Japan (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Salima
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Japan is awesome.
Tokyo is a wonder to explore.
Anything specific you want to know about?
Geishas - Kyoto is the place to go to for the geishas.
There's a district where you can see all the traditional geishas in Kyoto. I went on the wrong day, but managed to see a few about in the temples and shrines.
Tokyo is a wonder to explore.
Anything specific you want to know about?
Geishas - Kyoto is the place to go to for the geishas.
There's a district where you can see all the traditional geishas in Kyoto. I went on the wrong day, but managed to see a few about in the temples and shrines.
Mr_Shrimp
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Is it as expensive as everyone says?
Anyone from here travelled there on a tight budget?
Also, I read this thing in the Travel section of Wikipedia, like a full-on article about how to hitchhike in Japan
It was very....informative? Apparently you can get pretty much anywhere by hitchhiking and the people are very nice. And since you're in THEIR car, they consider you their guest and treat you accordingly lol.
Anyone from here travelled there on a tight budget?
Also, I read this thing in the Travel section of Wikipedia, like a full-on article about how to hitchhike in Japan
It was very....informative? Apparently you can get pretty much anywhere by hitchhiking and the people are very nice. And since you're in THEIR car, they consider you their guest and treat you accordingly lol.Really you did? How was it? Yeh I want ot know the cheapest way of getting htere and where all the good kimonos are to buy. When I go there I want to dress as giesha for fun! But it's almost as expensive as being entertained by geisha!
Does anyone here know of any kimomo selling shops in sydney?
Does anyone here know of any kimomo selling shops in sydney?
Japan has a high cost of living, but for our currency, things are cheaper than Sydney.
So no, the expensive Japan thing is a myth.
There's "100Yen" stores everywhere! better than our $2 over here.
Cheap way of getting there - ask a student travel agency like STA.
If you're going around by Bullet Train / Shin-Kan-Sen, make sure you buy a JR pass from here!!!
A 7Day JR pass lets you travel on any JR line (local or shinkansen) for $300-400
If you bought a return trip bullet train (in Japan) from Tokyo to Kyoto and back, it's about the same price as the 7Day JR Pass.
So no, the expensive Japan thing is a myth.
There's "100Yen" stores everywhere! better than our $2 over here.
Cheap way of getting there - ask a student travel agency like STA.
If you're going around by Bullet Train / Shin-Kan-Sen, make sure you buy a JR pass from here!!!
A 7Day JR pass lets you travel on any JR line (local or shinkansen) for $300-400
If you bought a return trip bullet train (in Japan) from Tokyo to Kyoto and back, it's about the same price as the 7Day JR Pass.
santaslayer
Active Member
OMG I went to a 100yen shop on two separate occassions. Managed to buy 4000 yen worth of good stuff. Actually I just came back from Japan two days ago.fatmuscle said:
Yes, Japs are very civilised. Very clean. Went crazy with shopping. Esp clothes. When you try on garments you need to take your shoe off. The fitting rooms are really small. LoLz. Small peeple. Some larger department stalls may not allow you to try on tops, only pants. You MUST find out before you enter into a fitting room. One place gave me a something that looked like a bag to cover my head when I was trying on a top. (ahahahaha
) DisneyLand was actually shit. Shit rides. Too many people. The animals and stuff are very realistic though. Saw the 8:30PM (?) fireworks. Absoloutly amazing.
Went to a penis shrine. Heaps funny. They worship the dick over there.
Jap fashion is a million light years ahead of Australia. Hard to find my size. I felt like a giant over there, and I'm not even big. Had to find Large and LL sizes. I was there during Christmas so everything was cheap. Couldn't buyy much in Tokyo. Too expensive. Even in Australian Dollar terms. Only bought a pair of jeans worth $30,000 YEN. That's about $370 AUD. :shock: Exchange rate was 80.9
Food is good shit. Esp the noodles/udon. The soup base is so sexy.
Girls over there know how to maintain themselves.
Guys too. Weird thing is that guys use makeup as well.
Mobile Phones are cheap and varied. Can't really use them in aus though.
Hot springs are mad. Single sex ones require naked-ness. Both sex ones require swimwear. 15 mins max or you'll kill yourself.
EDIT: Saw Hello Kitty everywhere. SOme are actually pretty cute.
Hello Kitty is $4500 YEN. Go if you're willing to spend. lol. DisneyLand is only $5500 YEN. HelloKitty Land is a ripoff. That's only the entrance fee.
When I was there, it was snowing. Pretty much magic.
