|
Grand Fromage posted:I'll be going to one of these. Are the lines actual lines or are they Korean "lines"? Like am I going to have to elbow old women in the face or can I stand there with a book for a couple hours? I mean, people tend to leave more space one way or another for Americans in Japan anyway. It's a well formed line, so you can just stand there reading a book.
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2012 06:28
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 08:58 |
|
|
ntan1 posted:I mean, people tend to leave more space one way or another for Americans in Japan anyway. It's a well formed line, so you can just stand there reading a book. Okay. I was just reflecting on all my standing in "line" experience in Asia and thinking how much I don't want to be in Thunderdome for two hours. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2012 06:32
|
|
|
Grand Fromage posted:Okay. I was just reflecting on all my standing in "line" experience in Asia and thinking how much I don't want to be in Thunderdome for two hours. Oh right. Yeah, the people in Japan are extremely behaved and organized. This is probably in stark contrast to China, where lines honestly don't exist.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2012 07:31
|
|
|
I live in South Korea. I'm going to Japan in late July for a trip for the week of July 30th to August 3rd. I'll be taking the ferry from Busan, Korea to Japan. I can choose for Fukuoka or Osaka, which is $300 and $400 US dollars, respectively. Which one is my best choice? I know nothing about Fukuoka and all I know about Osaka is that I like Fugetsu Okonomiyaki and I've heard it's dirty. I know it's kind of hard to say which one is better when I'm not really sure about what I want to do there, I guess I just want to visit temples, eat some decent food, visit some parks, walk around in awe and sample the local culture, without going broke. I'm not looking for any $100 sushi. I'm not an otaku who is going over there to stalk Perfume and try to land a job at a manga translation company, but I wouldn't mind picking up some random souvenirs for friends back home, either. My girlfriend and I are going as a couple so I want to know if there's anything we can do together that might be cool. Festivals would be excellent. I'll be doing independent research on this of course, but you guys live there, so I hope you can shed some light on these cities for me. I might also use this as an excuse to survey the area for job opportunities, or at least see if I would prefer it over Korea. China: Didn't they recently have to implement some kind of public government education program where they tried to teach people how to stand in line?
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2012 15:44
|
|
|
Going to a traditional Japanese hotel/ryokan with a private hot spring bath is a great romantic couple's activity. It is uniquely Japanese too, especially since they include the free dinner/breakfast of the super-traditional Japanese foods. I still don't know why people hate on natto, I thought it was pretty good. Also, yes, the Chinese government put up signs everywhere literally just saying "Be civilized" and "Line up in an orderly fashion" and the like. Propaganda isn't just used for political reasons, haha. Sales clerks try to encourage people to maintain the queue as well. It's hard to change widespread habits overnight though. Japanese people certainly can queue.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2012 16:03
|
|
|
Great OP, very useful Going to Tokyo for the first time with a friend for 5 nights, probably taking a day trip or two out of the city (Hakone looks good), looking at hotels/ryokans and trying to make a rough itinerary at the moment Given that the JR rail pass isn't recommended in the OP, what's the best option for travel within Tokyo and going out of the city? I take it you can buy day/week passes for rail lines within Tokyo? Then just return tickets if we wanted to travel outside? Sorry for being an idiot.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2012 16:58
|
|
|
Wait, what the hell, why isn't the JR pass recommended? A 7 day pass costs almost the same as a round trip Tokyo-Kyoto, doesn't it? It's a fantastic deal and almost definitely worth it unless you're just taking one trip away from Tokyo.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2012 17:27
|
|
|
Sounds like they only intend to leave Tokyo for Hakone, in which case the Rail Pass is questionable. In Tokyo itself you can get daily passes for unlimited JR or Metro at 740(?) yen per day. I don't think a combined unlimited daily ticket is available. You don't need to return it since it's only valid for 1 day anyway. zmcnulty fucked around with this message at 23:16 on Jun 12, 2012 |
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2012 23:14
|
|
|
Cameron posted:I live in South Korea. I'm going to Japan in late July for a trip for the week of July 30th to August 3rd. I'll be taking the ferry from Busan, Korea to Japan. I can choose for Fukuoka or Osaka, which is $300 and $400 US dollars, respectively. Which one is my best choice? For what it's worth, everyone I've asked who has taken the ferry absolutely hated it. Just fly into Fukuoka, it's cheaper anyways (and Fukuoka rocks).
