I'm Going To Japan

krim wrote:*imagines a suitcase full of top ramen*

:rofl:


top ramen? that's sacriligeous... that shiet is fried shiet flavored with MSG...last time i eat that shiet i was in college....STRAIGHT WACK...

go to mitsuwa marketplace...they have about a million types of ramen that are better tasting.....

Tu_triky wrote:

:rofl:


top ramen? that's sacriligeous... that shiet is fried shiet flavored with MSG...last time i eat that shiet i was in college....STRAIGHT WACK...

go to mitsuwa marketplace...they have about a million types of ramen that are better tasting.....

]

i am more interested in your holy gyoza..you straight broke off an amazing tutorial....i admire ur skillz

thanks!

maybe ill make a short video or something, cause im horribly shy in person. :victory:


edit:

Tu_triky wrote:

:rofl:


top ramen? that's sacriligeous... that shiet is fried shiet flavored with MSG...last time i eat that shiet i was in college....STRAIGHT WACK...

go to mitsuwa marketplace...they have about a million types of ramen that are better tasting.....

and without launching into another essay on ramen preparation... my favorite is Nong Shim's Shinramun.. it's spicy and great for when it's winter.

krim wrote:thanks!

maybe ill make a short video or something, cause im horribly shy in person. :victory:


edit:



and without launching into another essay on ramen preparation... my favorite is Nong Shim's Shinramun.. it's spicy and great for when it's winter.

that ish is korean right...i've had it before...it's grub.

about being shy..you must be kidding me...the confidence you displayed in your tutorial belies a skill that doesn't smack of shyness.... :bow:

Tu_triky wrote:

that ish is korean right...i've had it before...it's grub.

about being shy..you must be kidding me...the confidence you displayed in your tutorial belies a skill that doesn't smack of shyness.... :bow:

im usually very quiet and reserved, unless it's something im passionate about, then ill talk your ears off.


it's pouring outside.

Tu_triky wrote:

:rofl:


top ramen? that's sacriligeous... that shiet is fried shiet flavored with MSG...last time i eat that shiet i was in college....STRAIGHT WACK...

go to mitsuwa marketplace...they have about a million types of ramen that are better tasting.....

oh yeah!, mitsuwa has some good food, same with marukai market. Top ramen is so, "americanized" ramen, go for the real ramen and head to the j-markets. :bonk:

Tu_triky wrote:

with all due respect you can find meals that are a steal, or relatively inexpensive, without having to resort to preparing your own meals? if you resort to that level of thriftiness you wil regret your trip....you can eat well on a budget if you know where to go...moreover, where the f*ck are you prepare that food...in your hotel room? if you plan to buy prepared food for your entire trip to japan you will regret it, i'm tellilng you...

i totally agree. buying a bentou from lawsons everyday doesn't sound appealing to me. cheap cooked food is aplenty in japan. those underground malls usually have something inexpensive.

kenjilina wrote:

i totally agree. buying a bentou from lawsons everyday doesn't sound appealing to me. cheap cooked food is aplenty in japan. those underground malls usually have something inexpensive.

gosh, even those bento boxes and simple meals/snacks from Lawsons would do, but i think the Underground food markets would be even better. Those in-expensive ramen shops and other places would be fine too. I ate at quite a few places were the meals were less than 1000 yen for a dinner or lunch.

qilver wrote:

gosh, even those bento boxes and simple meals/snacks from Lawsons would do, but i think the Underground food markets would be even better. Those in-expensive ramen shops and other places would be fine too. I ate at quite a few places were the meals were less than 1000 yen for a dinner or lunch.

i like my katsu curry. 740 yen. oyako donburi 800 yen. best of all 300 yen for a beer at a tachinomiya (stand up bar)! :victory:

Tu_triky wrote:

with all due respect you can find meals that are a steal, or relatively inexpensive, without having to resort to preparing your own meals? if you resort to that level of thriftiness you wil regret your trip....you can eat well on a budget if you know where to go...moreover, where the f*ck are you prepare that food...in your hotel room? if you plan to buy prepared food for your entire trip to japan you will regret it, i'm tellilng you...

Yeah but it's not entirely practical for us to eat out for every meal of the day and we figured we will save time and money by buying our own food from the local shops coz we can scoff it down quicker rather than having to hang about in resturants. We're not really going for the food, I don't even eat meat!

Jimmi wrote:

Thanks for the help.

Do you have any recommendations for hotels from asiarooms.com and have you used them before? Ideally I'm looking for a room for 3 with a safe and a fridge. I want a fridge because we want to buy our own food and prepare meals ourselves to save cash rather than eat out every day and night.

Anyone know how the safe thing works? Do you get 1 safe for each of you or are you expected to share? If so I can imagine fights breaking out to be apointed key holder. I'm not sure I'd trust my pals or me for that matter with the safe key without losing it.

Does anyone know where you stand with health insurance if you book the plane and hotel yourself? I was thinking of going for a packaged deal with expedia coz I think they provide you with a health insurance package as standard.

I'm also looking into the possibility of renting a house or apartment instead of a hotel but I'm not sure how practical that is.


Sorry for the flood of questions but I'm a natural worrier and I like to have every situation prepared for in advance.

i'm using asiarooms for my tokyo trip next year. hotel choice for me is down to location and reasonable price. couldn't tell you if a particular hotel has a fridge or not. sounds like maybe you'll be buying bentou boxes from the likes of lawsons or am/pm.

i have health insuance provided by my bank. i take the policy with me but i've never read it and luckily never needed it.

Jimmi wrote:

Yeah but it's not entirely practical for us to eat out for every meal of the day and we figured we will save time and money by buying our own food from the local shops coz we can scoff it down quicker rather than having to hang about in resturants. We're not really going for the food, I don't even eat meat!

well, enjoy yourself regardless...regarding your practice of not eating red meat...that is should be no impediment to enjoying the local fare as the japanese eat plenty of other foods besides red meat...it's definitely not a meat and potatoes type of country...the amount and variety of food is mindboggling as as mentioned to you by others many of the food shops in the underground malls at the subway/train stations have dizzying amounts of food that are extremely good tasting as well as cheap.

in any event have fun.

Tu_triky wrote:

well, enjoy yourself regardless...regarding your practice of not eating red meat...that is should be no impediment to enjoying the local fare as the japanese eat plenty of other foods besides red meat...it's definitely not a meat and potatoes type of country...the amount and variety of food is mindboggling as as mentioned to you by others many of the food shops in the underground malls at the subway/train stations have dizzying amounts of food that are extremely good tasting as well as cheap.

in any event have fun.

Thanks for the tips.
I was a little concerned about the diet in Japan because I'm not a meat eater yet the outsider impressions of Japan are that they eat nothing but cooked animals. Obviously the fast food option isn't available to me either and in any case, who wants to go to Tokyo and end up eating cheap American styled Mcdonalds food? I did however start eating fish again today for the first time in nearly 10 years in preperation for the trip. I figured you can't go to Japan and not taste the fish so I had to make a comprimise somewhere.

I assume Japan has the same types of snack food we have in the West like Mars Bars etc. Probably need to stock up on junk bars like that when travelling around.

kenjilina wrote:

i'm using asiarooms for my tokyo trip next year. hotel choice for me is down to location and reasonable price. couldn't tell you if a particular hotel has a fridge or not. sounds like maybe you'll be buying bentou boxes from the likes of lawsons or am/pm.

i have health insuance provided by my bank. i take the policy with me but i've never read it and luckily never needed it.

Thanks for the advice.
Can anyone fill me in on what exactly are bentou boxes? I assume Lawsons and am/pm are a Japanese super market?
I'll look into insurance via the bank.
I know Japanese isn't big on payment by credit card but is it ok to use cheques as an alternative? I'm guessing it's mostly cash, I can just imagine me standing at the check out counter with a big que forming behind as I try and work out my money in Yen with the competence of a 4 year old. :mrgreen:

Jimmi wrote:Can anyone fill me in on what exactly are bentou boxes? I assume Lawsons and am/pm are a Japanese super market?
I'll look into insurance via the bank.
I know Japanese isn't big on payment by credit card but is it ok to use cheques as an alternative? I'm guessing it's mostly cash, I can just imagine me standing at the check out counter with a big que forming behind as I try and work out my money in Yen with the competence of a 4 year old. :mrgreen:

1. bentou boxes are boxed lunches. here are some examples:
[image]
or this:
[image]

2. Lawson's are convienence stores. in JPN, these "konbeni" are places you prolly have in the UK as well. very cool places to hang out even.

3. if you have a credit card you should be good to go for major places for shopping and stuff. But as far as day-to-day-expenses, you might wanna convert some pounds to yen.

- niko

Jimmi wrote:
I know Japanese isn't big on payment by credit card but is it ok to use cheques as an alternative? I'm guessing it's mostly cash, I can just imagine me standing at the check out counter with a big que forming behind as I try and work out my money in Yen with the competence of a 4 year old. :mrgreen:

I have never seen anyone use a cheque in Japan. If you meant traveler's cheques, then probably no. You can exchange them for yen in some major hotels, I believe.

And it terms of the money itself, it's not that difficult to master. The coins may give you some trouble since they are similar in size, but they do have the value in numerals.

More info (with pics) of yen: http://www.boj.or.jp/en/money/basic/now/okane.htm

a bento box lunch that i got off the Shinkasen for 1000 yen.
[image]

or if you want a really quick lunch meal, go for a good choice at Lawson/Family Mart Onigiri's
and get a drink there or from a vending machine, which you can find everywhere in japan!

[image]
[image]

qilver wrote:a bento box lunch that i got off the Shinkasen for 1000 yen.
[image]

Did you buy that from the eki (station), or the carts that the ladies push in the train? It looks oishii by the way.

Jimmi wrote:

Thanks for the tips.
I was a little concerned about the diet in Japan because I'm not a meat eater yet the outsider impressions of Japan are that they eat nothing but cooked animals. Obviously the fast food option isn't available to me either and in any case, who wants to go to Tokyo and end up eating cheap American styled Mcdonalds food? I did however start eating fish again today for the first time in nearly 10 years in preperation for the trip. I figured you can't go to Japan and not taste the fish so I had to make a comprimise somewhere.

I assume Japan has the same types of snack food we have in the West like Mars Bars etc. Probably need to stock up on junk bars like that when travelling around.

you will find all types of snack foods as you mentioend both imported from the West (i.e. Europe & the US) as well as an endless variety of local Japanese snack foods....not to worry on that score. You'll be fine there, I'm sure.