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[Ayumi]

At good vegetarian options in Tokyo? Cheap or otherwise.

Not a vegetarian, but had a friend coming over and we went to a cafe called Brown Rice in Jingumae/Harajuku. It was not cheap though. And I heard that vegetarian food in general is not cheap around here, unless you cook it yourself.

But a little Google magic suggested:

http://www.happycow.net/asia/japan/tokyo/

Maybe check out these along with their reviews?

 

[micster]

Those YOUは何しに日本へ？ interviewers (aka harassers) sure are getting persistent at Narita. Saw two different groups of them, 6 people in total. Unfortunately for them our plane was packed with Asians.

Have any of you actually been approached by them before? I know that they sometimes schedule it, but I had no idea they were so persistently idling at the arrival area, waiting for someone to stalk.. lol.

The show is fun to watch (especially feat. YouTubers you're aware of), but I can't imagine it being an honour being interviewed by them. They're only after making fun of foreigners anyway.

Oh shit. They must be the guys who interviewed me once I got to Narita, then. Was a strange experience, especially being so tired after my first long haul flight. I mentioned I did photography and they demanded to see some and shoved their camera onto my phone screen. Wonder if I can find the episode, I arrived on May 15th.

 

[Ayumi]

Oh shit. They must be the guys who interviewed me once I got to Narita, then. Was a strange experience, especially being so tired after my first long haul flight. I mentioned I did photography and they demanded to see some and shoved their camera onto my phone screen. Wonder if I can find the episode, I arrived on May 15th.

There is a lot of it on YouTube, so try searching the Japanese name. I don't know what you look like but you can try searching for this:

YOUは何しに日本へ？ 2014年5月
YOUは何しに日本へ？ 2014年5月15日

 

[micster]

There is a lot of it on YouTube, so try searching the Japanese name. I don't know what you look like but you can try searching for this:

YOUは何しに日本へ？ 2014年5月
YOUは何しに日本へ？ 2014年5月15日

Found a channel which seems to have quite a lot of episodes
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLnM0G6wbu5otYjLEOnc-nA/videos

Can't say I can find myself whilst skimming through, so lucky escape maybe?

Spoiler

Although a few months later I was on TBS anyway.

 

[scarlet]

Accepting tips for onsen and ryokan in Hakone!

Going back?

 

[red13th]

Not exactly an onsen but Yunessun is pretty fun It's the place with flavoured baths.

what. that seems fun!

Going back?

Yeah! 10 days in early April 2015, we're hoping to see sakura. Shame I'll miss Haru Comic City since that's in March.

 

[scarlet]

what. that seems fun!



Yeah! 10 days in early April 2015, we're hoping to see sakura. Shame I'll miss Haru Comic City since that's in March.

Two months late, should go in winter, we could go to that bar together

 

[Zatoth]

Accepting tips for onsen and ryokan in Hakone!

http://english.ichinoyu.co.jp/honkan/index.html

Stayed there two years ago. Can recommend it.

 

[Raguel]

Hey guys, my wife and I are planning a 2 week trip to Tokyo and surrounding area March 28 to April 12 for my friends wedding. We have have using japan-guide.com, which has bee a great source of information and my friend, who has lived there for over 7 years, so we got good recommendations. But we would like more suggestions from fellow GAFFERS. We don't want to spend much on hotels and are looking at AIRBNB. Has any of you have experience with AIRBNB in Japan? It is legit and what were your experiences like? And also, how much money should we bring to spend for 2 people for 2 weeks. Will $4000 be enough? Or will $6000 be better? We plan on dining in some high end restaurants, lots of street food, some shopping, and visiting my fuji, the temples, etc. One last thing, what are your fav sushi and ramen places in Japan? Hell, what are your fav places to eat in general? Wife wants to eat at Jiro but I really do not want to plop down 300 bucks a person for a 30 min meal. I want to enjoy my meals so I'm looking for alternatives. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[hwalker84]

