Added: Pics on Page 2 - So i'm going to Japan...in 2 weeks

[Knalus]

I don't have any Japan-centric advice, but I have found that a Backpack is essential, even if you are going to a hotel, and not a hostel.

If you are going to a new city, and don't have arrangements beforehand, check out Expedia last-minute like. It can turn out that their Hotel deals are the best part of the site, and can get as -or close to as- cheap as a hostel (of course, depending on the Hostel as well, of course). This is especially true of areas that do not get many backpackers (I did this alot in Denmark this year, and they don't really have the facilities for backpackers, ie. cheap lodging, like when I went to New Zealand). It helps to add variety to the places you are going, too.

[COGENT]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Best okonomiyaki (dinner pancake) is at a restaurant called Tombe in Osaka (the Dotonbori district). Very famous.

This is the place I went to as well... my mouth is watering thinking about it.

[mots]

for booking hostels, there is a ton of website, i usually use www.hostelbookers.com, and check a couple others (just google it)

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by COGENT

This is the place I went to as well... my mouth is watering thinking about it.

Ahahaha oh man, two CP'ers have been to that restaurant. What are the odds..!

BTW Worth, wifi is actually pretty good there. Someone always leaves their network unsecure; you won't have too much problems.

[Rhyme]

Japan uses the same plug-ins as North American. Only they don't often have the ground prong. The voltage is not 110A (i think it's 90 or 100) but it's close enough that you won't fry your stuff. So, you don't need an adapter.

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by Rhyme

Japan uses the same plug-ins as North American. Only they don't often have the ground prong. The voltage is not 110A (i think it's 90 or 100) but it's close enough that you won't fry your stuff. So, you don't need an adapter.

The hotel that I stayed in while in Tokyo didn't have the third prong... so if anything, bring something that converts a 3 prong into a 2 prong.

[Byrns]

I'm in Tokyo right now... Bring an Umbrella

We got the 7 day rail pass and totally got our money out of it.

And if you have time check out a Japanese Baseball game, we saw the Giants play last night at the Tokyo dome, and it was LOUD. Plus the beer girls were cute while carrying massive backpacks of beer.

[COGENT]

This thread caused me to go home last night and look at my Japan photos... memories.

I remembered one thing you should know and that is Japanese curry restaurants, specifically COCO curry. They are usually open till 3am so they are good for after a night of drinking but just an excellent, cheap, quick meal. I loved it so much I bought like 10 boxes of the make it yourself COCO Curry... unfortunately I only have one left

[worth]

I would love to go to a ball game in Tokyo. What about tickets? I'm sure they're pretty hard to get. Giants are the Yankees of Japan aren't they?

I booked a hostel in Asakusa for 3 nights once I get there. I figure this will kind of allow me to somewhat get over the jet lag, and there's tons of stuff to do in Tokyo so I can just base out of there and do whatever I want. Namely, all the things listed in this thread. After the three nights I can take off to whatever city I want to go to next. Will have to figure out a schedule for that.

So what about night life in Japan? People in the hostels go out and party at night? Or stay in? Wouldn't mind going out once in a while.

Can you drink in the street in Japan? There are ber vending machines, aren't there? SO are you allowed to drink your beer once you get it out of the machine? haha, man I have a lot to learn.

[Byrns]

I bought my tickets before I left and printed them out. No problems other than I was the only Giant's fan sitting in the Softbank Hawks section over the left field fence. The site didn't mention that.. However, nobody bothered me though. (Japan is very friendly) Security was paranoid for me and my wife though.

Here's the link to the Giant's website to buy them. (I don't know about other teams, but I got this link from Tripadvisor's forums.)

https://gticket.e-tix.jp/en/ticket_pc_en.php

[worth]

Damn...I don't think I will be in Tokyo for any of those dates. Maybe the 6/17, but that would mean I stay in Tokyo for 4 days. I was planning on hitting the road to another city on that day.

[COGENT]

The night life in Tokyo is amazing... never stops. I am certain that people in the hostel will be going out.

Drinking on the streets is legal and if you can't find a beer vending machine there is a 7-11 (or something like it) on every corner and can buy singles there. I was waiting for a ferry one morning at like 9 and decided to have a beer (give me a break, I was on vacation). So I was at this ferry station waiting outside at 9 am drinking a beer and I look over and there is like an 85 year guy drinking a beer as well. He just looked at me, raised his beer, and said Kampai (cheers in Japanese), so awesome!

