[CrackedButter]

I've got a holiday booked for September dirt cheap (cheap to me), i'll be going to Tokyo for a week.

The first few things i want to do is go to the Ginza Apple Store (but of course!) and get myself an ipod mini.

Next i want to see Mount Fuji...after that its whatever if recommended, anybody been there and seen something i should see as well?

[Xeo]

I haven't been there, but I am also planning a trip. Some friends and I are going to go for a month this summer. I plan to definitely go to Ginza and see everything there including the Apple store. I plan to spend some time in Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and visit a friend in Wakayama (small city on the east coast). Honestly I don't know what I'm going to do. Probably have people I know recommend places. Since I'm going for a month I plan to stay in a cheap guest house where the quality of living isn't the greatest but I spend more time with the locals.

I suppose I'll be fresh back from my trip when you are just going. If I remember this thread, perhaps I can outline my experience and it'll help. After all, it'll be my first time going just like you. And it'll all be fresh.

[CrackedButter]

When are you going?

[Cubeoid]

Other then the Ginza Apple Store, which is nice but not mind blowing, you should hit Akihabara (the electric town) , there are a dew Apple specific stores there which are pretty cool, several floors in size..each floor focusing on a theme, audio etc.. it's a lot of fun..

[ryju]

Originally posted by CrackedButter:
When are you going?

September..

[Judge_Fire]

Nokia, which has zero presence in Japan, is weirdly hosting a cool site about Tokyo stuff at TokyoQ.

Got a place to stay yet? I can recommend a decently (Ok, Tokyo rates decent) priced place at a very nice location (Yanaka), where they have ADSL (no xtra charge) in every room. I fixed their lobby iMac last november, so it might be time to check on it

J

[spiky_dog]

i'm a fan of randomly walking around tokyo: see roppongi, roppongi hills, akihabara, ginza, the shrines (meiji jingu certainly), the imperial palace. kyoto is also filled with tourist attractions. buy a book

here are my pics from the last time i visited relatives in japan: japan trip pics

[wataru]

Definitely go to Asakusa while you're in Tokyo. It's quite amazing.

[CrackedButter]

I plan on taking loads of photos, is there going to be an issue while in these stores or anywhere i go in Tokyo?

@ spiky-dog, Cheers for the links (looking at your photos i'm thinking i'm already there, they are nice)

Judge_Fire, I do have accommodation already purchased but thankyou for the offer, i'll be staying at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel.

@ryju, i was asking the mod, not myself!

@Cubeoid, is this city far? Why is it called the Electric city (other than the obvious)?

[nobitacu]

I love everything about Japan. Almost wanted to moved there and live there before.

Ming

[Dubya's Dealer]

Spend your money wisely-it's expensive. You're going to want to buy everything.

Problems with photos? Are you kidding, this Japan, a nation of photographers for cryin out loud.

Akihabara is electric city because it is chock filled with electronic stores selling the latest Japanese goods. Stuff you won't be seeing stateside for a while, if ever. It's mind boggling, and of course confusing and difficult to manage if you don't read any Japanese. After that you can head on to Uenu to relax.

Off the top of my head I'd recommend a day trip to Kamakura and check out good old Daibutsu. There were FALCONS on the beach when I was, there. They were actually swooping down trying to steal peoples' lunches-it was surreal.

If you're at all into the club scene, or techno/trance music you should have a ball. If they're still doing concerts in Yoyogi Park that should be fun.

God I miss Tokyo.

[d0ubled0wn]

Be sure to try the tempura udon. If you want a quick snack pop into a 7-11, they actually have fresh food in there. The pastries are excellent, try anything that says creme pan.

As you can tell, I love the food over there.

Somewhere on the Izu peninsula

[CrackedButter]

Originally posted by Dubya's Dealer:
Spend your money wisely-it's expensive. You're going to want to buy everything.

Problems with photos? Are you kidding, this Japan, a nation of photographers for cryin out loud.

Akihabara is electric city because it is chock filled with electronic stores selling the latest Japanese goods. Stuff you won't be seeing stateside for a while, if ever. It's mind boggling, and of course confusing and difficult to manage if you don't read any Japanese. After that you can head on to Uenu to relax.

Off the top of my head I'd recommend a day trip to Kamakura and check out good old Daibutsu. There were FALCONS on the beach when I was, there. They were actually swooping down trying to steal peoples' lunches-it was surreal.

If you're at all into the club scene, or techno/trance music you should have a ball. If they're still doing concerts in Yoyogi Park that should be fun.

