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The Japan trip resource thread 2.

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    #91
    You'll be sweating, then!

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      #92
      Originally posted by briareos_kerensky View Post
      Two questions for the residents over there: how's the weather and temperature like now?
      Is it hard to reach Tokorozawa and the aviation museum from Shinjuku? From the maps there's one tube line between the two.
      Depends where you are in the country. Yesterday I was in Fukuoka City which was a pretty warm 24 degrees. Quite hot while wearing a suit.

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        #93
        A question for the residents: I'm in Hiroshima right now and I've noticed that there are more big cars that I remember. With big cars I mean non-yellow plate cars that you'd normally see in Europe, including SUVs. Is this a general trend or localised in specific big cities that allow for these "big" cars to be used without too much fuss?
        Last edited by briareos_kerensky; 18-04-2018, 11:42.

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          #94
          I just got back from a trip to Osaka and Kyoto. Mainly for food and booze. Previously been to Tokyo a few years ago.

          Have to say, loved it. Food, friendly people and just felt easier to get around and more chilled. I did the trek to the original Nintendo office in Kyoto.

          Highly recommended place to visit as an alternative to Tokyo.

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            #95
            We much prefer Osaka to Tokyo, we always fly into KIX anyway and before flying home overnight there and do something in Osaka. For us much more to see - though depends on the individual, plus yes food is top and peeps friendlier.

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              #96
              How much do you guys recommend taking to Japan for a two week stay? I'm heading over with a friend on the 7th of July and trying to figure out how much to take. I figured £1500-£2000 should be enough? I don't plan on buying much nerd crap outside of a few cheap Saturn games but we want to travel to a bunch of different cities, go on day trips, try out some good food...etc

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                #97
                Originally posted by Cepp View Post
                How much do you guys recommend taking to Japan for a two week stay? I'm heading over with a friend on the 7th of July and trying to figure out how much to take. I figured £1500-£2000 should be enough? I don't plan on buying much nerd crap outside of a few cheap Saturn games but we want to travel to a bunch of different cities, go on day trips, try out some good food...etc
                Enough if you don't factor in hotels and it's just for you. Shinkansen can get pretty expensive, really depends how much and how far you'll travel. I'd say that £1500 should be enough for two weeks with a round trip between Tokyo and Osaka; you probably won't touch the credit card at all with that much money.

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                  #98
                  Originally posted by briareos_kerensky View Post
                  Enough if you don't factor in hotels and it's just for you. Shinkansen can get pretty expensive, really depends how much and how far you'll travel. I'd say that £1500 should be enough for two weeks with a round trip between Tokyo and Osaka; you probably won't touch the credit card at all with that much money.
                  We're going to plan it all out this weekend, that sounds promising though. This has been kind of a last minute thing for us, we've been talking about doing this for 18 years and figured it was now or never.

                  It's so close, I can't wait

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                    #99
                    Sounds like a coworker, we just spoke about how he's planning to go there in October. His one problem is that he doesn't have a passport and hasn't begun the procedures to get one yet.

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                      Look at a rail pass for travelling, you can use them on the Shinkansen (apart from Nozomi) and also JR buses and ferries. If you are flying into NRT you can use on the Narita Express as well.
                      Depending on where you want to go you could also look at the Japanese lo-cost airlines, can be a bit cheaper than full fare trains and certainly the likes of ANA/JAL.

                      Also, if you are taking the plastic make sure it doesn't have overseas fees on or you'll be paying a few quid per transaction - could end up costly.

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                        I took 2 grand with me in the end which seemed like overkill at the start of this week but I've done a lot more shopping in Tokyo than I anticipated. Is there anything I need to worry about with customs for when returning to the UK? I have all the receipts in my passport for all the tax free stuff so that should be OK when exiting Japan, I just don't want to get stung when I land in the UK on Sunday.

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                          Gunkanjima/Hashima Island is not far off the coast of Nagasaki and was a mine before being closed in the 70's.

                          Now it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and we visited a couple of weeks ago. It's not the easiest place to get to, you can't just roll up yourself, the trips are by authorised tour operators and even then when you are on the boat due to the sea you may not get to land, the day after we visited it was 37 degrees, pure blue skies but the seas were a bit too rough and the trips were cancelled.

                          Once there, everybody gets a lanyard to wear and there are strict rules, no leaving any litter, no wandering off on your own, stay within your tour group etc.
                          All that said we loved it, it's a fascinating place if a bit eerie. My only complaint is that it was a little short and you get to only see a small part of the island, perhaps there are more open tours at other times of the year or maybe the Japanese are controlling things with it now being a UNESCO site.
                          It's certainly well worth the visit.

                          Those pylons to the right once held the conveyor belts which took the coal to the waiting boats.





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                            Originally posted by Cepp View Post
                            I took 2 grand with me in the end which seemed like overkill at the start of this week but I've done a lot more shopping in Tokyo than I anticipated. Is there anything I need to worry about with customs for when returning to the UK? I have all the receipts in my passport for all the tax free stuff so that should be OK when exiting Japan, I just don't want to get stung when I land in the UK on Sunday.
                            I've been back to the UK loads of times from Japan and not once was I stopped. In fact, if you return via another European country the chance of any customs officer being present are next to none. I normally travel Japan to the UK via Holland or Finland.

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                              Never been stopped myself, but just like Yakumo I always got back to Italy via an European country (if the UK is still considered one ); guards were there but never approached me.
                              Keep the tax-free receipts just in case someone asks for the value of the goods to avoid customs applying standard rates that might be above what you've really paid, but personally I removed them from the passport after security checks in Japan.

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                                The great thing about the Japanese system is that it's based on trust, you hear plenty of horror stories where passengers at de Gaulle etc are queuing for hours with all the stuff they bought to present to officials before departing and almost missing flights in the process.

                                In Japan although the rules are the same in that you should take along anything you have bought duty free as I said it's on a trust system and all you do is give your receipts from your passport to the official or simply drop in the perspex boxes in the immigration area at Kansai.

                                Done this many times including last Wednesday.

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