I'm an expert
Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
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Japan Travel |OT| One does simply not visit just once
- Thread starter hwalker84
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TheBryanJZX90
Member
When I worked for this place these were the most popular: https://www.japanican.com/kyoto/ryokan/ especially Hiiragiya.
matt360
Member
Japan is kind of notorious for its lack of free public wifi. I think it's a little better now, but only because when you buy an iPhone from Softbank they give you a free Fon Free wifi router thing. Those things are so prevalent now that if you have an iPhone from Softbank you're pretty much guaranteed to be near one of those spots.
That's just my experience in Hiroshima. It's definitely better than it was 5 years ago, but it's still lacking. If you're going to be traveling a lot, I wouldn't count on being able to find free wifi wherever you go.
There's free wifi in major JR East stations in the general Tokyo area. If you're nowhere near one though and need to check out something out real quick, just go to a softbank/labi/bic and use the internet on their laptops/phones.
I just checked out that b-mobile site, looks like a pretty good deal. I primarily want it for Google maps, but I just wanted to double-check that it will for sure work with that and also if you guys think 1GB will be enough for a two-week trip? I'd imagine it probably would be.
RapidCancel
Member
It'll work with Google maps. 1gb was plenty me for 2 weeks, but I didn't use it for anything other than maps while walking around and light browsing for location addresses.
We stayed at Ohanabo (highly regarded on Tripadvisor) -- it was very nice! It's kind of in a weird spot in terms of being half-way in between train stations but we walked there easily from the Kyoto Station. It's about another half mile north or so to the next subway station from the ryokan. Price was great, I think it was 12,800 or so for the both of us which is on the low end. Here are a couple pics:
The tea was terrible (quite different than what you'd normally expect from green tea). The cookie/wafer is famous locally.
Cool, thanks for the reply. I've got an old Rogers 3GS that is currently off contract that I'd like to use, so I'm guessing I need to unlock that?
I posted in the iPhone unlocking thread, hopefully it's easy enough to do, but I don't know. Maybe I should just look into renting a phone over there instead...
RapidCancel
Member
Yep, according to their list the 3GS needs to be unlocked to be used. I'm on android though so I'm not sure how different it is. I doubt it would be very hard to unlock though, good luck!
The khaosan ones in asakusa are all good. Ninja and Kabuki are the ones I stayed in, former is a nicer hostel but latter is a better location. Other side of the city from Shinjuku but it's a good spot and the metro makes it so easy to get around that I think it really matters where you stay.
Also about the data thing, if you really only need it for google maps then I'd consider just preloading the area you are going to the your hostel wifi, this is what I did and it worked fine.
Don't think you can climb in September, at least not to the top. There is a bus from Shinjuku station which I believe is the best way to get there. I tried
going by train on the way there and it took forever.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Rogers will officially unlock it for you for $50 now.
Although 3GS.. That wasn't a world phone until iphone 4 (or maybe 4S). It's either CDMA or GSM. Japan is a CDMA country and North America uses GSM. You may be out of luck... (I'm assuming you have a North American phone).
And IMO data is invaluable these days. When I was in Japan in August it helped out with maps and translations countless times.
An unlocked Lumia 1020 won't work? I thought I'd be good grabbing a SIM card when I land.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I stayed at Nishikiro ryokan about two weeks ago... I bet it was right in the same area.
Just looking at the specifications, it says it supports GSM and CDMA... it's kind of hard to tell whether that means on the same phone, or on different models in different regions. But I'd imagine it would work. I'd think most phones would be engineered that way now - it's cheaper for them to manufacture one that works in all regions.
Welp, I'm currently sitting outside my gate at Narita waiting for my flight to leave. This has been hands-down two of the best weeks of my life, such an overwhelmingly positive experience in every regard. What an amazing country!
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread, it was really helpful in my planning and safe travels to those yet to embark on their trips, you are in for a treat!
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread, it was really helpful in my planning and safe travels to those yet to embark on their trips, you are in for a treat!
RapidCancel
Member
John Rabbit
Banned
i know i'm several weeks late on this, but Kamakura is every bit worth a day trip. it's so different from the insanity of tokyo; more quaint i would say. make sure you make a stop at the daibutsu and hasedera temple (they're on the same road and you can get there easily by riding the local tram that departs from kamakura station). i think you're going to be seeing so much in tokyo that planning 4 day trips out of a week might be stretching it. trust me, there's MORE THAN ENOUGH things to see inside of tokyo alone. for instance: doing senso-ji temple and the tokyo skytree is nice day trip since they're close to each other and you might have to wait a bit to get inside the skytree (go in the late evening so if you do end up waiting, you'll get to the top right as the sun is setting).
matt360
Member
You definitely should try to squeeze in that Miyajima trip on the 17th. If you come to Hiroshima from Osaka/Kyoto, it should be less than 2 hours by the Hikari shinkansen (is it still the case that you can't ride the Nozomi with a JR Pass?). I live in Hiroshima so I'm kind of biased, but I think Miyajima is easily one of the best places in Japan. You could easily get to Hiroshima by 9 or 10 in the morning if you get an early start, and then just take the last shinkansen back to Tokyo that night. Plenty of time.
If you do make it to Hiroshima, hit me up and I can take you to get some kick-ass ramen or okonomiyaki or something. It's also worth coming to Hiroshima just for okonomiyaki, which is incredible and infinitely superior to the variety you'll find in Osaka.
Can you share your experiences?
I could write a novel about all the cool stuff we saw and did while over there, it was a super dense trip. If there's something specific you want to know about I can do my best to answer.
As a general tip to anyone going, a phone with Google Maps/data is worth its weight in gold, imho. That enhanced the enjoyment of our trip immensely.
It sounds you have a lot of fun
So you just go to tokyo? or other places too?
About data, did you rent a portable wi-fi or sim card? any recommendation? (websites etc)
I'm planning for 10-12 days trip, going to and arrive in Kansai then go to Kyoto, probably Osaka and Tokyo
Any non touristy places i should visit?
We were in Tokyo for about 6 days of the two weeks. We purchased the 7-day JR pass and went to Nagoya/Suzuka for the F1 race weekend, then to Kyoto which served as our home base and from there, we did day trips to Osaka, Hiroshima and Kobe - everywhere was awesome in its own way. Not a moment was wasted, we saw tons of stuff, probably walked an average of ~25 km per day, no joke. There wasn't a single thing we saw that we regretted seeking out, everything is so interesting.
For the data, neither me or my travel companion were entirely sure if our phones would work with a Sim over there, so we opted to rent an iPhone from Softbank. The cost of the phone and unlimited data was about 2000 yen/day (if you turned data on). That may seem expensive, but it was well worth it for the peace of mind and not having to mess around with a map and/or bother the locals trying to find our way around. I'm not sure what your itinerary is, but aside from the stuff we had planned to see, we were constantly getting sidetracked by other interesting things we came across in our travels. The phone allowed us to wander off wherever the hell we wanted and we were always able to instantly get back on track.
I don't know about you guys but I was surprised at how quick it was from Kyoto from Osaka on the bullet train. It was like 15/30 minutes. With a Japan Rail Pass, If you happen to stay in Osaka then you can easily catch an early train to Kyoto, explore the area and come back on the same day. The JR Pass is sooo useful. I probably would not have visited Nara if it weren't for that pass. scarlet, Go check out Nara Park during the morning/afternoon. Worth the train ride.
Alternatively, there were a vast number of paid Wi-Fi hotspots dotted around the city (Predominantly Wi2 and Softbank). Can't remember the prices but you were able to buy a day's worth of internet access or a week's worth and there was even an english pay site when you accessed the Wi-Fi connection. If you aren't too keen on renting a phone then I think this is a decent alternative if you're only after internet access. (I suppose you could use Skype for voice communication)
I would not depend on free wi-fi (at coffee shops/street smoking area etc.) as I discovered that a.) their speed and connectivity is incredibly slow/unreliable and b.) they were hardly any free Wi-Fi spots.
Gonna buy and use JR Pass too, so i guess i'm gonna visit Osaka.
Still have no idea what I'm gonna do there beside Dotonbori, Osaka Castle and maybe the Aquarium.
Any suggestions?
And Nara is already in my to visit list
At first i wanna rent the pocket wi-fi, for my iPad and phone but now i prefer to rent a mobile sim card.
Gonna buy and use JR Pass too, so i guess i'm gonna visit Osaka.
Still have no idea what I'm gonna do there beside Dotonbori, Osaka Castle and maybe the Aquarium.
Any suggestions?
And Nara is already in my to visit list
At first i wanna rent the pocket wi-fi, for my iPad and phone but now i prefer to rent a mobile sim card.
The Umeda Sky Building in Osaka is pretty cool if the weather is clear.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4002.html
In evening/night if you want a nice play to drink and you like Pubs, The dublin bay
http://www.whynotjapan.com/index.php?main_page=document_shop_info&products_id=37
is a really nice place and the people who work there are really friendly
Ah thanks, I like the bar but i think i couldn't go there, it's a day trip.
Anyone did hanami while in japan?
