MikeHattsu
Member
Aha. Be prepared to miss it again after your second trip as well ;p
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Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once
- Thread starter hwalker84
- Start date
Aha. Be prepared to miss it again after your second trip as well ;p
Patrick Bateman
Member
My travel partner is vehemently anti-smoking, doesn't like being around it at all, but I would like to check out Pachinko at some point (ideally would love to find that Metal gear machine. Are there parlours that aren't smokey wastelands of despair? And is it worth checking one out? Not spending a day or anything, just wanna check it off the bucket list.
Most of them have AC. Whenever I went into a Pachinko-arcade I never activly noticed the smoking scent.
MikeHattsu
Member
Time to plan the next one ;p
Weekend before I head off. Anxious AF about flying but excited. One month in Japan as well, so using lots of the suggestions from here
Have fun
nabe_shogun
Member
Well, I leave in a little over a day. My flight to LAX leaves at 6:10am, so I'm going to have to get up at like 3:30. That won't be fun.
Anyway, still need to figure out what do to with my extra time in Tokyo.
Anyway, still need to figure out what do to with my extra time in Tokyo.
I would much prefer that than having to go to LAX during rush hour times. At least you should be tired enough to sleep on the plane.
nabe_shogun
Member
maybe, but I have a hard time sleeping on any type moving vehicle.
Also, looks like I arrive at LAX and leave in the same terminal, so thats nice. Last time I had to go to the international terminal, which I thought I would this time as well, but online it says I come in and leave terminal 7. I have a 4 hour layover in LA, so I should have enough time no matter what happens I hope.
also, getting ready, I remembered my wallet was too short and foreign bills stuck out the top.
edit: its 430 in the morning and Im at the airport ready to start my long af day
cj_iwakura
Member
Heh, an article was published about visiting Japan in a Pennsylvania newspaper that name drops Mike's blog. Apparently he's a celebrity.
http://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/07/...style-ryokan-inn-from-this-nine-minute-video/
Yeah, yeah, RocketNews, but it did teach me what this thing I took a picture of at Hakone-Ginyu was called! I wanna go back so bad.
Yeah, yeah, RocketNews, but it did teach me what this thing I took a picture of at Hakone-Ginyu was called! I wanna go back so bad.
MikeHattsu
Member
Was a story published by AP so lots of news uses it ;p
cj_iwakura
Member
Not sure, my mother gave me a scan. I can send you it if you like. I think it's a tiny Wernersville publication.
It's something about the trend of visiting real locations in Japan that were used in games.
MikeHattsu
Member
Sure. PM me or something
Ah I didnt realize you were only passing thru LA not leaving from it.
The short money thing seems to be an American thing. Everytime I travel I notice most countries have taller currency than us. Might not seem like a big deal but it does bother me if the top of my bills get all wrinkly from being exposed in my pocket.
cj_iwakura
Member
It actually was!
http://www.readingeagle.com/life/article/anime-tourism-a-big-hit-in-japan
(Might be helpful info for people here, too.)
I was thinking of visiting another country next year, like Korea or Ireland, but now I kinda want to go to Japan again.
nabe_shogun
Member
just got into narita. The immigration line is insanely long. Ill probably be here at least an hour. When I went through Haneda last time it took like 10 min.
Im also tired as shit as I couldnt sleep on the plane.
Im also tired as shit as I couldnt sleep on the plane.
More planes fly in/out of Narita than Haneda, if possible I would always choose Haneda (also because if you get in late trying to catch the last trains into the city suck)
Haneda is so much more convenient than Narita, I gladly pay a bit more to use it.
nabe_shogun
Member
I can see that now, lol. At least right now Im on the train that goes from the airport to tokyo station. Then I just need to figure out what train to get on to find my station, then wander around until I find my hotel.
nabe_shogun
Member
btw, when riding local trains with a jr pass, do i just walk by the gate and show my pass, or do I need to go to a jr office and get a ticket?
MikeHattsu
Member
Just walk by the attended gate while you show the pass.
MikeHattsu
Member
Depends on how busy the shinkansen train you're getting on is. With a reserved seat you're guaranteed to have someplace to sit at least
+ on the Tohoku, Hokkaido and Hokuriku line shinkansen trains some of them doesn't have non-reserved cars.