God I miss Tokyo.

Well its a culture thing, i thought things were different, but is it okay to walk into shops and start snaping away?

[busket68]

I was there for 2 weeks. I'd hit up 'electric street', I forget the real name of it, but that's the nick.... its just ALL electronics shops, and it has all this neon kinda like vegas, huge buildings, and escalators to dozens of floors of electronics you can't get anywhere else.

Also, be SURE to hit up the world's largest cast buddha, its in some temple that's the world's largest building built without nails. Then slip through the hole in one of hte massive supports for good luck.

And... avoid egg salad. I don't know why, but they love that stuff over there. If you're VISITING some people, bring them steak and bacon, steak over there costs about $90.

Anyway, have fun!

Oh yeah!

Learn this: "Sumi massen, benjo doe-ka deska?".

That's 'excuse me sir, where is the bathroom?"

- Ca$h

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by CrackedButter:
I've got a holiday booked for September dirt cheap (cheap to me), i'll be going to Tokyo for a week.

The first few things i want to do is go to the Ginza Apple Store (but of course!) and get myself an ipod mini.

Next i want to see Mount Fuji...after that its whatever if recommended, anybody been there and seen something i should see as well?

I am living in Nagoya right now and I went to Tokyo for New Year's Eve. I have bought a LaCie external hd there. The Apple Store is awesome. Five stories, nice people. They almost **** their pants when two others with Apple Staff T-Shirts entered. Thought we'd come from Cupertino

Some tips on what should see: Ginza, for sure. Asakusa Shrine and Asakusa Tempel, Meiji Shrine (Harajuku), Harajuku and Shibuya (for shopping), Shinjuku. You should definitely see the sunset in on the beach of Odaiba, the skyline is awesome. Roppongi isn't that much worth visiting, too many Gaijin and prostitutes, and it's expensive.

Ok, I can give you detailed explanations if you want. Just pm me.

How many days do you have? What is your budget?

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by Xeo:
I haven't been there, but I am also planning a trip. Some friends and I are going to go for a month this summer. I plan to definitely go to Ginza and see everything there including the Apple store. I plan to spend some time in Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and visit a friend in Wakayama (small city on the east coast). Honestly I don't know what I'm going to do. Probably have people I know recommend places. Since I'm going for a month I plan to stay in a cheap guest house where the quality of living isn't the greatest but I spend more time with the locals.

I suppose I'll be fresh back from my trip when you are just going. If I remember this thread, perhaps I can outline my experience and it'll help. After all, it'll be my first time going just like you. And it'll all be fresh.

How long do you want to stay in Japan?

[rjenkinson]

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
How long do you want to stay in Japan?

he said he's going to stay for a month twice.

-r.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by rjenkinson:
he said he's going to stay for a month twice.

-r.

Yes, but he didn't give details how long he wants to stay in each city.

No need to be aggressive.

I can give you the address of a cheap Ryokan, we paid 4.500 Yen a night.

[Truepop]

Originally posted by rjenkinson:
he said he's going to stay for a month twice.

-r.

A month twice? do you mean two months?

[Xeo]

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
Yes, but he didn't give details how long he wants to stay in each city.

No need to be aggressive.

I can give you the address of a cheap Ryokan, we paid 4.500 Yen a night.

Actually, I don't know if we're going to move around. We're probably going to stay in Osaka the whole time, but visit different places. Perhaps Osaka for 3 weeks and Tokyo for 1. I dunno. We haven't planned it out yet. However, we are going cheap. We're going to stay in a guest house for something like 40000 Yen for the whole month. 4500 a night is more than we want to spend. We're going light and living off what's around us. Hopefully we'll meet a lot of interesting people along the way.

Hmm... perhaps we will move from city to city. That sounds like more fun.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by Xeo:
Actually, I don't know if we're going to move around. We're probably going to stay in Osaka the whole time, but visit different places. Perhaps Osaka for 3 weeks and Tokyo for 1. I dunno. We haven't planned it out yet. However, we are going cheap. We're going to stay in a guest house for something like 40000 Yen for the whole month. 4500 a night is more than we want to spend. We're going light and living off what's around us. Hopefully we'll meet a lot of interesting people along the way.

Hmm... perhaps we will move from city to city. That sounds like more fun.

I am not sure if you've checked the prices in Tokyo then. 4500 Yen (for double/single rooms) or 4000 Yen for a room for four is a lot less than anything I've seen in Tokyo. I talkted to a couple of natives from Tokyo and they've all advised us to spend at least 5000 Yen.

