RevenantKioku
PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
And skirts! <3tetsuoxb said:
Living in Japan for two weeks (FAQ)
- Thread starter Deadly Monk
- Start date
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RevenantKioku
PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
:lol Quote of the century, my children.tetsuoxb said:
sp0rsk said:
I don't think so. Perhaps you're thinking of the new line Keisei's building that'll cut the commute time by like 20 minutes in the next year or two?
Either way, the trains work for some, but may not be the best option for others. I'm actually going to the airport via train next week to pick up my friends from the U.S. to make sure they don't mess the process up. Easy to learn, but getting it wrong the first time would be pretty awful.
Shinjuku and Tokyo Stations are a total bitch for first timers, too.
tnw said:
Or maybe they had someone waiting at Ikebukuro station to pick them up, who was used to the area. Or maybe they were wrong too.
But in the end, it beats being the prototypical "defender of Japan" who spends an equal amount of time bitching about silly things like their friends wanting to go to Outback.
You can keep arguing. I'll keep on enjoying you being wrong.
Hitokage said:
Don't worry, apparently simply stepping onto the limo bus turns the bus black and every foreigner inside into Commodore Perry, ready to ruin Japan with their carbon emissions and time wasting skills. We all know the true samurai spirit resides on the Narita Express. You can't experience Japan until you've seen the animated panels on the inside of the tunnels. They were painted by Kano Eitoku himself.
tetsuoxb said:
I'm not defending Japan. It frustrates me when westerners go to a country and just pretend like they're going to a US airport, think rail transport=dirty, won't try things because of norms they're used to in their home countries.
I don't speak cantonese, and I got from Hong Kong Airport to my hotel in the city just fine with the airport express train (I also did the same on the way back by bus). I got from Chengdu airport to my hotel by myself no problem. I got from National airport in D.C. to my dorm room by train the first time by myself with no problem. Same for Logan airport. I will also take the train from Heathrow to my flat the first time by myself with no problem. Narita has accomodated at least one olympics, so I'm pretty sure than any person who can speak english can navigate the trains going into tokyo.
I can understand taking the bus if you have multiple suitcases (which I don't know why you would have for a 2 week trip) or if you need to go from narita to haneda to change to a domestic flight. that DOES suck. I honestly don't know why they haven't figured out a better connection between those airports if they insist on having one be domestic and the other int'l.
tnw said:
So the point of this post is you can get around by yourself, and you don't take suitcases. Thus you are incapable of understanding how anyone else could not accomplish the same thing/travel in the same way? Didn't you post this on the first page? I appreciate you wasting valuable carbon as you furiously hyperventilated through typing that, but it is just as irrelevant as it was the page before.
You see, it doesn't have anything to do with feelings about rail transport, or even getting into the city. It has to do with what is the easiest way for a first timer to get to his hotel. Getting into the city does not equal getting to your hotel. When you quit thinking about yourself and start thinking about the OPs situation, maybe you will provide something worthwhile to the transportation discussion.
But hell, if you want to keep arguing this for pages and pages, we can. I'm enjoying the opportunity to mock your argument as ignoring the OP and simply blabbering on endlessly about your superior cultural and navigational skills.
cvxfreak said:
He is talking about the Nagano Olympics. NEX -> Tokyo Station -> Shinkansen to Nagano. It's a pretty damn weak argument considering all the extra signage and support staff they had during that time (and the World Cup as well)... But weak arguments haven't stopped him in this thread so far, so why would little details like a few hundred extra bilingual signs and guides stop him now.
tnw said:
Ok. Can you do me a favor though. In the interests of people who actually want to provide constructive comments about Japan... Could you just self-indulge and make a single thread where you can bitch livejournal style on a daily basis and leave the being helpful to people who actually want to be helpful?
Aruarian Reflection
Chauffeur de la gdlk
tnw said:
That's not even the issue here at all, nobody has stated anything remotely similar to that, and it's just some wild assumption you're making. I can confidently navigate the Tokyo area train system (and in fact I love it), I just don't want to do it when I'm fresh off an airplane and have things to carry. Dragging suitcases up and down stairs is not fun.