Valkyr Junkie
Member
Of course. You're going in mid March? That may be a tad early for peak blooming, so you might need to tweak your itinerary last minute since the openings progress from the south to the north.
Yes, but i started my trip in Japan the last week of March so i've seen in many city.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011_when.html
In this page you can see when, normally, Sakura bloom.
Keep attention, he may change from year to year.
Late march around 25 - 31 in Kyoto and 1 - 4 April in Tokyo
Can you share your experiences?
I'm planning to do it at night
Yup I read it.
If you're going to the Osaka aquarium, maybe you can visit Endo Sushi for breakfast or lunch, one of the best sushi I've had
I managed to squeeze it in before aquarium, castle, and Dotonbori in my daytrip hahahttp://misstravelosopher.com/2013/03/03/best-sushi-in-osaka-fish-market-endo-sushi-ゑんどう寿司/
I was only there for two days and I explored Osaka Castle and the wonderful park it's located in. Then checked out Nipponbashi for Denden town and Dotonbori isn't far away from there. Be sure to try some Takoyaki.The area close to Osaka station "Umega" wasn't too bad either. There's a huge shopping/entertainment complex with a red ferris wheel. Can't remember what it's name was but you can't miss it (EDIT: It's called Hankyu Entertainment Park) Also had like an indoor market called E Street with restaurants, pachinko places, clubs and small stores. There's an undeground market too. Randomly discovered this awesome small Heavy Metal record store on the 2nd floor of some building. Osaka was pretty cool. Prefered it more than Kyoto.
BTW, although the Osaka subway map can be daunting at first and their ticket machines look like this:
Don't let that put you off as they are incredibly easy to use once you get the hang of it. There's a button for English on that ticket machine and you'll need to select "Subway ticket" on the touch screen, then put in the amount you pay based on your destination (see map) and then hit one of the red/black buttons once the sufficient amount of money is inserted and the button lights up. You can pick up an english map easily anyway.
I don't have any regrets about where we stayed, but if I did it again I think I'd probably opt to stay in Osaka instead of Kyoto; but as mentioned before, the train ride is so quick and the trains are running so frequently that it's really a non-issue.
Yeah, check out Den Den Town in Osaka if you're into videogames/anime. That's actually where I bought the majority of my stuff as opposed to Akihabara since there seemed to be more older figures and the prices were generally better.
Make sure you hit Dotonbori at night!!!
Yeah, check out Den Den Town in Osaka if you're into videogames/anime. That's actually where I bought the majority of my stuff as opposed to Akihabara since there seemed to be more older figures and the prices were generally better.
Make sure you hit Dotonbori at night!!!
If you're going to the Osaka aquarium, maybe you can visit Endo Sushi for breakfast or lunch, one of the best sushi I've had
http://misstravelosopher.com/2013/03/03/best-sushi-in-osaka-fish-market-endo-sushi-ゑんどう寿司/
I'm so gonna eat there and it's cheap
thank you
Youtube is my best friends, i search how to buy ticket bla bla in japan lol
I don't have any regrets about where we stayed, but if I did it again I think I'd probably opt to stay in Osaka instead of Kyoto; but as mentioned before, the train ride is so quick and the trains are running so frequently that it's really a non-issue.
Yeah, check out Den Den Town in Osaka if you're into videogames/anime. That's actually where I bought the majority of my stuff as opposed to Akihabara since there seemed to be more older figures and the prices were generally better.
Make sure you hit Dotonbori at night!!!
Ah you're right, I forgot about the neon light. Now I'm considering to stay there for a night then go to tokyo.
matt360
Member
It should be no problem getting tickets. The lower deck might sell out, especially since you plan on going opening day, but every time I've gone the upper decks have been all but empty. And this was during Asashoryu's popularity peak.
Edit: I'm sorry, you said "ringside" seats. I missed that part. I imagine those would be next to impossible to get, but you should still look into it.
Yeah I saw some sites that I didn't trust selling tickets. I'll wait till I get there and just buy what I can.
You like Ramen? Because i know a nice place who made ramen really good and the place is really "particular"
I love Ramen.
What do you guys think of this outline
Day 1 (Saturday Nov 9th) - Land at Narita @ 3pm Head to Hotel (Still need to figure that out... LOL). Sightseeing.
Day 2 - Sightseeing (Taking suggestions)
Day 3 - Nagasaki
Day 4 - Fukuoka
Day 5 to 7 - Chugoku Region
Day 8 to 15 - Kansai
Day 16 to 22 - Kanto Region and wherever the wind takes me
Gonna be staying in Fukuoka for 8 days, arriving on Nov 16.