How many people are you? Another suggestion is to take a love hotel: they don't ask questions, so you could share a room many people. But you'd have to find a locker for your luggage during the day. The ones we've checked are about 8000 Yen a night for the room.

Tokyo is very expensive and with such a restricted budget, you won't be able to move a lot or experience the typical things. E. g. I enjoyed kaitten sushi a lot. Taking the subway is (compared to Nagoya) cheap, but in order to see anything, it means that you have to move a lot. We (my frieds and me) have spend about 35-40000 Yen in four days. But we've seen a lot, including Yokohama, Odaiba, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Asakusa Shrine, etc.

I am not sure if they have the dju hachi kippu (cheap train ticket) in September, so even moving from to Tokyo anc back is expensive. (Kyoto should be relatively cheap.) I can give you more advice on Osaka and Kyoto in about one and a half week, because I will spend about one week in both cities

[Xeo]

Well here's an example of the kind of place I want to stay. 48000 Yen for the month. That's only 1600 yen a day. I could spend more for a nice place, but then have a shorter trip. Depending on my finances, I might want to spend an even longer time in Japan. It depends on how much I save and how much I am willing to spend on this adventure. Considering I want to work in Japan after I graduate college, I'd probably do well not to blow all my money on it, but it's hard to resist.

[Cubeoid]

Originally posted by nobitacu:
I love everything about Japan. Almost wanted to moved there and live there before.

Ming

Obviously not everything huh?

[Cubeoid]

Originally posted by CrackedButter:
@Cubeoid, is this city far? Why is it called the Electric city (other than the obvious)?

Akihabara is in Tokyo..about 20 minutes on the train from Shinjuku (take the JR Chuo local train). The main street out of the station is packed with electronics stores selling mainly digital cameras, computers plus anything elese you can think of. The back streets have shady looking dudes selling dirty old hard disks, shitty old laptops and copies of Windows 95 from carboard boxes.

If you like vintage Apple gear, there is a little store where you can buy plenty of old macs and stuff like System 7 in the box etc. Japan being the world of "goods" you can also get some cool Apple merchandise such as keychains, phonestraps, and all kinds of other assorted crap. Enjoy!

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by Xeo:
Well here's an example of the kind of place I want to stay. 48000 Yen for the month. That's only 1600 yen a day. I could spend more for a nice place, but then have a shorter trip. Depending on my finances, I might want to spend an even longer time in Japan. It depends on how much I save and how much I am willing to spend on this adventure. Considering I want to work in Japan after I graduate college, I'd probably do well not to blow all my money on it, but it's hard to resist.

Well, according to Lonely Planet (you should definitely get one if you travel here), these places can be quite dirty at times.

That's why my group opted against it. Plus, all youth hostels that we have tried were closed over New Year's. So you might have more luck AFA timing is concerned.

How about spending a year here as an exchange student. You might wanna check out the NUPACE program at Nagoya university. If you wanna work in Japan, this is the number 3 of all universities here (at least from the reputation, and that's all that matters when getting a job here). You are in the middle of Japan, the organization is short of perfect and because Nagoya is much cheaper, you have money left to travel a lot. In two weeks, I will have seen all major cities on Honshu: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, and Hiroshima. I have also been to South Korea.

You do not need any background in Japanese to apply. PM me, if you are interested in details.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by Cubeoid:
Akihabara is in Tokyo..about 20 minutes on the train from Shinjuku (take the JR Chuo local train). The main street out of the station is packed with electronics stores selling mainly digital cameras, computers plus anything elese you can think of. The back streets have shady looking dudes selling dirty old hard disks, shitty old laptops and copies of Windows 95 from carboard boxes.

If you like vintage Apple gear, there is a little store where you can buy plenty of old macs and stuff like System 7 in the box etc. Japan being the world of "goods" you can also get some cool Apple merchandise such as keychains, phonestraps, and all kinds of other assorted crap. Enjoy!

The used computer market in Japan is great: in regular shops, you have a wide variety of choices.

[Cubeoid]

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
The used computer market in Japan is great: in regular shops, you have a wide variety of choices.

True.. that applies to macs too. One store had wall to wall quicksilvers. You could imagine it was some kind of render farm

[wataru]

Originally posted by busket68:
Learn this: "Sumi massen, benjo doe-ka deska?".

That's 'excuse me sir, where is the bathroom?"

- Ca$h

Only if you have a speech impediment.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by wataru:
Only if you have a speech impediment.

I have never heard the term �benjo' for rest rooms.