Hey guys, my wife and I are planning a 2 week trip to Tokyo and surrounding area March 28 to April 12 for my friends wedding. We have have using japan-guide.com, which has bee a great source of information and my friend, who has lived there for over 7 years, so we got good recommendations. But we would like more suggestions from fellow GAFFERS. We don't want to spend much on hotels and are looking at AIRBNB. Has any of you have experience with AIRBNB in Japan? It is legit and what were your experiences like? And also, how much money should we bring to spend for 2 people for 2 weeks. Will $4000 be enough? Or will $6000 be better? We plan on dining in some high end restaurants, lots of street food, some shopping, and visiting my fuji, the temples, etc. One last thing, what are your fav sushi and ramen places in Japan? Hell, what are your fav places to eat in general? Wife wants to eat at Jiro but I really do not want to plop down 300 bucks a person for a 30 min meal. I want to enjoy my meals so I'm looking for alternatives. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Meet in the middle at $5000

I brought $5000 for myself for 23 days. I definitely at all the time and at some really expensive restaurants. That included $800 ryokan onsen, $400 in cloths and $250 in gifts.

 

[Raguel]

Meet in the middle at $5000

I brought $5000 for myself for 23 days. I definitely at all the time and at some really expensive restaurants. That included $800 ryokan onsen, $400 in cloths and $250 in gifts.

Thanks HWalker. $5000 sounds good. We'll aim for that. What was your fav places to eat?

 

[MikeHattsu]

We don't want to spend much on hotels and are looking at AIRBNB. Has any of you have experience with AIRBNB in Japan? It is legit and what were your experiences like?

What kind of price range are you thinking of? Some of the cheapest AirBnB stuff in Tokyo are basically low quality hostels or share houses. Check how many other places whatever host you're gonna stay with have. If it's more than 2, I'd maybe consider something else.

 

[red13th]

Thanks for the ryokan tip. We did a package day trip to Fuji/Hakone and I loved everything about both places, but we barely spent time in Hakone, definitely a HIGH priority because it seemed like a great place. We did spend a lot of time crossing lake Ashi and it was amazing.

Two months late, should go in winter, we could go to that bar together

aww shame scarlet! I couldn't get days off work any earlier than April.

 

[stryke]

Urgh, my flight got delayed for 3 fucking hours. Now I've got one less evening to do anything substantial.

 

[Raguel]

What kind of price range are you thinking of? Some of the cheapest AirBnB stuff in Tokyo are basically low quality hostels or share houses. Check how many other places whatever host you're gonna stay with have. If it's more than 2, I'd maybe consider something else.

We're thinking about only spending maybe 100 dollars a day max for hotel/airbnb. I was looking at whole apartments and found one for about 80 dollars a day. The owner got great reviews and its an entire apt and not a shared room

 

[scarlet]

We're thinking about only spending maybe 100 dollars a day max for hotel/airbnb. I was looking at whole apartments and found one for about 80 dollars a day. The owner got great reviews and its an entire apt and not a shared room

There's a lot of airbnb that looks nice in shinjuku. Sogi's house IIRC

 

[Gromph]

Hey guys, my wife and I are planning a 2 week trip to Tokyo and surrounding area March 28 to April 12 for my friends wedding. We have have using japan-guide.com, which has bee a great source of information and my friend, who has lived there for over 7 years, so we got good recommendations. But we would like more suggestions from fellow GAFFERS. We don't want to spend much on hotels and are looking at AIRBNB. Has any of you have experience with AIRBNB in Japan? It is legit and what were your experiences like? And also, how much money should we bring to spend for 2 people for 2 weeks. Will $4000 be enough? Or will $6000 be better? We plan on dining in some high end restaurants, lots of street food, some shopping, and visiting my fuji, the temples, etc. One last thing, what are your fav sushi and ramen places in Japan? Hell, what are your fav places to eat in general? Wife wants to eat at Jiro but I really do not want to plop down 300 bucks a person for a 30 min meal. I want to enjoy my meals so I'm looking for alternatives. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Forget Jiro, first deal with the reservation and the. With the non japanese experience.

If you want to go a better place than Jiro, search for SUSHISHO MASA, way better then Jiro and almost in the same bucket price.

