As the title says: Ask for tips, make known your plans, where are you going and what are you going to do when you get there? etc.
An item on my bucketlist is visiting Japan, and I am seriously considering doing this this winter. Specifically I want to go over new years because I want to visit Comiket once, not to buy porn but just to take in the whole atmosphere of this mad event (and yes, I imagine it will be miserable). Winter Comiket 2017 is from December 29th to the 31st this year. Over new years would also give me the ability to attend the NJPW January 4th Dome Show A.K.A. WrestleKingdom 12 as well as New Year Dash which is held the following day at Korakuen Hall (which many of you will know from Hajime no Ippo).
I know a very tiny bit of japanese from my previous forays into trying to learn some of the language. I will try to improve on this. I also have friends who have previously been there (one of them will start a student exchange program in Japan next week), but why not ask the friends here in the forum what to know and do when in Japan.
As you can tell from the above I plan to mostly stay in the Tokyo metropolitan area but there are a couple of days in between the events I want to go to see at least a little bit of the countryside as well. Last I heard the JR railway pass was surprisingly cheap for foreigners when considering you could go anywhere within the country with it, but I wonder if that would even be necessary. For plane tickets I have seen from Vienna at about 650-700 euro at the cheapest, but this also includes using different companies to travel in either direction. Are there specific airlines to avoid going to Tokyo? And what is the best option for accomodations (hotel, ryokan, AirBnB)?
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Take ANA.
If you’re staying in Tokyo mainly, just get a regional pass. Generally, only get the JR pass if you’re planning to take the Shinkansen more than 1 round trip. I’ll post links when I’m not feeling lazy.
Stay at a ryokan at least a little, with the smallest meal plan. It is part of the experience.
What kind of things do you enjoy/interest you (outside of otakumono)?
Honestly I would avoid Tokyo and go to Osaka. I found the Osaka/Kyoto/Nara area way more interesting than Tokyo metro though it sounds like you have a bucket list of things to see in that area. But Osaka is a lot more colorful in a lot of ways, people, food, atmosphere it reminds me of Boston in a lot of ways. I found folks to be more open and less uptight than folks in Tokyo. If you are into otaku stuff Nipponbashi is the equivalent of Akihabara, and if you’re into historical things Nara and Kyoto are chock full of that kind of stuff.
I actually agree & say “why not both?”
If you’re going to be near Osaka and Kyoto, you might as well also go to Himeji to see the castle and the Fushiki Inari shrine.
True enough! Another place that is really interesting is Nagano, both city and prefecture. You can go skiing, hiking, see snow monkeys, dozens of onsen, or rent a car and just take in the beautiful landscapes. Matsumoto is a cool city in Nagano with a well preserved castle and a neat art museum.
My July belongs to Texas now. Anyone have any suggestions for neat stuff in Austin?
For BBQ head down to Saltlick in Driftwood Tx. About 25 minute drive from Austin. If you can’t do that. Do Franklins BBQ but you need to get there an hour or better before they open.
Sixth street if you want to drink but you will have to put up with the frat boy/bro crowd. There is Rainey street bar scene also for the older more chill crowd.
Lady Bird lake for outdoor water stuff. Canoeing, paddle board or just walk the board walk and take in the sights.
For board gaming there is Dragons Lair and Emerald Cafe. They’re both in North Austin though. There is also Pinballz but also North Austin.
For tourist site seeing. There is the Capital, Mt Bonnel, Pennybacker Bridge, The Green Belt for hiking and biking.
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I had some BBQ from Saltlick at the BBQ in NYC. It was legit good. However, it was not so much better than the others as to justify its long line and hype. Definitely the best I had from Texas, though.
The other locations aren’t the same. I went to their location in Round Rock and was disappointed. The one in Driftwood is the OG. That location has an open pit that makes all the difference. That and their BBQ pitmaster just seems more experienced.
So, that Salt Lick in Driftwood…
https://youtu.be/cVPvIv9bdII
Definitely recommending their turkey & brisket.
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Going to Czechia next week with my father and visiting the owner of a small company that makes the engines for the aircraft I am designing, and for whom we are a dealer in the USA. I’ve never been to Europe whatsoever but it’s got me stoked.
I’m looking forward to hanging out in Prague, even if only for 2 days. I’m a bit nervous about our business meeting since we will need a translator and that might be trouble when dealing with engine nomenclature. I’ve already seen many interesting examples of mistranslation on the project, such as a meter being labeled with a small angel icon to signify the engine’s advance angle.
Thankfully there is a local who we have worked with over the last few months on and off to help with translation when we need to relay detailed messages. He’s agreed to help us in person as well.
Anyway, anyone been to that part of Europe got any general tips for not making oneself like unto an ass, or any specific recommendations for food/drink/tourism in Prague?
Anyone got good anecdotes or tips about doing business via a 3rd party translator?
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I made a day-to-day plan for my trip to japan which starts in 10 days:
27th: Departure
28th: Arrival, Check-in, Acclimation, Light Sight-seeing, Ueno Park/Zoo
29th: Comiket/Sight-seeing
30th: Comiket/Sight-seeing
31st: Comiket/Sight-seeing, Sensoji Temple, New Years Festival
1st: Day of rest, sight-seeing, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
2nd: Shopping, Akihabara, Mandarake, Hareruya
3rd: Tokyo One Piece Tower 14:00 live show, Stardom 18:00
4th: Tokyo Joshi Pro 12:00, Wrestle Kingdom 16:00
5th: Ghibli Museum, New Year’s Dash 18:30
6th: Return flight
I write “Comiket/Sight-seeing” because I am probably going to skip one of those days to go more sight-seeing, depending on what is offered that day. I tried to find out a bit more about what is offered on each day but I couldn’t find a good listing.
Also, yes the back end of the trip is pretty much Wrestling wall-to-wall. Still have to figure out how I can fit visiting the Ghibli museum in there due to me having to pick up a ticket to New Year’s Dash day-of as I was unable to get one beforehand, and thus I’d have to stand in line. Probably going to the Ghibli Museum over lunch since it opens at 10am.
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You are going to be so tired! Such a full schedule, have fun.
It might be worth looking for somewhere smaller than Senso-ji for New Year’s Eve (they get just shy of 3 million people on 12/31 and 1/1). Big places get mobbed with huge crowds of people while smaller ones are more relaxed and tend to give out free booze. Either way, hope you enjoy your trip!
I will be traveling to Mexico for the first time come January. Mexico City to be specific. However I will not be asking for recommendations because it’s a work trip and I will have no time to actually explore it due to the nature of the trip. But hey, I’m always excited to see a new place, even if it’s only in transit from hotel to work site.
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I’ve had a lot of fun on work trips like that. The first time I was in São Paulo, it was literally for 2.5 days of constant work, then immediately home. The experience of just working there was interesting even if I didn’t get to explore at all.
Yeah, it’ll be just like the last recruiting trip I did which was to Austin for a couple days. Got in late, had some BBQ, then two days straight of interviewing for 12+ hours followed by more dinners, and then back home on a 7am flight. Still managed to have a good time just getting to know my teammates better and the feeling of doing good work together.
I suspect that this recruiting trip will be a little less hectic than that one was, but there is no time being set aside to wander.
Because I am apprently I am a gigantic dumbass, I booked my hotel from the 27th. As you can tell by my plan above I actually only arrive in Tokyo on the 28th. However, I got lucky because I found a different hotel for 180 bucks less for 9 days in a bit of a different part of the city but still relatively close to all the things I want to go to.
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