I usually use: Kono chikaku ni toire ga alimsu ka?
Beginners may use the easier: Toire ha doko desu ka?

[wataru]

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
I have never heard the term �benjo' for rest rooms.

I usually use: Kono chikaku ni toire ga alimsu ka?
Beginners may use the easier: Toire ha doko desu ka?

"benjo" (便所) is not used as commonly, especially in speech. But what I was really getting at was that he mangled those words pretty badly. Yours is correct except for "alimsu." That should be "arimasu" (あります). And for those who may not know, "ha" (は) is in this case pronounced "wa."

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by wataru:
"benjo" (便所) is not used as commonly, especially in speech. But what I was really getting at was that he mangled those words pretty badly. Yours is correct except for "alimsu." That should be "arimasu" (あります). And for those who may not know, "ha" (は) is in this case pronounced "wa."

I know, but try phonetic input with "wa" which will produce ? (�wa'), instead of the correct ? (�ha') that you use. I get sloppy on the difference between �r' and �l' as phonetic input allows both, ??? (gomene)

Edit: no kana shows up. How did you enter them?

[wataru]

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
Edit: no kana shows up. How did you enter them?

Don't use Safari. Gecko-based browsers work correctly.

And I only meant to clarify the は／わ issue for people who don't know better. Romaji is not the most intuitive thing in the world.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by wataru:
Don't use Safari. Gecko-based browsers work correctly.

And I only meant to clarify the は／わ issue for people who don't know better. Romaji is not the most intuitive thing in the world.

Cool, thanx for the advice.

[rjenkinson]

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
Yes, but he didn't give details how long he wants to stay in each city.

and you didn't ask how about long he wants to stay in each city. you asked how long he wanted to stay in japan.

-r.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by rjenkinson:
and you didn't ask how about long he wants to stay in each city. you asked how long he wanted to stay in japan.

-r.

What did you have for breakfast?
My god are you nit picky today.

[rjenkinson]

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
What did you have for breakfast?

• today's breakfast was...
• two slices of toast: one with jam, the other with peanut butter
• some juice
• coffee

-r.

[Eriamjh]

Watch out for Godzilla.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by rjenkinson:

• today's breakfast was...
• two slices of toast: one with jam, the other with peanut butter
• some juice
• coffee

-r.

A little analretentive today, aren't we.

[rjenkinson]

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
A little analretentive today, aren't we.

no.

-r.

[CrackedButter]

Anyway, what is the right ay to say you need the toilet?

[Dubya's Dealer]

Go for the Japanese breakfast experience. bowl of rice, raw egg and some natto. Wash it down with some green tea.

Oishii!

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by Dubya's Dealer:
Go for the Japanese breakfast experience. bowl of rice, raw egg and some natto. Wash it down with some green tea.

Oishii!

Natto? Yak.
Besides intestines the only food I cannot eat here.

[ryju]

Originally posted by CrackedButter:


@ryju, i was asking the mod, not myself!

lol Yeah I just realized that, sorry!

[wataru]

Originally posted by CrackedButter:
Anyway, what is the right ay to say you need the toilet?

"Toire wa doko desu ka" is fine.

[Judge_Fire]

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
Natto? Yak.
Besides intestines the only food I cannot eat here.

Natto reminds of me something Alien might barf up. A particularly sea-tasting uni- dish can be quite overwhelming, too.

J

[CrackedButter]

thankyou wataru

[entrox]

You'll only need one phrase to get attention: "Aa, kami-sama! Atama ni ono ga arimasu!".

"Garasu o taberete, itaku wa arimasen!" would impress all girls, too.

Just remember: as a Gaijin, you are expected to act like fool anyway, so don't hold back

[spiky_dog]

Originally posted by wataru:
"Toire wa doko desu ka" is fine.

or, for a touch more authenticity:

"otearai wa doko desu ka?"

otearai == o - te - ah - ra - "ee". nvmd. hehe. just not "oh tear aye".

[Cubeoid]

Originally posted by Dubya's Dealer:
Go for the Japanese breakfast experience. bowl of rice, raw egg and some natto. Wash it down with some green tea.

Oishii!

You better be Japanese saying crap like that.

[spiky_dog]

Originally posted by entrox:
You'll only need one phrase to get attention: "Aa, kami-sama! Atama ni ono ga arimasu!".

"Garasu o taberete, itaku wa arimasen!" would impress all girls, too.

Just remember: as a Gaijin, you are expected to act like fool anyway, so don't hold back

heh.