seacarl

I tried to register and pay via Paypal, but Paypal rejected my transaction (I was in Japan). I'll try again when I'm back in USA.

Was there an explanation of what the $21.49 buys? I thought dinner was expected to be $50.

NewbieRunner

If you click "more info" on Eventbrite you will see the following. $1.49 is the booking fee charged by Eventbrite.

"You need to pay a US$20 deposit to book your dinner reservation for the Friday night. Eventbrite booking fee will be added to the deposit. You will then pay for your meal when you arrive at the restaurant and will need Japanese Yen. The deposit is non-refundable if you cancel within 7-days of the event."

tkey75

It doesn't quite tell where exactly the $20 goes, though. I understand it's explained as being a reservation fee, but who gets the $20 in the end? Is it credited against my dinner bill?

eightblack

You can pay on the night in Yen and we will add you to the list but we cannot guarantee a seat unless a deposit is paid. If you are attending the welcome drinks on the Thurs night, you can provide the deposit to one of the organisers...

eightblack

The $20 per person is held in a master account (by me) and we use that total to guarantee the reservation with the restaurant(s). The $20 will be deducted off the final cost of dinner.

NewbieRunner

You'll pay the difference between the actual cost and $20 in cash.

Oops I should have realized eightblack was online.

intuition

Thanks for the flexibility! I will attend thursday evening, and provide deposit at that time.

tkey75

Thanks, fellas! Hope no one thinks I was being a pain in asking. It's actually the DO activity I'm looking forward to most!

qbrain

I believe I reserved the last 10am Friday Imperial Palace spot.

Is it possible to do the fish market tour Friday and still make it to the Palace by 10am?

seacarl

Has the location of either the Thursday night drinks or the Friday night get-together been determined?

The most economical and reasonably convenient way to get from Narita Airport to Tokyo is on the Keisei Line. The fare on the Limited Express is 1000 Yen, and you can take it to Nippori or Ueno, or change at Aoto for Oshiage and the Toei Asakusa Line.

I believe that if you want to get into the tuna auction at the Tsukiji market you need to queue for tickets at 4.00am. At least that's what I was told. Where is the 5.00am meeting point, and was it just to wander the market or do you have an inside source to get tickets to the tuna auction? If we are just wandering the market, we could meet later after the subway opens.

Where are we to notify you of our flights? I'll be arriving on UA 6 (ex SIN) at 14:55 on 28Mar, and happy to lead anyone arriving at that time on Keisei Line. I haven't boooked my hotels, so I don't know to which district I will go. I may book the Conrad since it's a short walk to Tsukiji market, although there is construction in the area. Happy hour in the Conrad lounge is 6pm-8pm. But if we are having a get-together elsewhere, maybe I will book closer.

Is there no chance of an NH or JL event? That's really too bad.

Finally, I plan to be in Tokyo next weekend, so if any of the organizers want to meet for a beer, I'd be happy to do so.

Best Regards
seacarl

jpdx

There were rumors of a hotel/flight thread being in the works. Also, rumors about GH being the "main" hotel. However, I think the Conrad is a great choice, and we have reservations there from Mar 28 to Apr 1.

tcook052

I was sort of hoping the Thurs. night get together might be held at the Park Hyatt Tokyo as it would be somewhat close to my hotel, the Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku.

NewbieRunner

Procedures (courtesy of the Japan-Guide) are described in the first post. Anyone wanting to see the auction will have to queue at the Osakana Fukyu Center (Fish Information Center) at the Kachidoki Gate. I have posted a link to a Google map in this post (for anyone walking from the Conrad). Walking from the Hilton will take a little longer.

Tickets are handed out on a first-come, first-served basis starting from 5:00am (maybe earlier if there is a long queue). A first group of 60 visitors will be admitted to the auction between 5:25 and 5:50, while a second group of 60 visitors will be admitted between 5:50 and 6:15.

We cannot reserve tickets in advance so it will be up to each attendee to get there early enough to join the queue and to be one of the firist 120. The organisers might facilitate sharing taxis and provide maps but they cannot help with the tickets.

General public who are not part of the two groups cannot wander around as they are not allowed into the wholesale area before 9am. However, it will be possible to visit one of the informal small restaurants for sushi breakfast or to visit the outer (public) market.

If you haven't done so already you might like to check this multilingual guide. If you haven't decided whether to go there on Friday or Saturday, you are likely to be competing for a place with 30+ FTers as well as other tourists on Friday.

flyingfkb

Fishmarket starts a 5am. So even if you spent 3 hours there you have still 2 hours to get to the Imperial Palace. I think it is possible.

rwoman

I'm looking at staying here as well! The price is definitely right!