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by COGENT

I was waiting for a ferry one morning at like 9 and decided to have a beer (give me a break, I was on vacation).

Not to mention it would have been an appropriate time of the day if you were still on Mountain Time.

[worth]

Haha, awesome. I'm really excited to go now. I usually don't get jacked up for trips, but this one I certainly am. Lots of great info. Really appreciate it guys.

[worth]

I'm off for Japan in the morning. I think i've got a pretty good handle on wtf is going on.

I'm gonna spend a few days in Tokyo, then move on to Koyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Kokura, Beppu, Nagasaki and back to Tokyo. That's the plan anyway. Probably won't work out that way, but that's no prob.

I have forgone going north on this trip. Just too time consuming. Will let you guys know how it went when I get back and i'll post pics.

Cheers.

[worth]

Ok i'm finally off my lazy butt to bring you pictures from my trip to Japan. (Which was awesome by the way and i'm glad I went)

Got into Narita Aiport Sunday evening and had to take a train into Tokyo, about an hour away.

This is one of the local Tokyo JR (Japan Rail) Trains I took to get to the district where my Hostel was.



My first steps into the abyss.


Typical dorm style room in the hostels in Japan. This was in Tokyo.


Every toilet has about 20 buttons, and it took me a while to figure out what most of them do.
Features include:
Seat warmer
Bidet with multiple pressure modes
Air purifyer and deoderizer
15 CFM Fan for dispensing deoderizer
and much much more!


The hostel in Tokyo


One of the many gates to one of the many temples all over Japan.
This happens to be the gates before the Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo


Pagoda in Senso-ji




Hey look! It's Tom in the vending machine!


One of the many markets around Japan.


Train station


The trains are unbelievably awesome in Japan. So efficient, always on time, always easy and I always knew where I was going. So easy to navigate.


Samurai!


The land around the imperial palace in tokyo


The Imperial Palace itself. The mote and walls.


The Emperor of Japan lives in there, and he likes his quiet time.


These dudes mean business. They will karate chop you.


Samurai!


Artsy


War museum in Tokyo


A6M5 Type 0 Model 52 Zero fighter!


Tokyo at night from the Tokyo tower. A lot of stuff.






Municipal buildings in TOkyo




Speaks for itself


Some mini market in Tokyo. This place was strange. It seemed tiny, like 3/4 of normal building sizes.


Electronics store. I just about had a seizure from all the colours and junk everywhere.


JR Station map for Tokyo!

[worth]

SHINKANSEN!!!


The leg room in these trains is enough for basketball players. And i'm not kidding. For a nation of small people, the Japanese value their leg space.


Train station boxed lunch. 1,000 yen.


I don't know what half the things are in here, but I ate it all. Some of it was weird.


Rice paddys in the "Country". There is no real country side in Japan though.


Kyoto Station. Very cool.


Kyoto Tower. Lets go up there!




Walking around Kyoto




Kyoto tower at night.


The river in Kyoto. I found this place to be really peaceful. One of my favourite spots. Ate lunch here one day.


Shrines.


Spontaneous baseball game Japanese Style.




How to wash your hands. Interesting since 70% of Japanese bathrooms do not have soap or garbage cans. Don't get me started on the garbage cans...




Far NW part of Kyoto. Where is everybody?



This is the station where you wash your hands and mouth before you go into a temple.


Ninna-ji Temple, which was bloody awesome. Another favourite of mine.













I can't remember what Temple these guys are guarding, but they're cool.


Then I stumbled on a graveyard. No joke. It was freaky.


Ryoanji Temple rock garden. You can only count all 15 boulders if you reach some sort of enlightenment. I counted a bajillion.




Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavilion! Also a very cool place.

[worth]

The gates at Fushimi Inari shine.


4km to the top. Here we go.


Each Torii is inscribed. They are donated by businesses, so I can only guess they are inscribed with the business name. People worship the nari for wealth, so that's why businesses have placed them here.




One of the many many shrines along the way.

Now i'm in Nara. The Banff of Japan.


Gate guardians for the Tōdai-ji Temple. These guys were wicked awesome.




The largest wooden building in the world. Trust me, this thing is MASSIVE. I was blown away. And it is only 2/3 the side of the original.


Big Buddah inside


This dude was hanging out front.




The sushi in 7-11. Amazing. I want it now. I wonder if on 7/11 day in Japan they have free sushi. You know what...I didn't even notice if they have slurpees in Japan...I just know you can buy beer and sake there and sushi. I was in heaven.



Beer/sake vending machine! Yaaaa!


