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lamscott

By lamscott
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herpsky
herpsky

dude, nepenthes moved. the apartment building was too old and getting taken down. it's now an independent store. there's a EG flagship behind aogaku (near the POOL) http://www.houyhnhnm.jp/feature/01

djrajio
djrajio

Hai guyz!   http://www.fashionsnap.com/collection/sawhney/2015ss/

Chowda
Chowda

Tokyo has world class burgers, no question. If you're looking for a simpler approach, try Fellows and W.P Burger. My personal favs. Side note, my friend works at this Kinbaku bar and she's been hound

dismalfuture

dismalfuture

Posted
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24189314240105673500525.jpg

My exgf's grandma took me to eat this one time, and then I got to see for the second time later that night after a few drinks, the cold raw egg didn't sit with at the time. Couldn't remember what it was I ate that day until I saw this picture, so I am forwarding this on to exgf to fill a hole in the story.

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ChiTownHustla

ChiTownHustla

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I posted this in the Japan Shopping thread, but might as well give it a shot here, too.

Going on vacation to Japan for the first time in two weeks (from Chicago), and have been doing research on shopping in Tokyo.

I bought the Superfuture Tokyo guide, the Rough Guide to Japan book, and the Kodansha Bilingual Tokyo Atlas (awesome!, btw).

I'll be in Japan from March 11 - 26. Spending March 11 -19 in Tokyo, with maybe a day or two of daytrips to Hakone, Nikko, Yokohama, etc...very open to suggestions at this point).

Spending March 20 - 26 anywhere but the Tokyo area (want to make full use of my 7-day JR pass, which I'll activate on March 20).

I've been doing some research, and I'm thinking of taking the train from Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka, check out both cities, maybe Nara, Kobe, and Himeji too since they're all pretty close.

Then maybe take the train to Hiroshima for a day? As far as the rail pass, I am definitely down to go anywhere in the limited amount of time, and would actually prefer something off the beaten path. So maybe Hiroshima isn't the best option...still not sure. Any obscure rural place(s) I should hop of the train and check out for a day/night?

Given I'll be spending at least 2 or 3 days of my 7-day pass in Kyoto/Osaka, I'm guessing it might not be worth it to go to northern Honshu/Hokkaido/etc afterwards? Thoughts? Btw, my return flight is in the evening on the 26th from Narita.

At this point, I am VERY open to suggestions on where to best utilize my rail pass. I'm into the historical stuff and all, but that's definitely not all I'm interested in. Honestly, I'm 99% sure I'll be all shrine/temple'd out after Kyoto.

As for shopping in Tokyo and Osaka, I've done my homework (I think)...bought and read through (and highlighted!..i'm a nerd) the Superfuture guide. Read through the Tokyo and Osaka threads, and the Tokyo Denim thread..which was awesome.

As confusing as Tokyo seems to be, I think I'll be good with the SuFu guide, the suggestions in the Tokyo threads, and the my Kodansha bilingual map.

Still unsure about Osaka, I printed the highlights from the Osaka thread (i.e eat at Kiji, shop in the American Village, etc.), but haven't really found a good map for the city on here.

Stuff I'll be looking for...

- Denim

- Visvim (F.I.L. seems to be the spot)

- Head Porter messenger bag

- Sneakers (moreso to look at...prices in Chicago are probably way better)...don't really have any specific sneaker stores on my list other than Atmos...suggestions?

- Idiom gear (is the burton store in shibuya my best bet -- 9-6 Kamiyama-cho)

- Canada Goose Japan edition gear -- I've seen some of this stuff in Toronto, and it's really dope. I printed out a list of Canada Goose retailers in Japan from their website just in case I wanna cop.

Restaurants...I have a list from the SuFu guide..any other can't miss spots?

LASTLY -- I have an iPhone here in the States, but international data is crazy expensive, and even if I had it, Google maps is in Japanese so it wouldn't be that big of a help. Now I also have two basic phones I bought from Europe...can I buy a Japanese SIM card for these phones and make local (Japanese) calls? I basically just want to be able to make calls from one cell phone (mine) to my brother's cell (we'll both be in Tokyo)...possible?

All suggestions are welcome and greatly appreciated! I'm going to be checking this thread often, so if you recommend something, chances are I will go :)

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ChiTownHustla

ChiTownHustla

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I don't think you're gonna find what you need there. Should check out Shinjuku 2-chome for a better Visvim selection.

Really? Does F.I.L. not have a lot in stock? BTW, how much do Visvim FBTs go for in Japan? The only place that has them here in Chicago sells for $400. About the same in Japan? If they are <$300 in Tokyo, I'd cop.

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sircheesecake

sircheesecake

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shit man. everything doesnt have to be planned. part of the fun is the adventure.

Alot of the best food is tucked in alleys in places you never would look. Cheap, authentic and tasty. Some of the best foreign food in japan can be found the same way. Of course you can go to famous places and pay big bucks but there is loads of really good food to be found.

Hiroshima is like 4 hours or something by shinkansen if i remember correctly. The peace memorial is a total tourist trap even in the off season. Hiroshimayaki is pretty decent but I dunno if it would be worth it to go down to hiroshima on your limited schedule

Hokkaido will be looking pretty shitty in late march. Snow is melting and there will be zero green and lots of gray. Plus its one long ass train ride away. Most people fly up there. I would pass on it unless there is something you want to see or do up there.

