I'm Going To Japan

dochira wrote:
Hey, I stayed there on my first trip in 98. Cool, it was near the Shinagawa station, and there was a McDonalds nearby, if I remember correctly.

yeah, i remember, it was across the street from the station, McD's was on the side of the hotels. would walk by it almost daily, stayed at the Shinagawa for almost a week, it was great. :bonk:

SubaruWRX wrote:I'm not good at doing flight stuff.. Maybe it's costing me so much beacuse i'm only staying 4 days?

I thought it costs more to fly out on weekends?

well, you can try a local travel agency, there i got my flight airfare, hotel accomodations and my JR passes, all in one place. Maybe it is a bit more, but much more convenient. Both trips i made to japan, i used a travel agency. The hotel rooms would've been cheaper, but had to stay in one place, that would have been not possible since i stayed in Narita the first night, Kyoto the second night, and Tokyo thereafter. The only exception was that i went online to book the Kyoto Budget ryokan inn, since the prices for the other kyoto hotels were higher at the agency.
if you can extend your trip, you should do it for a week total, make it 7 days if possible if you can fit it in your budget and time. Figuring the extra costs, i think it might be worth it, my friend and i stayed an extra day, and i just paid the difference, figuring how often do i go to japan.
As far as the other post with the airfare/travel info, i could not access the page info, just showed the title web page and no specific info on it...
good luck in your vacation planning to japan, you still have a lot of time do make them, i only had three weeks when i booked my travel arrangements to japan. :bonk:

i looked into the universities that you're explaining and there are quite a few of them, actually. just look around and you'll definitely find what you're looking for

also, have fun in japan

ok.....just a few pix from my japan trip,
going to have to post the rest on an online photoalbum or travel weblog.
enjoy!
first one is at the Nishiki Market in Kyoto, a very long strip outdoor food market, the food is awesome!!!
[image]

asakusa sensoji temple, in asakusa of course.
it was my second time there. The last time was back in '03
[image]

qilver wrote:ok.....just a few pix from my japan trip,
going to have to post the rest on an online photoalbum or travel weblog.
enjoy!
first one is at the Nishiki Market in Kyoto, a very long strip outdoor food market, the food is awesome!!!
[image]

Looks great, Q... That's one of the things I love about Japan: it looks so clean and tidy... :)

and of course, good ole' Lawson, had to go here atleast a good number of times, getting good onigiri, drinks, and other delicious snacks. I think this one is taken in Shinagawa, but the one in Kyoto is larger and had more snack varieties.
[image]

qilver wrote:and of course, good ole' Lawson, had to go here atleast a good number of times, getting good onigiri, drinks, and other delicious snacks. I think this one is taken in Shinagawa, but the one in Kyoto is larger and had more snack varieties.

Lawson?? Is that a chain like Wal-Mart or something? :headscratch:

bmwracer wrote:
Lawson?? Is that a chain like Wal-Mart or something? :headscratch:

noticed that they had many of these Convenience stores around on every block, in japan. Lawsons, 7-11, family mart, type stores. They had great onigiri, drinks, magazines, snacks, bento box meals, newspapers, and other convenient items. :bonk:

qilver wrote:
noticed that they had many of these Convenience stores around on every block, in japan. Lawsons, 7-11, family mart, type stores. They had great onigiri, drinks, magazines, snacks, bento box meals, newspapers, and other convenient items. :bonk:

Exactly, qilver beat me to the punch. :thumbsup:

they also carry umbrellas, but didn't see the cool retractable ones where you can fold and store away for portable use, that one i got last time in japan was 500 yen, the ones i had to this time, where the traditional regular ones, cheap 400 - 500 yen, we left them behind in shinagawa, too bulky to carry back and besides had too much to bring back from japan.

think there is also Newdays, and AM PM market.
:bonk:

ok, here are the basement, underground food markets that japan has all over, anyway there is a department store, like Isetan or elsewhere, this one was in Shinjuku, downtown, and it closes at 8pm, anyhow, i totally missed these markets after leaving japan back in '03, i definitely had to go back, this time i bought more food, took more pix and some video with my digicam. People who visit japan, should go to an underground, basement food market, it is quite large, and worth the visit.
here is a pix: This one picture is only a small area, notice the very cute j-girl smiling, ahhh i miss the cute girls there :smitten: . I definitely have to go back.
[image]

Oh ya, I liked all the free samples down there :woot:

qilver wrote:ok, here are the basement, underground food markets that japan has all over, anyway there is a department store, like Isetan or elsewhere, this one was in Shinjuku, downtown, and it closes at 8pm, anyhow, i totally missed these markets after leaving japan back in '03, i definitely had to go back, this time i bought more food, took more pix and some video with my digicam. People who visit japan, should go to an underground, basement food market, it is quite large, and worth the visit.
here is a pix: This one picture is only a small area, notice the very cute j-girl smiling, ahhh i miss the cute girls there :smitten: . I definitely have to go back.
[image]

Going there right before the store closes could land you with some great bargains. I got all my sushi from one of the stalls for half off, since they couldn't sell it the next day. :woot:

qilver wrote:
yeah, i remember, it was across the street from the station, McD's was on the side of the hotels. would walk by it almost daily, stayed at the Shinagawa for almost a week, it was great. :bonk:

funny you guys mention Mickey D's....i've heard from so many heads that it's better than here in the states.....but i couldn't bring myself to eat that ish in japan...i felt it would be sacrilegous :shakehead:

qilver wrote:
[image]

great picture...i applaud you for that one...yes, the basements of many large departments are an experience to behold.....that area is known as the "depachika." DEPA = department store; CHIKA = first basement.

they have a dizzing array of foods that are incredibly tasty and unbelievable to behold in terms of their presentation and type/orgin/antecedent. i went to the depachika of the department store called "matsuya ginza" and i felt like i could have spent hours surveying all the offerings there...it was a real treat as qilver's picture indicates....great picture, man....seriously an exceptional example of something japan is famous for....

:thumbsup:

for more information on depachika's see the following url:

http://smt.blogs.com/trends_style_culture/2004/07/depachika_is_a_.html

Tu_triky wrote:

http://smt.blogs.com/trends_style_culture/2004/07/depachika_is_a_.html

thats an awesome site, thanks tu_triky <3

:woot: :woot:

kuroyume wrote:


thats an awesome site, thanks tu_triky <3

:woot: :woot:

i'm glad you liked it...i figure this forum is a great place to exchange information and i know in this thread and various others i've learned so much so i would return the favor in kind.... :good:

without sounding trite or hackneyed...it's nice to have an arena to interact without the incessant flaming and bullsh*t one finds on the internet....that shiet is so fuggin' lame most of the time....it's like what? you feel big, talkin' shiet behind a computer screen...ya feel me?

Tu_triky wrote:


funny you guys mention Mickey D's....i've heard from so many heads that it's better than here in the states.....but i couldn't bring myself to eat that ish in japan...i felt it would be sacrilegous :shakehead:

actually, McD's wasn't too bad, we didn't get the fries, so our lunch wasn't too bad. But mostly, i had the good japanese food while in Japan, if anything, fast food is just simply of convenience, but would rather grab some onigiri or other snacks/food at a convenience store in japan.

dochira wrote:
Going there right before the store closes could land you with some great bargains. I got all my sushi from one of the stalls for half off, since they couldn't sell it the next day. :woot:

yeah, just happen to be there the last hour they were open, i think Isetan's market closed at around 8pm, got there a little after 7pm, and was browsing until closing time. Got some Onigiri at a discount and a few other pastries. Their eel over rice, now that was good. :bonk: