Random Japan Trip Notes

EddScott said:
Those having been to Japan solo, how did you find it?
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I went solo 3 years ago for 5 days and loved it. Didn't get talking to much people but its the most friendliest/safest country I have ever been too. In the shops, they do try and speak to you even when they don't speak English.

Hoping to go back in a few years.
 
Just noticed KLM have flights in Septmeber for around £500, so booked a flight to Narita and a return flight from Osaka. Idea is to try and pop up Fuji, weather permitting , and then spend the remainder over in the Kansai area.

I've been before and did the usual spots ( Fushimi-inari and Mount Koya being favourites ) so going to go off track a little this time.
 
RossG said:
I was going to try and get to Haneda if possible, seems closer to the centre and just easier, unless there is a compelling reason to use Narita instead?
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Personally I tend to fly JAL on their operated flight rather than their BA code share which means getting into Haneda in the afternoon which is good for jet lag. Haneda is also quicker (and cheaper) to get into Tokyo than Narita, personally I use the Airport Limobus service which is quick and easy and means you are not trying to get large cases around the rail system after flying for 11hrs. 1230yen gets you from Haneda International Terminal to the front door of some the Shinjuku hotels in ~45mins.

I got back from being out there for the best part of 3 weeks last Thursday. Trip comprised of
Tokyo (briefly)
Fukuoka
Osaka
Nagoya
Tokyo

With various side trips out from those locations. Fortunately we were up in Nagoya by the time the earthquakes started in Kumamoto.

One thing which was more enjoyable than I was originally expecting was that I saw the underground idol group Kamen Joshi at their theatre in the Parms bulding in Akihabara which was a good laugh if not really the sort of music I generally listen too.
 
I see this is revived but i have a question that would easily be answered.

How easy is it to get on in say, Tokyo and one other big major city with just English (or swedish :P) as your only spoken languages?

I grew up in London and im used to Higher prices but how expensive is it to visit for a week or 10 days... Don't want to live like a king. No problem eating in takeaways. etc, infact finer dining is not my cup of tea at all. Will be happy in a low end hotel as long as it is secure and convenient for amenities. Travel card cost for the subway ? Etc Etc.

Could you do 2 people sharing on £100 a day + little spending money easily?
 
Efour said:
I see this is revived but i have a question that would easily be answered.

How easy is it to get on in say, Tokyo and one other big major city with just English (or swedish :P) as your only spoken languages?

I grew up in London and im used to Higher prices but how expensive is it to visit for a week or 10 days... Don't want to live like a king. No problem eating in takeaways. etc, infact finer dining is not my cup of tea at all. Will be happy in a low end hotel as long as it is secure and convenient for amenities. Travel card cost for the subway ? Etc Etc.

Could you do 2 people sharing on £100 a day + little spending money easily?
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More or less the budget we had on our first visit, and if I recall the main surprise was how expensive the metro was proving. We had a JR pass but it didn't allow us free rides on the all the metro lines. So do some research on where your planning to go and what the best pass will be.

I can speak some basic Japanese which helped out but I'd say you'd get by in the larger cities well enough without any language skill.
 
Language - You should be able to get on in any of the major cities without any real issues. Tokyo in particular is pretty easy without knowing any Japanese with the notices on the rail system being bilingual.

Eating out - personally we don't tend to eat expensively and whilst you can eat really cheaply you can also eat well for not that much, (in general I find it cheaper to eat out in Tokyo than in Nottingham). You can have a good meal for two people, with a large beer each for under £20.

Subway (and rail as Tokyo has an excellent extensive rail network as well as its subway) - the thing I would say is get a Suica card from a major station (you can do it from a machine in English) ... it doesn't make it any cheaper but you don't end up with loads of change from buying ticket which works out a lot better. Indivdual trips tend to be <200yen so are not that expensive.

£100 is ~15000yen ... that's not a lot if you are including hotel costs in that in Tokyo ...
 
Completely disagree with the above. I was in Tokyo for a week in February and we wouldn't have spent more than £800 between us.

