ThreePiMatt
Member
Both times I went I don't think I was ever asked for a phone number. Either at a hotel or at an apartment.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once
- Thread starter hwalker84
- Start date
MikeHattsu
Member
For the customs form, not the form at the hotels.
SiegfriedFM
Member
I arrived at my hotel in Kameido. Tomorrow is Akihabara. Excited.
MikeHattsu
Member
MikeHattsu
Member
New years trip then?
Oh. I just remembered that I also put a the phone number on the form.
We only had problems when we entered Japan via a ferry from South Korea. One of my friends had to deal for ~30 minutes with a custom guy and had no idea what the problem was. I think at least 3 more custom guys showed up and then decided to let him enter. We asked one of them what the problem was and his answer "I have no idea".
I think Dissidia is Nesica. AFAIK it's just another online data storage/membership thing like Konami's e-Amusement or Bandai-Namco's Banapass cards. Not sure if it can store currency like Suica or not though. Konami's definitely can store Paseli.
MikeHattsu
Member
Nesica card? Probably used to save your character/game or whatever. There's probably a machine in the arcade you can buy one from.
So it's mandatory now ? Lame.
Used it for Persona 4 Arena back in 2012, but your info are deleted after 1 year of not being active so since I didn't go in 2013 all my info were deleted :/
MikeHattsu
Member
Depends on the game if it's mandatory or not I'd guess.
I'm actually greatful I saw Himeji while it was under construction. They open a part of the castle you never get to see during these times. Then you can come back when it's fully done. I feel like I saw a combined experience most people outside of Japan will never see.
SiegfriedFM
Member
Wow. Akihabara is... wow. I went to all the stores (it feels like), but I couldn't recommend one above the other. I definitely saw more westerners at Super Potato, but there were tons of games in most places. In fact, Friends felt the most empty. I didn't find Gravity Daze Collector's Edition, it seems to be an exclusive somewhere. Neither did I find Suikoden for Saturn in any shop. I did track down Symphony of the Night for Saturn for a reasonable collector price at Mandarake (although Radiant Silvergun at a similar price was, to me, not worth it). Also picked up Blade Arcus and Nitro Blasterz for PS4 after trying them out in an arcade. And I found lots of other stuff I wanted.
Recommended visits: find Friends from that shopping guide linked before. Then to the right of that obscure stairway is another obscure stairway, and on the upper floors there is an arcade game shop (I got KoF'98 MVS). Also go to Kotobukiya, they have lots of cool merch and much less porn. Really, Akiba is FULL of porn. Every single store (except Friends and Super Potato, but including Mandarake and all the Traders) have at least one floor of figures, movies, books, comics, and any other possible media for porn. Including... accessories. You get numb to it after a while, but I saw a horrified (tourist) mother standing outside one store. I wouldn't bring a child to the place, at all. Or anyone with strong feminist beliefs. Yikes.
Also visited Forest of Owl, it was really neat. Lots of owls to hold or just look at.
While I said that I would buy things I want, I had to hold back some. There was an awesome Ashitaka statue that I've wanted for a long time, but it was REALLY expensive. Also found some super neat Kodama that have bobbling heads AND glow in the dark. But I'll see if the Ghibli Museum has any of that stuff first. Aside from the things I've already bought, I can easily fit one or two expensive items in my budget, but I've yet to visit the Hot Toys shop or Nakano Broadway...
Recommended visits: find Friends from that shopping guide linked before. Then to the right of that obscure stairway is another obscure stairway, and on the upper floors there is an arcade game shop (I got KoF'98 MVS). Also go to Kotobukiya, they have lots of cool merch and much less porn. Really, Akiba is FULL of porn. Every single store (except Friends and Super Potato, but including Mandarake and all the Traders) have at least one floor of figures, movies, books, comics, and any other possible media for porn. Including... accessories. You get numb to it after a while, but I saw a horrified (tourist) mother standing outside one store. I wouldn't bring a child to the place, at all. Or anyone with strong feminist beliefs. Yikes.
Also visited Forest of Owl, it was really neat. Lots of owls to hold or just look at.
While I said that I would buy things I want, I had to hold back some. There was an awesome Ashitaka statue that I've wanted for a long time, but it was REALLY expensive. Also found some super neat Kodama that have bobbling heads AND glow in the dark. But I'll see if the Ghibli Museum has any of that stuff first. Aside from the things I've already bought, I can easily fit one or two expensive items in my budget, but I've yet to visit the Hot Toys shop or Nakano Broadway...
MikeHattsu
Member
Remember to go into the library shop in the Ghibli Museum if you're after artbooks. It's different to the normal store (that's super crowded) that sells goods.
cj_iwakura
Member
How much was Castlevania Saturn? I'm after it too.
SiegfriedFM
Member
18000 yen, give or take. They had a few more at Mandarake. Mine was the cheapest but was in awesome condition with only a few tiny scuffs, so I assume those were as new.
cj_iwakura
Member
Jesus. Crossing that off my list, that's like my entire budget...
