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Recommendations for Japan Travel

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Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#221

Post by bentlegen »

michaelt wrote: post #191
bentlegen wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He or she preferred a time when the world was less connected, and one’s ability to travel was dictated more by wealth, status, and education. Think of a time when to pull off a trip to Japan you had to use a travel agent ($) to assist you in even figuring out what hotel to go to and how to get there. You’d rely on print magazines and books to even first decide where to go, and those only had so many pages to print. R…

There was a time when you didn't need a travel agent, but before the rise of social media and camera phones. Budget airlines like Easyjet and online travel agencies like Expedia were around a decade before the iPhone.

The raw availability of something existing in 1996 (when Expedia launched, a decade before the iPhone) does not mean it was accessible or widespread. How many homes had the internet in 1996? How expensive were the personal computers necessary to access those travel portals? I feel your example only emphasizes the thesis.

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#222

Post by GuB-42 »

throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #118
impendia wrote: post #58

Having lived in Japan for two years, what I'd add to this is to spend a lot of time walking, if physically able. For example, in my opinion the best way to explore Tokyo is to simply leave your hotel in the morning, wander around all day, and stop anywhere and everywhere that looks interesting. The excellent mass transit system means that it won't be a problem to get back. In more rural parts of Japan, there are sign…

Tokyo is absurdly gigantic, I would not suggest randomly walking it. Also the subway system can be challenging, and the staff don't speak English, so if you get stuck they likely won't be able to help. Another random thing about the train system: there are women-only cars. I didn't realize this until I had already boarded and (as a man) I was absolutely mortified.

> Tokyo is absurdly gigantic, I would not suggest randomly walking it.

Tokyo is not really a big city like London, New York or Paris. It is like a bunch of smaller cities clumped together. In fact administratively, Tokyo is a prefecture, not a city.

So sure, it is huge, but you can random walk one of the "wards" like you would a smaller city. You can also walk between wards, but expect to walk a lot, and you are unlikely to make it your primary way of moving around, but I still recommend you do it at least once. Biking is also common (note: biking is done on the sidewalk there).

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#223

Post by tafda »

MarkSweep wrote: post #218

A couple of observations from my recent trip: * currently everyone wears masks everywhere all the the time. There are stores here and there that sell masks in a variety of styles, so you can color-coordinate with you outfit if you want. * submit your vaccination card before arrival. Otherwise you are going to be in a long line. * all iPhones since the 8 have native Suica support. You can add it in the wallet up. It’s…

On the last point, luggage delivery hotel-to-hotel and hotel-to-airport is easy and one of my favorite unique services in Japan! About $15 per bag and then you don't have to carry your bag through the train station. Except on trains that specifically go to the airport e.g. N'EX / Narita Express, seems all local tourists use a luggage delivery service service.

There's a long form to fill out in Japanese, but any hotel front desk has been able to help me with it. Most convenience stores also have a sign with the distinctive yellow cat-carrying-kitten logo of Yamato Taq-Q-Bin:

https://www.global-yamato.com/en/hands-free-travel/scene02.h...

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#224

Post by kondro »

ValentineC wrote: post #163
Markoff wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I really doubt that would be issue for more than few days, any source to this wild claim? Only thing I could find is that foreign cards might not work in some online payments or mobile payments, which is quite normal everywhere in world, but giving bold statement that your foreign card is useless and you can't even withdraw money from ATM seems like spreading fake news. https://atadistance.net/2022/09/19/foreig…

I literally landed in Japan today for the first time since COVID: Had problems creating and topping up Suica/PASMO with multiple foreign Visa cards (ended up using Amex), but had absolutely no problems paying with Visa in stores that accept the usual myriad of cards.

That’s because you generally can’t use foreign credit cards to top up Suica.

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#226

Post by GuB-42 »

traceroute66 wrote: post #206

I have not read the whole blog, but at least one critical part of it is already out of date. The bit about the Japan Rail Pass, in particular the statement "and which you must purchase before you get here" . This is no longer the case. In the run-up to the Olympics, Japan made serious improvements in relation to the JRP: 1) You no longer need to purchase it abroad. You can purchase it in Japan on presentation of your…

I actually like the "queue and stamp" and "queue and show"!

First, because queues were usually short. For showing the JR pass, usually no queue at all, sometimes faster than the automatic gates. For reserving seats the experience has always been great, even as a non-Japanese speaker. The guy will find you the time, changes, etc... will ask you if you want to be together as a group, smoking or non-smoking cars (if that's still a thing), etc... and will find what's best for you taking into account what's available, often in less than a minute. I have never had an experience like this with a machine, not even close.

Maybe you travel mostly at rush hours, where the queues can get longer, but no "palaver" for me, everything has been as efficient as it could be. Generally I find machines to be strictly worse than competent staff, and the JR staff is among the best.