We ended up having to plan the whole Nagano-Nagoya-Osaka part over, so our itinerary is now comes down to:
- Sept 12-24: Tokyo
- Sept 25 - Nov 8: Osaka
- After Nov 8th: Maybe stop by Nagoya if we can, then back to Tokyo for the remainder of our stay
MikeHattsu
Member
There's lots of festivals just around Kyoto and some in Osaka too in October:
http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en/info_required/traditional/
http://www.pref.osaka.lg.jp/en/introduction/seasons.html
Depends on how busy the shinkansen train you're getting on is. With a reserved seat you're guaranteed to have someplace to sit at least
+ on the Tohoku, Hokkaido and Hokuriku line shinkansen trains some of them doesn't have non-reserved cars.
Any idea of which of the Tohoku in and out bound trains? Believe I'll be on the tsubasa 75 up to Aomori.
It wouldn't be the worst if I had to stand or sit on my luggage,until a spot opened up.
MikeHattsu
Member
Tsubasa trains have non-reserved cars, but the Tsubasa 75 goes to Yamagata, not to Aomori. If you're taking the Tsubasa 75, make sure you get on the Tsubasa part of the train, because it's connected to the Yamabiko 175 that will split and go to Sendai after Fukushima.
If you're actually going all the way to Aomori, then you have to reserve a ticket on the Hayabusa shinkansen.
MikeHattsu
Member
They only put them up on the 10th the month before now. So they'll go up on August 10th. Make sure to get up early if you want some though since they'll open sales at 10:00 Japan time
They only put them up on the 10th the month before now. So they'll go up on August 10th. Make sure to get up early if you want some though since they'll open sales at 10:00 Japan time
Nice one
Cheers mate!Ah sorry, right you are. Was originally going Yamagata->Aomori, but switched it up. As per google maps, I'll be on Hayabusa trains from Tokyo to Aomori & Aomori back down to Yamagata, then a Tsubasa train back down to Tokyo from Yamagata.
Ok, now to sort out departure times.
MikeHattsu
Member
If you're going to Aomori to Yamagata then you should switch to the JR Senzan line in Sendai since it's faster than switching to the Tsubasa in Fukushima.
nabe_shogun
Member
So its been raining for a while outside and I realized I forgot to bring an umbrella.
Any convenience store should sell them right? Id preferably like one of the short ones so I can put it in my bag later
I made this mistake last time too.
Any convenience store should sell them right? Id preferably like one of the short ones so I can put it in my bag later
I made this mistake last time too.
Splash Wave
Member
My girlfriend and I are considering another few days in Osaka, and we're wondering where else to explore. In addition to the central hub (Dotonbori, etc), we checked out Shinsekai (which we loved) and a small pre-war neighborhood whose name I can't remember. What else would we like in a similar vein? What's old/weird in Osaka?
Ah yeah, Google has me transferring in Sendai to Yamagata on the Senzan local line. All good.
I've optioned tokyo station for my pick ups. the travel service center seems like the place to be for the PASS exchange and online seat reservation tickets pickups.
EDIT: Also can I choose all the same date for all ticket pickups. The website stresses the day before hand, but what about days before hand?
Just got off the plane and we are wearing our giant waterproof coats with pride right now haha.
So hyped to be here. Haven't slept in like 27 hours now (can't sleep on transport at all) but on my way to my Airbnb to set up base and then the girlfriend is likely going to fall into a coma...
Wow finally after 2 weeks I read the whole thread lol, looking for options and kinda getting a lot of info.
My wife and I plan to go to Japan for our honeymoon around Late March-April 2017. My guess is that we wanna try go, i dont know like 15-17 days ? (Also depends on how much wedding money we receive haha)
Probably in late october I can have a good reead on that and the dates, at the moment I checked and we have to apply for the entry visa ( we are from Panama), and airline fees, around those dates are 892, in United-ANA, but im sure we can buy one and a half ticket using miles so we save that money.
Il keep reading in the meantime and when the time comes Il light the Japan signal for help haha.
Thanks for all the useful info you people have posted.
My wife and I plan to go to Japan for our honeymoon around Late March-April 2017. My guess is that we wanna try go, i dont know like 15-17 days ? (Also depends on how much wedding money we receive haha)
Probably in late october I can have a good reead on that and the dates, at the moment I checked and we have to apply for the entry visa ( we are from Panama), and airline fees, around those dates are 892, in United-ANA, but im sure we can buy one and a half ticket using miles so we save that money.
Il keep reading in the meantime and when the time comes Il light the Japan signal for help haha.