SiegfriedFM
Member
Well, if you're going to Akihabara, you're not going to get much stuff for less money than that. It adds up very quickly.
Today we did Shibuya. Found a Book-Off with a huge selection of music and a rather big Mandarake store as well. The latter was hidden rather well. Didn't do too much shopping. Tomorrow Yoyogi park.
BronsonLee
Member
Now that my Dallas trip for WrestleMania is over, I can focus on my Tokyo trip at the end of May!
...I have no idea what to do.
Shit
...I have no idea what to do.
Shit
MikeHattsu
Member
Eat all the things
BronsonLee
Member
That's the main hook! When I went to Osaka, it was all cheap/freesightseeing with some expensive yakiniku at the end. Now I've got more cash, so I can build in a bit more food.
Does Tokyo have a tourism pass like Osaka did? I don't think it does, but any discount stuff would be hot fire
MikeHattsu
Member
Nah. You can get coupons for some tourist places if you pick up a free guidebook though.
BronsonLee
Member
Alriiiiight time to stick out like a sore thumb!
It's funny, I blend in just fine, until someone tries to ask me stuff in Japanese because I look familiar. Then the deer in headlights stare
Agent_ShortBus
Member
OK guys I'm leaving tomorrow night and I'll be staying in Tokyo for 10 days with a buddy. Our plan for renting a car for 2 days to go to mt Fujii fell through so I'd like some suggestions on what to check out around Tokyo that we might have missed or aren't that well known but cool to check out. I'd rather have to many things to check out than not enough. Thanks
This is a list of what we already have planned.
Yoshiwara shrine
Edo-Tokyo museum
Kaminnarimo
Tokyo National Museum
Ueno park
Senjoji Shrine
Yasukuni shrine
Imperial Palace (already reserved)
Gundam museum
Sengaku temple
Shinjuku area??
Meiji temple
Ghibli (already reserved)
Akihabara
This is a list of what we already have planned.
Yoshiwara shrine
Edo-Tokyo museum
Kaminnarimo
Tokyo National Museum
Ueno park
Senjoji Shrine
Yasukuni shrine
Imperial Palace (already reserved)
Gundam museum
Sengaku temple
Shinjuku area??
Meiji temple
Ghibli (already reserved)
Akihabara
Soapland and strip club
Laevateinn
Member
It blows me away that the Imperial Palace requires a reservation. The time I went, I just walked in. I'm pretty sure I accidentally gaijin smashed my way in.
MikeHattsu
Member
You went into the Palace grounds and not just the Garden? And it wasn't on January 2nd or December 23rd?
cj_iwakura
Member
Houston flight starts boarding at 10AM, I arrive at 10:21, boarding stops at 10:35 AM.
No pressure. :/
No pressure. :/
Laevateinn
Member
We walked around what I'm assuming is the garden area and into a couple buildings where we looked at art. A lot of it was blocked off and almost nobody was there at the time.
I'll see if I can find pictures later.
MikeHattsu
Member
Good luck with that.
Patrick Bateman
Member
That's the message I recently got on my mobile phone while spending time in Osaka.
What does it say?.
Does anyone know?
Currently boarding for the flight home at Narita.
Laevateinn
Member
I can't read all of it but it's saying something about there being an earthquake in Mie Prefecture.
Cripplegate
Member
That sounds like the East Garden, which is not the same thing ShortBus is talking about.
I only got to see the East Garden myself, but I absolutely loved it. Lots of good information about the history of the site, and the restoration and design of the grounds and architecture. The Ninomaru garden was breathtaking with the cherry blossoms, I walked around in awe of the place for hours. I would have liked to do a tour of the Imperial Palace but I had no idea I needed reservations, so next time maybe.
I also went to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and again, lost almost a whole day there. The park was incredibly busy, but most people seemed to be there for cherry blossom viewing parties, so the main gates and English gardens were really crowded, but once I wandered away, it was surprisingly quiet. I was on some paths all on my own, and only saw like one or two other people in the French garden. There were more people in the Japanese garden, obviously, but it wasn't too bad. Easily the highlight, too, just absolutely gorgeous in design (the bridges over the pond were a little crowded though because everybody wanted to feed the koi fish).
They also had a traditional tea house there, which was again delightful. I have no idea what it is but they serve a candy with the tea, some soft and mildly chewy sweet that is pink in the center and wrapped in another yellow one. I'm having trouble googling it for some reason so I can't figure it out. The pictures I'm finding are not what I ate. But anyways, it was good.
I didn't plan on spending almost my whole trip hiking around and viewing the cherry blossoms but I couldn't help it. I was mesmerized. I just soaked it all in and loved every second of it. I'm already thinking about going back again.
Holy hell will I need a better (or just a more appropriate) pair of shoes, though. My feet are mangled.
