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Vacations and World TravelVisiting our beautiful city? Come stay at the Arbutus Vista - Vancouver's Bed & Breakfast.
How was your trip? Which tour packages would you recommend/avoid? Must do's and must eats? Share tips, photos and experiences with other senior RS members who just want to get away..
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^^ thanks! I look at some AirBnB 30 to 50 dollars night and the host seems to have lot's of good review. Is not too bad.
Plane ticket seems a bit expensive at the monent will have to see if there are cheaper ones. As far as money wise after hotel/plane ticket will $1500CAD be enough for food, transit, fare? Or I should plan more? Won't really be drinking much since this is a solo trip.
i just paid about 350$ for my JR pass, i got an AirBnB in tokyo for the 5 days i'll be there, basically as a place to store stuff and to have a place to sleep for the first couple days, i'll be spending a day in kyoto (capsule hotel just to say i did), a day in osaka (staying in a proper hotel that's part of the Shin-Osaka station, and then back to tokyo to fly out.
i'm going by myself so it's going to be a test of how much i can get done in as little time as possible, haha.
definitely will be the first of many trips, hence the shorter span.
Happysilp: how much were your plane tickets? in january i bought return tickets for mid feb @ $730 i think it was.
BTW, I've noticed in Japan people seem totally OK with waiting for the popular eateries. You're probably thinking 30-45min no biggie? Lines can easily be 1-2 hours. I don't have that kind of patience or time in my travel so I would not hesitate to eat at another place around the corner, that's probably just as good as the famous ones.
How much money you should budget, really depends. For food just don't expect similar pricing to Taiwan or Korea or many times even Vancouver (I always forget how competitive our food scene is here). Worth it though. Off-topic now but I still feel the food culture and atmosphere in Korea is superior to Japan's.
Last edited by twitchyzero; 02-08-2017 at 11:02 PM.
TBH, unless you are trying something that's one of kind, I don't think the wait is worth it. If you absolutely must go, try going some odd hours where you don't face the same crazy line-up at peak.
During my recent trip to Kansai area, we visited a few highly popular eateries (always odd hours) and I thought they were good... but hardly great.
Something I did find interesting though was the smaller yet old places away from the major commercial areas. There were a few Izakayas and restaurants near the airBnB we were staying, and we went to many of them to find that they had at least 80-90% of the taste of the famous places. The key is for them to be old. If they have been in the area long enough, they shouldn't be too bad.
Granted many of them don't cater foreigners at all, so you'd need some basic Japanese and Google Translate to order. But many of the eateries only serve no more than 4-5 items. A ramen shop right outside of the place we stayed serves only 2 kinds of ramen (really just one... the second one just have additional meat), gyoza and fried rice. So, it shouldn't take more than a minute or two to figure everything out.
oh i did go at odd hours (was trying to get in the tuna auction at 430am...was told they met their 120 vistor quota at 330am LOL)
so I went to line up for breakfast...still waited over 3 hours. The food was great and the experience was nice, but i would've been happier sleeping a bit and lining up an hour max instead at a less popular place.
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i just paid about 350$ for my JR pass, i got an AirBnB in tokyo for the 5 days i'll be there, basically as a place to store stuff and to have a place to sleep for the first couple days, i'll be spending a day in kyoto (capsule hotel just to say i did), a day in osaka (staying in a proper hotel that's part of the Shin-Osaka station, and then back to tokyo to fly out.
i'm going by myself so it's going to be a test of how much i can get done in as little time as possible, haha.
definitely will be the first of many trips, hence the shorter span.
Happysilp: how much were your plane tickets? in january i bought return tickets for mid feb @ $730 i think it was.
1 day in Kyoto and Osaka isn't worth it. especially since the jr pass isn't the nozomi. 4hrs just on travel, and early closing times/extra closures at most tourist spots if its still their winter hours.
if its only 7 dayys, fuck fancy restaurants. ichiran for ramen, matsuya/yoshinoya/sukiya for dons, coco for curry. torikizoku/torijiro/yama chan(izakayas) for yakitori/chicken. all ok for single travelers, izakays a bit more but all generally cheap and better tasting than what you can get in Vancouver. first kitchen(fukku)/lotteria/saizeria for cheap western food. hanbey izakaya for retro japan feel
As a solo traveller, staying in hostels is the way to go, as long as you dont mind shared sleeping spaces and bathrooms. Then again, you'll probably want to try an Onsen.
agoda.com is the hostel site to search if that's your route. I'd also try the capsule hotel just to see what it's like.