Thanks for all the useful info you people have posted.
nabe_shogun
Member
just got back for the night. Im a bit pissed that all the stuff in my pockets pushed buttons on my phone and I lost some cool pictures I took.
Ive also been a gross sweaty mess most of the day. This humidity is killing me.
Anyway, tomorrow I need to figure out how to get to fukuoka on the shinkansen.
Ive also been a gross sweaty mess most of the day. This humidity is killing me.
Anyway, tomorrow I need to figure out how to get to fukuoka on the shinkansen.
MikeHattsu
Member
The day before time listed is the last possible pickup time. You can choose another date before that to pick them up, yes. And the same tip about making sure of getting on the correct shinkansen train is also valid when going to Aomori. Make sure you get on the Hayabusa part of the train and not the (often) also connected Komachi part that splits to Akita at Morioka station. Less chance of actually getting lost using this one though since all the cars are reserved and they check the tickets
If you got the JR Pass then you should get on the Hikari shinkansen train to Shin-Osaka and switch there to a Sakura shinkansen train. Oh, and they might not issue tickets for the Sakura trains in Tokyo, so you'll might need to get another seat reservation ticket at Shin-Osaka station if you're not riding unreserved.
nabe_shogun
Member
Where do I get my seat reservation? Is it the JR office at Tokyo station I'm assuming?
Its going to suck carrying my bags in rush hour on the train. Once I get to fukuoka I'm just going to buy a metro card, since they dont use JR for local transportation and there's no way I'm walking a mile with my stuff in this awful weather.
MikeHattsu
Member
Well, either at Tokyo station or you could get on the train at Shinagawa too, depends on which station is closer to you. Both got ticket offices where you can get shinkansen tickets.
If you already got a Suica/Pasmo card in Tokyo, then you can use the same card in Fukuoka.
nabe_shogun
Member
Tokyo station is closer, so I'll be going there. Also, since I have the JR pass I didnt bother getting a suica or pasmo card.
They did both reservations for me in Tokyo for my trip to Fukuoka.The day before time listed is the last possible pickup time. You can choose another date before that to pick them up, yes. And the same tip about making sure of getting on the correct shinkansen train is also valid when going to Aomori. Make sure you get on the Hayabusa part of the train and not the (often) also connected Komachi part that splits to Akita at Morioka station. Less chance of actually getting lost using this one though since all the cars are reserved and they check the tickets
If you got the JR Pass then you should get on the Hikari shinkansen train to Shin-Osaka and switch there to a Sakura shinkansen train. Oh, and they might not issue tickets for the Sakura trains in Tokyo, so you'll might need to get another seat reservation ticket at Shin-Osaka station if you're not riding unreserved.
MikeHattsu
Member
Ah, that's good.
Yo guys, I have this sort of curiosity that I'd ask you.
Basically, here and pretty much everywhere, when it comes to mobile internet in Japan, everyone suggests to get one of those pocket wifi thingies.
Except, a dear friend who's been living in Tokyo for the last year, told me to get this sim card instead.
He's been using it for a long time with no issues at all, it's covered by Docomo LTE/3G so I should be fine (except maybe... the Shirakawa/Takayama area and Koya?), price and data cap seem fair and I can even get it in Narita as soon as I land.
And most importantly: it's one less gadget to keep around and charged all the time (on top of two phones, two power banks and one tablet).
(and also: all the Airbnbs I've booked have a pocket wifi for guests to use for free anyway)
So yeah: why does everybody suggest getting a pocket wifi instead of a much more practical (and similarly priced) sim card?
What's the catch?
Basically, here and pretty much everywhere, when it comes to mobile internet in Japan, everyone suggests to get one of those pocket wifi thingies.
Except, a dear friend who's been living in Tokyo for the last year, told me to get this sim card instead.
He's been using it for a long time with no issues at all, it's covered by Docomo LTE/3G so I should be fine (except maybe... the Shirakawa/Takayama area and Koya?), price and data cap seem fair and I can even get it in Narita as soon as I land.
And most importantly: it's one less gadget to keep around and charged all the time (on top of two phones, two power banks and one tablet).
(and also: all the Airbnbs I've booked have a pocket wifi for guests to use for free anyway)
So yeah: why does everybody suggest getting a pocket wifi instead of a much more practical (and similarly priced) sim card?
What's the catch?
MikeHattsu
Member
Mobile WiFi got more data.