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#227

Post by Vt71fcAqt7 »

Klonoar wrote: post #214
ianpenney wrote: post #146

I’ve been 18 times and I had a good chuckle at this story and the comments. All largely inaccurate. Especially the bits about APA and Kyoto. Y’all reek of FOMO and exoticism. Chill. Just go with it. You’ll be fine. Live your normal life, just in a different place. You can gaijin smash through anything if you’re a jerk. If you’re not, I’m sure you’ll find a way to be less shitty as a tourist and someone will appreciat…

I lived there for over six years and moved away because I got tired of the country - which is to say, I really get tired of reading Japan fetishism/worship/exoticism takes. The pedestal people place it on is absolutely not needed. That said, Patrick’s takes are pretty much as bad as people in this thread are pointing out. (Side note: take a shot for every random article about Japan that gets to the front page and you…

When did you start noticing this enter the mainstream? For me it was ~2015. I remember when anime avatars were mocked and ridiculed, and "weeb" was used an an insult. (admittedly both by poeple who did and did not watch anime, but that itself is a point I won't touch on here.)

Yet I find "thing, Japan" to be 10x worse than that. So much so that I stopped watching anime completely. I see the most boring, time wasting and irrelevant videos on youtube in the default youtube homepage (no cookies) that simply have "Japan" in the tittle with millions of views and thousands of comments half about anime and half about how Japan does the thing in the video 10x better than everyone else. And 90% with anime avatars. So much for escapism... Japan is now everywhere.

>take a shot for every random article about Japan that gets to the front page

Just this or last week there was a Japanese university compsci cirlce-jerk here on HN. Apearantly, Japan is known for it's unbeatable hardware design programs, unrivled by any gaijin education. And yes, Japan is of course a top country in tech. But these claims are ridiculus and unfounded, especialy as Japan's hardware industry has been on the delcine. For example, Samsung is rapidly removing them from their supply chain (even the chemicals that ONLY Japan can produce, or something) and Chinese cameras have made it into the S23 Ultra. Of course little to no mention of Korea in the replies to that post desipte being a leader in almost all hardware tech: DRAM (1); Fabs (2); display (1); smartphones (2); SSDs (1 or 2) and recently some "heavy industry and chemicals" that Japan is still known for.

I don't hate Japan, far from it, but this needs to stop.

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#228

Post by Larrikin »

spookthesunset wrote: post #199
throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tokyo is absurdly gigantic, I would not suggest randomly walking it. Also the subway system can be challenging, and the staff don't speak English, so if you get stuck they likely won't be able to help. Another random thing about the train system: there are women-only cars. I didn't realize this until I had already boarded and (as a man) I was absolutely mortified.

That is what you have a backup for. When I was in Tokyo google maps and it’s transit info was all I needed. I have no clue how anybody could navigate that city without something like Google Maps.

If you stay contained to one system you can get nearly everywhere on the map using one transfer. Know where you're starting, know where you're going and then just look for an intersection between the lines. It probably won't be the fastest route, but since you're staying in one system it won't be that expensive. In an emergency where your phone is dead, you'll always be able to get home.

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#229

Post by oska »

mynameisvlad wrote: post #174
throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tokyo is absurdly gigantic, I would not suggest randomly walking it. Also the subway system can be challenging, and the staff don't speak English, so if you get stuck they likely won't be able to help. Another random thing about the train system: there are women-only cars. I didn't realize this until I had already boarded and (as a man) I was absolutely mortified.

Highly disagree. A few years ago, I was lost in Ikebukuro trying to find the Metro station. I had already walked over half an hour but only found the JR stations. I asked one of the security guards “Tokyo metro eki…. Doko??” And even with my absurdly broken Japanese, I not only got directions in Japanese back to me, but the guard walked with me until the station was in sight to make sure I understood and could get to…

> but Japanese people will go extremely out of their way to help you

> I got the world moved for me

I'm somewhat uncomfortable with these characterisations of Japan and the Japanese people. Yes, Japanese people can be helpful to (obvious) visitors but with more and more people visiting Japan visitors shouldn't expect this to keep being the case, nor do visitors necessarily deserve this treatment. It probably will hold true but I don't think we should encourage an entitled attitude of "I'm a visitor, therefore the always helpful Japanese people will help me out of any tricky situations I get into while visiting their country".

Re: Recommendations for Japan Travel

#230

Post by mc32 »

bentlegen wrote: post #221
michaelt wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was a time when you didn't need a travel agent, but before the rise of social media and camera phones. Budget airlines like Easyjet and online travel agencies like Expedia were around a decade before the iPhone.

The raw availability of something existing in 1996 (when Expedia launched, a decade before the iPhone) does not mean it was accessible or widespread. How many homes had the internet in 1996? How expensive were the personal computers necessary to access those travel portals? I feel your example only emphasizes the thesis.

By that time you could easily buy second hand PCs for a couple hundred or build your own pretty affordably —even on part-time going to college. For the most part you could use the PCs at work as well.
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