Japan Trip
- Thread starter Xelene
- Start date
Caporegime
Seki City for knives and Kojima for denim. But there would be shops filled with products from these area in Tokyo.
I want to go to Kitakata, the town with more ramen shops per capita than anywhere, even in Japan. It's quite a long way though! I know one of the best stores there recently opened shop in Tokyo.
We've booked a Ryokan and it was expensive as heck, 100,000 Yen but that's for 5 people eating dinner and 3 staying overnight with the onsen.
Caporegime
Yeah, it's about £300 per person at minimum. Those are the ones with dinner and breakfast, the ones without are a lot cheaper, like half or 1/3rd of the price.
Sounds about right, the one we're visiting is near Kumamoto so a bit cheaper, partner, myself and mum are staying overnight but cousins will also eat dinner and it was about £1k for the night. Cousin booked it and she reckons it's one of the best locally.
Caporegime
I think they are equivalent to like a Spa day over here, it's not really a hotel stay, more a get away, do nothing, go to countryside and enjoy some REALLY good food. The food tend to be top notch, really fresh, almost always locally sourced at what is best at that season.
Not a place to stay for the week, just an experience or once a year for a getaway treat.
I am tempted to go to Gunma and stay at one but I am reluctant to during spring time when i've done it once before...it's a lot of money, especially as a solo traveler.
Underboss
Formula 1 is in a weeks time ? 
Could be, no idea; we're going around New Year. Think we're staying in Ryokan on like 26th or 27th December. Trying to troll partner into getting KFC xmas meal.Formula 1 is in a weeks time ?
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Caporegime
It's not really a troll, it's the norm in Japan eating KFC at Christmas, and you need to order it soon.
Yeah just checked it out and the closest is like 20 miles so will have celebration chicken from Lawson or Family Mart
Caporegime
I guess you know this but Christmas in Japan is more like a Valentine's Day, where couples celebrate it together, New Years is more like Christmas Day where the family get together and have a meal.
Then go to Temple/Shrine at New Years.
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Yeah I know that, brother in law and kids are coming down and we're all going to the shrine on New Years; looking forward to that actually; it will be nice.
Caporegime
Kinda jealous since you are doing things all the locals do, not a normal tourist thing to do.
Side effect of marrying someone from Japan, you get the good and the bad parts. Gonna have to cosplay as a man for two weeks, so that will be interesting
Soldato
Just on this, be the envy of your friends...
If you're near Osaka - there is a KFC buffet, was pretty good to be fair. Pricing was respectable
After doing research there's a KFC about 4km from mums house so I may get a taxi there and back for instagram moment, or maybe just pop across the road to 7/11 for some janky fried chicken
For anyone going to Japan, it's like the future imagined from 1970. Credit/Debit/Contactless are weird things, so carry Cash.
Caporegime
So true, and take a coin purse with you lol the amount of change i had after just 1 day was unreal.
Although I have started to use the Suica Card like a debit cards on the last couple of trips. I just say "Suica?" to the cashier at every transaction and tap with that on the phone. Although i think it's Apple Pay only. That helps to minimise cash quite a lot, at least in all Conbini, trains, and some vending machine transactions.
Not sure what it's like now but 2 years ago my partner was over there and she said the only combini that had any clue what to do with contactless was 7/11 and it was pretty weird for them. She was using Monzo via Apple Pay. Completely bizarre as a Brit that hasn't used a bank note in 3 years. Japan is such an edge case.
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I have a strange fondness for getting some reasonably cheap supermarket bento as a quick lunch
that and some onigiri.