I'm Going To Japan

dochira wrote:I'm sure people have pointed these sites to you:
http://www.japan-guide.com/
http://www.jnto.go.jp

Now you haven't mentioned otherwise, but you might consider getting the Japan Rail Pass, especially if you will be travelling to and from Osaka and Tokyo. And in Tokyo, it'll be useful travelling on the Yamanote (green) line, which circles the city.

Ah, i know about that gaijin railpass, I've reserved a spot for that in my budget (€250 or so). I'm going to be in a homestay (which is what i ment by 'home') for 2 weeks, then I have one week off, so I can visit Tokyo, Kyoto and what else, then my volunteer project starts in Nagoya. So buying a railpass for this week would be perfect. I cannot use that pass within one city right? It's just for between cities (aka shinkansen)? I should also check out this greenline u said, sounds very usefull.

Tu_triky wrote:
But you have to realistic -- that's not going to be the majority...not even close...let's remember all these gorgeous women you see in these dramas would be considered rare gems in any country...japan is NO exception.

Thanks for reminding me :doh: after all those drama's one gets easily used to this drama streetlife, with all the hot ladies. Why did I never wonder why there would be so few obaachan on jdrama streets :beaten:.

I went to Tokyo last summer for 2 weeks. I took my laptop and put all my pics in it everynight. I ended up taking about 1,000 pictures.

If you go to Shibuya, you should also go to Harajuku and Meiji Shrine. All those people that dress up on Sunday's in Harajuku, most of them didn't mind having their pics taken. I also liked Asakusa Shrine, and Tokyo Tower near Roppongi.

Anyway, there was plenty pretty J-girls everywhere I went.

supermidget wrote:

Thanks for reminding me :doh: after all those drama's one gets easily used to this drama streetlife, with all the hot ladies. Why did I never wonder why there would be so few obaachan on jdrama streets :beaten:.

call it a reality check :) i didn't say it to come across as condescending or anything but only to be realistic, you know. there are only so many good lookin' ones, fellas. ;) of the millions of women in tokyo if one thinks he/she will start seeing these knockout beauties on every street corner, think again....and if you do find that...i want visual proof...lol...pictures kids...

supermidget wrote:
So buying a railpass for this week would be perfect. I cannot use that pass within one city right? It's just for between cities (aka shinkansen)? I should also check out this greenline u said, sounds very usefull.

Here's the website that has all the information you need to know: http://www.japanrailpass.net

Essentially you can use any of the trains, busses, and ferries run by JR, except the Nozomi (super express Shinkansen), and the ferries to Korea. But all local, express, limited express trains are available to you. For the Shinkansen, I use the Hikari for travelling between Osaka and Tokyo. And you can use it all you like within a city, except it does not work on subways, again only lines run by JR.

You must purchase the exchange pass before entering Japan. It is not sold within the country. There are other passes you can buy in Japan, but not the Japan Rail Pass.

dochira wrote:
Here's the website that has all the information you need to know: http://www.japanrailpass.net

Essentially you can use any of the trains, busses, and ferries run by JR, except the Nozomi (super express Shinkansen), and the ferries to Korea. But all local, express, limited express trains are available to you. For the Shinkansen, I use the Hikari for travelling between Osaka and Tokyo. And you can use it all you like within a city, except it does not work on subways, again only lines run by JR.

You must purchase the exchange pass before entering Japan. It is not sold within the country. There are other passes you can buy in Japan, but not the Japan Rail Pass.

Should I buy the green or the ordinary Railpass? The site doesn't give clear information about what these so-called green and ordinary cars are. :S

supermidget wrote:

Should I buy the green or the ordinary Railpass? The site doesn't give clear information about what these so-called green and ordinary cars are. :S

Go for the ordinary pass. The Green pass is their first-class service (overnight sleeping car). It's not worth the price. You'll still be comfortable in their "ordinary" cars.

Roppongi04 wrote:I went to Tokyo last summer for 2 weeks. I took my laptop and put all my pics in it everynight. I ended up taking about 1,000 pictures.

If you go to Shibuya, you should also go to Harajuku and Meiji Shrine. All those people that dress up on Sunday's in Harajuku, most of them didn't mind having their pics taken. I also liked Asakusa Shrine, and Tokyo Tower near Roppongi.

Anyway, there was plenty pretty J-girls everywhere I went.

that is a lot of pix you took!!!!
i am not sure i am going to take that much, maybe half that. Yeah planning on visiting shibuya, roppongi again, and maybe harajuku and asakusa again. btw: who's the hottie in your avatar? i know you had kyoko-chan up before... :applaud:

Tu_triky wrote:

Hey guy you gotta visit both! Shibuya & Roppongi are hella close to one another. They're like only 15/20 minutes apart, requiring only one transfer at Ebisu Station I believe. I think iln Shibuya you'll find many younger women (and men) and Roppongi should sport an older crowd. You have to visit both areas...no trip to Tokyo would be complete. I haven't been to Kyoto...maybe next time...

