japan :: tokyo :: general

[Appleseed]

^ That Ferrari decked out in Evangelion stickers is cheesy as fuck.

[herpsky]

^ That Ferrari decked out in Evangelion stickers is cheesy as fuck.

that's the first ferrari 痛車 i've seen

[dunkin deeznuts]

just curious, are there alot of bike thefts in JP or is it relatively safe

i'm assuming its like most big cities

[herpsky]

just curious, are there alot of bike thefts in JP or is it relatively safe

i'm assuming its like most big cities

safer than other big cities

expensive bikes get stolen all the time though. they all get exported to asia, i heard. alexander lee chang's stolen chinelli was found in thailand...

i usually lock up my bike wtih a kryptonite evo + wire lock.

people who get their shit stolen have really shitty locks

[herpsky]

kryptonites are super expensive. evo minis are around 10k - 12k yen.

i brought mine from the states

[ChiTownHustla]

kryptonites are super expensive. evo minis are around 10k - 12k yen.

i brought mine from the states

Weird question, but are you a dude or a chick? lol

Your avatar pic is a chick, but you sound like a dude. :confused:

[cyberPUNK]

he's a white chick. (10)

[youkinorn2]

he's a white chick. (10)

OH LET ME HOLLA

is there any reason not to pick up a pasmo/suica card for my trip?

[DaBestSpoona]

I think we're gonna skip my yearly trip to tokyo this year, my wife is working for a japanese bank now, they be mad　九一　on the vacation days. Went from 30+ a year to 7+3 personal, no stock market holidays either WTF. Dont work at Japanese banks folks, they suck ass and pay a lot less.

[chromesquared]

Re: Bikes,

Never had a problem with bike theft in Japan, but I know of ppl that have had their bikes stolen (fixed gears). Ppl free lock all the time here and I have forgotten my lock and just stashed my bike multiple times, but I wouldn't do that in Tokyo. Basically, it is a lot safer than most places in the world, but bikes do get stolen.

Herp is a guy.

Youkinorn,

this is from the JR website:

The initial cost consists of a refundable deposit of 500 yen plus an initial amount to be charged onto the card. The initial amount is 1500 yen in case of Suica and between 500 and 9500 yen in case of PASMO.

I would probably say to go ahead and get one as it will make dealing with trains much smoother and make for a better overall experience, and you can get a refund or just keep it as a souvenir when u leave. Otherwise, you will be standing in front of the map by the ticket machines trying to figure out how much it is from A to B, and then you have to buy a ticket, keep track of it, etc.

[conqueror]

yeah, def get a suica. so helpful, i can't imagine trying to figure out how much a ticket for ____ is every day. ironically though one of mine 'broke' somehow when i was there for 3 months which had 4500 yen on it. my japanese sucked too much to figure what was wrong with it. i showed a dude at the gate and he talked for about 5mins and i just said 'hai' alot. dumb gaijin concept.

edit: you will be amazed at how quickly you burn through yen on those things, especially if you're on vacation and changing lines often. fuck.

[youkinorn2]

Youkinorn,

this is from the JR website:

The initial cost consists of a refundable deposit of 500 yen plus an initial amount to be charged onto the card. The initial amount is 1500 yen in case of Suica and between 500 and 9500 yen in case of PASMO.

I would probably say to go ahead and get one as it will make dealing with trains much smoother and make for a better overall experience, and you can get a refund or just keep it as a souvenir when u leave. Otherwise, you will be standing in front of the map by the ticket machines trying to figure out how much it is from A to B, and then you have to buy a ticket, keep track of it, etc.

Thanks. That's basically what I was thinking.

Plus if I decide to take the narita express train from the airport, I think I saw that there is a package deal for that ticket + a suica card that saves you some money.

Just wasn't sure if I was missing some sort of downside.

[bonjin]

keeping within the metro and minimum switching to jr is the key to contain travel costs. metro is fucking amazing and very cheap compared to jr and, to some extent, keio.

definitely get a pasmo or suica, first day. one of my favorite things in tokyo. plus, you don't have to fiddle with coins to get on that pocari sweat tip when you're down in some hot subway station. i think you can get some sort of NEX (narita express) + suica deal at narita, where you pay 3000 and you get a nex ticket and a suica charged with a 1000 yen. or, so i heard.

edit: lol, for some reason I missed the post above. anyway, go for the package deal.

[herpsky]

keeping within the metro and minimum switching to jr is the key to contain travel costs. metro is fucking amazing and very cheap compared to jr and, to some extent, keio.

definitely get a pasmo or suica, first day. one of my favorite things in tokyo. plus, you don't have to fiddle with coins to get on that pocari sweat tip when you're down in some hot subway station. i think you can get some sort of NEX (narita express) + suica deal at narita, where you pay 3000 and you get a nex ticket and a suica charged with a 1000 yen. or, so i heard.

edit: lol, for some reason I missed the post above. anyway, go for the package deal.

really? is that only for foreigners?

Usually NEX from NRT to shinagawa is 3110 yen.

