So who is going to visit Japan within the next year?
Tue 2011/10/11 13:04 JST
Title says it all really but I was wondering how many of us here have concrete plans to go to Japan in the next 12 months. I will be returning to Japan on April 29, 2012. I also wanted to ask those of us going to please posts articles about their journey here at Danny's place. Maybe if we get enough posts, Danny'll give us our own Comrades Corner or something. LOL
I would go but my japanese is so bad that i might get lost once i step outside of the Japan airport. T__T so basically the con is my getting lost and not understanding Japanese but I would love to go. Too bad the Japanese Gov't doesnt pay for the hotels lol.
Don't let that worry you because Tokyo is one of the best foreigner friendly cities in the world. As long as you do some homework about where you want to visit and research a little bit about the trains, you wont have any problems. I don't speak Japanese and just know a few phrases and have had no issues so if its something you really want to do, go for it.
So your saying Tokyo has ppl who also talk in both English and Japanese? hmmmm...Im planning on going during the summer time but from what Danny Choo post, the dates of going are gonna interfere with my schooling cuz my college doesnt finish till the 2nd week of May. >.>
The most important thing is actually setting the date. Once you've decided that you will be in Tokyo on a certain date, you start building momentum which helps you get everything done.
It could be any date right? not the ones that Danny posted? What IF, I want to stay in Japan for only 2 weeks, could I do that?
I ended up going on Golden week but the important this is to set the date. I've stayed up to 3 weeks myself but Nagatopyon has been there 3 months and is going to do a total of 6 months.
If you want to go then go for it buddy! A phrase book is probably all you'll need if you want to know some extra stuff. Majority of the signs I saw were in English anyways. Just plan your trip on what you want to do and where you want to go and your time there will pass by like it was nothing.
Best book for traveling I've used so far is from Lonely Planet. Maps are especially good and all the sites have entries on how to get to attractions as well as times, days open and which trains get you there.
Definitely! I used Lonely Planet during my trip too and it made things a lot easier to get around. It introduced me to one of my favorite places to eat in Shibuya, lol.
Which place is that? BTW, there are two free ipod apps for getting around Tokyo's trains that I found invaluable. There is also a 3rd one that costs $2 that Danny recommended which is also very good and has a guide for exits at train stations.
The place is called Gyubei. A nice little korean bbq place in Shibuya. Took me a while to find it since I got confused walking there. The Lonely Planet book had a little mini train map so i just took that everywhere. The trains were pretty easy for me to get used to, lots of credit to where i live, lol
I found the free train apps useful since you just type in the beginning and ending stations and they tell you which lines to take, where to get off for transfers and how much it will cost along with trip length. Not bad for a freebie. Its called trains.jp on the iTunes app store. Check it out.
I plan to go sometime in the summer next year. But that's still up in the air... lol
I'd like to go again. I haven't been since 2005, so it's about time. Hopefully, the yen will weaken a bit and make things a bit more affordable. Both times that I've been have been in the spring, maybe next time I'll go in the fall. It would also be nice to try to go to a Doll Party or Wonderfest.
Yeah, losing 25 cents of my dollar really hurts every time I exchange my cash. First trip 5 years ago, I was getting 120 yen to the dollar. Times have changed.
I would absolutely LOVE to go back to Japan again. Tight on money plus just recently starting a new job might say otherwise =( Though, if I can, I'd go back in a heart beat.
Saving up the money is always the main issue. A nice two week trip ends up being about $2500 for me including flight and hotel. Hard part is not using my Visa card to get extra cash or buy something straight out.
During my visit last year, I'd pay with my card whenever I can. Which only happened in Hokkaido when I went to Shiroi Koibito Park to visit the chocolate factory. Thinking about that place makes me want to go back even more, lol
Only drawback to using cards is the service fees they hit you with in addition to the money you lose on the conversion.
Gonna go around March of next year, myself. :D The actual date depends on how my paint job and itasha go. lol Err, cost, rather.
Hope it doesn't cost too much as the trip is just too good to pass up.
We are going January 13th - 23rd of 2012. :)
Can't wait to go back.
Never seen Japan in winter in person so I am kinda curious even though I don't like it too cold.
What if you're already in Japan? :D
Then you need to be uploading pics ASAP. LOL
I would love to go back for my fifth year strait next April, but it'll all depend on my budget. As others also stated, I just started to work again at my old job, but I don't have many hours, so even if the pay is good, it'll all depend on how many hours I have. If I work full time for let's say December till March, then no problem! I don't really need to prepare long before going, the second time I went is when I heard the news about the Odaiba lifesize Gundam. It was about around the end of May or beginning of June 2009, and I was in Tokyo on July 9th, 2 days before the grand open. I can't wait to go back!! I'll let you know for sure if I go back and I'll try to settle for the same dates or around that so we could meet out 'n about in Tokyo!! XD Take care LoganRunn!
It would be great to meet up with you and some other comrades while in Tokyo. Maybe we can pull Danny out of his studio long enough to have lunch with him. LOL. I'm pretty good at saving up so my main tip for anyone trying to scrounge up the cash for a trip is to watch how much you spend, not how much you make. I've learned to look at things over the course of a year. My best example is coffee. I used to get a cup of coffee per day from Starbucks. Let's say its $10 per week, in my time line that's 28 weeks times $10 equaling $280. I'd rather pocket that money drinking instant coffee here in the US so I can go to some of my fave coffee shops in Tokyo. If you take stock of all the little ways money leaks out, you'll be amazed how fast you can save up for the trip.
