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I'm going to Japan! HELP!!


dazzybee

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Hey, I'm going to japan for a couple of weeks (3 days after Galaxy - Argh!!!!), firstly i wondered if anyone will be out there at the same time.

 

But mainly I wanted to ask if anyone has been before and if anyone had any advice on going. I'm going alone - my girlfeind can't afford it and I've been working stupidly hard and I need a break, plus Ive been saying I'm going to japan for about 4 years now and I just thought I'm going to go, and with work being stupidly busy I have an opening to go so I'm just going to do it!!

 

Its pretty intimidating going on my own so i thought I'd ask for advice. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

PS While I'm out there I'm probably going to get some DS games - Band bros expansion pack, Ouendan 2 and Taiko drum game. Anyone have any other recomendations of Japan games?

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Get a Japan Rail Pass! You can use it on any JR train or shinkansen. VERY useful. Get a guidebook. And visit Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Nagoya, Himeji, Nikkou and Ise.

 

Also, stay in a cheap ryokan. They're very clean, and at around 12£ a night to have to share toilets/bathrooms, it's worth it.

 

Try Gojo Guesthouse in Kyoto. Google it! That's where I stayed and made one day trips to other places using the shinkansen and my rail pass. I stayed with a friend in Tokyo, so I can't help you there.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'm off tomorrow, pretty scary :) I'm not prepared AT ALL! And I have mario galaxy.........

 

Anyways, a few last minute checks of advice:

 

- PLUGS: I have an adaptor - it IS the same as the USA one isn't it? I dont need anything special do I (step up convertor or anything!!!)

 

- How easy is it to get money out in Japan? I heard it was quite tricky and the best bet was to take all the yen with me, I don't really wanna take a grands worth of yen with me (already got 500).

 

- Erm, anyone out there at the minute?

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PM'd. :smile:

 

She's been twice now and knows quite a lot.

 

aww, shucks ^__^

 

i'm impressed you're going it alone! well done! well, where are you planning to stay?

 

getting money out should be ok ... best bet is to find yourself a CITI-BANK cash machine... they can be located in most train stations around central tokyo by using the "go up to official looking person, wave arms and say 'citi-bank wa doko des ka?!!' method"

 

you wont need a step up converter. : )

 

DS game wise - taiko drum master for sure! it's amazing. but if you're staying in tokyo, and find yourself in shinjuku ~ be sure to visit some arcades and play the REAL taiko drum master!! (or watch the crazy arcade masters to their thing @__@ puts all the english DDR freaks to shame! haha)

 

also... if i can recommend anywhere to visit - try your best to get to harajuku on a sunday (it's when the cosplayers all hang out on the bridge) you can get to harajuku on the yamanote JR line (the green circular one if you have a map handy~) there are two exits from harajuku station: the first will come out facing "takeshta dori" (spelling?) which is this amazing shopping street~ half way down that street is the BEST crepe shop. in. the. world.

the other exit brings you out near the bridge... if you walk along that bridge on a sunday you'll be surrounded by amazing cosplayers ~ but best of all once you get to the end of it you'll be right infront of the meiji shinto shrine - take time out to visit the shrine - it's so, so beautiful.

 

uhm... yea!

if you can get to a bookshop, lots of them have english sections: i recommend a phrasebook called "point and speak phrasebook: japan"

PointJP-tm.jpg

(1500yen) i got it on my last trip and it was amazingly helpful :smile:

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Thanks Bluey. I'm here now, it's a pretty daunting crazy place (I'm stying in Shinjuku) I'm actually staying in Kubikicho, which is the japanese red light district and is FULL of massage palours and hooker type places - very surreal!

It took me two hours to find my hotel after being awake for 50 hours straight!

After my first full day though I've got the hang of it a little and it's pretty exciting trying out my Japanese, trying being a generous word for what I'm doing....

 

Anyways, here are some pretty terrible photo's if anyone is interested, I'm going to be updating them everyday (for my girlfriend and friends)

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20746&id=611870162&ref=mf

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Shyguy you can get Ramen here :heh: personally I don't think too much of the stuff, I could make myself a better bowl of big wet noodles. Gimme some tonkatsu or yakitori (sp?) plz, I prefer meat intensive ^^

 

dazzybee, your link's not working for me :( even after signing in. I'm very curious to see the area. I've been learning Japanese at Uni for a few months and would like to go out there eventually :D I've visited Asia before but mostly the Chinese areas, Hong Kong, Macau and China itself. And my cantonese sucks.

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