The Japan Trip Resource Thread!

[cHawKso]

My usual lunch (tori no kara'age teishoku) was 840 yen! Admittedly, I spent more going to fancier places, but I don't think I spent 10,000 on one meal for myself.

It is however a country where the phrase, you can eat a lot for a little or a little for a lot, is particularly apt.

[Jushin-Thunder-Liger]

I get by in Tokyo with 350Yen Bowls of Gyudon and 600Yen Ramen, 10,000Yen! wow i must try and hang around with you, my leige.

As irritatingly trendy as Wagamama is, i must say there seafood Ramen is spot on, overpriced yes, but just as good as in most ramen shops in Tokyo.

Peanuts, i notice you are in Kawasaki, have they rebuilt Kawasaki Stadium yet?

Cheers

[Richard.John]

Kawasaki Stadium? Sorry mate but I am not a footie fan, so wouldn't know.

[Richard.John]

I had a pork fillet katsu lunch box for dinner (confused?) which set me back 840 yen. It was soooo tasty.

[neoboy259]

Righty ho folks.
Waiting at Narita airport for my flight right now feeling miserable as sin as I only got a few hours sleep. Tokyo really is an amazing city, fantastic people as well. Havent really got much to add to this fine thread that hasnt been already been contributed.
I stayed at the Shinjuku Sunlite hotel in Shinjuku. Abt 2 mins walk from the nearest subway station and abt 10 mins away from the action in Shinjuku. Really nice business hotel. Rooms were tiny but had en-suite bathroom etc.

As an added bonus also got to hear the Hong Kongese dykes "at it" in the next room one night


Also, dont buy your souviniers in Tokyo, wait till you get back to the airport duty free. Its cheaper and saves valuable luggage space if you only have a crappy 20kg limit like me.

Anyways spk 2 u all later!


mata ne!

[mementoman]

Just got my back from my 3rd trip to the great place - with Famicom Micro and ?40 Bape t-shirt in tow

Just some advice : if anyone is travelling on a budget and wants to stay in Tokyo please avoid the Khaosan near Ueno as it is a ****hole. I would highly recommend the Sakura Hotel in Jimbocho instead - it's a bit pricier but a hell of a lot nicer and you actually have room to move in your room.

[Grimlock]

Anyone used student travel card for cheaper tickets to Japan?

I saw on another forum one member got tickets as low as ?380 return with a
student travel card last January.

[castlevania fan]

Hi Guys

Really great thread but i have a couple of questions please?. Has anyone been to Tsukji fish market?. That's one place i want to visit but i hear they don't like non buyers in the tuna auctions and thats one of the thing's i'd like to see at the market. Also i'd like to try Fugu/blowfish but is it really expensive and has anyone tried it and what does it taste like? thanks.

David

[Cuber001]

ok, me and my girl are in the middle of planning a holiday to japan for next spetember, so i can got to the TGS. We are staying for 2-3 weeks and i need a little help. We decided we want to stay at the Palace hotel in Tokyo, http://www.palacehotel.co.jp/english/
and then go to the rihga hotel in osaka http://www.rihga.com/osaka/.

Are these places any good? And also what is the language barrier like? Any problems with crime?

Also we think JAL is the best airlines for this trip. Is there any better?

Also any hints on how to enjoy the TGS the most? And how how much money do you reccomend to take (preferably in $AUS) I will be buying plenty!

Thanks a lot!

[Jushin-Thunder-Liger]

And also what is the language barrier like? Any problems with crime?

Please dont take offence, but there are 60 pages of answers to your questions right here

[Cuber001]

no i don't take offence, especially at how you were nice about it. Thanks! Your right though, but 60 pages? I just don't feel like sifting through that many pages for those answers. sorry. I will look. its just that since i am asking other q's i may as well thow these in a well! Sorry.

[Jushin-Thunder-Liger]

Ok then

Crime: Dont worry about it

Language: Tokyo, you can get away with just thanking everyone you meet. Outside of Tokyo, dont expect anyone to speak English.

[Richard.John]

As Jushin-Thunder-Liger said, crime is a non issue, well, petty street crime anyway. Just use common sense and stay away from the red light district and you'll be OK. Tokyo is without doubt the safest of the world's big four cities.

Japanese service is probably the best in the world so the hotels should be fine. They look 4 or 5 star from the websites so should be very comfortable with excellent facilities.

Regarding language, take a phrase book and try and study a few words before you go. The Japanese study English for about six years at school, but that is mainly as a means to gain entrance to Uni so is not much use in the real world so don't expect them to be like most Europeans (i.e bilingual). Eating out is a breeze as restaurants have plastic models of the dishes so if in doubt, point.

On the subject of money, Japan is still a cash based society and credit cards are not used for casual purchases, thus some small stores may not accept them and even if they do they may refuse to take a foreign issued card.(dept. stores should be fine though). Take as much cash as you need then take the rest in TC with a credit card or debit card as back up. Citibank ATMs and Post Office ATMs accept foreign issued debit/credit cards if you run short, but most other banks don't.

[Fei Fong Wong]

I'll advise you on Osaka if you have any questions as the rest of the guys here can tell you far more about Tokyo than I could. In response to your questions:

Hotel: That hotel in Osaka should be fine. I've not stayed there before but it has a good reputation and its also in a central location. As Peanuts says service in Japan is top notch and you could go to lower class hotels than that and still get much better service than you'd expect elsewhere (the UK for instance).

Flight: JAL are perfectly fine. They've had some bad press in Japan earlier this year but that was due to domestic flights, not international. Personally I fly with JAL every time I go to Osaka now, mainly because they're the only flight that goes direct from Heathrow, but I can't fault their service. If you're flying to Tokyo though you should shop around as there are cheaper flights to be had with other airlines just because more airlines fly in to Tokyo.

Money: I just take cash now. Last time I took 200,000 yen for a 2 week stay, all in cash, and never had a problem. You should be most wary when you're at the airport in fact when there are more foreigners around. I of course wouldn't recommend it, but you could literally leave money out in your hotel room and it would still be there when you got back. As for how much to take only you can only really decide that. With the hotels you've indicated it doesn't look to be a budget trip to me though so you might as well go all out!

Language: Won't be too much of a problem in the major cities. Those hotels will have English speaking staff. When you're out an about use a phrasebook if you need to. I seriously recommend learning some basic stuff before you go though - you've got a lot of time to do so if you're not going until next September anyway. Trains all have English signs so thats not a problem. In case you ever need to use a taxi (like if you miss the last train or something) then make sure you have the address of your hotel written down in Japanese so you can wave it at the driver (assuming you won't be able to pronounce it yourself of course). Some Japanese restaurants will have some English in their menu's but most will not. As Peanuts says most restaurants display their dishes so you can point if you need to. Just don't go all that way and not try the cuisine - that would be criminal.

[Cuber001]

cool thanks for that guys!

Some very useful info there!

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it heaps.

And sorry, what are the "red light districts" and where are they?