Btw tmw, not to be nasty or anything, but reflect on your birthday thread from awhile back. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=246722 If you act in real life the way you do online, no wonder you celebrate your birthdays alone.
Btw I'm surprised that no one seems to have mentioned that it's very easy to eat for cheap in Tokyo. Between the curry-rice, noodle/ramen and stuff like the Yoshinoya and others like it, it's not difficult at all to get a filling meal for less than quite a bit less than 1000 yens. It's not gourmet stuff, but it's good enough.
Blimblim said:
Blim is right. Lots of local lunch places, mostly noodle places, provide AMAZING meals for like $10. The more Japanese they are, the more likely you are to be assisted by a smiley young lady who will point to dishes and prices and generally be excited that a foreigner somehow stumbled into a non-chain restaurant and would like some Soba.
Also, per the TNW/Tetsuoxb thing - I can't stress enough how much easier the bus is. You get out of customs, buy a ticket at a LIMOUSINE BUS kiosk (right in front of you), walk to your numbered bus stop (right in front of you) and are ferried DIRECTLY to your hotel. Once you dump your bags - then you can start wandering around and getting a feel for the city and the subway system. You don't want to be learning all that stuff on the fly, with jetlag, right after a 10 hour flight, with all your luggage.
Sure, by all means learn how to be a proper Japanese man on the way back to the airport, but on the way in, sit back in the air conditioned bus, head resting on a pristine doily, and relax as the ridiculously green countryside gives way to Ridge Racer.
I so enjoyed my first time out of Narita going to Tokyo. Seeing the very Japanese country side with the little hills everywhere slowly giving place to the rather horrible Tokyo suburbs with the nasty huge buildings is an amazing sight.Stinkles said:
Edit: Reading back the thread, I can confirm that anyone with the slightest experience of trains/subways (so maybe not most Americans) can easily go from Narita to his hotel as long as it's in one of the big "tourist" area of Tokyo. Outside of the Ginza and Yamanote lines it can get a bit more difficult because there aren't always readable signs but usually there is always someone to help.
It was *much* more stressful for me to take a rental car from San Francisco's Airport to my hotel in Sunnyvale than going from Narita to Ginza with the NEX and then the Ginza line.
AKingNamedPaul
I am Homie
shorts are comfy and easy to wear.thetrin said:
BudokaiMR2
Member
Yeah I have always taken the bus and it's been fine <shrug>
The train is just as well too but I avoid it because I hate dealing with luggage, especially in Tokyo or Osaka. Being on a packed train WITH luggage is fucking horrible.
The train is just as well too but I avoid it because I hate dealing with luggage, especially in Tokyo or Osaka. Being on a packed train WITH luggage is fucking horrible.
Deadly Monk
Banned
The tickets (plus hotel) were a little over three grand but my budget is less than that for the two weeks. I'm looking at realistically having a little over a thousand to spend on food, gifts, toys (games) etc. My friend is taking around four thousand.
Be careful about your spending.
Transportation and food, in my opinion, are more expensive than it might seem when you first get to town. It wasn't until I was burning ¥5000 per week with my Suica that something was wrong with my transportation costs (eventually I learned to stick with one company, to take the not-so-obvious routes (such as going to Yurakucho Station instead of Ginza Station when wanting to go to Ginza, and to use the buses). Likewise, you could easily reach ¥3000 per day on food since you'll inevitably be hitting the vending machines and may want a snack or two while you're out.
http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi
Use that link when needing to take the train. It has the shortest, cheapest and fastest routes.
Transportation and food, in my opinion, are more expensive than it might seem when you first get to town. It wasn't until I was burning ¥5000 per week with my Suica that something was wrong with my transportation costs (eventually I learned to stick with one company, to take the not-so-obvious routes (such as going to Yurakucho Station instead of Ginza Station when wanting to go to Ginza, and to use the buses). Likewise, you could easily reach ¥3000 per day on food since you'll inevitably be hitting the vending machines and may want a snack or two while you're out.
http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi
Use that link when needing to take the train. It has the shortest, cheapest and fastest routes.