I dont know why you would really want to go to rural places. Inaka is inaka no matter where the fuck you are. Bumfuck georgia would be pretty similar, plus all the old japanese grandmas riding bikes around (and not paying attention to traffic.)

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ChiTownHustla

ChiTownHustla

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shit man. everything doesnt have to be planned. part of the fun is the adventure.

Alot of the best food is tucked in alleys in places you never would look. Cheap, authentic and tasty. Some of the best foreign food in japan can be found the same way. Of course you can go to famous places and pay big bucks but there is loads of really good food to be found.

Hiroshima is like 4 hours or something by shinkansen if i remember correctly. The peace memorial is a total tourist trap even in the off season. Hiroshimayaki is pretty decent but I dunno if it would be worth it to go down to hiroshima on your limited schedule

Hokkaido will be looking pretty shitty in late march. Snow is melting and there will be zero green and lots of gray. Plus its one long ass train ride away. Most people fly up there. I would pass on it unless there is something you want to see or do up there.

I dont know why you would really want to go to rural places. Inaka is inaka no matter where the fuck you are. Bumfuck georgia would be pretty similar, plus all the old japanese grandmas riding bikes around (and not paying attention to traffic.)

I feel you on not planning / being spontaneous. That's how I always travel (never plan shit, just get up and go..that's what I did in Egypt, Moscow, Berlin, etc.).

Don't get me wrong, I plan to spend a large part of my time in Tokyo walking around aimlessly without a map in hand and just seeing where my feet take me. But I also want to hit up a few select spots while getting as least lost as possible..and that's where SuFu comes in handy :)

Thanks for your Hiroshima advice, I'll take that into account. 90% of the reason I planned this trip was that I've always wanted to go to Tokyo. Since I was able to extend it to 15 days, and also wanted to check out Kyoto for a day or two, I figured the 7-day rail pass was worth it (pretty much the same price as a roundtrip train from Tokyo to Kyoto).

As far as going somewhere rural, I was just throwing that out there. In Egypt, some of the most fun I had was just hanging out with local bedouins in the middle of the desert. Maybe Japan doesn't have anything comparable to this.

Good call on the north being chilly in March...after all, escaping Chicago in March for a reason! :)

Keep the suggestions coming guys, appreciate ya.

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Playahater

Playahater

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Don't get me wrong, I plan to spend a large part of my time in Tokyo walking around aimlessly without a map in hand and just seeing where my feet take me. But I also want to hit up a few select spots while getting as least lost as possible..and that's where SuFu comes in handy :)

.

Tokyo is massive and the last thing you want to do is walk around randomly. While this can be fun, you will waste a lot of time. I've been to Tokyo 3 times in the past 3 years and still haven't seen a lot of the city despite having the Sufu maps and other guides. You'll spend a while shopping and going from store to store and looking around.

IMO don't bother with some of the touristy shit. Found Tokyo Tower to be meh where as the Trade Centre building in Hamamatsucho to have a much nicer view.

Visvim FBT's are ¥30,800 with tax and stock at FIL is hit and miss. If you're a small size you should be okay. Go to Isetan Mens too as they have a Vis corner there, like wise with Undftd as they stock a small amount of shoes.

Personally, I would skip Yokohama and go somewhere outside of the city. Whilst Yokohama is nice, last trip I opted for Mount Takao which was a highlight of the trip and only 50 mins from Shinjuku. You can easily leave in the morning and be back before 6pm. Real nice to see some scenery as opposed to just buildings.

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yakrian

yakrian

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Alot of the best food is tucked in alleys in places you never would look. Cheap, authentic and tasty. Some of the best foreign food in japan can be found the same way. Of course you can go to famous places and pay big bucks but there is loads of really good food to be found.

Perfect example is Shabu-sen and Zakuro in Ginza. Zakuro serves the same food as Shabu-sen, but looks a little more fancy and has an extra 0 attached to their prices...

In Shibuya area, duck into some alleys near Tower Records and look for Shirube. One of the best izakaya in the city.

As for somewhat rural areas...Head up to Gunma for a day or two. Do some hiking in the mountains then go for a dip in the hot-springs at Kusatsu.

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exitrow

exitrow

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I'm assuming it's cheaper to buy canon/nikon dslrs/lenses here. Is this right, and if so, where's the b&h equivalent located? I remember there being some neighborhoods(akihabaraetc) but I don't want to waste time going into every shop and price checking if there's one store everyone knows about. I got tsukemen to eat!

thanks

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JXS

JXS

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I'm in the tokyo area right now. I was just wondering what you guys can't speak or read japanese and if the menus don't have english. I feel that a lot of the smaller restaurants don't have english menus and a lot of the employees can't speak english. Also any hidden gems to eat reasonably priced sushi in the shibuya or harajuku area? Any help would be awesome

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Artking3

Artking3

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Has anybody ever stayed at the New Otani hotel in Tokyo? Let me know your experience because I'm pretty sure I will be staying there on my trip soon.

I stayed at the New Otani hotel years ago, a very nice hotel. Although I was out most of the time :). I don't think you'll be disappointed.

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