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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   3066 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for May 31, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I'm getting overwhelmed planning my trip to Japan.

There is just too much to see and do and optimize. Also the quality floor for most things seems to be pretty high, which should make things easier but is making things much harder because there are just that many more axis/options along which to optimize.

And this seems to be a common enough experience, given there seems to be a bunch of forums and subreddits dedicated just to planning a Japan trip. This doesn't seem to be the case for any other destination, not to this extent.

I'm seriously considering hiring someone to help me plan the trip..

The sage advice seems to be to not overthink it, because you probably won't make one trip anyways. Just to go there and have a loose plan and everything will plan into place naturally given the aforementioned high quality floor and number of things to do.

But I just can't help not plan this thing out. Planning for the trip is almost half the fun!

Is it your first trip? If so you'll probably end up doing Tokyo and Kyoto which is cool. Some general tips from a resident:

  • In Tokyo, try to hit a single area per day. Tokyo is massive and if you have to traverse it each day you'll end up wasting a ton of time on public transport. If you only have 2 days there you could do east/west, or if you have >3 you could do east/central/west, etc.

  • Stay at hotels with public baths, like Dormy Inn or the APA Resorts. These are really comfortable and affordable, and the baths are very clean and pleasant.

  • Kyoto is small but it is absolutely packed with beautiful architecture, restaurants, temples, shrines, fascinating little boutique stores, and more. Plan to spend twice as many days there as you thought you needed.

  • Check out the shrines and hot springs on the north edge of Kyoto. Mt Hiei is nearby and also quite beautiful.

  • Always get a plastic bag from the convenience store when you buy stuff so you'll be able to keep your trash in your bag since there are no trash cans (sometimes convenience stores have trash cans though)

  • Always have cash, preferable at least 10,000 yen, in your wallet. Lots of places are cash only.

  • Hostels and capsule hotels have gotten so expensive lately that you can usually get a mid-range hotel room for only slightly more.

  • Check what events are happening during the time you're coming. Tokyo (and many other places) are always holding festivals (traditional and modern) and other local events.

  • Go to some museums. The average quality level of museums is really high here. Even small local city museums are usually pretty impressive IME.

Etiquette-wise? Do what other people are doing. Also, don't worry about looking retarded when eating, as a foreigner Japanese people will automatically assume you're retarded and there's often nothing you can do to convince them otherwise.

Recommendation-wise? This is all personal taste, but:

  • Go for Korean BBQ over Japanese yakiniku. Japanese yakiniku is more expensive and less flavorful
  • Small local chain kaitenzushi restaurants are often really good and pretty affordable. Avoid national chain kaitenzushi unless you just want something decent and dirt cheap.
  • Go for hipster "gourmet" ramen places over greasy cheapo places. The latter are cheap but are often pretty meh unless you have a local friend who knows where the cheap AND good places are hidden.
  • When you're outside of Tokyo, try whatever the local specialty or delicacy is, it's almost always delicious.
  • Eat all the seafood. Eat at least once any sea creatures you've never eaten before. Kaisen-don are a decent way to get a lot of good sashimi at an affordable price.
  • Try okonomiyaki, it's great
  • Avoid most Chinese food here, most of it has been neutered to cater to the bland Japanese palate
  • Drink nihonshu/sake, and especially local sake (jizake) outside of Tokyo
  • Try the different kinds of shochu, they're interesting and unique.
  • You can skip beer here, the macro brews are unremarkable and the craft beers are decent but terrible value for money compared to any western country
  • Go to a really good soba place once

I think that's all I got for now.

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