japan trip

[turbo2nr]

Im planing to visit japan in october for 10 days. i would love to be able to also visit a few automotive shops out there. I will be staying in shinjuku, tokyo. I will also be spending 3 days in kyoto/osaka area.

Can anyone suggest shops that are easily accessible via rail way?

Im just trying to make the most of my time out there.

[hobbs]

Odd as I've been planning something similar for later in the year, here's some advice I've gotten off of another forum I'm on:

Is this your dime or the company's dime ... are you going to be flexible in which parts of the country you are visiting (North vs South)? Here are a few recommendations:

- In Tokyo visit Akihabara (the electronics district) - it is like Mecca for electronics geeks
- Nikko is nice (North of Tokyo) and has the shrine of the three monkeys (the tomb of the Tokugawa Shogun)
- Ride the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) ... an excellent way to get from Tokyo to Kyoto
- Visit Fuji-san (Mount Fuji) and Hakone (a nice day trip)
- Visit Kyoto (see the Golden Pagoda, Shogun's Castle, etc)
- if you like museums then Ueno Park in Tokyo has some nice museums and a zoo

Visit a couple of the big Buddha temples and at least one Zen rock garden

Avoid the bars (alcohol is very expensive, especially in the Hostess Bars)

Download a subway map for Tokyo (invaluable for moving around the city)

Hope that helps. I lived in Tokyo for 3 months and I love Japan :D

Tokyo is easy to get around. Subways have signs posted in English and even announcements are repeated in English. Check out the Akhibara District, Senso Ji Temple, view from the Government Buildings in Shinjuku, Ueno Park and the adjoining outdoor market (right at subway exit), Shibuya (fashion district at subway exit) and the Harajuku girls at the bridge.

Kyoto is where you want to go to see the classic Japan you have seen on TV and movies. It's harder to get around. You will have to combine subway, trains, buses and taxi's to get around but it is worth it. I enjoyed the Golden Palace and Nijo Jo Castle (Jo = castle and Ji = temple) in town but know I barely scratched the surface. Temples and Castles everywhere. Take the Tori Gate walk just before sunset so you can get a picture of the city. The must see portion for me is Arashiyama. You will need to take a train out to it. Make a day of it. Check out the river, bamboo forest and dozens of temples. I highly recommend wandering around Tenryu Ji. It has the rock garden, Koi pond, traditional building with tatami mats, and backs up to the bamboo forest. Incredible. I want to go back during different seasons just to that one spot.

I also went to Osaka but wouldn't recommend it for a quick trip. Dotonbori was interesting but the city itself was a plain big city. The castle is just a tourist trap. It's close enough to Kyoto you could make an evening trip over on the train to see Dotonbori but I wouldn't spend any more time there.

I had some friends go to Hiroshima and they said it was incredible and worth the trip.

I have taken trips to the UK, France, Russia and Japan and the Japan trip is the standout of the bunch. I will return there some day.

I just went to Japan in January.. cant believe the person above said its easy to get around.


best thing you can do is get a wifi hotspot. it will let you use google maps and i can tell you right now it will save your life. the stations and the subways are like god damn mazes man.


we took a trip one night one day to a place called shibu onsen. it will change your life man. saw snow monkeys in person and on your way you can stop in nagano and go to the temple there. also very beautiful.

there is a good art gallery in roppongi and plenty of other things to do in tokyo. Meiji temple is worth going to as well. we spent hours and hours and hours walking and it was totally worth it.


dont let anybody fool you though, there is a language barrier and it can be a problem. some restaurants wouldnt serve us and we really had to fend for ourselves sometimes.


i know its going to sound lame but we found a burger place in tokyo called third burger. THAT SHIT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

The 3rd Burger - Aoyama , Harajuku , Omotesando - Restaurants & Cafés - Time Out Tokyo (http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/venue/18522/The-3rd-Burger)

Don't try to tip anyone. It is considered disrespectful, like you are trying to say they didn't do a good enough job.

Don't go to Roppungi unless you want to spend a ton of money.

Japan is a lot of fun and the people are mostly friendly, but if you try to go somewhere and they give you a big X with their arms don't push the issue. Try to learn a little japanese before you go, some common phrases at least. Even if you butcher it they will think you're hilarious and try to help you out.