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2012 23:19
|
|
|
zmcnulty posted:Sounds like they only intend to leave Tokyo for Hakone, in which case the Rail Pass is questionable. Yeah, I should've been clearer; ClownSyndrome doesn't seem like he needs it, but the way it's talked about in the OP seems odd, considering how great of a deal it is.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2012 01:36
|
|
|
Sheep posted:For what it's worth, everyone I've asked who has taken the ferry absolutely hated it. Just fly into Fukuoka, it's cheaper anyways (and Fukuoka rocks). A week in Fukuoka might be a little bit too long. Might want to take a trip to Hiroshima or Nagasaki to see something more cultural. We're mainly about food and shopping. But Fukuoka is very fun on weekends!
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2012 01:43
|
|
|
Sheep posted:For what it's worth, everyone I've asked who has taken the ferry absolutely hated it. Just fly into Fukuoka, it's cheaper anyways (and Fukuoka rocks). To add to this, I think that planes can even be cheaper if you find a good deal. I've taken the ferry from Shimonoseki to Pusan twice, and while I don't mind it, I don't think that it's really that great of a way to travel. It takes time, you might get seasick, the boat will be full of old (probably drunk) Korean people, etc.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2012 01:56
|
|
|
My flight to Tokyo this summer is like 320,000 won. Busan Air is nice and cheap.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2012 01:57
|
|
|
zmcnulty posted:Sounds like they only intend to leave Tokyo for Hakone, in which case the Rail Pass is questionable. Thanks! Yeah sorry, I should have been clearer before when I was dismissing the JR pass Guess we need to decide what we're going to outside Tokyo to see if we need it or not. Would it be worth taking a trip to a different city like Osaka or Kyoto for a night instead of the day trip to Hakone? (going from Tokyo in the morning, return following evening) In that case the JR pass would make more sense I suppose, but if we mostly stay within Tokyo, the daily passes seem like the better option
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2012 07:41
|
|
|
ntan1 posted:Oh right. Yeah, the people in Japan are extremely behaved and organized. This is probably in stark contrast to China, where lines honestly don't exist. !!!!! People in Japan can't queue at all! Old people are the worst at it. I am OK fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Jun 13, 2012 |
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2012 18:18
|
|
|
I am OK posted:!!!!! People in Japan can't queue at all! Old people are the worst at it. Where in hell do you live, man.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2012 19:04
|
|
|
Cameron posted:I live in South Korea. I'm going to Japan in late July for a trip for the week of July 30th to August 3rd. I'll be taking the ferry from Busan, Korea to Japan. I can choose for Fukuoka or Osaka, which is $300 and $400 US dollars, respectively. Which one is my best choice? I know nothing about Fukuoka and all I know about Osaka is that I like Fugetsu Okonomiyaki and I've heard it's dirty. I know it's kind of hard to say which one is better when I'm not really sure about what I want to do there, I guess I just want to visit temples, eat some decent food, visit some parks, walk around in awe and sample the local culture, without going broke. I'm not looking for any $100 sushi. I'm not an otaku who is going over there to stalk Perfume and try to land a job at a manga translation company, but I wouldn't mind picking up some random souvenirs for friends back home, either. Osaka is about 30-45 min train ride from Kyoto, which is pretty much the place to be if you'd like to visit temples. It's fairly close to Nara and Kobe as well, so you'd have a lot of options. If you do go to Kyoto, I recommend you try some Zen vegetarian food. There is a tiny restaurant that serves a set meal for around 1000 yen that is excellent. This guy has a review and map (you won't find it without a map): http://www.deepkyoto.com/?p=44.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2012 19:14
|
|
|
Will be living in Japan for two years starting in July. Working for the Navy so most likely will be living in Yokosuka, Kanagawa. Specifically, what phone company should I go with? I'm thinking about getting a Skype subscription to call the US and other countries and also have others call me in Japan using a US number. Skype worked well on the iphone, which carrier is getting iphone 5? Any specific neighborhood recommendations in Yokosuka or overall Kanagawa?