 

[MikeHattsu]

We're thinking about only spending maybe 100 dollars a day max for hotel/airbnb. I was looking at whole apartments and found one for about 80 dollars a day. The owner got great reviews and its an entire apt and not a shared room

Sounds good then.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Hey guys, my wife and I are planning a 2 week trip to Tokyo and surrounding area March 28 to April 12 for my friends wedding. We have have using japan-guide.com, which has bee a great source of information and my friend, who has lived there for over 7 years, so we got good recommendations. But we would like more suggestions from fellow GAFFERS. We don't want to spend much on hotels and are looking at AIRBNB. Has any of you have experience with AIRBNB in Japan? It is legit and what were your experiences like? And also, how much money should we bring to spend for 2 people for 2 weeks. Will $4000 be enough? Or will $6000 be better? We plan on dining in some high end restaurants, lots of street food, some shopping, and visiting my fuji, the temples, etc. One last thing, what are your fav sushi and ramen places in Japan? Hell, what are your fav places to eat in general? Wife wants to eat at Jiro but I really do not want to plop down 300 bucks a person for a 30 min meal. I want to enjoy my meals so I'm looking for alternatives. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

If you are a foreigner and not a regular you wont even be able to make a reservation, maybe at the Roppongi location but either way I don't think its worth it. If you want good bang for your buck I hear Yasuda is really good but they are fully booked until the end of the year so you can waitlist it. It's around $100 per person for omakase. If you are willing to spend money maybe check out Sushi Saita? It's rated #1 on Tabelog but I can't say anything about it really.

I feel AirBnB should be rather legit as some people actually do it professionally (they rent several properties and manage them) just check out their verified ratings. Stay as close to a train station as possible though I wouldn't want to have to take a bus everytime I go out just to get to the nearest train station.

As for ramen I visited the ramen alley in the Tokyo subway station and tried one of the spots, it was really good but I bet the other ones can be great too. It's 8 high quality ramen joints all in one hallway.

Also if you love beef and you have time go to Yakiniku Jumbo. It's a little out of the way in a residential area but not too inconvenient, reservation recommended but it shouldn't be impossible to walkin if you get there early enough too. It's so freaking good and its English friendly too which was nice for me.

 

[ZackieChan]

Went on a day-long date today that started with some amazing omakase sushi at a big fish market area whose name I don't remember. Amazing stuff. Cost 5400 ¥ for the two of us, with some really interesting sushi. I'll get the deets if anyone is interested.

Love that Christmas is in full swing here. Makes me not miss home so much!

 

[stryke]

Does anyone know where I can definitely pick up a himitsu bako in Tokyo? I spent the day at Akihabara today and while it wasn't particularly on my agenda I looked in a few souvenir shops and didn't see any.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Does anyone know where I can definitely pick up a himitsu bako in Tokyo? I spent the day at Akihabara today and while it wasn't particularly on my agenda I looked in a few souvenir shops and didn't see any.

Try one of the large Tokyu Hands stores in Shibuya, Shinjuku or Ikebukuro:
www.tokyu-hands.co.jp/en/list/kanto.html

Were you going to Hakone? There's companies making and selling the boxes there.

 

[ninanuam]

Jetstar in Australia currently have 2 for 1 tickets to Japan.

I picked up two tickets, I'm in Tokyo from 05/14/2015 to 05/20/2014 possibly with my girlfriend. I bought the ticket spur of the moment, she is not very into the idea of going at this point. so I might end up selling the extra ticket or bringing a buddy.

I'm looking over the thread ATM to try and get a feel for what to do during my time.

I know there is a festival on during the weekend I'm there (Kanda Matsuri?) but I have no idea if that's actually a big deal or not, Will it hurt the chances of affordable accommodation, prices, and things being open?

 

[stryke]

Jetstar in Australia currently have 2 for 1 tickets to Japan.

I picked up two tickets, I'm in Tokyo from 05/14/2015 to 05/20/2014 possibly with my girlfriend. I bought the ticket spur of the moment, she is not very into the idea of going at this point. so I might end up selling the extra ticket or bringing a buddy.

I'm looking over the thread ATM to try and get a feel for what to do during my time.

