The Japan Trip Resource Thread!

[wakka]

Argh, I hate this thread. I want to go back to Japan so badly

[teddymeow]

3 weeks to go, Baby!!

[briareos_kerensky]

Back at home safely. Already missing the place

[teddymeow]

Brian, have you made it back home yet?

[wakka]

3 weeks to go, Baby!!

At least 18 months for me, till I go travelling again...

[neoboy259]

I got back 2 weeks ago . Already pondering if we should go in 18 months' time

[Brian Topp]

I got back home yesterday. I think thats me and Japan done for a few years now.

I enjoy it, but I think I've seen enough now (and I've seen all the Japanese artists in concert that I wanted to)

The longer I was there, the more things started to annoy me. Don't get me started on that "sniffing up snot" noise they all do on the train. Just blow ya nose ffs!

And that everywhere has a smoking section. We spent a 3 hour Shinkansen ride on the smoking train... ugh, stinks well bad.

Back to work for me!

[teddymeow]

Did you not enjoy it then, Brian?

Maybe I over-romanticize it but I hate coming home. The weeks have spent in Tokyo have been amazing and (again, probably because I was on holiday) have never encountered anything bad or annoying.

I am literally ready to explode with excitement thinking about my hols. If only I didn't have to spend 12 hours on an aeroplane to get there!

[Anpanman]

I've got until mid August but the wife and little'un go over end July.

Can't wait since I've not been since 2007, beaches, great river swimming, rice harvest, games, food, beer, Awa Odori festival and probably won't see another westerner until we get to KIX for the flight back home.

[Brian Topp]

I enjoyed it, but I think I've seen enough for now. I've gone every year for the last 3, so I've probably just worn my interest out a bit. There isn't much of the "wow, Akihabara/Shibuya!" etc left.


Plus, I missed sausage rolls and fish and chips too much, haha. Although I will miss Teriyaki McBurgers and Moo Moo Fanta.

[doodledude]

Got back home yesterday after 2 weeks in Japan and 3 weeks in Australia. What a great holiday.

In Japan we were in Tokyo for 4 nights, then used our JR Pass to go to Osaka for 2 nights, where we took a day trip to Nara. From Osaka we went to Kyoto for 4 nights and then back to Tokyo for another 3 nights before travelling to Oz.
The weather was average, some sun, cloud and some rain. Must be the best time to visit though right in the middle of the sakura (cherry blossom) season, everyone goes crazy for it over there.
Amazing country and so much to photograph, I went through a lot of memory cards!
The Japanese people are probably the happiest and friendliest in my travels around the world as well. Love it!

[teddymeow]

Got back home yesterday after 2 weeks in Japan and 3 weeks in Australia. What a great holiday.

In Japan we were in Tokyo for 4 nights, then used our JR Pass to go to Osaka for 2 nights, where we took a day trip to Nara. From Osaka we went to Kyoto for 4 nights and then back to Tokyo for another 3 nights before travelling to Oz.
The weather was average, some sun, cloud and some rain. Must be the best time to visit though right in the middle of the sakura (cherry blossom) season, everyone goes crazy for it over there.
Amazing country and so much to photograph, I went through a lot of memory cards!
The Japanese people are probably the happiest and friendliest in my travels around the world as well. Love it!

Wow!! That's one busy holiday. Did you do much relaxing?

Can't wait to see some of your photos.

[doodledude]

Wow!! That's one busy holiday. Did you do much relaxing?

Can't wait to see some of your photos.

Did some relaxing in Oz on the wonderful beaches along the south and eastern coasts.

But Japan was quite a packed holiday, visiting as many places and shrines etc. as we could really.

In Tokyo we stayed in the 'Hotel Monterey' in Akasaka & also 'the b ochanomizu' in Kanda-awajicho (about 10 min walk to akihabara) which both were excellent. While in Tokyo we went to ginza (day & night), shinjuku (day & night), shibuya (day & night), downtown, roppongi (day & night), asakusa, akihabara (day & night).
We did the tokyo tower & kyoto towers which were really cool as well to see the cities from so high up.
We went to see the tokyo yakult swallows for a baseball game as well which was fun but the game wasn't a great one.

Osaka was a fun and very crazy city from the 2 nights we were there. We visited Nara from there which was a beautiful city and definitely worth going to if you have the chance.

In Kyoto we stayed in the 'nine hours' capsule hotel which was excellent and very clean & stylish. The only problem was you had to check out and in every day so you had to lock your bags in there during the day, but it had free wi-fi which was good.
We went to loads of shrines and temples while there and did a lot of walking! Kyoto wasn't quite how I had pictured it in my mind, I thought it'd be a quaint city but it is a big built up city, with hundreds of shrines & temples dotted around everywhere.

I suppose I budgeted about ?40 per day for food, drinks, travel & booze, excluding hotels which were about ?35-40 a day. Alcohol was pretty expensive from about ?5-?9 for a pint of beer. Food wasn't too much though.

Once I process all my photos (about 2000 of Japan), I'll post up a link to see if anyone's interested.

[huxley]

Please do mate.

[teddymeow]

Well, just ordered my currency. Bloody hell, things aren't what they used to be!!

Y128 per ?1 for cash and Y132 per ?1 for travellers cheques.

Still, should be more than enough to survive for the 2 weeks we're out there and we're going for the experience, not the shopping (yeah right!)

Just over a week to go!!