Images of items I have purchased.

POB · 13 Apr 2015 at 00:26

IC3 said:
Lolita lol, are they common in Tokyo?

I that area yeah. But they are dressed as French maids with cat ears. They are trying to get you into the maid cafes where they dance and draw cute animals on your food.

kayomani · 13 Apr 2015 at 00:34

I wouldn't go as far as saying the Yen is weak, it was 240 when I went in 2008. Granted its 175 now and did go as low as 110 when our economy fell apart.

Raymond Lin · 13 Apr 2015 at 00:45

POB said:
I that area yeah. But they are dressed as French maids with cat ears. They are trying to get you into the maid cafes where they dance and draw cute animals on your food.

You seem to know quite a lot...did you go inside?

I think I found the one you are on about.

memyselfandi · 13 Apr 2015 at 05:33

POB said:
Akihabara, which is mental itself. Sooo much gaming and electronics stuff.

What surprised me is how cheap things are in general. Probably due to the weak Yen. But compared to what you hear it is way cheaper than London.

I'm sure you can go crazy and spend lots on food, but I've been enjoying common Ramen places etc.

Bellow was about £2.40 in a major area of Akihabara. No idea what was in batter on top but really tasty with a choice of Noodles. Went for Urdon my fav.

Will have to start a seperarte trip report topic.

In Akiba I'd recommend the sashimi don place on the first of the two floors of restaurants in the UDX building and the Okonomiyaki place upstairs from it. Both are pretty good and cheap.

IC3 · 13 Apr 2015 at 12:31

POB said:
I that area yeah. But they are dressed as French maids with cat ears. They are trying to get you into the maid cafes where they dance and draw cute animals on your food.

I was close

Have you been to one of those cafes?

Raymond Lin said:
You seem to know quite a lot...did you go inside?

I think I found the one you are on about.

dacads · 13 Apr 2015 at 14:39

I want to go Japan now, I thought it was expensive though or is that Hong Kong?

Raymond Lin · 13 Apr 2015 at 15:02

Hong Kong isn't that expensive, it's much cheaper than Scandinavia for example.

OhEsEcks · 13 Apr 2015 at 15:57

More music. Again from Serein label. The vinyl I originally missed as it sold out. Then a couple of weeks later an email popped up in my inbox from Serein saying that the cutting place had made a few extra just incase. So I jumped on it. The CD was a pre-order from Serein which I'd placed late last year I think. Or maybe really early at the start of this year. Can't remember exactly.

Vinyl sounds like this: http://sereinlabel.bandcamp.com/album/charcoal-2014-special-edition

CD sounds like this: http://sereinlabel.bandcamp.com/album/struktura

Email popped up this morning about a new release coming next month from Serein, so I've pre-ordered that this afternoon too. Was planning to pre-order the new Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes EP, but so far it's iTunes only.

EddScott · 13 Apr 2015 at 16:46

IC3 said:
Ty, added to the list. Would £2000 per person for everything in Japan; food, hotel and the transport pass be enough for 14-16 days?

I'd be very interested in costs too. Really want to go next year.

garak112 · 13 Apr 2015 at 17:21

IC3 said:
I was close Have you been to one of those cafes?

The redhead looks familiar, is she a cosplayer?

Ty, added to the list. Would £2000 per person for everything in Japan; food, hotel and the transport pass be enough for 14-16 days?

A JR rail pass is £250 per person for 14 days and hotel accommodation is around £65 a night for something half good. This leaves around £850 for food etc which should be fine.

A lot of the cultural stuff is really cheap (its seemed that the going rate to enter castles, museums etc was 600 yen), although things like theme parks are expensive.

Cosimo · 13 Apr 2015 at 17:44

Always be interested in this voyage and something for a Raspberry Pi project:

Spook187 · 13 Apr 2015 at 17:51

Double dip.

Aston998 · 13 Apr 2015 at 18:15

Just got the madcatz V5 keyboard! & what a keyboard!

smokedog · 13 Apr 2015 at 18:33

Its like Christmas today, 3 new pick ups

- New Balance Mens 997 Connoisseur Guitar
- Common Project Combat Suede boots
- Samsung S6 Edge

IC3 · 13 Apr 2015 at 18:35

garak112 said:
A JR rail pass is £250 per person for 14 days and hotel accommodation is around £65 a night for something half good. This leaves around £850 for food etc which should be fine.

A lot of the cultural stuff is really cheap (its seemed that the going rate to enter castles, museums etc was 600 yen), although things like theme parks are expensive.

So... just to be safe £3,000 would be a good amount to have just in case. Do you open any account whilst going to japan or can my bank enable an option to use my card in Japan?

Rough idea...
JRail Pass - £250
Hotel - £70x14 = 980 I don't plan on spending any time in the hotel apart from rest/sleep time, so anything that has a shower and wifi will do.
Food - £650?
Attractions - £350+
Tickets £500+
Total: £2730

garak112 · 13 Apr 2015 at 19:00

IC3 said:
So... just to be safe £3,000 would be a good amount to have just in case. Do you open any account whilst going to japan or can my bank enable an option to use my card in Japan?

Rough idea...
JRail Pass - £250
Hotel - £70x14 = 980 I don't plan on spending any time in the hotel apart from rest/sleep time, so anything that has a shower and wifi will do.
Food - £650?
Attractions - £350+
Tickets £500+
Total: £2730

You don't need to do anything special with your bank but remember that western debit cards only work in certain cash machines and a lot of places only take cash.

That's a pretty nice budget and if you wanted you could save on the accommodation . We went a couple of years back and had change from £2k as a couple (exc accommodation). We booked our trip through a company called inside Japan who are pretty good.

When we were out there we saw a couple at the hotel who couldn't afford to do anything for 4 days whilst they were waiting to be paid so I'd recommend having as much money as possible.

Aston998 · 13 Apr 2015 at 19:13

smokedog said:
Its like Christmas today, 3 new pick ups

- New Balance Mens 997 Connoisseur Guitar
- Common Project Combat Suede boots
- Samsung S6 Edge

Whats the S6 Edge like?

DJMK4 · 13 Apr 2015 at 19:29

I do like Japan, makes me want to go more, one day

smokedog · 13 Apr 2015 at 19:40

Aston998 said:
Whats the S6 Edge like?

Only just got it today and not had much time with it so can't form a solid opinion just yet. But liking what I'm seeing so far, feels premium and relatively quick.

memyselfandi · 13 Apr 2015 at 22:09

IC3 said:
... Do you open any account whilst going to japan or can my bank enable an option to use my card in Japan?

garak112 said:
You don't need to do anything special with your bank but remember that western debit cards only work in certain cash machines and a lot of places only take cash.

Always best to tell your bank particularly if you are going to rely on using the card. Post Office ATMs take UK debit cards (and I think 7-11 ones do now too) but be aware they are in the Post Office so are not available 24x7.