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MiuMiu
Somethin' special....
Im heading over there next week, pretty excited but worried about the cost. Desperate to go on a bullet train, but whats this about it being $300 for a return trip?!?!
Just to back up what Santa said, Japanese goods tends to be a few years ahead of every other country, they keep the good stuff to themselves for a few years, when they get bored of it or if something new comes along, they export it overseas. So if you're looking for the latest stuff, go there.
Very innovative as well... since when do you get credit card slots in your car which automatically pays for all your tolls...? Or vending machines which sells 30 types of drinks, warm or cold... or seat warmers on the metro>.
Lastly, in public, being polite, courteous and restrained is a must.
Very innovative as well... since when do you get credit card slots in your car which automatically pays for all your tolls...? Or vending machines which sells 30 types of drinks, warm or cold... or seat warmers on the metro
>.Lastly, in public, being polite, courteous and restrained is a must.
santa, i salute you! 4000 Yen in a 100 Yen store. that's a champion effort.
JR Pass - http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en001.html
As mentioned above, disney land is poor.
Go there if you're going to go to USA later. they you'll think USA is so much better!
I never went to hot springs, but i would've loved to go there.
Food, if you want an all you can eat / karaoke place. AMATARO!
look it up.
not sure how touristy/nature-wise you are
but Mt Fuji is a MUST.
if you want a good view of Tokyo, go to Shinjuku and go up the government buildings.
it's FREE!
JR Pass - http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en001.html
As mentioned above, disney land is poor.
Go there if you're going to go to USA later. they you'll think USA is so much better!
I never went to hot springs, but i would've loved to go there.
Food, if you want an all you can eat / karaoke place. AMATARO!
look it up.
not sure how touristy/nature-wise you are
but Mt Fuji is a MUST.
if you want a good view of Tokyo, go to Shinjuku and go up the government buildings.
it's FREE!
santaslayer
Active Member
Yeah HelloKitty Land. The 4500 YEN is only the entrance fee. From there you can pay for rides and buy HelloK merchandise.miss_gtr said:
Actually, I haven't seen any of the so called I <3 Tokyo shirts or whatever. The 100 yen shops usually sell a lot of innovative storage ideas. This is a must in japan since homes are so small There are some HelloKitty bags and other products in the 100yen shop as well.
Don't expect to buy gadgets and stuff there. Just normal, day to day stuff. Stationary (really good), bags, hats, a LOT of kitchenware, Japanese cutlery (bowls, chopsticks), showercap (lol), various toys, keyrings, keychains, wallets. Most things sold are to make your life easier i guess..A lot of food as well...most aren't out of date as well...just chips, gum, noodles, tofu...etc..
It's almost like the 1 2 3 shops you may of come across in the city, but 10000 times better.
PLUS----
ALL 100YEN SHOPS HAVE A ONE YEAR GUARANTEE!!! (not that you would bother
)NOTE: all 100 yen shops have a 5 yen consumption tax on all products...
Cherryblossom...I went on a tour. It was about $3000 AUD for eight days. (2 days travel time
). Included was accomadation, most of the food, travel tickets, airport fee, and most of the tourist attractions. HelloKitty Land, Bullet train and Disney were seprate.I didn't go on the bullet trains. That was on our free day. I chose DisneyLand instead. Shit choice.
MiuMiu
Somethin' special....
Ive been to USA disneyland, I assumed Japan disneyland was going to be exactly the same.....false?
Japan disneyland is about 1/5th of the size of Anahiem.
I stayed here in Tokyo: http://www.newkoyo.jp/
it was my home for 2 weeks, so even though it didn't look like much, we learnt to love it.
About 5min walk to Tokyo Metro and 7min to a JR station.
Yeah, politeness is a key. Everyone there is EXTREMELY friendly.
The only rudeness we got was when we asked some stranger for direction to a shop. After giving us the directions, he told us that next time we should go to a police station.
As someone mentioned above, don't blow your nose in public! that's true.
But they tempt you by giving you tissues everywhere!
Other stuff to see:
AKIHABARA. It's Electronic haven.
HARAJUKU. You've seen all these chicks with Harajuku bags, and most of them i doubt have even been there. Spend your Sundays at Harajuku. The chicks there are nuts! but great to take photos with!!!
YOKOHAMA. a bit out of the way, but it's got a great Chinatown. Some fancy buildings and riced up cars at night.
SHIBUYA. for the women. fashion shops galore.