Some other suggestions:
-Kamahara beach
-Tsukiji Market + Suishi Dai (people have been known to line up at 2 am for the 5 am opening for this joint)
-Tokyo tower
-Odaiba, Gundam location
-Hachiko statue at Shinjuku
-Mt. Fuji
-http://gm.gnavi.co.jp/restaurant/list/tokyo/
^Michelin star spots, I was going to try a bunch of 1 star or bib gourmounds. they're reasonably priced. Nakiryu ramen shop was one of them that popped up on my radar.
I did a bunch of research for Japan, had tickets, but had to cancel due to work. So I hope one of us will get use out of this.
Also, the lonely planet guide on japan was pretty useful for planning. I would get the Tokyo digital version though, the paperback is a brick to carry around. So I've read.
IMO 7 days in tokyo is a good time, there's plenty to do. I would do Kyoto/Nara in 7 days as well.
Agreed, you don't need JR pass if your staying in Tokyo, and if you only have 7 days, stay in Tokyo. Transit costs in Tokyo shouldn't cost more than 20 dollars a day. Unless your taking the taxi. Then it can get pricy
1 day in Kyoto and Osaka isn't worth it. especially since the jr pass isn't the nozomi. 4hrs just on travel, and early closing times/extra closures at most tourist spots if its still their winter hours.
if its only 7 dayys, fuck fancy restaurants. ichiran for ramen, matsuya/yoshinoya/sukiya for dons, coco for curry. torikizoku/torijiro/yama chan(izakayas) for yakitori/chicken. all ok for single travelers, izakays a bit more but all generally cheap and better tasting than what you can get in Vancouver. first kitchen(fukku)/lotteria/saizeria for cheap western food. hanbey izakaya for retro japan feel
Hanbei brings back fond memories, lol. It wasn't the best in terms of quality, but it made getting drunk easy and EXTREMELY cheap.
Thoughts on Okinawa? I would like to visit the aquarium there. I have like 2 weeks. Thinking about doing the first week in Tokyo, then trying to cover Kyoto and Osaka in the second week. And it would be cool to go to Okinawa for the aquarium, as that has been something I've always wanted to do.
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IMO, I would leave something like Okinawa or Hokkaido for a second trip.
I highly recommend Shirakawa-go
it's accessible from Tokyo since they built a new line a year or two ago to Kanazawa (apparently well known for their garden/geisha quarters/fresh seafood from Sea of Japan...I didn't get to spend time here though).
I did it as a day-trip from Kyoto and returned that evening to Tokyo.
okinawa can be 5 days to week on its own. not worth a one day stop imo. you could technically do it in 3 but when youre in okinawa you gotta relax and enjoy it too
tosd think about planning around 5 days in tokyo, 2 in kyoto, 2.5 osaka+kobe 1 hiroshima. gives you flex days incase you wanna stop in nagoya, yokohama, head to a place kinda out of the way like nara or to go back to Tokyo/kyoto and see something you missed/didnt know about. youd be able to see the basics but not adventure too much
Hanbei brings back fond memories, lol. It wasn't the best in terms of quality, but it made getting drunk easy and EXTREMELY cheap.
yea, that's the way they designed it. hormones is a staple there if you want to ever try it, due to it being a main food during that era. theres other food you can find there, that you wont commonly find
love annoying the staff by ordering the chain special drinks as they have to sing songs when delivering it. also a must try at hanbei is oppai ice, even better if you are drinking with friends. girls get free dessert there. worth it just to see the retro toys, posters and furniture
i know it's not enough time, this is really just a preliminary trip. i plan to go as much as i can manage, but this was about all the time i had/could afford.
other areas i want to go to are Hokkaido, Kure, and Hakone to name a few
i know it's not enough time, this is really just a preliminary trip. i plan to go as much as i can manage, but this was about all the time i had/could afford.
other areas i want to go to are Hokkaido, Kure, and Hakone to name a few
Or, if you have the money....
Rent a bike and tour as much of Japan as you can on it and ride from loc to loc. It's something I've always wanted to do. This company has some pretty sick sportbikes too (although the lineup will depend from location to location).
Rent a bike and tour as much of Japan as you can on it and ride from loc to loc. It's something I've always wanted to do. This company has some pretty sick sportbikes too (although the lineup will depend from location to location).
A lot of places are like pretty close together so it shouldn't take long to finish an area.
you can condense a lot of your days. looks like you will have tons of free time on some days. specifically your first 2 days, and akihabara days. akb48 theatre doesn't take long unless you want to watch a show. even then be prepared to be pushed out of the way by a bunch of 40+ Japanese men. so you might as well hit up some other attractions nearby, asakusa when you are at skytree etc
Didn't look into many of the places you were going, but some warnings on the following.
