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Originally Posted by bundubasher
(Post 35319852)
I'm in japan currently. Had my plans changed after I got here. Seems there is a typhoon heading near to where I wanted to visit. I had flown to Fukuoka and then trained it to Kagoshima b4 I was told about the typhoon. Wonderful thing the JR Rail Pass. Pivoted and headed to Hagi. Masuda. Matsue, and then Kanazawa. It forced me to put myself out there and ask for assistance. And although sometimes not the best help, but they really try and in the end, good fun. I have been escorted many times to where I wanted to go. I had to ask many questions to get the info I wanted. Like where locals go for certain types of food, not where tourists go. The food and people at these restaurants were amazing. You can meet people that will share the evening with you. And sake/beer. Last nite I went into an expresso cafe and I offered to take 2 of the staff to dinner at a fish restaurant- one that their friend ran. Another great evening. And I tried to pay, they wouldn't let me. They were so happy to have that evening with a foreigner.
You must find early a good place to exchange cash. Not all Post Offices do that. I went to a shack that is a Western Union office and they gave an excellent exchange rate. If you buy a JR Rail Pass, use the app to make reservations. I bought the Green Car pass so I could get a reserved seat some times. And others, so I don't need the hassle of buying tickets last minute. Can you imagine being on a one car train going to your destination, and you are the only passenger at times. Loved all of this. I did not research much of anything. It does help to read this site information. Btw, school children can be an excellent source of info. Just be polite and ask. English is taught in the schools at an early age now. If for some reason you travel like I did, you get better pricing using booking apps then pitching up at a hotel. So far, Information at train stations have not been much good. I had to spend time prying info from the staff at these places. Not always successful. And none of the information places I went to would pick up a phone to make a reservation. So you need a smartphone for that and maybe Google maps. Wi-fi has been patchy all through the trip. A belated thank-you to the contributors. Next- Tokyo tomorrow. Any suggestion where to stay, part of town? It would be greatly appreciated. Hi, any idea on budget? Western chain or japanese business hotel? How many days are you going to be in tokyo ( ie sightseeing or just an overnight stay) I quite liked Shinjuku ( Hilton) or Shinagawa ( prince hotels -but the Prince sakura tower is part of Marriott) for being close to transport links Regards TBS |
They don’t exchange for cash but 7-11’s have ATM machines that accept most banking system cards. I haven’t had any trouble getting cash in Japan when using my ATM card.
I recently stayed at the Hyatt Centric in the Ginza but it was in a points stay. I think the daily cost with taxes was over$900 a night. |
Originally Posted by The _Banking_Scot
(Post 35319941)
Hi,
any idea on budget? Western chain or japanese business hotel? How many days are you going to be in tokyo ( ie sightseeing or just an overnight stay) I quite liked Shinjuku ( Hilton) or Shinagawa ( prince hotels -but the Prince sakura tower is part of Marriott) for being close to transport links Regards TBS |
Getting Less and Less Appealing, Japan Is
After not having been here for a while, I'm sensing more and more antipathy towards foreigners. Trying to eat out around Narita city last Saturday proved pointless. It was as if I were in Seoul again, with my friend and I getting passed over for locals grabbing a bite.
Then, there are the other points about which I had forgotten: -cups of water given in restaurants are never filled up, and generally look more befitting of dollhouses than places where humans eat -having to print out little chits at certain airports upon scanning your boarding pass. At Tokyo Haneda last time, I had three different chits serving no purpose -excessive waste buying anything. Bag in a bag, perhaps within another bag. Buying sushi and Pocky at a super? They typically charge for plastic bags in supers now, but you still get a flimsy plastic bag for all potentially leaky goods. -buying things at some convenience stores now (7-11 being the worst offender), you have computer screen to tap and inform how you're paying. If you're paying with cash, you have to tell them when you're done. Lovely. -charging admission to enter some religious buildings. What a joke. -getting messages from hotels saying my reservations will be cancelled if I don't reconfirm. Screw you. -and the hackneyed advice for first-time visitors to Japan iiiisss don't expect to find many benches or trash bins. |
Originally Posted by bundubasher
(Post 35321212)
I am hoping for something decent under $150/day and near transpo for a good shot to HND when I am ready to leave.
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Originally Posted by BuildingMyBento
(Post 35321260)
After not having been here for a while, I'm sensing more and more antipathy towards foreigners. Trying to eat out around Narita city last Saturday proved pointless. It was as if I were in Seoul again, with my friend and I getting passed over for locals grabbing a bite.
Then, there are the other points about which I had forgotten: -cups of water given in restaurants are never filled up, and generally look more befitting of dollhouses than places where humans eat -having to print out little chits at certain airports upon scanning your boarding pass. At Tokyo Haneda last time, I had three different chits serving no purpose -excessive waste buying anything. Bag in a bag, perhaps within another bag. Buying sushi and Pocky at a super? They typically charge for plastic bags in supers now, but you still get a flimsy plastic bag for all potentially leaky goods. -buying things at some convenience stores now (7-11 being the worst offender), you have computer screen to tap and inform how you're paying. If you're paying with cash, you have to tell them when you're done. Lovely. -charging admission to enter some religious buildings. What a joke. -getting messages from hotels saying my reservations will be cancelled if I don't reconfirm. Screw you. -and the hackneyed advice for first-time visitors to Japan iiiisss don't expect to find many benches or trash bins. |
Originally Posted by bmwe92fan
(Post 35321602)
As a "Foreigner" that lives here I don't get it -- these are things that have always been common here.