ROPPONGI. I guess this is the night life area? I'm pretty sure someone mentioned there's a main red-light district here, although we pretty much found red-light districts in all major suburbs of tokyo.
Everyday things to see/do.
--Crossing a street in one of those massive traffic intersections. It's great seeing hundreds of people just cross a street. yeah, i know it sounds dumb, but I thought it was pretty cool.
--Going to the toilet. gotta try those heated toilet seats. Make sure you press all the buttons too!
--Vending Machines. you'll never go thirsty. there's vending machines EVERYWHRE.
--Speaking Jap. As long as it seems you're trying to make a decent attempt, the Japs love it. But of course if you struggle too much, they love speaking english too!
The only phrases stuck in my head are:
Wakarimasen - "I don't understand"
Toire wa doko desu ka? - "Where is the toilet?"
Koire wa doko desu ka? - "how much is this?"
obviously ppl who studied jap would know a lot more than me.
man, i want to go back there!
I stayed here in Tokyo: http://www.newkoyo.jp/
it was my home for 2 weeks, so even though it didn't look like much, we learnt to love it.
About 5min walk to Tokyo Metro and 7min to a JR station.
Yeah, politeness is a key. Everyone there is EXTREMELY friendly.
The only rudeness we got was when we asked some stranger for direction to a shop. After giving us the directions, he told us that next time we should go to a police station.
As someone mentioned above, don't blow your nose in public! that's true.
But they tempt you by giving you tissues everywhere!
Other stuff to see:
AKIHABARA. It's Electronic haven.
HARAJUKU. You've seen all these chicks with Harajuku bags, and most of them i doubt have even been there. Spend your Sundays at Harajuku. The chicks there are nuts! but great to take photos with!!!
YOKOHAMA. a bit out of the way, but it's got a great Chinatown. Some fancy buildings and riced up cars at night.
SHIBUYA. for the women. fashion shops galore.
ROPPONGI. I guess this is the night life area? I'm pretty sure someone mentioned there's a main red-light district here, although we pretty much found red-light districts in all major suburbs of tokyo.
Everyday things to see/do.
--Crossing a street in one of those massive traffic intersections. It's great seeing hundreds of people just cross a street. yeah, i know it sounds dumb, but I thought it was pretty cool.
--Going to the toilet. gotta try those heated toilet seats. Make sure you press all the buttons too!
--Vending Machines. you'll never go thirsty. there's vending machines EVERYWHRE.
--Speaking Jap. As long as it seems you're trying to make a decent attempt, the Japs love it. But of course if you struggle too much, they love speaking english too!
The only phrases stuck in my head are:
Wakarimasen - "I don't understand"
Toire wa doko desu ka? - "Where is the toilet?"
Koire wa doko desu ka? - "how much is this?"
obviously ppl who studied jap would know a lot more than me.
man, i want to go back there!
MiuMiu
Somethin' special....
How much is a typical meal going to set me back, Aussie dollar wise?
I don't really like Asian food but of course Im gonna have to try. And how much does a maccas meal work out to be?
I don't really like Asian food but of course Im gonna have to try. And how much does a maccas meal work out to be?
Food's about the same price in Sydney in Aussie dollars.
There are cheap foods out there. like your fast foods, there's plenty to choose from.
Maccas - there are always specials
when I went, there was 200Yen Big Macs (A$2.50) and 100Yen for 5 Nuggets (A$130)
If you want western foods, search for Tony Romas! and 'Outback'
santa brought up a really important point. the 5% tax.
Keep that in mind!
There are cheap foods out there. like your fast foods, there's plenty to choose from.
Maccas - there are always specials
when I went, there was 200Yen Big Macs (A$2.50) and 100Yen for 5 Nuggets (A$130)
If you want western foods, search for Tony Romas! and 'Outback'
santa brought up a really important point. the 5% tax.
Keep that in mind!
MiuMiu
Somethin' special....
Awesome, thanks heaps for the insight everyone!
bscienceboi
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I've been to Japan.
Simply amazing (expensive too). Its unlike any place you'll visit. Went to Disneyland there too, nothing different just tonnes of schoolgirls.
Simply amazing (expensive too). Its unlike any place you'll visit. Went to Disneyland there too, nothing different just tonnes of schoolgirls.
Check out Shinjuku (red light district) for a more 'intimate' experience with Japan's culture. Their advertising is more up front, you see a lot of their 'stars' (males included) on billboards or posters everywhere, really heavy Yakuza presence, and the cars :O - Merc AMGs and Rolls everywhere! - Now that's Tokyo .
.