Japan

Reuben klang said:
I went into kamata as well. They do knife sharpening classes too. I basically spent a day there in knife shops. Also nipped into the ones in more touristy areas just to have a look.

It was ¥60000 so £300ish

There loads of stuff on Reddit fwiw
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Thank you.
Raymond Lin said:
I’ve tried them all, eSIM ever time now.

1 - no charging of device.
2 - no carrying extra device
3 - no collecting and return of device
4 - it crashed on mye once and no reboot button I had to wait for battery to go flat for it to reboot

I have tried esims now in Italy, Croatia, Morocco, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, it’s all good and easy.
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Looks like eSIM is the one then, cheers.

On a separate note, I'm currently down the rabbit hole that is picking an omakase sushi in Tokyo. Everywhere above 3.5 on Tabelog looks good - similar sushi, sake and experience.

Sushi Tanaka is looking really promising. It only opened in Feb 2024 and it's already in the Michelin guide (see here). Tabelog rating of 3.74 with 100+ reviews. Very reasonably priced at 19k (lots of reviews claiming it should be priced a lot higher and also receive a star). Interesting background info on Tableall also.

Also considering the places you previously recommended @Raymond Lin.
 
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Robi said:
Thank you.

Looks like eSIM is the one then, cheers.

On a separate note, I'm currently down the rabbit hole that is picking an omakase sushi in Tokyo. Everywhere above 3.5 on Tablelog looks good - similar sushi, sake and experience.

Sushi Tanaka is looking really promising. It only opened in Feb 2024 and it's already in the Michelin guide (see here). Tablelog rating of 3.74 with 100+ reviews. Very reasonably priced at 19k (lots of reviews claiming it should be priced a lot higher and also receive a star). Interesting background info on Tableall also.

Also considering the places you previously recommended @Raymond Lin.
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Where do you see 19,000 yen? It's showing 34,000 yen for dinner for me?

I am currently eyeing up a much more reasonable place in Ginza

Ginza Sushi Den Reservation - Higashi Ginza/Sushi | Tabelog

Check out Ginza Sushi Den (Higashi Ginza/Sushi、Seafood、Japanese Cuisine) on Tabelog! 【Just a short walk from Ginza Station】Omakase Course for JPY 8,800 / 10 counter seats and a private room for 6 available. [Private rooms available / No Smoking / Online reservations] Discover Japanese...
tabelog.com tabelog.com

3.52 on Tablog but about 20,000 yen for dinner per person which is about £100. I spoke to someone on discord who went there this year with some work colleagues (they are japanese) and they were impressed.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Where do you see 19,000 yen? It's showing 34,000 yen for dinner for me?

I am currently eyeing up a much more reasonable place in Ginza

Ginza Sushi Den Reservation - Higashi Ginza/Sushi | Tabelog

Check out Ginza Sushi Den (Higashi Ginza/Sushi、Seafood、Japanese Cuisine) on Tabelog! 【Just a short walk from Ginza Station】Omakase Course for JPY 8,800 / 10 counter seats and a private room for 6 available. [Private rooms available / No Smoking / Online reservations] Discover Japanese...
tabelog.com tabelog.com

3.52 on Tablog but about 20,000 yen for dinner per person which is about £100. I spoke to someone on discord who went there this year with some work colleagues (they are japanese) and they were impressed.
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If you go through the Japanese Tabelog here it's showing as 19k for Chef's choice (dinner) including tax. I also noticed you can reserve online through this link, but not through the English site? Is that normal?

The one you linked also looks great. Interested to hear what you think of it after eating there.
 
Robi said:
If you go through the Japanese Tabelog here it's showing as 19k for Chef's choice (dinner) including tax. I also noticed you can reserve online through this link, but not through the English site? Is that normal?

The one you linked also looks great. Interested to hear what you think of it after eating there.
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Oh, that old chestnut....There are places that charges more if you look at the English menu only. I've even seen it in person, one of my favourite ramen shops in fact. or my previous favourite...they got a bit too popular with tourists i think. Always like 30min+ wait, anytime in the day.

I dislike that practice....a lot.

Edit - It's this one. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Resta...iya-Toshima_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html.

Check images, first pic, read comments, they did it as far ack as Spring 2023 when i went. What happen is unlike a lot of ramen shops, you don't order from a ticket machine at the door, but when you queue up, a staff member will ask the next 10 or so people in line what they would like to order by giving out menus and they ask you what language menu you want.
 