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2012 20:20
|
|
|
LimburgLimbo posted:Where in hell do you live, man. The half-inaka.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2012 04:09
|
|
|
Jesus, how much does eating out generally cost in Japan? Can you get a decent meal for under 20USD? The prices for things seem outrageous. I make the same amount in Beijing that most Japan goon English teachers make, so I don't understand how most can survive on 3000 USD a month and manage to save. Do most of you have to pay for your own place? How much do they typically cost? Are they a closet? Do any of you have a bathtub, or a functional kitchen that isn't some shelves with a hot plate? It seems like I'd be worried about every sandwich or drink I bought at 7/11. Just wondering how most of the English teachers manage to have a decent lifestyle without blowing their entire paycheque. How much does a usual night out at the bars cost?
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2012 07:48
|
|
|
How much do you drink/eat, how often per week, and at what kind of place? These are the three most important factors influencing the cost of going out in Japan. It's completely possible for a group of people to get stuffed and black-out drunk for like 2000 yen apiece. Likewise, pre-gaming+dinner+after dinner+clubbing+cab easily breaks 15000 yen. Do that even one night a week and you're down 60large for the month, ++ if you find yourself enjoying the company of women. Prices aren't THAT different in the countryside vs. Tokyo. The more country you get the more likely you are to find mom-and-pop places that are cheaper, but we have plenty of those in Tokyo too.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2012 08:46
|
|
|
First of all, if you guys get to Fukuoka, give Ned a buzz. Lots of restaurants offer all you can drink and you can get ridiculously trashed easily. Even when the non alcoholic drinkers load up on sodas, there is a chance for them to get another glass spiked. Japan is awesome, it's orderly, clean, good food, quality ingredients, amazing retail service, detail minded. and the whole country is becoming easier for tourists. God knows that they need new foreign tourist dollars now with their sinking economy. I have been there several times on the average of every 2/3 years with my family and friends on short trips or shopping sprees. Tokyo more than 8 times in my life. The north in Hokkaido has awesome Whistler quality snow and with its grid streets it feels like a Japanese version of America. The cities have alot of niche bars, restaurants, food and venues. The mountains have nice hiking and the temples or ryokan can be nice romantic or family getaways. With a group of people, it's actually not too expensive to rent a car and drive around to a farm, smaller towns and have a taste of the countryside. Cheaper than a rail pass for 4 or more people to drive. The south and western Japan has a totally different vibe and things are not as convenient to get around but still nice to visit. Kyushuu cuts of beef are cheaper than kobe beef but still good! Oh and Japanese electronic toilets rule. I went on a 20 day goongrilmage last year thinking I will be done with Japan for a while but I'm actually wanting to go to Japan again. Ned is in the south, Pompous Rhombous is in south and to me that's cool enough to vist  My few anecdotal gripes as a tourist is that
USMC503 posted:I am going to Singapore but have a stop in Narita. Sadly, I don't have enough time in Japan to go through customs and chill for a little while, so I wanted to know what you guys recommend to do in the airport (never been in Narita before)? Any restaurants worth mentioning there? ntan1 posted:Basically, there are only two places that you should be waiting for, and they are Daiwa and Sushi Dai. The both cost about 5500, and have ridiculous lines. Grand Fromage posted:I am going to be a cheapass in Tokyo but I would like to blow money on good sushi once. What's a good place that's high class, maybe max ~$200 for omakase? Also needs to accept credit cards or I'm going to need to flee the country right afterward. I can vouch for the 10,000 omakasa. It's drat expensive, not 200 dollar territory. There's also the famous Tsuruya at the Peninsula Hotel, starting from the "basic" 10,000 8 course tempura meal. The city can be a huge money sink. caberham fucked around with this message at 10:09 on Jun 15, 2012 |
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2012 09:36
|
|
|
Trip report from the Monbusho's undergrad qualification exams: They were actually quite decent! Biology was easy, chemistry was a bit tricky but doable, English was a cakewalk but finally Japanese was kinda difficult & mathematics were absolute nightmares. If the OP recommends you to study maths and you do it - then you aren't studying enough! Study harder! Mathematics will be the do-or-die exam. Then came the interview - which we had to wait for 2 hours in a small room because they sure did like to ask a lot of questions from everyone, but nonetheless I think I made a good impression. If any of you out there are planning to study in Japan - hey, might as well give it a shot!