Here are some very useful words:

Sore (Sohreh) - That
Kore (Kohreh) - This
(both useful when shopping and asking for something)

Migi (Meegee) - Right
Hidari (Heedahree) - Left

Doko desu ka (Dohkoh Dess Kah) - Where is? (could be you, the place you want, etc ... Ginza Doku desu ka)

ohaio gozaimasu (OhHighOh GohZeyeMahs) - Good Morning

Anata (Ahnahtah) - You

Watashi (Wahtahshee) - Me

iki masho ka (eekey mahshoh kah) - let's go (shall we go)

Hai (High) - Yes
iie (EEE eh) - No

Wakari masen (wahkahree mahsen) - I do not understand

If you address anyone by name use the addition of san (kbrickley-san) ... an honorific meaning honorable (not gender dependent)

A short curt bow at the waist when you meet someone is polite and goes a long way ... usually the more senior person in business bows the least (but you shouldn't need to worry about that)

If you go to the Ginza make sure to visit the Sony building and see their robot :)

all good pointers from kb



also remember that its incredibly impolite to be loud in public or just anywhere really.

we were shushed once on a train and we were whispering. some people dont even speak. most of the time they will just ignore your rudeness because youre an alien or Gaijin. but its still good to remember these things.

i let my bank know ahead of time i was going and we withdrew money straight out of ATMs. they have the best exchange rates.

i also visited this site constantly. and talked to people a lot

Japan Travel Guide (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e623.html)


here is shibu onsen

http://www.japan-guide.com/g2/2029_thingstodo_02.jpg

onsen = hot spring bath

ryokan = traditional style hotel

the ryokan was really nice that we stayed at. i think it was about 130 ish each or so. very reasonable. it gave us full access to the ryokans private onsens and the public onsens in the town. it also provides a full 12 course dinner and a few course breakfast as well. pretty dope. and yes. they give you a kimono and its awesome.


http://photos.echeng.com/Travel/Snow-Monkeys-in-Japan/i-Pxqt4s4/0/L/echeng101224_0278537-L.jpg

heres a picture of the snow monkey park. its basically a man made onsen for the monkies but its still essentially a natural habitat. no fences or anything. theres just monkeys running around where they live.. they just hang out there cause they built the onsen and they like to hang out in it during the winter. for real it will change your life.

Gomennasai (I'm Sorry) would also work as well as Sumimasen (excuse me) ... another useful one at train stations is nomenaku (in a moment) which is called out before the arrival of trains ...

trains are also likely color coded still (it has been a few years since I have been) ... Subways with black name cards on the front are locals (stop at every station) ... blue is the semi-express (stop about every 3rd or 4th station) ... red is express (might only have 2 or 3 total stops) ... look at the subway map for the colors next to stations to see which trains stop there ... you can take multiple types of trains if you are going a long distance blue to within a couple of stops and then black the rest of the way)

Basic numbers are:

ichi (eechee) - one
ni (knee) - two
san (sahn) - three
Shi (shee) or yon (yohn) - four
go (goh) - five
roku (rohkoo) - six
shichi (sheechee) or nana (nahnah) - seven
hachi (hahchee) - eight
kyu (queue) - nine
ju (jew) - ten

:cool:

[turbo2nr]

Very informative, care to share what forum you got the travel suggestions form?

i need to plan more in detail my time in kyoto , and maybe skip osaka. still debating.

[jerrysherry]

i am also want to travel to japan to the Fujiyama. but i have no time bebause i am busing doing my design.





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[turbo2nr]

bump?

anyone have locations of shops in japan?

got in contact with scorch , going to visit their shop, im excited about that.

[SupaDoopa]

MCR is in Nagoya. I've always wanted to visit. DMAX is in Osaka if I recall correctly. Pretty much everywhere Driftworks highlighted in their 'Outsiders' video, I've wanted to visit. 326, BEE-R, MCR, Etc.

[turbo2nr]

Bumps 2 weeks, i need to start planing route to car shops.

[DenkiMan!]

i stayed in Katsushika for 3 weeks about 5 year ago over new years, by far the best trip of my life.

make a trip to Super Autobacs, such a fun store.

also make a voyage to the Asakusa Shrine, its in Taito which isnt too far from Shinjuku. i was there close to new years so it was super crowded, but its still a very interesting place, the shops there sell alot of traditional stuff

D1 i believe is finished, but you should check out how you can make it to Ebisu and see the local drift talent. Alexi from NoriYaro is usually out and about so look into that, check out his website

i was never able to go during my stay because it isnt easy to get there without a car, but you NEED to check out the Daikoku Futo on the weekends, the famous pa, if you can. you might just see some very spectacular stuff from shops and privately owned cars

ive always wanted to check out URAS but its in Fukuoka and thats pretty far

go to Ueno and check out the huge alley next near the train tracks, alot of hole-in-the-wall places you can shop for sick clothing and cheap knicknacks.

try to avoid the train during rush hour, it gets real close quarters and people are super pushy shovey, its really nothing personal but if someone really needs to catch a train, theyll push into the car before the door closes. happened to me and ive witnessed it happen to others

[nujabe]

dont for get to go to up garage if you look them up you find all there locations !

[Mikey213]

Super autobacs failed when it hit US soil.

[ProjectPanda13]

Great info. Hoping to make a trip in the near future also.
Latez,
-Dave

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