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Anyone traveled to Japan? Plans to? (2 Viewers)

luigi

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i went to japan in 1999 .. a while back now eh.. on a school tour.. was mad as.. hope to go back there some day.. everything is so crazy! and mad..! (haha my comment is very insightful eh)

but yes...........
 

Lexicographer

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Originally posted by luigi
i went to japan in 1999 .. a while back now eh.. on a school tour.. was mad as.. hope to go back there some day.. everything is so crazy! and mad..! (haha my comment is very insightful eh)

but yes...........
With vending machines
 

kouri

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I could've went. Goddamnit.

I really really rEALLY REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLY wanna go -_-

would someone be kind enough to bring me along next time they go? :D :D

tokyo to kyoto ni ikitaiiiii ;_;
 

Lexicographer

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Originally posted by kouri
would someone be kind enough to bring me along next time they go? :D :D

tokyo to kyoto ni ikitaiiiii ;_;
Only if you promise not to even ATTEMPT one word of Japanese :p
 

mle

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I went for two weeks two years ago, and went to school and everything (which rocked)in Nagoya, but i got tonsilitis so i couldnt go to disney land :(

Im going with my sister (who knows about 10 words of jap including baka and chinchin) in december thru to january. We wanna travel round and bit, but we've got a pretty small budget. we've looked into youth hostels, but can anyone suggest any other cheap accomodation/places we simply MUST visit?(onsen is something we've both agreed is a must)
 

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Surprisingly, most school trips don't include onsen anymore (because of the lack of gender segregation, public liability etc) so I don't know if anyone can tell you about it.

"chin chin" is the children's word (as in 5 year olds) - say "o-chin"

I don't know about youth hostels because I stayed with a host family, but your itinerary really depends on your budget and where you want to go (as well as when). If you want a mix of sights and shopping base your trip around a major city, like Tokyo or Kyoto. From here you can see many of the famous temples, castles, shrines etc. Shopping in Tokyo is mostly in the Ginza (for drinking and STUFF), Akihabara (for consumer electronics), Harajuku (for freaky Japanese fashion) and Shinjuku (for...other stuff). The Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park in Tokyo are excellent places for a quiet day out, as is Kamakura (outskirts of Tokyo) if you want to see a really big Buddha. The biggies like Mt Fuji, Nijo Castle, and Kiyomizu lie within bullet train access of Tokyo (as do Kyoto and Hiroshima) but to get there would cost a bundle. If you're staying for a week or more and want to see more than a single city INVEST IN A JR RAIL PASS. It costs a bundle (prices vary from year to year, ask your travel agent when you book) but you get unlimited rides on the shinkansen - well worth the cash.

... if I think of anything else I'll tell you.
 

hurrotisrobbo

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Originally posted by Lexicographer
Kyoto is far less beautiful than I'd expected, it's really just a more spacious Tokyo with kimono.
Ahem. One word for you: "Nara".

Best!
City!
Ever!

(etc.)

That's if you like the temples, of course. :D

(Warning: If you don't know Kanji _before_ you go to Nara, you will definately know it afterwards. You'll learn your ryokan's town's Kanji inside and out, I tells you. :) )
 

Lexicographer

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Yeah, Nara is brilliant! I have a funny story about myself, two friends, and MOSburger...

Oh yeah, as well as the deer. Everyone loves the Nara deer (expecially the kid that jumped on the strange, soft "rocks" that the deer left all over the place)
 

Binky

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Yes, i loved japan, i went in the holidays and i'm burning to go back, especially to hiroshima, that was just the nicest area i've been to in japan...
 

man

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why do you want to know
nara?
i went to nara for a day...i think...where todaiji is...
and climed through that hole in da pillar
my friend's host mom didn't noe how to say deer in English so she explained to my friend that there were lots of "BAMBIES" there!!
LLLLLLOVE hyaku yen shops
 

ChaoS-GoD

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hmmm see if i get any useful answers here:

as im going to osaka for a VERY short amount of time (2 days) after hsc on my way to china, i got a few questions regarding it

1. what's night safety like in japan? more specifically, whats it like at 1-2am for a small asian guy to walk around the main city area?