From Nov 24-Dec 5 I'll be in Seoul, Korea. Got a number of places I wanna visit during my Kyushu stay, and unfortunately my budget doesn't allow for JR passes so I'm not gonna be traveling far from Hakata Bay (my hotel is in Tenjin). A lot of these places I can either use local trains/subways, or just hoof it.
Here's a list of where I'm planning to visit, for people who might be visiting Fukuoka soon-- if you're in Fukuoka and know some cool places in this area, lemme know!
Pokemon Center Fukuoka - Ya know... for Pokemon.
Ghibli Exhibit @ Fukuoka Art Museum - This exhibit is open til jan 2014 I think, lots of cool Ghibli art, must see!
Nakasu - Red light district, just fun to look through because of the lights
Riverside Jazz Club - Small bar with live jazz
Ohori Park - One of the most prominenet parks with a manmade lake with lots of unique gardens and trees surrounding it.
Fukuoka Tower - Big ol' tower in Fukuoka
Canal City Mall - One of the largest malls, architecture is really cool too
Tenjin Core - Kinda like the 109 building of Shibuya, huge fashion center for stylish stuff.
Ichiran Ramen - It's a large national ramen branch, but it all started in Fukuoka so people swear that eating Ichiran here is worth it. The dining experience itself is also really unique.
Ippudo Ramen - Another uber-famous ramen chain that started from Fukuoka, so of course, going to the original source is a must.
Yatai stands - Street food, where a whole kitchen fits in a wooden mobile wagon. Over a hundred of these come out almost every night and has the highest concentration of them in Japan.
Tetsunabe Gyoza - Fukuoka is also famous for their gyoza, and they say this is the best.
Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine/Kyushu National Museum - Dazaifu is probably the furthest I'll be from Hakata Bay because it's pretty far south. Kyushu National Museum and Dazaifu shrine are both in the same (enormous) park, so it'll be a day trip.
Tenjin area is littered with tons of small specialty shops and cafes so I plan on wandering around the whole Hakata Bay area a lot of the time. Also, I'm eager to try out my new camera and practice some street photography when I can.
From Nov 24-Dec 5 I'll be in Seoul, Korea. Got a number of places I wanna visit during my Kyushu stay, and unfortunately my budget doesn't allow for JR passes so I'm not gonna be traveling far from Hakata Bay (my hotel is in Tenjin). A lot of these places I can either use local trains/subways, or just hoof it.
Here's a list of where I'm planning to visit, for people who might be visiting Fukuoka soon-- if you're in Fukuoka and know some cool places in this area, lemme know!
Pokemon Center Fukuoka - Ya know... for Pokemon.
Ghibli Exhibit @ Fukuoka Art Museum - This exhibit is open til jan 2014 I think, lots of cool Ghibli art, must see!
Nakasu - Red light district, just fun to look through because of the lights
Riverside Jazz Club - Small bar with live jazz
Ohori Park - One of the most prominenet parks with a manmade lake with lots of unique gardens and trees surrounding it.
Fukuoka Tower - Big ol' tower in Fukuoka
Canal City Mall - One of the largest malls, architecture is really cool too
Tenjin Core - Kinda like the 109 building of Shibuya, huge fashion center for stylish stuff.
Ichiran Ramen - It's a large national ramen branch, but it all started in Fukuoka so people swear that eating Ichiran here is worth it. The dining experience itself is also really unique.
Ippudo Ramen - Another uber-famous ramen chain that started from Fukuoka, so of course, going to the original source is a must.
Yatai stands - Street food, where a whole kitchen fits in a wooden mobile wagon. Over a hundred of these come out almost every night and has the highest concentration of them in Japan.
Tetsunabe Gyoza - Fukuoka is also famous for their gyoza, and they say this is the best.
Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine/Kyushu National Museum - Dazaifu is probably the furthest I'll be from Hakata Bay because it's pretty far south. Kyushu National Museum and Dazaifu shrine are both in the same (enormous) park, so it'll be a day trip.
Tenjin area is littered with tons of small specialty shops and cafes so I plan on wandering around the whole Hakata Bay area a lot of the time. Also, I'm eager to try out my new camera and practice some street photography when I can.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Japan sounds like a really neat place to visit, but I think I'd quickly be overwhelmed by the fact I couldn't read any street signs the way you can in Europe. If you want to know where a Cathedral is in Florence, you can just look for a sign that says "Cathedrale" or something similar. If you want to know where some temple is in Japan, seems like you'd have to know how to decipher moonrunes.
John Rabbit
Banned
1. study kana/kanji.
2. almost every important sign in Tokyo (and I would assume other large cities) have English or Romaji on them.
I'm planning on using the map/GPS on my (rented) smartphone in case I get lost, lol.