I know there is a festival on during the weekend I'm there (Kanda Matsuri?) but I have no idea if that's actually a big deal or not, Will it hurt the chances of affordable accommodation, prices, and things being open?

Regarding Jetstar or maybe just some advice in general, try to arrive in Japan as early in the day as possible. Our flight was delayed because Jetstar had to fly a spare part from Brisbane to Cairns to fix our plane and it was so late (like 11.30pm by the time we got outside past customs and baggage claim) we couldn't take any public transport but a fucking taxi when we arrived. Luckily I was able to split the horrendous fare with a nice couple who made the suggestion.

 

[stryke]

Try one of the large Tokyu Hands stores in Shibuya, Shinjuku or Ikebukuro:
www.tokyu-hands.co.jp/en/list/kanto.html

Were you going to Hakone? There's companies making and selling the boxes there.

Oh I'm going to Shibuya tomorrow I think. Will keep a look out. Cheers.

 

[Ayumi]

we couldn't take any public transport but a fucking taxi when we arrived. Luckily I was able to split the horrendous fare with a nice couple who made the suggestion.

This reminds me of our old thread title. Really wish that wasn't changed away, regardless of the confusion between the two threads.


Since that seem to have calmed down, who's up for some new thread titles?
There were some great suggestions last time!

 

[MikeHattsu]

I'm in Tokyo from 05/14/2015 to 05/20/2014 possibly with my girlfriend. I bought the ticket spur of the moment, she is not very into the idea of going at this point. so I might end up selling the extra ticket or bringing a buddy.

I know there is a festival on during the weekend I'm there (Kanda Matsuri?) but I have no idea if that's actually a big deal or not, Will it hurt the chances of affordable accommodation, prices, and things being open?

Looks like the Sanja Matsuri is also that weekend so you're boned

Nah... But you should probably look at accommodation in western Tokyo though (Shinjuku, Shibuya, etc.), instead of places near Asakusa, Akihabara or Ueno.

Things will still be open, but if you want to make the most out of your time you might want to visit Akihabara and Asakusa on the weekdays you're there instead of in the weekend.

If you do want to check it out during the festivals then you should expect it to take longer to get around, especially if you're gonna go to the Sensoji Temple.

Oh I'm going to Shibuya tomorrow I think. Will keep a look out. Cheers.

If you're gonna go back to Akihabara there's this shop as well:
http://torito.jp/shopopen.shtml

Probably not the easiest to find though since it's on the fifth floor.

 

[Resilient]

Hey guys,

About to book my JR Pass. Right now, plan to leave Tokyo on the 2nd of Jan to go to Kyoto. Will then use the JR Pass (7 day) on the 5th, to go to Osaka, Hiroshima, and then return to Tokyo on the 11th. Is this a solid plan?

The reason we are opting for the 7 day pass is so that when we arrive, we can book a Kyoto JR Shinkansen ticket right away for 2/1, as it's probably gonna be really busy that day? So it works out to 297AU for the 7 day pass, and probably 130AU for the Kyoto > Tokyo ticket.

If anyone could shed some more light on Kyoto train pass availability on 2 Jan it would be really appreciated! I know in the past some posters said it won't be horrible, but really want to avoid wasting a day waiting for a train/standing 6 hours to Kyoto ;-:

 

[MikeHattsu]

Which day were you arriving on again?

 

[Resilient]

Which day were you arriving on again?

24/12 in Tokyo. So that would be the day that we book 6 Shinkansen tickets for 2/1, which are 13000Y. I'm like 90% sure this is the best day to do it, because to fully utilise the 14 day pass, we would have to activate it on 28/12 - cutting it close with getting a reserved seat for a 6am departing train on 2/1 to Kyoto - unless of course, it isn't. In which case, we will get the 14 day pass.

This is the pickle I'm in!

I'm pretty confident about this trip. I have a lot more Japanese under my belt, hoping to develop it further while I'm there.

 

[MikeHattsu]

24/12 in Tokyo. So that would be the day that we book 6 Shinkansen tickets for 2/1, which are 13000Y. I'm like 90% sure this is the best day to do it, because to fully utilise the 14 day pass, we would have to activate it on 28/12 - cutting it close with getting a reserved seat for a 6am departing train on 2/1 to Kyoto - unless of course, it isn't. In which case, we will get the 14 day pass.