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2012 18:34
|
|
|
How much would a "budget" trip cost to see Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima? Budget as in, standard hotel with clean rooms no amenities. Not dirty hippie budget. There's really no time line, but would 3 weeks between the 4 be more then enough? And maybe out to Saga.
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2012 23:25
|
|
|
Rough estimate: 5000 yen x 21 days for business hotel rooms = 10.5man 2500 x 21 days for food = 5.25man Throw in ~150-200/leg of the journey for shinkansen tickets and training about = 8man transportation Add it all up, multiply by 1.2 for exchange rate, and you've got $2850 before you even buy anything here or purchase plane tickets. Dunno why you'd want to visit Saga though unless you've been to Japan numerous times and there is something very specific there you want to see (those satonogari or whatever Jomon era huts? Or maybe you just want to visit PR?). In my experience Hiroshima city can be done in a weekend, Osaka is like three, four days tops. You can kill between four days and a few weeks in Kyoto depending on how much you like temples, and Tokyo, who knows. For just the four places I'd say two weeks is plenty, though.
|
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2012 00:32
|
|
|
Sheep posted:Rough estimate: Saga for PR. I'd also be going with my wife, so the cost has now just probably exploded beyond our budget. This would of been the leg of our SEA trip. Maybe we will just have to cut it down to Tokyo only. Thanks! lol internet. fucked around with this message at 01:07 on Jun 16, 2012 |
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2012 01:03
|
|
|
Japan is a really expensive country to be a tourist in, between the strong yen (80 to the dollar at the moment) and generic Japan markup on everything. For the price of a 3 week journey throughout Japan you could do a few months in SEA, easy. You could do a budget trip of Tokyo much more affordably, get a double room in a hostel to yourselves, no need for shinkansen tickets and all that jazz, and get the tourist Suica card or whatever.