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Just booked hotel in Ginza with underground parking at the hotel. Driving and parking in central Tokyo, this will be an experience!

(This is the tail end of a 2 week trip that’s mostly in area north)
 
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fish said:
It certainly will be, utter chaos in places
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My friend didn't want to take luggage on trains/buses (her wrists can't do it or something), so need a hotel with parking close by. But then I never used those public carparks before with those "locks" that comes up from the ground to block your wheels and not sure about the costs. And hard to find a combination of hotel + close by parking that I can reserve so having a hotel with its own parking is a huge ballache.

With that omekase in Ginza....I found a hotel "cheap", and actually the cheapest in central tokyo that fits my needs for £550 for 3 nights. Considering it's in Ginza, it's not too bad. Parking is extra though at 1600 yen per day, which is a bargain really, that's like £8.

Also, with the trip only like 6 weeks away, i really need to lock in somewhere to stay!

p.s. now that I've booked the accommodation i can make reservation on that sushi place.
 
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Reuben klang said:
Wouldn’t it be better/easier to ship the luggage and just jump on the train?

Sod driving there :cry:
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I am secretly hoping just drive to the hotel, park for 3 days, do inner Tokyo stuff with metro/subway and then leave for the airport. I rather deal with the cost of paying car rental and parking at the hotel (which is already paid for), than to try and find parking at each location we go to in Tokyo.

The rest of the trip (the pig noses), will need a car.
 
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My first impressions of Tokyo have been that it’s a lovely, clean and most surprisingly quiet city.

Only been here 3 days and it’s been great with locals being friendly and nice. Found some good food places too but it helps that my colleague has lived in Tokyo for 8 years.

We’re staying at the Tokyo Bay Shiomi Prince Hotel which is very nice and a stones throw from the train station that takes us to the convention centre at Makuhari Messe which is about 45mins away.

Going to be a toasty 32c tomorrow. :cool:
 
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Gazanimal said:
My first impressions of Tokyo have been that it’s a lovely, clean and most surprisingly quiet city.

Only been here 3 days and it’s been great with locals being friendly and nice. Found some good food places too but it helps that my colleague has lived in Tokyo for 8 years.

We’re staying at the Tokyo Bay Shiomi Prince Hotel which is very nice and a stones throw from the train station that takes us to the convention centre at Makuhari Messe which is about 45mins away.

Going to be a toasty 32c tomorrow. :cool:
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I am glad I am not going until November. I remember going in October and while the forecast said 20c, when i got there it was 24c and was warmer than i liked.

6c this morning in England, was crisp and fresh!
 
Managed to snag a table through omakase.in for Ebisu Yoroniku. 9:30pm is far from ideal but availability is scarce.

#2 rated on tabelog - see here.
 
Robi said:
Managed to snag a table through omakase.in for Ebisu Yoroniku. 9:30pm is far from ideal but availability is scarce.

#2 rated on tabelog - see here.
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2 problems

1 - My friend doesn't eat beef !
2 - Fully booked out on the week i am in Tokyo so can't even ditch her and go alone lol

Prices look reasonable too. 4.29 on Tabelog is insane.
 
Scuzi said:
I found driving in Tokyo to be a breeze - borderline pleasant. Certainly much easier and more relaxed than London or any other European city.
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To be fair it does seem calm and not full of morons like it is in every other city!

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>4 rating is nuts. Never been at any place that high. Bet it’s incredible.
 
Reuben klang said:
To be fair it does seem calm and not full of morons like it is in every other city!

—

>4 rating is nuts. Never been at any place that high. Bet it’s incredible.
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There are a couple of things i notice about Japanese driving.

1 - People don't beep the horn in traffic
2 - Taxi will stop anywhere and everywhere and put on their hazards. This seem to be like a get out of jail free park anywhere temporary card
 
Raymond Lin said:
There are a couple of things i notice about Japanese driving.

1 - People don't beep the horn in traffic
2 - Taxi will stop anywhere and everywhere and put on their hazards. This seem to be like a get out of jail free park anywhere temporary card
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The no horn in traffic is absolutely amazing, never understood it myself as to why people beep, you can’t go anywhere. Compare that with say NYC its like its mandatory!
 
My final day today before the long ass flight back to the UK tomorrow.
Going to teamLab Borderless later today and have a final meal and drinks with colleagues.

Bought a load of candy and chocolates to bring back as well as some souvenirs etc for the wife.

Really enjoyed it overall, even though the heat has sapped me some days.

The 10c difference is going to be a shock when I get back
 
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