
I wish I could lose weight by cursing ... so much easier than working out and eating healthy ...
Werewolf Jones
Member
I'm going in November. Post impressions.
I'm going to the Toei Museum and Ghibli Museum for sure. I heard Japanese has all you can drink or so my homie told me who lives in Japan.
I'm going to the Toei Museum and Ghibli Museum for sure. I heard Japanese has all you can drink or so my homie told me who lives in Japan.
November is pleasant
They have recently made some adjustments to the JR railpass and upped the price by A LOT. Get a tourist Passmo or Suica card too.
Loading…
www.jreast.co.jp
Japan Rail Pass Prices To Increase in October: What To Know
JR Pass prices are set to rise in October 2023. Get the latest information on price changes and new perks, and how to buy passes at the current price.
www.jrailpass.com
I was there last July and August right before the price hike. Do you know if you are flying into Narita or Haneda?
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Werewolf Jones
Member
Do you live in Japan Durien? How many layers would I have to wear for November?November is pleasant
I
You should see if there are some local festivals when you go.
Can you speak Japanese at all? If not, google translate does a pretty good job touristy places tend to know more English but the further you get out the less they know.
No, my wife is Japanese and I have made countless trips at varying times of the year. The worst is July and August but we have to go because we have school age kids. But before we had kids we went when we wanted to. I like November because it wasn't too hot or too cold. I wore a hoodie the entire time and it was perfect weather.
You should see if there are some local festivals when you go.
Can you speak Japanese at all? If not, google translate does a pretty good job
touristy places tend to know more English but the further you get out the less they know.Days like these...
Have a Blessed Day
You're mission is to revive Sega and kill Sony
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jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
This is a good question
Vyse
- I feel like I would not have enjoyed Japan very much if I didn't know the (admittedly small) amount of the language that I do. I studied seriously for about two years before going over, so I was able to interact with the locals, ask questions, order food from a counter, read some signs, etc. Where I went, I'd say only about 30% of the people spoke any level of English - which surprised me because I was in a very touristy area and everyone told me not to worry they'd all speak English. I could tell that a few people I interacted with were somewhat annoyed that they had to listen to my bad Japanese, but for the most part people were in general nicer when they found out I bothered to learn any at all. I unfortunately had to bust out the Google Translate app in a few literal emergency situations, but otherwise I think I did pretty good.If you don't know any at all, a few weeks time (and the plane ride over) could be enough to cram some basic useful phrases at least.
Vyse
Gold Member
I do not speak Japanese. I tried Duolingo, and that didn’t go so great. Will work on some basic phrases. Everything I know is from Mr Roboto!This is a good question
If you don't know any at all, a few weeks time (and the plane ride over) could be enough to cram some basic useful phrases at least.
A lot of the trains speak English now to let you know what stop is coming up. Look up the places you want to go online and find out what station to get off at. We use this to figure out how to get from point A to point B:
jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
I found Duolingo to be a bit trash myself - super not-helpful. If you're just looking for something quick and easy to get you up and running with some basic phrases my recommendation would be to use Pimsleur
Learn to Speak Japanese Language | Pimsleur®
Start speaking Japanese on day 1 with our engaging and effective Japanese lessons. Discover a unique Pimsleur® method to learn Japanese and sign up for a free trial today!
The program I started with (Pimsleur CDs from my local library from the 90s, not the modern app though I did the trial and a lot of it was the same!) is designed to be done for 30 minutes a day, at the same time every day. It focuses entirely on speaking and listening comprehension, so no reading or writing kana or kanji. It starts off incredibly basic with things like "hello - do you speak English?" and "I'm American" and works up from there. The program was mostly designed for business travelers back in the day - so you'll get stuff like "how many nights will you be staying?" and the answer "I'm staying 3 nights", for example, before it tries to give you vocab that is superfluous and irrelevant like "jumping jacks" or "Christmas cake" like Duolingo likes to push early on. Instead, you get vocab like "umbrella" or "right" / "left" (directions) that might actually be useful.
Anyway, since you're leaving soon, and they have a 7-day free trial, I'd say it's worth checking out. It's definitely a better crash course than doing nothing at all.
Ooh another piece of advice, don't go nuts trying to see and do everything because this will ruin your vacation. You are going to be not only physically exhausted the first couple of days (16 hour time difference) but mentally exhausted as your brain tries to figure out just wtf is going on.
Pick some places you must go to and pick some that are nice to go to but ok to miss. This way you aren't trying to do everything and burning yourself out.
Don't be afraid to type stuff in Google translate and show them. Then ask them to translate it back. I had to do this when asking if I could take a brochure home to show my father in law and I wasn't quite sure how to ask. I asked them politely for help, told them my japanese is ok, but then typed into Google translate what I wanted to ask. They read it and answered me. It got to a point where I used this constantly with my father in law. He is 82, going deaf, yet refuses to use a hearing aide. Instead of screaming at him, I just used Google translate lol.