I have to throw this out...just to be real. I don't know what your presuppositions are re: women there but let's remember that Tokyo is one of the most crowded cities in the world, out of all those ppl there are going to be lots of women that are UNattractive and i think a much smaller number of attractive women....much smaller. Don't get me wrong I'm not hatin' on Japanese women....i think some of them are hot as hell, dayem fine, you name it. But you have to realistic -- that's not going to be the majority...not even close...let's remember all these gorgeous women you see in these dramas would be considered rare gems in any country...japan is NO exception.

yeah, that is realistic, just like any country/place you visit, lotsa people, a small number of major hot chicks. My plan for this week trip to japan, is to take tons of pix and some upclose ones if possible of hot japanese girls, wherever i can find the beauties. :applaud:

dochira wrote:
Go for the ordinary pass. The Green pass is their first-class service (overnight sleeping car). It's not worth the price. You'll still be comfortable in their "ordinary" cars.

yeah, i figured that he ordinary pass will just do, the green pass wasn't worth the extra money. But i have the JR passes ready for my trip ahead of time, will save lots of money in Japan.
:applaud:

qilver wrote:
yeah, that is realistic, just like any country/place you visit, lotsa people, a small number of major hot chicks. My plan for this week trip to japan, is to take tons of pix and some upclose ones if possible of hot japanese girls, wherever i can find the beauties. :applaud:

man, i don't know you dude, but i'm happy for you...have a blast!!! make some wonderful memories and meet some cool ppl. you'll see some dimes there (that is some major hot chicks as you mentioned....so good luck with the pix) :naughty: i have feeling you'll have a great time....i only went once...but i loved it and i think very often about returning as soon as possible. since this is a return trip for you, you're already somewhat "seasoned" so....do all things you wanna do again and didn't do the first time. :say_gdluck:

qilver wrote:
who's the hottie in your avatar? i know you had kyoko-chan up before... :applaud:

Ya, it was Kyoko Fukada before, now it's Emi Suzuki. You might remember her from the thread I started on her a while ago.

Tu_triky wrote:

man, i don't know you dude, but i'm happy for you...have a blast!!! make some wonderful memories and meet some cool ppl. you'll see some dimes there (that is some major hot chicks as you mentioned....so good luck with the pix) :naughty: i have feeling you'll have a great time....i only went once...but i loved it and i think very often about returning as soon as possible. since this is a return trip for you, you're already somewhat "seasoned" so....do all things you wanna do again and didn't do the first time. :say_gdluck:

yeah, thanks. I plan on having a great time. I know that even though it is just a week, have to budget somewhat. My friend is coming along, he has never been there, so i can sorta show him around too. My second time so have to deal with the confusing train station maps and get around some how. i have an idea of what areas to visit. Akihabara-(electronics,anime), Shibuya(nice dimes there eh? :naughty: ), Shinjuku, Roponggi, Asakusa, Ginza, and maybe Harajuku(goth-people?) I think i can cover some of that in 4 days, the other days are spent elsewhere.
What areas have you gone to in your last visit to Japan? any recommedations? :applaud:

qilver wrote:
yeah, thanks. I plan on having a great time. I know that even though it is just a week, have to budget somewhat. My friend is coming along, he has never been there, so i can sorta show him around too. My second time so have to deal with the confusing train station maps and get around some how. i have an idea of what areas to visit. Akihabara-(electronics,anime), Shibuya(nice dimes there eh? :naughty: ), Shinjuku, Roponggi, Asakusa, Ginza, and maybe Harajuku(goth-people?) I think i can cover some of that in 4 days, the other days are spent elsewhere.
What areas have you gone to in your last visit to Japan? any recommedations? :applaud:

you can definitely cover all those areas in the time span you mentioned...the subways can be a bit daunting but it shouldn't cramp your style..you can get the hang of it fairly quickly..and as dochira mentioned the yamanote line which circles most of the wards in tokyo gets used repetitively when traveling from place to place. yeah there were some fly girls in shibuya of course, and roppongi and ginza (those chicks tho are the fashion mavens who spend 10s of thousands on clothes...and some of them look very well put together given their obession with haute couture designer labels). some gorgeous model types looking like yu yamada.

i basically went to most of the wards/districts, in tokyo, yokohama, and then i went to hakone for onsen. i don't think you'll have time to do all that...i think the places you mentioned are cool and must sees. yeah definitely go to harajuku and the meiji jingu shrine....see all the crazy dressed cosplay chicks, walk down takeshita-dori.....honestly just try to plan a lil' because inevitably there are going to be more things to do than you have time for. no specific recommendations you obviously know where to go....i need to go back seriously! like for a month...

oh, if you haven't been to the tsukiji fish market you might wanna do that one early morning like a 5 or 6 am...it's the biggest fish market in the world and you can see them auction off the catch of the day...it's gotten really popular with tourists visiting japan...you can also get the freshest sushi there, in the world probably!