RevenantKioku
PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
Maybe it's better for actual civilization, but Hyperdia has been giving me some weird results as of late. Go early and always confirm with someone.
Deadly Monk
Banned
tnw said:
Basically, I wanted one suitcase to put my gifts, manga, games etc. inside. But that brings up my other question.
How are customs on the way back? I mean, will it be okay at the customs in the Japanese customs and the US customs when I return with a suitcase full of things? What CAN"T I take back and how harsh are they? I know the weight limit but some have told me I can't take everything back, I would have to ship some things home. Is this true? Anyone have expierence with this?
distantmantra
Member
My wife and I took the Narita Express to Tokyo Station, and then transferred onto the Yamanote line and got off at Nippori station without problem. We found our hotel in Taito-ku pretty easily. We also had JR passes, so the NEX didn't cost us any extra.
Deadly Monk
Banned
dasein said:
Actually, Kurosawa Akira did. I've loved his movies as a kid (I own every single one except a few rare ones) and learned about the culture and language thanks to him. Anime is almost a guilty pleasure for me. J-Dramas though....I can't explain that one. : )
tnw said:
It now sounds like a bizarre mix of English from Britain and the American South. The words are slurred closer together, and some pronunciation shortcuts are used. "Please turn off your mobile phones when you are near the priety seats." Like that. Before, I thought it was a lot clearer.
Can't put my finger on it, but it sounds weirder than it did before despite the words not changing at all.
Haha, I like some j-dramas too.
But yea, enjoy your stay in Japan.
I'd take the limo bus, personally, it's just easier than NEX.
Also, I'd eat out as much as possible. Do you know anyone in Japan in the area? They should be able to tell you about really good places. For example, in Meguro there's the #1 Indian curry joint in the nation, and it's fucking good. There's also lots of great ramen, but the really really good stuff isn't always obvious. Shinjuku has an awesome Yakitori place... damn it, I'm hungry now.
Another note: if you're going to get sushi, make sure you go to a kaiten-place (the one where they come on a little conveyor) unless you feel like spending all of your money. There are cheaper places to get good sushi, but kaiten is so much safer if you don't know what you're doing.
Are you going to clubs? Are you doing any sightseeing?
Do you like bars?
But yea, enjoy your stay in Japan.
I'd take the limo bus, personally, it's just easier than NEX.
Also, I'd eat out as much as possible. Do you know anyone in Japan in the area? They should be able to tell you about really good places. For example, in Meguro there's the #1 Indian curry joint in the nation, and it's fucking good. There's also lots of great ramen, but the really really good stuff isn't always obvious. Shinjuku has an awesome Yakitori place... damn it, I'm hungry now.
Another note: if you're going to get sushi, make sure you go to a kaiten-place (the one where they come on a little conveyor) unless you feel like spending all of your money. There are cheaper places to get good sushi, but kaiten is so much safer if you don't know what you're doing.
Are you going to clubs? Are you doing any sightseeing?
Do you like bars?
distantmantra
Member
cvxfreak said:
So it's no longer the Australian woman on the Yamanote line?
There's a sushi place here in Seattle that has a recording of that running in the bathrooms...
Deadly Monk
Banned
Yes, yes and yes to your last three questions. I would be surprised if any were a 'no' actually lol.
But anyone have any advice or stories about this question:
This is hugely important to me as well, thanks for all the advice so far guys. The Ridge Racer comment from Stinkles got me even more excited for the bus.
But anyone have any advice or stories about this question:
This is hugely important to me as well, thanks for all the advice so far guys. The Ridge Racer comment from Stinkles got me even more excited for the bus.
rykomatsu
Member
tnw said:
Most N'EX lines pass Ikebukuro, but there are a few that stop there.
http://www.jreast.co.jp/nex/timetable/from_narita/03.html
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