Pick some places you must go to and pick some that are nice to go to but ok to miss. This way you aren't trying to do everything and burning yourself out.
Don't be afraid to type stuff in Google translate and show them. Then ask them to translate it back. I had to do this when asking if I could take a brochure home to show my father in law and I wasn't quite sure how to ask. I asked them politely for help, told them my japanese is ok, but then typed into Google translate what I wanted to ask. They read it and answered me. It got to a point where I used this constantly with my father in law. He is 82, going deaf, yet refuses to use a hearing aide. Instead of screaming at him, I just used Google translate lol.
LegendOfKage
Member
But they have air conditioning in Vegas. I've been told that's generally not the case in Japan.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
I dont know it's still true, but supposedly you can buy teenage girls panties from vending machines. Take a pic by a machine for laughs.
MayauMiao
Member
Jaybe
Member
Here’s a couple threads you can look at since this comes up a lot:
www.neogaf.com
www.neogaf.com
Thinking of traveling to Japan by myself. Need advice
Hello all, I am in a unique/weird situation with my job. My company is being dissolved and I am left behind to shut it all down. While everyone else, except for four of us, is already gone, I have until the beginning of May until my severance begins. I think this is a prime time for me to...
Friends, I'm close to finally taking a trip to Japan.
These days I am going to process through my work the days that I will have on vacation, depending on what they tell me, I will make my trip to Japan, it will probably be approximately 10 to 13 days.... It will be the first time that I will travel, so I am very excited, the bad thing is that I...
Lord Panda
The Sea is Always Right
If you ever visit Nara (an amazing place, by the way) and plan to feed the deer, here’s a crucial tip: when you run out of crackers, raise your hands like you’re being held up at a USA 7-Eleven. The deer will get the message, spare you, and move on to their next naive target.
But if you don’t, those little psychos might chase you down—just like they did to this one poor Chinese tourist. He tried to make a run for it, only to be relentlessly pursued by half the herd. He even tried to jump over one of those wooden bollards barrier things, missed, and ended up face-planting. I felt really bad for the poor bugger at the time.
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NanaMiku
Member
It's no longer there lol
I recommend to visit some museums and aquariums. In Osaka there's a big aquarium called Kaiyukan, it's old though. For modern aquarium, I really recommend Sumida Aquarium (same building as Tokyo Skytree) in Tokyo.
Dirk Benedict
Gold Member
One of the places I went to, was Kamikochi. There was like... I dunno, like 2 feet of snow in plenty of areas?I walked into it on purpose because I never experienced such snow.
We were also smoking hashish, a few of us. This entire trip was FIRE. Now that I recollect.
See that Bridge? We smoked on that son of a bitch. LOL!
We were also smoking hashish, a few of us. This entire trip was FIRE. Now that I recollect.
See that Bridge? We smoked on that son of a bitch. LOL!
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Robot Carnival
Member
enjoy the trip. as someone who had solo travel Japan 3 times and dragged my dad all over Japan last year, I'm going again in October. had you already exchanged enough cash Yen for the trip? I hope you did it back when it's around ¥160:$1.
gaming stuff wise, outside of Akihabara in Tokyo, you can also consider the Den Den town in Osaka. it's not as big as Akihabra, but the price might be better (don't quote me on that thou). and of course, there are a lot of game/anime theme cafes. thou a lot of them might require advance reservation, so you might want to look into that if you decided to visit one.
and yeah, there will be some places that lacks air conditioning, but for most of the places you visit in Tokyo and Osaka, there should be plenty of coverage. Kyoto might be slightly lacking in that area thou so keep that in mind.
JR pass wise, how much are you plan on taking the Shinkansen/bullet train? I imagine it's mainly from Tokyo to Kansai (Kyoto/Osaka)? if so, might be a good idea to look into the JR West pass instead. it'll cover most of the JR lines and the Shinkansen in the Kansai region and is a lot less expensive. but as always, big cities like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka have their own private railways too and those would not be covered by the JR pass, so sometimes you might still want to pay for a day pass or something depending on how much you plan on taking the subways or what not.
may I ask how long is your trip and how many days in each city? I might be able to give some more detail suggestions if you can give me an idea.
you probably already know, but Ghibli Museum's advance booking starts on the 10th of each month. as in you book the Novemeber tickets on October 10th Japan time. that would be the 9th in US if you are in the states. and looking at their site
Tickets - Ghibli Museum, Mitaka
Tickets. All admission to the Ghibli Museum is by advance reservation only. No reservation or ticket purchase can be made at the Museum. Ages 19 and over JPY 1,000 Ages 13 to 18 JPY 700 A....
other than the usual Tuseday closure, they seems to be close from Nov 11th to 22nd too. so you might want to plan things out accordingly.