This is the pickle I'm in!

You can actually pick up the JR Pass on the 24th and ask for it to be active from the 28th.

And since you then have a JR Pass for the date you want to get Shinkansen tickets I can't see any problems with getting those on the 24th as well. But I can't confirm this though. Maybe try asking the place where you're planning to get the exchange orders from to be sure.

 

[scarlet]

You can actually pick up the JR Pass on the 24th and ask for it to be active from the 28th.

And since you then have a JR Pass for the date you want to get Shinkansen tickets I can't see any problems with getting those on the 24th as well. But I can't confirm this though. Maybe try asking the place where you're planning to get the exchange orders from to be sure.

That's true

I did that

 

[Resilient]

You can actually pick up the JR Pass on the 24th and ask for it to be active from the 28th.

And since you then have a JR Pass for the date you want to get Shinkansen tickets I can't see any problems with getting those on the 24th as well. But I can't confirm this though. Maybe try asking the place where you're planning to get the exchange orders from to be sure.

That's true

I did that

Yeah, I know you can pick it up on the 24th. Thing is, can you book a Shinkansen ticket under your JR Pass without activating the pass? I don't think you can is the thing.

The 14 days needs to span the length of time I will be traveling using Shinkansen. Right now, that's gonna be 2/1 - 12/1.

Option 1 - 7 Day Pass
Buy 7 day pass = 297
Book Kyoto ticket on 24/1 for 2/1 = 130

Option 2
Buy 14 day pass = 473
Book Kyoto ticket on 29/1 for 2/1 train = covered by activated JR Pass
JR Pass can be used for 29/1 - 12/1

Option 2 works out to be best bang for buck, but we might be unable to book reserved seats for the 2/1 Kyoto train.

Think I'm just gonna go with Option 1. There aren't many JR Trains to take in Kyoto anyway.

 

[MikeHattsu]

Yeah, I know you can pick it up on the 24th. Thing is, can you book a Shinkansen ticket under your JR Pass without activating the pass? I don't think you can is the thing.

The JR Pass will have the active dates on it when you pick it up on the 24th. They'll attach a ticket to it saying that it's active from the 29th, so it's already "activated" for the period you chose to use it (29th till 12th).

Edit: Um, rather 30th till 12th since there's 31 days in December.

 

[Resilient]

The JR Pass will have the active dates on it when you pick it up on the 24th. They'll attach a ticket to it saying that it's active from the 29th, so it's already "activated" for the period you chose to use it (29th till 12th).

Edit: Um, rather 30th till 12th since there's 31 days in December.

That's strange - when I picked up my last JR Pass in Feb (picked it up in AU), it only becomes activated from the day you activate it within Japan. Am I missing something there that has changed? You can't pick buy JR Pass in Japan anyway?

 

[MikeHattsu]

That's strange - when I picked up my last JR Pass in Feb (picked it up in AU), it only becomes activated from the day you activate it within Japan. Am I missing something there that has changed? You can't pick buy JR Pass in Japan anyway?

You buy the exchange ticket in whatever country outside Japan. The JR Pass itself is the booklet thing you get when you use the exchange ticket. They attach another train ticket to the JR Pass with the dates you select for it to become active.

The question is whether you can book Shinkansen tickets in advance with such a JR Pass before the usage date. That's the part I don't know.

 

[scarlet]

That's strange - when I picked up my last JR Pass in Feb (picked it up in AU), it only becomes activated from the day you activate it within Japan. Am I missing something there that has changed? You can't pick buy JR Pass in Japan anyway?

You can request the activation date when you trade it.

 

[Jake.]

fyi i used a 14 day pass in october and booked all my shinkansen tickets on the day i exchanged the order for a pass (activation date was set about a week later).

 

[Resilient]

You can request the activation date when you trade it.

Perfect! Thanks for that. Cheers Mike+Scarlet!

Cheers Jake. That's the plan now I guess. Pay another $50 and get 7 extra days of free JR travel.