Tu_triky wrote:


you can definitely cover all those areas in the time span you mentioned...the subways can be a bit daunting but it shouldn't cramp your style..you can get the hang of it fairly quickly..and as dochira mentioned the yamanote line which circles most of the wards in tokyo gets used repetitively when traveling from place to place. yeah there were some fly girls in shibuya of course, and roppongi and ginza (those chicks tho are the fashion mavens who spend 10s of thousands on clothes...and some of them look very well put together given their obession with haute couture designer labels). some gorgeous model types looking like yu yamada.

i basically went to most of the wards/districts, in tokyo, yokohama, and then i went to hakone for onsen. i don't think you'll have time to do all that...i think the places you mentioned are cool and must sees. yeah definitely go to harajuku and the meiji jingu shrine....see all the crazy dressed cosplay chicks, walk down takeshita-dori.....honestly just try to plan a lil' because inevitably there are going to be more things to do than you have time for. no specific recommendations you obviously know where to go....i need to go back seriously! like for a month...

oh, if you haven't been to the tsukiji fish market you might wanna do that one early morning like a 5 or 6 am...it's the biggest fish market in the world and you can see them auction off the catch of the day...it's gotten really popular with tourists visiting japan...you can also get the freshest sushi there, in the world probably!

yeah, thanks for the tip, will try to remember to use the yamanote line often as it will be useful. Last time, i visited Hakone and Tsujiki Fish Market. I saw the places except Harajuku(i will look into visiting the Mejiji Shrine if we have time) Cosplay chicks eh? where are they at? Also haven't yet visited, akihabara, i want to see the otaku cafe and anime stores(know any i should visit?), and the electronics stores too. yeah, i agree, will have time for kyoto for a day or so, and the remaining time in Tokyo, but not sure for even 1/2 excursions outside of tokyo like Nikko, or yokahama, or even Osaka(when i am in Kyoto area.)

@Tu_triky,
when did you last go to japan? take lots of pix? any good pix of j-girls that you took?

I already seen, but may visit again,
Asakusa - Sensoji Temple
Shibuya - Hachiko Dog Stature, surrounding stores, KinoKuniya?
Roppongi - HardRock Cafe(hardly a landmark, but all i remember there)
- Tsujiki Fish Market
Ginza - Sony Building(think it was in Ginza).
Shinjuku - various areas.

would like to see as mentioned earlier
Akihabara, Harajuku
can you suggest some good places to see within tokyo? Like for Karaoke, bars, Clubs?
also want to see a Love Hotel up close, and Pachinko game centers? Hostess Bars? and anything else you can suggest to visit while in Tokyo.
Thanks. :applaud: :bow:

qilver wrote:
yeah, thanks for the tip, will try to remember to use the yamanote line often as it will be useful. Last time, i visited Hakone and Tsujiki Fish Market. I saw the places except Harajuku(i will look into visiting the Mejiji Shrine if we have time) Cosplay chicks eh? where are they at? Also haven't yet visited, akihabara, i want to see the otaku cafe and anime stores(know any i should visit?), and the electronics stores too. yeah, i agree, will have time for kyoto for a day or so, and the remaining time in Tokyo, but not sure for even 1/2 excursions outside of tokyo like Nikko, or yokahama, or even Osaka(when i am in Kyoto area.)

awesome, so forget tsukiji perhaps, since you've already seen it...those harajuku cosplay chicks are in this open courtyard of sorts right outside the trainstation....they're on the way to the Meiji Shrine...you can't miss 'em don't worry! like others said they'll be a swarm of foreign tourists around them in any case takin' loads of pictures and trippin' out on their "exceptional" outfits. so takeshita dori is a straight street in harajuku that is jam packed with clothing stores...where many of these harajuku girls buy clothes for their crazy outfits (goth, lolita, etc.) on a sunday this street will be dayem crowded...it'll make a new york sidewalk appear empty in comparison.

i didn't visit any anime shops will i was out there but i hear one of the most famous ones is called Animate in Ikebukuro....in any case reference this link for a listing of anime shops in Tokyo.