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Go_Ly_Dow
Member
Jack Videogames
Member
Also If for some reason you want to get fucked up try Strong Zero. It's everywhere, and it's like the big mean brother of a White Claw. Seriously, don't underestimate it, if your alcohol tolerance isn't great just one can will leave you buzzed.
Akihabara has already been mentioned but since you're going to osaka don't miss Dendentown. It's another "electric neighborhood" like Akihabara.
Akihabara has already been mentioned but since you're going to osaka don't miss Dendentown. It's another "electric neighborhood" like Akihabara.
Jack Videogames
Member
Oh, and Shirakawa-go has experienced a tourist boost relatively recently. You may know it as Hinamizawa, the town of the horror visual novel Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni
Vyse
Gold Member
9 days in total. 4 days in Tokyo, 3 in Kyoto, 2 in Osaka.
Robot Carnival
Member
ah, I see. well, a few things to keep in mind.
first, you WILL get lost in the subway stations. just a matter of how long are you lost down there depending on your sense of direction. so any place you're going, add some additional time over it so you're not totally rushing. and keep in mind the trains and subways are on time most of the time. we're talking about only late or early by maybe 10~30 seconds, so never cut your timing too close if you're going to catch a connecting ride.
second, are you flying out from Osaka or going back to Tokyo first? if you are flying out of Osaka, I would strongly suggest you to just buy the regular Shinkansen ticket going from Tokyo to Kyoto and comboing it with a Kansai JR pass instead of buying the full regular JR pass. that should save you quite a bit. and when you're in Tokyo, there should be day passes from all the private railways if you're going to use them a lot any particular day, so go with those.
and of course you will walk. a lot. and not just walking, you'll also do a lot of stairs. most stations do have elevator, but it's often just that one single elevator on the side of the station opposite of where you're existing, so stairs is the fastest way you will be getting in and out of there. September will probably still be pretty hot, so have a small towel or handkerchief with you to wipe down from time to time. I know you're from Vegas and it's been over 100F continuously for the last 2 months, but the humidity will make this a totally different kinda thing, so keep that in mind. hell, if you're prone to sweating, I would recommend some strong deodorant and maybe even baby powder, if you don't want to look like somebody just dumped a bucket full of water on you 15 minutes ago all the time.
I'm going to guess you don't plan on going outside of Kyoto and Osaka during the time you're in those cities? you will have plenty on your hands even just in these cities with the time you have. especially with the huge amount of tourists there, you will probably have to wait in line pretty often too, so always have that in mind if you plan on going anywhere that requires getting tickets or have long lines. do you already have some places you have in mind? try to map it out so you're going to all the points of interest in that area in one go. for example, Kinkaku-ji (the golden one) and Ryoan-ji (the one with the famous Zen garden) are somewhat close by each other, so you can go to those places together. and I highly recommend you go to some areas as early in the morning as humanly possibly. places like Fushimi Inati Taisha, Kiyomizu-dera and Arashiyama Bamboo path. mainly because these locations are best experience without 15 people breathing down the back of your neck once it's after 9am. but if you don't mind the crowds, don't then worry too much about it.
as for the famous markets, yes they're all overpriced these days due to tourist. Tsukiji in Tokyo, Nishiki in Kyoto, and Kuromon in Osaka are all the same. are they still worth going thou? I think so. you can still find some good food and fun experience there. just don't go for some obvious tourist traps like the wagyu beef skewers or the ¥5000~¥7000 seafood bowl. the former, even if they're real Kobe wagyu beef, without the proper skill to cook them, it's just a waste of money. the later, the ingredients might be good, but you will be able to find some equally good ones at some local small eateries at probably a much lower price. if you're going there, go with the tamagoyaki or one of the seafood BBQ stuff. maybe even the hot press seafood crackers. btw, do you plan on visiting Toyosu Market? it's the location that the old Tsukiji Market had moved to. you will be able to see the tuna auction in the morning if you go early enough. and now it doesn't require you to get in line at 2am in order to get in one of the 120 spots that day for the viewing. you just have to go at between 5am to 6:30am and freely watch it out of the 2nd floor windows. and afterwards you can even go for a freshly hand make sushi breakfast if that's the kinda stuff you like. I have some recommendations if you're interested in those.
but most important of all, try things that interest you and tickle your fancy. don't worry about making mistakes (as long as you don't be a jerk) and don't just blindly follow my advice. everyone likes different things and all situations can be different, but as long as you're sincere about it, most people there will understand and help you the best they can.
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