2. i hear there's no train/subway running at midnight, true? if so what transport would get me around. taxis are DAMN expensive (13000 yen from KIX to osaka city, +20% at night)

3. what things are there to do during daytime in ONE day? i got some budget, but not a lot, so cant really afford to go on a shopping spree. im planning on seeing osaka-jo and going through den-den town all in the timespan of about 8 hours. advice?

4. what clothing recommended for late november and early february?

thats all... hope the japan knowledge amongst you guys can help me out!
 

Lexicographer

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1) :rofl: In Japan old grannies can walk around the street at midnight with suitcases bursting with yen, and the yakuza will help them across the street.

2) That's right, after about midnight (maybe one, can't remember) there are no more trains or buses. Your only hope will be the exorbitantly expensive taxis or a capsule hotel. I'd probably just spend the night at an all night restaurant or something and wait for the first morning train (about four).

3) I haven't been to Osaka so I can't really help you, that's Takuya's haunt. However, be more specific on what you would like to see of Japan. Are you interested in more cultural things like their temples (almost the same as Chinese ones though :p) or would you rather see modern Japan at its commercial might?

4) Late November it'll be getting colder, but you can still get away with not dressing like an antarrctic explorer. February is when antarctic explorers visitng Japan would freeze to death, so be careful.

Hopefully Takuya and others will come along soon to add to or correct what I have said, but for the most part you get the idea. Bring LOTS of film, there's very little in Japan not worth photographing!
 
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Lexicographer

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Hey, shall I post up some of my photos? If you guys would like photos of Japan up (including your own) I'll start and sticky a photo thread when images are re-activated. Don't start an independent one yet though, because the admins have instructed that no photos go up until the site returns to normal mode. Thanks.
 

ChaoS-GoD

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Originally posted by Lexicographer
1) :rofl: In Japan old grannies can walk around the street at midnight with suitcases bursting with yen, and the yakuza will help them across the street.
COOL! :D it'll b plenty safe i spose then
more yakuza of these days are becoming just hoodlums or street toughies, no more honour or anything, what a shame

Originally posted by Lexicographer
However, be more specific on what you would like to see of Japan. Are you interested in more cultural things like their temples (almost the same as Chinese ones though :p) or would you rather see modern Japan at its commercial might?
im interested in cultural/historical stuff, but i only want to see the japanese-specific ones, like the castle, coz like u said a lot is basically like in china.
i also dun mind doing some window shopping, but i dun wanna have to run around osaka the whole day to do that (limited time + transport fees), so i would like to stick to one place and spend a couple of hours there. thats why i thought of going to den-den town, which is kinda "osaka's akihabara".

and i'll b taking PLENTY of photos. im bringing my digital cam and prob gonna buy another 128mb stick (in addition to 128+64mb i aleady got) just so i can take a snap at everything i see... hehe

and please post photos, i'd love to see!
 

Lexicographer

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Originally posted by ChaoS-GoD
COOL! :D it'll b plenty safe i spose then
more yakuza of these days are becoming just hoodlums or street toughies, no more honour or anything, what a shame
In that case, don't carry suitcases of money. But yes, Japan is quite literally the safest country in the world. The ONLY bit of crime I heard of there was when a bum stole my friend's train ticket. He just grabbed it off her and ran.
Originally posted by ChaoS-GoD
im interested in cultural/historical stuff, but i only want to see the japanese-specific ones, like the castle, coz like u said a lot is basically like in china.
In that case, yes, Osaka castle is probably the best way to spend half your day. I'd go there in the afternoon, so you can see the sunset over Osaka (brilliant photo op) but if you're pressed for time go in the morning and return to the city for shopping, as the stores will remain open long into the night.
Originally posted by ChaoS-GoD
please post photos, i'd love to see!
Ok, I'll wait for images to be reactivated, then I'll open a new thread for photos. However, it will NOT become like the photo thread in NS.
 

karnevil

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Lexi did you see the Foreign Correspondent story about Japan's 'pressure cooker' education system (to quote the ABC) and its effects on kids.. including the rise in Ђ .. did anyone here see it?

It was really quite disturbing... they had a report on a preschool that made kids go topless in the middle of winter to 'toughen' them in mind and body. what a load of bullshit!

They also said that the crime rate has risen by 60% since 1993... it's sad to think that Japan isn't as safe as perhaps we'd like it to be ... :(
 

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