 

[MikeHattsu]

fyi i used a 14 day pass in october and booked all my shinkansen tickets on the day i exchanged the order for a pass (activation date was set about a week later).

Nice! That's confirmation that it will work then

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Back from my 6 days in Tokyo and I felt like I barely scratched the surface. I already want to plan another trip for next year. Definitely there was some things I felt I should have done differently but I can't stress enough:

Get a hotel/room within 5 minutes walking distance of a train station.

I had to take a bus everytime I went out and while it was only 2 stops from Shibuya it was an annoyance especially if I want to go back to the hotel to rest midday and then head back out in the evening. Makes things easier if you stay in a central or good location really close to the station.

In the future I think I would prob go back with friends and split an AirBnB in a nice hood like Shinjuku, Tokyo Station, or Shibuya Station.

 

[HideyoshiJP]

So, I've been here for a few full days, and while the "I'm Japan" feeling first set in the night of arrival when walking to my hotel, I don't think I really started relaxing and letting my "work mode" melt away until yesterday. I'm already loving it here.

I've got to stay the hell out of Akiba though. It didn't take me long to burn through US$200.
Also, I didn't realize "Beat" Takeshi is literally everywhere. I like to imagine he'd have a great future shilling mutual funds and reverse mortgages if he were more popular in the US.

So, fun thing happened yesterday. I was down in Odaiba and ran over to a Super Autobacs and while I was crossing the street a man on a bike rode by shouting something, and all I heard was "Otoko" and "kirei." Mind you, my hair is very long and I am used to having women tell me they're jealous... maybe he was jealous too.

I've also noticed the "gaijin effect" doesn't seem to happen to me very much. I'm half Native American, and both my friend and my mother (who don't really know much about Japan) figured people would assume I was Japanese after I explained the things like people speaking to you in English no matter what, or not sitting next to you on a train. The jerks were right. Neither men nor women seem to have issues sitting next to me, and they don't start speaking English until my eyes gloss over or I just look stupid. Mission (un)accomplished. :|

 

[Ayumi]

^ People usually always talk to you in Japanese at first, then switch to English (depending on the situation). Dunno what it's like for people who look super foreign though, with blonde hair and what not.

 

[HideyoshiJP]

^ People usually always talk to you in Japanese at first, then switch to English (depending on the situation). Dunno what it's like for people who look super foreign though, with blonde hair and what not.

I figured it'd probably be different if I was not generic brown(grey) guy. I'm just glad I don't make people more nervous than an otaku creeper. However, even back at home, people just don't know what to make of me.

When I was in Tokyo, literally no one spoke English. As in they didnt know how to.

I'd heard some great English at Hale Moana in Palette Tiwn. That guy had great English, at least after I asked for English.
I also heard some decent English from some pretty lady with a flyer in Akiba... well, after she held onto the flyer to compliment my hair, then resumed shoving me into a tourist trap.

 

[sfedai0]

^ People usually always talk to you in Japanese at first, then switch to English (depending on the situation). Dunno what it's like for people who look super foreign though, with blonde hair and what not.

When I was in Tokyo, literally no one spoke English. As in they didnt know how to.

 

[stryke]

My experience is that they often know enough just to get by. Hasn't caused me too many problems except a cab ride.

 

[Ayumi]

When I was in Tokyo, literally no one spoke English. As in they didnt know how to.

My experience is that they often know enough just to get by. Hasn't caused me too many problems except a cab ride.

It's more of a "we'll try to speak what we can, even if it's nothing".

 

[ZackieChan]

^ People usually always talk to you in Japanese at first, then switch to English (depending on the situation). Dunno what it's like for people who look super foreign though, with blonde hair and what not.

This is the case basically everywhere I go. They speak Japanese until I nervously say that I don't understand, then proceed in semi-broken English. Or we just charade things out.

I look super foreign, btw (here, anyway).

 

[MikeHattsu]

not sitting next to you on a train.

Hm... That doesn't sound true...

 

[bodyboarder]

Is there any sumo wrestling over the xmas/new years period? A quick google search seems to suggest there isn't.