If you get a suica & NEX combo for 3000 yen, that's a great deal.

These days I use my suica like a credit card. I try to use my suica for getting shit at convenience stores.

The only downside is that there are some chains that only take Edy and other minor cards.

[herpsky]

I usually use my phone to figure out the most cost effective way to travel so I won't burn thru all that $ on my suica quickly. Navitime is pretty good.

Tip:

Use ekitan.com or yahoo rail / bus transit guide. They'll tell you the most cost-effective ways to travel. This is especially helpful if you know exactly where you want to go. Do it the night before your adventure and save $ and time.

http://www.jorudan.co.jp/

http://transit.map.yahoo.co.jp/

www.ekitan.com

[youkinorn2]

know any other sites like that in english? I found this one that seems pretty good:

http://www.tokyo-subway.net/english/index.html

[ChiTownHustla]

know any other sites like that in english? I found this one that seems pretty good:

http://www.tokyo-subway.net/english/index.html

How long are you planning on being in Tokyo for? What about Japan?

I was there for two weeks a few months back, and bought the Suica+NEX card from Narita for 3000 Yen (which was a great deal, and is for foreigners only).

I also bought a JR unlimited ride 7-day rail pass before I got to Japan (these are only available outside Japan, check JR's website for details). I activated this pass during my last 7 days in Japan...I basically used it to travel from Tokyo to Osaka/Kyoto/Hiroshima/Himeji/back to Tokyo/and back to Narita. It'll run you $300, but it was definitely worth it in my case. It works on all JR lines, which includes the Narita Express, as well as the entire Yamanote Line (train that makes a giant loop around Tokyo).

For food reviews, I used to use www.bento.com a lot...just about everything we tried that was highly recommended (had a star) was amazing.

There is an english language website that has point to point subway directions, but I can't remember the name of it right now.

[youkinorn2]

I'll be there for 9 days. Staying in Tokyo the whole time. I would love to make the trip to Osaka, but on my budget, I think I'd honestly enjoy spending more money on a few good meals in tokyo rather than buying the JR rail pass.

I had seen that bento.com website but thanks for confirming that its recommendations are good.

Still got a little bit of time to decide about the rail pass, so I'll think about it.

Thanks for the info, everyone.

[bonjin]

know any other sites like that in english? I found this one that seems pretty good:

http://www.tokyo-subway.net/english/index.html

http://www.hyperdia.com/en/

[bonjin]

really? is that only for foreigners?

Usually NEX from NRT to shinagawa is 3110 yen.

If you get a suica & NEX combo for 3000 yen, that's a great deal.

These days I use my suica like a credit card. I try to use my suica for getting shit at convenience stores..

nah, don't think so. I didn't do this myself (always a peasant 2 hours kakueki train to nippori concept), but my friend claimed to have done something like this. and he was there on a proper visa, not a tourist thing. def a good deal. i paid almost 3500 from kichijoji to narita.

[Cordwinder]

I'll be there for 9 days. Staying in Tokyo the whole time. I would love to make the trip to Osaka, but on my budget, I think I'd honestly enjoy spending more money on a few good meals in tokyo rather than buying the JR rail pass.

I had seen that bento.com website but thanks for confirming that its recommendations are good.

Still got a little bit of time to decide about the rail pass, so I'll think about it.

Thanks for the info, everyone.

If you really want to go to Osaka, there are buses that leave Tokyo at night and reach Osaka in the morning. Willer Express is one, price vary with the different bus you take. I think they even have a bus+plane package where you go by bus one way and return by ANA.

[cyberPUNK]

sorry to interrupt this train-pass talk, but i just wanted to let people know 黒木メイサ is number one on my to smash list.

[riotC]

http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/norikae/

they show the cheapest / fastest way to get to your destination

[herpsky]

sorry to interrupt this train-pass talk, but i just wanted to let people know 黒木メイサ is number one on my to smash list.

All my banker and gaijin friends think she's the hottest thing ever.

I don't dig

[cyberPUNK]

alright, who's number one on your to smash list? i'd also like to add aso kumiko as runner up though, something about her...

[yourehyped]

Anyone stay near Aoyoma? Need help with a CDG pickup.

Please?

[herpsky]

Anyone stay near Aoyoma? Need help with a CDG pickup.

Please?

can't you just use a proxy service?

what are you looking for exactly?

[riotC]

alright, who's number one on your to smash list? i'd also like to add aso kumiko as runner up though, something about her...

i like 山田優 , she always takes up slut roles in dramas .

[cyberPUNK]

^ good choice, she's definitely cute. don't think i've seen any dramas with her though. think she was in a pepsi nex commercial awhile back.

[herpsky]

^ good choice, she's definitely cute. don't think i've seen any dramas with her though. think she was in a pepsi nex commercial awhile back.

You guys seem to like the "exotic" types.

I like Aibu Saki and Ohashi Miho (Anchor woman on TV tokyo).

Cawaii / seiso-kei over sexy bitches.