Lunch.
Sushi, Sake, Afternoon Tea (lemon), Kirin beer (Brewed for Good Times).


Osaka! I was here for about 1.5 hours. Basically just to say I was there, and because I missed my train.


A cool building. The Arc de Triomphe of Osaka.


SHINKANSEN!!!






These dudes rush on the Shinkansen as soon as it gets to the station and clean like mad, then jump off so passengers can get on. All of this takes place in like 3 minutes. This is the longest amount of time anyone has ever seen a Shinkansen train sit still.


Hiroshima!


Japanese garden in Hiroshima


Caption:

Shukkeien (Approx. 1.22-1.46km from the hypocenter)

This garden was designed in 1620 by Soko Ueda, a principle retainer of Lord Asano of Hiroshima, as a villa for his lord. The garden, lovingly referred to as "Sentel" by the people of Hiroshima before the war, was completely leveled as a result of the first atomic bombing in history. A large number of survivors took refuge here immediatley following the bombing, but died before receiving medical care. Their remains were interred within the garden.


Rebuilt castle


View from teh castle







Caption:

Underground communication room (700m from the hypocenter)

In and around Hiroshima Castle were a number of military facilities including the partially underground strategic command control rooms and the communication room of the Chugoku Regional Military Headquarters. In the communication room, soldiers were assisted by Hijiyama Girl's High School students mobilized for the war effort. The atomic bomb destroyed telephone and telegraph lines, but the students, using the barley intact military phone system, managed to relay news of Hiroshima's destruction. Theirs seems to have been the first report of Hiroshima's suffering.

[worth]

OKONOMIYAKI!!!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM delicious!



The target for the A-bomb. The middle of the T intersection of the bridge.


The bomb in reality exploded 300m SE of the bridge over the domed building, now known as the "A-Bomb Dome"


The bomb exploded 600m in the air for maximum effectiveness. The only buildings that were still standing did so because they were built earthquake proof. Everything else is leveled.


Little Boy




Black rain. 20-30 minutes after the bomb it started to rain. All the debris and radiation in the air mixed with the rain and began to fall black as night. The people began to drink this black rain water because they had nothing else to drink.


The memorial outside the museum.




The peace flame. Will not be extinguised until all the nuclear weapons on earth are destroyed.


The A-Bomb Dome



Caption:

The Hiroshima Perfectural Industrial Promotion Hall
(Approx. 160m from the hypocenter)

This building was completed in April of 1915 under the design and supervision of Czech architect Jan Letzel, capturing the fancy of the citizens of Hiroshima with its characteristic green dome. The atomic bomb exploded at an altitude of 580m approx. 160m southeast of the Industrial Promotion Hall, instantly killing everyone inside the building which was seriously damage and completly burned out. In December 1996 this structure was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as a reminder to the entire world of the horrors of the atomic bomb and a symbol of global peace.




The A101 bridge, the target of the bomb.


It took me a moment to figure out why there were water bottles on monuments around Hiroshima. Then it hit me that people were offering fresh clean water in memory to those who died here, drinking the black rain.


Ok happy times.

Ferry to Miyajima!


This is another very famous place. Recgonize the photo?


The deer here like to sit around and eat the crackers you are supposed to buy and give them.


I asked one of these dudes to bless me when I got to Hiroshima. I saw one of them doing a jig on some Japanese lady in Nara. So I gave him 200 yen and he said like 4 words and told me to be on my way.


Ramen stand at the train station. You have to buy a ticket from the machine on the left then you give it to the lasy and she gets your soup. Thing is, good luck figuring out what is what on the machine. There are a few dishes that have pictures, so you have to choose one that looks like it is edible, then read the Kanji characters and transfer that over to the button you need to press. It takes like 4 minutes to figure it out. Then you stand up and eat your Ramen before the train comes, then you spill the bowl everywhere when you try to give it back to the lady, then you say "Sumimasen, sumimasen...sumimasen". Then you bolt.


My Roykan in Fukuoka!


Beppu! The Onsen/Prostitute town!


Hot springs




walk through a graveyard to get to an onsen


finally at the onsen and it had no friggin hot springs water in it!


finally one that wasn't broken


beppu at night


As soon as I turn that corner the hookers are there. Beppu is hot springs town by day, hooker town by night.

[worth]

Alas I have no pictures of hookers, only of this railway car layout of a Hikari Rail Star!

Back to Kokura from Beppu, then from Beppu to Osaka then to Tokyo. Then home.