Leaving aside the people involved, a big part of why this is so important to me are these opportunities to have my focus drawn to realities that will have escaped my attention on previous visits. The hotel reconfirmation report draws my compassion. A reminder of how tough the last few years have been and that survival for so many client reliant services is on a knife edge. |
More Rubbish About Business Hotels
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fa8b445fe7.jpg
Don't expect to get good ventilation 100% of the time. At the same time, it's good to not be a "salaryman...." Also, I have yet to stay in a Japanese business hotel (e.g. APA, Toyoko Inn, Route Inn) where you can walk down the steps from your floor. Always the elevator ... it's a pain. |
Originally Posted by BuildingMyBento
(Post 35326961)
Always the elevator ... it's a pain.
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I plan to visit Japan for the 1st time next year. Looking to start in Tokyo do the Golden Route over 2-3 weeks.
I'm not sure if I should go on my own or do a self-guided tour or with a solo tour group. I prefer having the days to myself but in the evenings meeting up with the group/local guide and going to proper local places for dinner. Also it'll be nice to be guided on the trains/buses when travelling between cities (certainly for my 1st visit, perhaps in future visits I'd be happy to travel on my own). I'd like the ability to arrange certain hotels on my own (eg in Tokyo I'd stay at the Aman). The problem with going on my own is that I know I'd be reluctant to do stuff outside visiting museums and other tourist hotspots. Meeting up with a group each evening would help a lot. I'd also be terrified travelling on trains and local buses as I don't know the language. |
Originally Posted by GodAtum
(Post 35358056)
Meeting up with a group each evening would help a lot. I'd also be terrified travelling on trains and local buses as I don't know the language.
(The recommendations for that “solo” tour look terrible by the way, from my perspective, red flags all the way). If you can work out how to travel around the U.K. on public transport, I can promise you, Japan, particularly if you are set on the sites that are accessible from the main shinkansen lines, is extremely straightforward. So straightforward that you will return to Britain and be scratching your head for ever more wondering why getting around your own country is so stressful and complicated. That’s for the journey - the stations themselves are another matter! But there is English language signage in all the mega stations (Tokyo, Shinjuku, Ueno) so it’s not that different from what it would be navigating an imagined London equivalent where Kings Cross, Paddington, Fenchurch Street and Tottenham Court Road were all combined. The main point to remember is that you will locate your platform but to give yourself time so you don’t rush yourself and get anxious. As for getting out, you can always find a way out to street level, and getting your bearings in the open air is usually less disorientating than navigating underground. I took my own parents around Japan back in 2006. First we travelled on a convoluted route to Nagoya together, and then I sent them off to spend time in Kurashiki and Hiroshima/Itsukushima alone and without me before meeting up again in Kyoto. I wasn’t nervous for them at all. They loved it. Back in Tokyo they quickly seized their own independence. And it’s much easier for visitors now than it was 15 years ago. |
Originally Posted by GodAtum
(Post 35358056)
I plan to visit Japan for the 1st time next year. Looking to start in Tokyo do the Golden Route over 2-3 weeks.
I'm not sure if I should go on my own or do a self-guided tour or with a solo tour group. I prefer having the days to myself but in the evenings meeting up with the group/local guide and going to proper local places for dinner. Also it'll be nice to be guided on the trains/buses when travelling between cities (certainly for my 1st visit, perhaps in future visits I'd be happy to travel on my own). I'd like the ability to arrange certain hotels on my own (eg in Tokyo I'd stay at the Aman). The problem with going on my own is that I know I'd be reluctant to do stuff outside visiting museums and other tourist hotspots. Meeting up with a group each evening would help a lot. I'd also be terrified travelling on trains and local buses as I don't know the language. That itinerary is not what I would choose for a first trip. And being stuck with a group for 12 days sounds awful since there is no guarantee you get along or have compatible goals for the trip. Or that you even like the guide and their guiding style. If you can navigate London you can navigate the golden route. Japan GR tourism is really very easy, if you have been a tourist in Paris/Rome/Madrid etc. with no problems despite not being fluent in the local language (apologies if you are a polyglot) you can definitely manage it in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. The major train stations and bus routes all have English signage, you can do anything with Google Translate/Lens, and there are so many foreign tourists that staff know enough to point you where you need to be. Food is self-explanatory, make a list of stuff you'd like to eat (ramen, oyakodon, yakitori etc.), when you get hungry around mealtimes type the name of the dish into Google Maps, and pick a reasonably highly rated establishment close by that doesn't have a terrible queue. You can supplement with day tours/bar crawls/cooking classes/Airbnb Experiences for a bit of forced socialization. |
Thanks for your thoughts. I've never travelled on my own to a non-English speaking country. For example, I'd like to go to a tea farm tour in Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms but it's in quite a rural location and getting there by rural bus sounds terrifying!
Or if I wanted to stay at a Buddist temple such as the one in Minobu is very difficult to get to. Japan By Food seem to do a lot of evening food/drinks tours and I'm a huge fan of their Youtube channel so maybe that could be an option. |
Originally Posted by jib71
(Post 35327503)
This is real Gulag Furusato stuff. Keep it coming.
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