http://kawaii.animanga.com/shop/guide.html

i did go to Akihabara but only briefly to visit the LAOX store...my friend and i had to rush back to our hotel in Roppongi Hills to meet someone and that took like 45 minutes (which included a transfer at Shinjuku station)...you could obviously live in Akihabara...too many dayem things to see and never enough time, depending on one's hobbies i guess.

further suggestions....for love hotels hostess bars and all that stuff you have to head to the redlight district called Kabuki-cho in Shinjuku ward....

as far as clubs ...i only went to a couple....when i talked to this japanese bartender at this one club called A-Life in Roppongi he recommended going to Velfarre in Roppongi as a lot of females go there and foreigners as well...but he specifically mentioned that many of the women who go their might be fairly new residents of Tokyo that moved there to be in the big city from various countryside areas or smaller cities...i think he was trying to allude to the fact they were more impressionable. take it how you want i guess

in any case another useful guide for clubs...this site F*CKIN ROCKS

http://www.cyberjapan.tv/contents/tokyoclubguide/indexE.html

i think the panasonic building is supposed to be pretty cool too although i didn't visit it, only the sony one you did in ginza. there's too much to see!!!! :doh:

sorry this e-mail was too long and forgive any grammatical errors or mispelled words.

@Tu_triky,
thanks so much for the info :bow: , and not to worry on the long email message, great info. I'll be sure to check out some of the websites and places you mentioned. I don't believe my friend and i are going to be in Harajuku on Sunday. But i have heard about all the goth people and etc...on Sundays from various tourbooks i researched on japan. Yeah, lots to see and so little time, would stay a bit longer, but it is so damn expensive, but it will be all worth the trip.

Did you take a lot of pix while in japan? how long was your visit? :applaud:

The other JR train line that is useful in Tokyo is the Chuo (yellow or red) line. It runs essentially west-east through central Tokyo. It's very useful if you want to go to Akihabara from the Ikebukuro (and neighboring) stations. It would take much longer to use the Yamanote line.

(Hurray I got me tickets)
Thanks Triky for helping us so much with the information. I think of staying in Tokyo in a youth hostel (I'm still allowed in there ;), i'm 19). Does any of you have experience doing that in Japan?

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qilver wrote:@Tu_triky,
thanks so much for the info :bow: , and not to worry on the long email message, great info. I'll be sure to check out some of the websites and places you mentioned. I don't believe my friend and i are going to be in Harajuku on Sunday. But i have heard about all the goth people and etc...on Sundays from various tourbooks i researched on japan. Yeah, lots to see and so little time, would stay a bit longer, but it is so damn expensive, but it will be all worth the trip.

Did you take a lot of pix while in japan? how long was your visit? :applaud:

no worries, man! qilver it's my pleasure to help out a little. i'm by no means an "expert" but my friend and i did a lil research to try and capitalize on our time out there as effectively as possible. i was there for approximately two weeks. it wasn't enough. but being that it was my first time i had a blast...it had always been a dream of mine to go to japan so it was really fun. yeah the goth people and all others (i.e. the cosplay, short for "costume play" chicks) usually roll out on sundays at harajuku.
the cost was one reason why my friend and i didn't stay there a little longer, but then again we went all out and didn't try to stay at an inexpenisve place....we decided to pimp it and go for extreme luxury.

i ended up taking around 500 pix which i sifted thru and narrowed to about 300 or so decent ones. i had a digital camera...definitely take lots of pictures but remember to have fun...you're not working for national geographic... i only say that because i feel you have to balance your time taking pictures with the time spent ACTUALLY experiencing japan...i felt i could have takin double the amount of pictures but then i would have been stoppin' every 3.4 seconds to take a photo and not really enjoying the time in the company of a friend. you feel me? just my two cents worth. :sweat:

like i said i went to a couple of night clubs but i wanted to party SO MUCH more! :doh: :grumble: thing was i didn't wanna get so fuggin' wasted that i would wake up really late the next day feeling like garbarge because i was trying to recover from my drunken state! :beaten: i didn't have enough time to waster recovering because there's so much to do and so lil' time as you mentioend. dayem tokyo is definitely the place to party though...i've partied all over the world but the amount of clubs bars women (hehe), etc is unreal.

btw, where and when you go out and night as far as clubs well depend on the night and what's crackin at a particular club...like i said read the cyberjapan club guide ...it's an invaluable. like i said you might want to try "vel farre" which is in roppongi and is tokyo's second largest club...or if you have the time you could go to "ageha" which is tokyo's largest club...the only problem is that it's located in odaiba which is way off the beaten path...not in the city center.

lastly, have you seen the tokyo urban nation documentaries post at d-addicts.com? two 30 minute segments about cool and funky tokyo...definitely worth a viewing

PEACE OUT.................