So this summer I'll be visiting Japan again since a long time, and was wondering if anyone has some nice tips for Kyushu, mainly Fukuoka and Nagasaki.
I'll probably be spending a couple of days in both cities but kinda oblivious at this moment what to do there. Also if there are any tips with regarding to (retro/secondhand) game shops or toy stores that would be awesome too!
Things like Aso don't need recommendations since I've been there before several times.
I'll probably be spending a couple of days in both cities but kinda oblivious at this moment what to do there. Also if there are any tips with regarding to (retro/secondhand) game shops or toy stores that would be awesome too!
Things like Aso don't need recommendations since I've been there before several times.
cj_iwakura
Member
En route to FTL now. It starts...
Yeah, as mentioned by Cripplegate that was probably the East Garden, those are open to public and for everyone to walk in. The Palace Grounds can only be visited in reserved tours.
To be honest I didn't find the Palace grounds too interesting, spent a better time in the East Gardens.
sechsterangriff
Member
Got my trip scheduled to the end of this month. I've never been to Tokyo around this time of the year and I wonder what clothing should I bring. Is it warm enough to wear t-shirts?
MikeHattsu
Member
Depends on where you're from. I'd say so.l, but I live in Norway ;p
An earthquake has happened southeast of Mie (Prefecture). Prepare for a heavy shake.
I got the message too (about a week or so, right?), the alarm was way scarier than the actual quake (which was nothing really...)
SiegfriedFM
Member
I'm from Sweden and I'm feeling terribly hot, but it may also be my current condition. It gets chillier around 7 at night, but still t-shirt weather for me.
Today was Harajuku. I followed the suggestions here to Toy Sapiens, which was awesome but didn't have that one figure worth spending 35000 yen on (I'm lucky that I'm not THAT big a fan of Star Wars or Marvel). I wanted the Ghostbusters figure of Egon (not a 1/6 figure but still plenty detailed) but it wasn't released yet. They do have displays of all the major Hot Toys releases and plenty of others, including those SD figures (also common in the west) I can't remember the name of. They do have a ton of them from all kinds of licenses.
We had lunch at JS Burger (nice, better than fast food but not really great compared to great Swedish hamburger places), had a snack at Calbee and dinner at Tonkatsu Shotaro. This place was nice, kind of similar to a place right near Mandarake in Akiba, but the waitress was very cute.
Didn't do much shopping, but found some presents in a genuine-looking handcraft store. I bought some tea cups and my friend got a small folding screen. Also happened across a kimono store where I bought a nice scarf/obi. Got some touristy t-shirts as well.
Today was Harajuku. I followed the suggestions here to Toy Sapiens, which was awesome but didn't have that one figure worth spending 35000 yen on (I'm lucky that I'm not THAT big a fan of Star Wars or Marvel). I wanted the Ghostbusters figure of Egon (not a 1/6 figure but still plenty detailed) but it wasn't released yet. They do have displays of all the major Hot Toys releases and plenty of others, including those SD figures (also common in the west) I can't remember the name of. They do have a ton of them from all kinds of licenses.
We had lunch at JS Burger (nice, better than fast food but not really great compared to great Swedish hamburger places), had a snack at Calbee and dinner at Tonkatsu Shotaro. This place was nice, kind of similar to a place right near Mandarake in Akiba, but the waitress was very cute
.Didn't do much shopping, but found some presents in a genuine-looking handcraft store. I bought some tea cups and my friend got a small folding screen. Also happened across a kimono store where I bought a nice scarf/obi. Got some touristy t-shirts as well.
Laevateinn
Member
You guys are probably right. We don't plan at all and just played everything by ear. This is from our first trip so I don't know why I don't have many pictures from it but here's a couple photos.
MikeHattsu
Member
Yeah, that's from the garden.
Cripplegate
Member
Ueno Park was beautiful in the evening with the lanterns, I'm glad I visited it, but it was way too crowded for me. If I was a businessman there for a viewing party with my colleagues or something maybe it would be an awesome hangout, but for a tourist who had been hiking all day, nah. I got out of there pretty quick.
Naka-Meguro was similar. I loved the atmosphere there, it was absolutely gorgeous, never seen anything like it. But parts of it were absolutely packed, and crawling with drunk kids, which got obnoxious after a little while. I felt like an old man, wanting to yell at them to get off my lawn. It aged me pretty bad haha.
What's the best way to handle currency exchange?
My Credit Card doesn't charge any international fees, so I'll use it when I can, but having cash in hand seems like a good idea. Should I just have some USD in cash and exchange at the airport, use traveler's cheques, something else?
(My bank card fee is expensive enough that using it at an ATM would be a bad idea)
My Credit Card doesn't charge any international fees, so I'll use it when I can, but having cash in hand seems like a good idea. Should I just have some USD in cash and exchange at the airport, use traveler's cheques, something else?
(My bank card fee is expensive enough that using it at an ATM would be a bad idea)