wtf is up with the yen right now?

[dismalfuture]

I don't normally check out the foex but I was just dreaming about taking a vacation today so I was browsing the paper... wtf is up with the yen right now? Normally the Korean won and JPY should be neck and neck, but right now it's like an extra 15c on the dollar for me if I were to go buy yen right now.

I was gonna go out and buy a MacBook sometime next week as well as some other stuff so this got me thinking of breaking even on buying a plane ticket to Japan and buying my computer there next week, and seeing my college friends...

Hopefully the yen doesn't rally for another 2 weeks, so I can make a quick Tokyo trip and see some old faces and maybe get a bite to eat... anyone know what the forecast is like?

[Kasper]

it's been like this for about a year, to my great delight i must say, cause i spent the last year in Tokyo and everything was about 30% cheaper than usual (i was getting money in Canada). i don't think you should be expecting any strong currency changes in the next 2 weeks. however, as the BOJ will progressively raise the interrest rates, the yen value will slowly raise and probably get closer to its previous value (about 100 yen to the dollar)

[dismalfuture]

Liking that sound of that... haven't been in Tokyo for a year so I guess it's high time, I used to go every month or two but haven't had a great reason to go lately.

Guess I'll max my opportunity and do a lil shopping too, anyone want anything?

Anyone have any coherent directions on how to get to Lad Musician from Daikanyama-eki?

[Kasper]

Daikanyama store

Harajuku Store

from the Lad Musician website

Or google maps

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=%E6%B8%8B%E8%B0%B7%E5%8C%BA%E4%BB%A3%E5%AE%98%E5%B1%B1%E7%94%BA18-7&ie=UTF8&z=17&ll=35.649729,139.704434&spn=0.004124,0.010815&om=1&iwloc=A

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=%E6%B8%8B%E8%B0%B7%E5%8C%BA%E7%A5%9E%E5%AE%AE%E5%89%8D4-26-35&ie=UTF8&z=17&ll=35.669726,139.70806&spn=0.004123,0.010815&om=1&iwloc=A

[dismalfuture]

Thanks dude, I can find that Harajuku store quite easily from the map, I used to go to a salon down around there. Looks like I just follow Takeshita-dori back up towards Aoyama and keep looking on my right and I should find it.

Do restaurants in Japan treat weekend lunchtime the same way they do weekadys?

[xcoldricex]

the harajuku store is a tad bit bigger than the daikanyama store if my memory serves me correctly.

i was in japan at quite possibly the worst time of the year. it was dipping to like Y110 to the dollar. but yes, i might have a shopping list for ya

no you won't find it that way. you have to go down one of the streets and its kinda in a corner- you have to look out for a building with a big eagle on it.

[dismalfuture]

I only have 2 days to do this shit in, and have like 10 people I feel guilty about not seeing for the past year, haha. They can be late-night drinking engagements I guess. I think I may have to limit my shopping to like a certain number of hours and strategize this shit, like limit myself from CDG in Minami-Aoyama up to Harajuku and then down to Beams and American Rag Cie and be done, or I'll never leave Japan. And I have to get a haircut in there somehow too, shit!

Everytime I've been to Japan it was always 106-110 to the buck so I never got any breaks. This time I think I'm gonna take my passport and like 50man yen and see what happens to me by Monday morning, haha.

I have yet to decide whether I'm gonna take my flight into Narita or Haneda, I think there's something like a measly 5000Y premium if I choose to fly into Haneda and I'd save myself an hour on both ends each time I fly so it's probably likely I'll choose the latter.

[Kasper]

fly to haneda, the trip from Narita to Tokyo cost 3500 anyway (or 2000 if you take the Keisei line, but still) so you wouldn't be saving any money flying to Narita anyway.

Restaurants usually have cheaper set meals during day, even during week-end, but it's often a bit more than during the week, but still much less that at night