It is in my mind and has been for a while. the only time is when, kinda hard to choose a date that corresponds with uni and work together.
I see a lot of folks saying April, well mostly because of the hanami and hence i do agree with them, must be beautiful seeing it with your own eyes
I would say use the Uni as the base and tell your work far enough in advance when you will be going on vacation. Classes are a lot less flexible than work in most cases.
I'm going this Thursday! Staying for 3 weeks :)
Hope you have a great time and don't forget to get lots of pics for us! If you get the chance, see about getting some pics of the buildings the new Radio Kaikan was divided into. We really need to get that info.
Will take loads of pics in Japan. Hardly posted any pics of my last trip (although just posted some more). I'll try and take some of Akihabara, but I'm bad at knowing the individual building names, I recognise them but can't place them to the real life buildings :(
Just showing us the buildings and some of the shops would be great. I think Danny posted an article with a link to the map of the 3 new buildings if that helps. Thanks for the effort.
Oh sweet, I'll be in Japan around the same time. I'll be there from the begining of May to end of June. I'll be in Kyoto first, then Osaka, Nara, and Mt. Koya for the 1st two weeks. Then the rest of my time mostly in Tokyo.
Cool, I've been playing with the idea of doing another 3 week stay including a week in the Kyoto/Osaka area. We might be able to do something together if things work out.
Kool, I figured you would spend most of your time outside of Tokyo since you been there...well alot lol.
Even a lot isn't enough. LOL
That sounds like a really good trip DoonDoon. A long time to go! I never spent enough time in Kyoto or Osaka. And this time only going to Kyoto for 3 days and Osaka for less than one day. What is Koya-san?
Your trip to Kyoto and Osaka are exactly the same number of days I had last year so here are my tips. The secret to Kyoto is the buses. A couple of bus routes take you to most of the well known sights and there are several sights per bus route so you can just go from one to the next on just one bus. The tourist information center at Kyoto station sells all day bus passes for 500 yen each which is a big money saver. They also have bus route maps which show which attractions are on which bus routes so you can plan the day trip. Definitely choose which places you want to visit ahead of time so when you get the map, you can go to them directly. As for Osaka, the only real places of interest for me were the Dotomburi, Osaka castle and Den Den Town. The Dotombori at night is a must hit especially for dinner at the famous crab place. Let me know if you have any questions.
Buses in Kyoto are no secret to me :)
Is it number 100 which is the main tourist route?
I'm going to visit the shrine with the stepping stones from lost in translation, the place with loads and loads of red gates (I've marked it in my guidebook even if I can't remember the name now) and go back to Kinkaku-ji.
My trip in Osaka isn't actually there. I'm going to spend the day seeing the K-ON! school. Then I want to go see nano.RIPE play live in Osaka - they haven't replied to my email so I'm going to try and buy a ticket from a Lawson's machine. And then I'm taking the Sunrise Seto overnight train back to Tokyo!
Btw, I've posted some photos from the fist two days of my trip now. Hope you enjoy :)
If memory serves, I think number 205 is also useful. What shrine is the one with the stepping stones, I missed it? I really liked Kiyomizu the best I think. There is also a restaurant called Junsei next to Nanzenji temple that was recommended to me to try a food called Yodofu. First time I really liked tofu:
http://www.japan-in-motion.com/jim/item/mov_111/
If you like tempura, there is a place in Tokyo next to Asakusa shrine called Daikokuya that you HAVE to try. Awesome food:
http://www.japan-in-motion.com/jim/item/mov_195/
I'm a huge fan of Tofu, maybe because I'm half-Asian, so brought up with it. And also because, when I'm not abroad, I'm vegetarian. There is an awesome tofu restaurant in Takayama. So many varieties there - I highly recommend it. If you haven't been before, Takayama is a really good place to visit.
Thanks for the info, I'll keep it in mind.
Takayama is famous for its wa-gyu. It is near some of those really nice snow folk villages (google Hida no Sato) with the thatched roofs. You can stay in a really nice hostel which is part of a temple - you can perform a ritual where you venture into the darkness underground in search of a key. They make Sarubobo in the town too (http://www.figure.fm/slide/en/117005/117005.html). It's a really good place to visit. I highly recommend it :)
Cool, I love wagyu beef. That village sounds interesting as well.
And I've been too both cities before. Den Den Town was hard to find! But much better videogame shops than Akiba! Didn't go to Osaka castle because I went to Himeji (although you couldn't go inside at the time). Will go there another trip. Dotomburi was ace because it was just like in the Yakuza games. I highly recommend Osaka aquarium, the whale sharks are really really awesome. There is one of those crab restaurants in Kyoto as well...
Had a hard time finding Den Den too but it was fun walking around. The Dotombori at night was really the best because everybody was having fun and being friendly. I even bought a necklace charm from a street vendor in the main bridge.
I want to go Japan but I worry about the expences (plane tickets to/from, hotel,shopping, and others). Wish I was rich or at least have a job.
Consider it a long term goal.