|
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2012 05:20
|
|
|
Just chiming in with my own experience related to the cost of eating/living in Tokyo - been over here for about 8 years total (7 in Tokyo, 1 in Kumamoto and a couple months in Hakodate): If you are planning to come to Tokyo as a tourist, bring plenty of cash. There's a ton to do and it all costs money - everything from the trains to the museums (some are only $5 or so and others are upwards of $20) to food. There are tons of ways to cut corners and do it on the cheap, but that usually involves a pretty good understanding of the restaurants around and a definite flexibility when it comes to what you want to / are willing to eat. Plan to be dropping at least $10-20 per meal and you should be more than solid unless you're planning on going somewhere pretty nice. Also, breakfast isn't a big thing in Japan - most people eat it at home - so your options there will be limited. Lots of hotels include breakfast for free but if yours doesn't there are international chains (Starbucks, McD's), cheap Gyuudon/Japanese places (Yoshinoya, etc) and convenience stores. Don't expect to be enjoying waffles and french toast unless you're either going to a froufrou cafe and dropping $20 or staying at a really nice hotel. On the other hand if you're going to live here you can definitely do stuff on the cheap - my wife and I cook at home maybe once a week and everything else we eat is either something we bought and brought home or at a restaurant. My wife works in a department store that has a pretty good employee cafeteria - I think lunch is anywhere between $3-6 there depending on what you get. At least in burbs of Tokyo I think some of the English schools are located in shopping centers like that so you might be able to avail yourself of a similar setup depending on where you work. I'm self employed so I usually just eat a big lunch (lunch is way cheaper than dinner) and then either skip dinner or have something small. I can usually get by with 1000 yen (around $12) a day for food if I'm being somewhat careful or around 1500 JPY if I pick up a cup of coffee and a snack along the way. While its not super healthy, its not much more expensive (if at all) than buying groceries and doing it yourself - unless you're making total survival rations (I had a buddy who lived on nothing but rice and miso soup for like 4 months when he first got married) you can drop a pretty hefty amount of coin just loading up on groceries and if you're apartment is anything like mine there really isn't a whole lot of space to store that stuff. You'll probably also be busy with work or school if you're living over here so you'll probably be surprised how little money you'll spend sometimes - it can cost quite a bit of cash to go out and have fun in Japan, but just getting by is not bad at all. Just like any big city you can make it as expensive as you want but you can also do it on the cheap if you try. Compared to living in NYC I'd say its actually easier to do it on the cheap in Tokyo but I've lived here way longer than I lived there so YMMV
|
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2012 05:44
|
|
|
B-Rad posted:Jesus, how much does eating out generally cost in Japan? Can you get a decent meal for under 20USD? The prices for things seem outrageous. In my experience the people who are broke in Japan on an ESL wage buy enormous amounts of otaku poo poo. I simply don't understand how 3000USD per month can be seen as an insignificant sum, regardless of where you live in the world.
|
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2012 06:04
|
|
|
I am OK posted:In my experience the people who are broke in Japan on an ESL wage buy enormous amounts of otaku poo poo. I simply don't understand how 3000USD per month can be seen as an insignificant sum, regardless of where you live in the world. Student loans are the devil. Though if I were making $3,000 (and still living in Korea ) even mine would be no big problem.
|
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2012 07:16
|
|
|
How much does the average weeaboo spend on food in Japan?
|
|
#
?
Jun 16, 2012 22:08
|
|
|
Depends if they're buying the thin pocky or that fancy Almond stuff where you only get like 12 sticks in a box.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2012 03:27
|
|
|
Grand Fromage posted:Student loans are the devil. Though if I were making $3,000 (and still living in Korea Ah I forgot about those. I really need to sort out paying mine back...