Robot restaurant - believe its 100+ now, used to be 60ish. heard the experience has gone downhill. need to prebuy tickets for a time, and if you are late too bad
sunshine observatory - not worth going to during the day, for night viewing
seems you are going to a lot of anime places/themed cafes. So I would suggest one of the following to you for dinner
Alice in a Labyrinth - Ginza. Alice in wonderland themed restaurant. Went there, pretty interesting place, you might cream your pants if the same waitresses are there.
Ehon no Kunino Alice - Shinjuku. Another alice in wonderland themed restaurant. Not decorated as well as the Ginza one, looks like a worse experience than the Ginza one
Alcatraz ER - shibuya. Horror, Prison themed restaurant. Drinks come in iv bags etc
Ninja Akasaka - asakusa. I missed out on this as I was sick. My friends have gone multiple times. Great experience, food is good. Dinner can run high, lunch is more modest but still a bit expensive. Friends recommend it more than the robot cafe
instead of bringing cash, has anybody used the ATM's at 7-11 to withdraw yen?
7-11 and post offices are easy to come across and convenient with English menus. Also Citibank
ATM is absolutely better than bringing a bunch of cash in hand. Just make sure international withdrawals are allowed (some banks block them unless you enable them)
https://www.odigo.jp/itineraries/48225
what do you guys think?
A lot of places are like pretty close together so it shouldn't take long to finish an area.
Have some comments for you
Just recently came back from Japan a couple days ago. I've been to couple places that you've listed so i'll try my best to give you a review of it. From what it looks where you are going, I high suggest you to get one of those Tokyo Metro unlimited pass that lasts for 24,48,72 hours(maybe even more because I only needed the 72 hour one) that you can purchase from any BIC Camera stores.
Spoiler!
For your Day 1
Honestly, I didn't think that there was much to do in Shinjuku. I had to go to Shinjuku everyday because I was living at my friends place that requires going to Shinjuku to get anywhere in Tokyo. I've noticed that you want to go to the Tokyo Government Building as well, I suggest that you go in the afternoon if you like taking photoes because at night (the time that I went) the lights in the building caused a lot of glare/reflection(photo noob here please forgive me if I use the wrong term). Going to Kabukicho at night was very interesting. Theres a really good udon place there and on the way I had some African males asking if I wanted some Japanese titties with all types that I can chose from (one of the few times I've ever spoke Japanese to people other than my friend).
For your Day 2
Unless you are interested in Yaoi (gay anime porn/ guy on guy stuff), I would not go to Animate in Ikebukuro. This particular store is catered towards females and when you walk in at least 98% of the people there are female. There are tons of Animate stores all over Tokyo, so I would not worry about that. If you're not interested in yaoi you should go to the Animate store in Akihabara instead where 98% of the people there are male. You will be able to witness old men buying hentai (anime porn) with no fucks given.
For your Day 3
Theres a lot to do in Sunshine 60 Dori, lots of stores for shopping, but its usually the same old stores you see everywhere like ABC Shoes (lots of shoes to choose from, located all over Tokyo) and the huge Sega Arcade (Akihabara has 3 of these located within 5 minutes of on another). The Pokemon Centre was really nice, they also gave out free gifts when I was there a couple days ago.
For the temples at Asakusa, I thought there wasn't much to do other than taking some pictures of the beautiful temple. The stores there usually have their prices jacked up just so they can take advantage of tourists like us.
For your Day 4
If you are shopping for electronics in Akiba, then you really only have 3 huge stores to choose from that have the tax free when spending over 5000 yen. I spent a whole day looking around second hand anime shops as well as the 3 big electronics stores there and "accidentally" went into the building purely dedicated to porn and sex toys as well...
For your Day 5
Don Quijote is located all over Tokyo, there is a huge one at Shinjuku as well so I don't think you have to go to the one at Akiba. Didn't go to Omotesando so nothing to comment there.
For your Day 6
It seems like you are going to Harajuku. If you are then I suggests you to skip the first couple of stores when entering the "main shopping street" of Takeshita Street. Try to find stores in small streets and thats where you will find the best deals. If you enter stores that have stairs that go upstairs, GO UP! Thats usually where the best deals are, like their "oversize" stuff that will be perfect for North Americans.
For your Day 7
I'm not sure whether you are going alone or with ur gf/bf, but if you are serious about shopping in Japan then you are going to spend a lot of time at the Shibuya 109 womens/mens. The women/mens are in seperate buildings across the street from one another. So if your significant other spends a lot of time shopping, then you better be prepared to be unable to go to Yokohama.
For your Day 8
I would skip the Pokemon Center in Yokohama because the one in Ikebukuro is the biggest in Japan. I really wanted to visit the Minato Mirai Museum in Yokohama, but I didn't have enough time...
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