You can stay anywhere in the world for £100 per day, it just depends how you expect to do things. If you are prepared to get stuck in then it won't cost much. If you expect to be taxied around and be waited on hand and foot without putting in any effort, then obviously it will.
 
Clum said:
Completely disagree with the above. I was in Tokyo for a week in February and we wouldn't have spent more than £800 between us.

You can stay anywhere in the world for £100 per day, it just depends how you expect to do things. If you are prepared to get stuck in then it won't cost much. If you expect to be taxied around and be waited on hand and foot without putting in any effort, then obviously it will.
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What do you mean by effort?

Also 2 weeks to go. Can't wait :)
 
Hi all,

For those with experience driving in Japan, did you take an IDP to hire a car? I did previously (9 years ago but didn't hire), but I'm now thinking why bother unless I need it to hire a car.

Many thanks
 
tlrBeta said:
Hi all,

For those with experience driving in Japan, did you take an IDP to hire a car? I did previously (9 years ago but didn't hire), but I'm now thinking why bother unless I need it to hire a car.

Many thanks
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I always had an International Driving Permit until I got my Japanese license. They're so cheap and easy to get that you might as well just in case.
 
Did any of you who's been to Japan venture in to one of the myriad of small eateries that litter the place? I've been watching a great programme on crunchyroll called Wakakozake where a woman goes into these kinds of places and tries different food and drink. Watching makes my mouth water but there is unlikely to be any english spoken or a menu in english. I've even heard stories that foreigners are not allowed in some of them.
 
ic1male said:
Did any of you who's been to Japan venture in to one of the myriad of small eateries that litter the place? I've been watching a great programme on crunchyroll called Wakakozake where a woman goes into these kinds of places and tries different food and drink. Watching makes my mouth water but there is unlikely to be any english spoken or a menu in english. I've even heard stories that foreigners are not allowed in some of them.
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I've never had an issue with not being allowed in anywhere due to not being Japanese but I have gone to quite a few small eateries whilst in Japan (we tend to eat in the sort of places your average Japanese would go to rather than expensive touristy places).

One of the ones which stood out from when i was over there last month was when we were in Nagoya. We wanted to try some Miso Ton-katsu Don (pork in breadcrumbs with a rich, dark, miso source on top of rice which is a speciality of the area) and after some Googling we located an area which was supposed to have a good restaurant for it. We ended up in a tiny little place (seated 12) down a tiny back alley (looked like the sort of alley they normally find the body in at the beginning of a crime drama), no English, wall covered in signed boards from different celebs and really good food. It was very nice and even with my small amount of Japanese we had no issues.

I would say make sure you know a few words/phrases like please, thank you, sorry and I don't understand etc. Also having an offline Japanese-English dictionary on your smartphone helps if you are stuck as frequently just a single word will help when gestures are failing. What really helps though is smiling, shrugging, not being afraid to use gestures, hold up fingers for numbers, generally look an idiot and be accepting that you are in their country and that you don't know their language is your problem not theirs. I've only had to resort to taking the waiter to the wax models out the front a couple of times but don't be afraid to do so.

Also take into account that with the small places they quite often need you to eat and go as if they are good they may well have a queue and not much space.
 
Oh, one thing I did notice in the TV show - when this woman ordered a drink of sake, the waitress came along with the bottle and filled her glass up so that it overflowed into a small wooden tray. Then when she drank her glass, she tipped the overflow from the tray into the glass and drank it. What's that all about?
 
ic1male said:
Oh, one thing I did notice in the TV show - when this woman ordered a drink of sake, the waitress came along with the bottle and filled her glass up so that it overflowed into a small wooden tray. Then when she drank her glass, she tipped the overflow from the tray into the glass and drank it. What's that all about?
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She is a lush. :p

Quick Google seems to think its about showing off.

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-the-Ja...flows-into-the-small-box-that-holds-the-glass
 
Is it possible to get to a nice photographing location near Mt. Fuji without joining a tour group/guide? I just want to go somewhere and slowly enjoy the scenery without the pressure of a tour guide peering over my shoulder to move along.
 
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