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2012 03:27
|
|
|
BIPSY posted:I'm self employed so I usually just eat a big lunch (lunch is way cheaper than dinner) and then either skip dinner or have something small. I can usually get by with 1000 yen (around $12) a day for food if I'm being somewhat careful or around 1500 JPY if I pick up a cup of coffee and a snack along the way. While its not super healthy, its not much more expensive (if at all) than buying groceries and doing it yourself - unless you're making total survival rations (I had a buddy who lived on nothing but rice and miso soup for like 4 months when he first got married) you can drop a pretty hefty amount of coin just loading up on groceries and if you're apartment is anything like mine there really isn't a whole lot of space to store that stuff. Eh, just go to the supermarket every few days. It's easy to buy like 3 days worth of meat, vegetables, and other misc poo poo for 1000-2000yen. It'll be a hell of a lot healthier than fast food and end up cheaper in the long run. I can't even imagine what kind of garbage you're eating if you live on 1000yen on eating out a day. It may seem cheap now, but you'll definitely pay for it in the future. Supermarkets here are pretty drat reasonable unless you're planning to buy boxes of peaches cases of beer. I can understand how someone wouldn't want to do the cooking and cleaning and all that, but it's definitely a myth that eating out is on par with cooking. As for tourists, I'd definitely recommend going wild and eating good stuff instead of scraping by on meat bowls and other crap. For most people, it's likely going to be a once in a lifetime trip, might as well enjoy it as much as possible.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2012 04:47
|
|
|
Do you have any evidence to suggest that Japanese fast food is also unhealthy, or are you just assuming that fast food = bad? Looking at sukiya's nutrition information it doesn't look too horrible but that only gives macros so no telling what weird chemicals go inside. Not trying to troll, I am genuinely curious because there's some fast food places offering curry and such for under 300 yen a plate. I used to get maguro donburi every other night for 700 yen -- not much room for unhealthy stuff in there but I would still consider it fast food.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2012 05:18
|
|
|
B-Rad posted:Jesus, how much does eating out generally cost in Japan? Can you get a decent meal for under 20USD? The prices for things seem outrageous. I don't make quite that much (I wish) but I still manage to have fun and save some money each month. Obviously if you eat out every meal and get drunk every night your money is going to disappear faster. I'm not a good cook so I buy a lot of "throw these together and stick it in the toaster oven" sort of things but my grocery bill for a week is still only about 3000-3500 yen. It's just how you manage your funds.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2012 11:32
|
|
|
zmcnulty posted:Do you have any evidence to suggest that Japanese fast food is also unhealthy, or are you just assuming that fast food = bad? Looking at sukiya's nutrition information it doesn't look too horrible but that only gives macros so no telling what weird chemicals go inside. I really don't have any evidence other than the beef these places use looks and tastes really, really cheap. I'd imagine it's a bit better than Burger King or whatever but you're not exactly getting a well-balanced meal if that's all you're eating. I'm sure that after awhile, the lack of vegetables and other useful nutrients will catch up. Lots of local restaurants use the same ingredients that we can buy at the store, as well. I've worked with many different types of restaurants and you'd be surprised at how many of them just use junk ingredients. Those hamburg steaks you order are just boiled packets, same with curry. You're just paying a tremendous premium to avoid any time in the kitchen.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2012 12:44
|
|
|
Original_Z posted:I really don't have any evidence other than the beef these places use looks and tastes really, really cheap. This is my issue with it--not the nutrition but the taste of using the cheapest ingredients (not to mention the hygiene issues at some of them.) If you don't absolutely loathe cooking it takes very little effort to make gyudon or curry that tastes much better than Yoshinoya or whatever just by using better quality meat (and meat has gotten so cheap these last few months that you'd still save money.)
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2012 15:04
|
|
|
LyonsLions posted:This is my issue with it--not the nutrition but the taste of using the cheapest ingredients (not to mention the hygiene issues at some of them.) If you don't absolutely loathe cooking it takes very little effort to make gyudon or curry that tastes much better than Yoshinoya or whatever just by using better quality meat (and meat has gotten so cheap these last few months that you'd still save money.) Chicken breast is the cheapest meat in Japan. I saw it for 19 yen per 100 grams a couple of weeks ago at a very cheap grocery store. If you want to save money cook things with chicken breast as the main ingredient.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2012 15:26
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 08:58 |
|
|
You're totally right man - it would be way healthier to cook in than to eat out and I do pay for it. I used to be healthier when I cooked in, but I just try to balance it out by hitting the gym a bunch. My schedule is total chaos since I've got my own company so I'm never on any kind of regular sleep/work pattern and its easier to just lift weights than actually bother stocking the kitchen. I usually eat a bunch of ethnic stuff - Indian, Thai, Indonesian, Chinese etc. I'm out in Koenji so we have a ton of cheap ethnic places that do killer lunch specials. I have no delusions that its healthy, though - ghee is not known to be a health food. Thanks for the motivation!
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2012 17:59
|
|