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Japan? Japan!

Discussion in 'Holidays & Travel' started by chainbolt, May 29, 2012.

  1. chainbolt

    chainbolt Member

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    You consider visiting Japan? We offer advice and information! Travel reports are welcome:

    OCAU residents in Japan:


    Your route planner:


    General Guides and Advisories:

    Australian Embassy Tokyo
    http://www.japan-guide.com: Very detailed, highly recommended guide for basically all aspects of traveling in Japan, probably the best starting when planning a Japan trip

    http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/: Japan National Tourism Organization

    http://japantourist.jp/ Tourist portal by "metropolis" - a publication for and by foreigners living in Japan

    http://www.snowjapan.com/e/index.php Tons of information about winter sport in Japan

    http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/00000000091.html: Japan earthquake and disaster situation + official weather forecast/ advisory


    Accommodation and hotel reservation

    http://travel.rakuten.com/ Japanese site providing discount accommodations


    http://travel-japan.jp/eng/: Hotel guide

    http://www.tokyuhotelsjapan.com/en/index.html Budget hotel chain

    http://www.tokyo-inn.co.jp/en/ Even cheaper budget hotel chain

    http://www.princehotels.com/en/ Major middle class hotel chain, very popular among foreign tourists


    Transportation

    http://www.japanrailpass.net/: Information about traveling by train and the "Japan Railway Pass"

    http://www.jetstar.com/jp/en/home Cheap flights from AUS / Japan

    http://rent.toyota.co.jp/en/index.html Toyota Car Rental and driving advise

    http://www.nipponrentacar.co.jp/service/general.htm Nissan Car Rental and driving advise


    Very special subjects: :D

    10 things foreign guys do that make Japanese girls fall head over heels

    Akihabara's maid cafes tickle fancy of foreign visitors

    [​IMG][​IMG]


    Please note: This thread is meant for poster who are living in Japan, have traveled to Japan, or intend to do so and have question in this regard.
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2016
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  2. darth_wolf

    darth_wolf Member

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    If one were to go, what would you suggest one does?
     
  3. oculi

    oculi Member

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    can you hook me up with a company car to drive there? a black 911 would be ideal, so i can go chasing S30 nissans on the wangan.
     
  4. OP
    OP
    chainbolt

    chainbolt Member

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    It depends on the season, and then of course the time and budget you have. Japan is stretching over quite a few climate zones. You have excellent skiing and snowboarding opportunities from November to March, for example in Hokkaido (Niseko). Then: Tokyo is a must, the world biggest city, a world by ilself. Kyoto is another classic destination. I prefer the most southern of the 4 main islands: "Kyushu" because of its lovely landscape. There are many active volcanoes, such as "Aso" clsoe to Kumamoto, it's a breathtaking caldera measuring 100 km, several active volcanoes and even villages at the bottom.
     
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  5. darth_wolf

    darth_wolf Member

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    What do you know about the abandons islands and ways of getting access to said islands?
     
  6. kangathekat

    kangathekat (Banned or Deleted)

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    Got a gieger counter handy? Can u take some readings of some random things around your area?
     
  7. OP
    OP
    chainbolt

    chainbolt Member

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    Japan has many abandoned islands because the population is stilling retreating to the big cities. Which one do you have in mind? One of the most famous is "Hashima" close to Nagasaki: http://googlesightseeing.com/2007/04/hashima-abandoned-island/. There are many stories about this island in japan, but I have no idea how to go there. I think you would have to ask a local fisherman for a private trip from the mainland to the island. There are more abandoned islands due to volcanic activities or tsunami danger.
     
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  8. darth_wolf

    darth_wolf Member

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    If one were to want to go Nagasaki for a holiday, how much would they be looking to spend? (somewhere around 5 nights) Also is there much else in Nagasaki (and its surrounding areas) to look at?

    note: if you want me to stop asking questions just say and i shall look it all up myself when i get home.
     
  9. i010105

    i010105 Member

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    Not sure if troll or not, but I am curious to know...
     
  10. OP
    OP
    chainbolt

    chainbolt Member

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    Geiger counters are selling like hotcake in Japan. Here is one integrated in a wristwatch. There have been some excessive readings in Tokyo neighborhoods but they were all form stuff that hospitals or the imperial army dumped more than a century ago, mainly radium. I don't care.


    Polimaster’s PM1208M Wrist Gamma Indicator the latest Fashion at Akihabara
     
  11. kangathekat

    kangathekat (Banned or Deleted)

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    Not a troll, genuinely interested. Not much MSM coverage of it any more and would love an actual real persons accounting of results of what it's like over there now.
     
  12. savolion

    savolion Member

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    Me and the missus are looking at travelling in middle of November,

    probably going to aim for about 2 weeks on the ground, looking at Tokyo & Osaka, probably Hiroshima but not 100% sure.

    We also want to go up into the mountains and stay up there a few nights, anywhere you would recommend/ great places to visit?
     
  13. OP
    OP
    chainbolt

    chainbolt Member

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    As I said, it's a subject of concern for many Japanese, those living in Fukushima or in the neighboring provinces, but also Tokyo, in particular families with small kids are concerned. In Tokyo however, as I said, due to the fact that suddenly many people are checking their neighborhoods, a few radiation sources were found that had nothing to do with Fukushima, but have been in place for decades - unnoticed.

    Here you have such case: Setagaya Radiation “Hot Spot” – Not From Fukushima

     
  14. lang

    lang Member

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    I am going to tokyo for work in 2 weeks and I will have free days on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th of june. Based in Tachikawa if it makes a difference.

    Do you know of any car related things I could do that weekend?

    Interested in racing, drifting, car shows and car parts shopping (I have an evo 9)
     
  15. Fraggle

    Fraggle Member

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    Did similar last September (was getting cool already so November could be chilly). Already did Hiroshima in another trip before so we did Fuji/Five Lakes to Osaka to Tokyo. Hiroshima is my favourite of the cities - definitely worth the visit if you can spare the time. Find a bicycle to hire or most hotels have them to borrow. Tho, would also highly recommend getting into the alps etc. was another side to Japan altogether!

    First night was Fuji, picked up a MX5 and drove up to Kamikochi (had to park in town and catch a bus into the reserve). Open top roadster and Japanese country-side = :D Stayed overnight and did the walks next day. If you go here, and if it's the one thing you do - don't miss out on the sweet fish soba!!! Then headed down to Kawaguchiko via Matsumoto and visited Fuji-Q and hiked Mt. Fuji that night for sunrise (started about 11:00 pm and sunrise was about 4:30 am). Was a fantastic sushi/sashimi restaurant opposite Matsumoto station, surprisingly cheap too! Then returned the car to Fuji and down to Osaka four nights and back to Tokyo four nights. Next time, definitely more days out in the country tho :thumbup:
     
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  16. Orphan

    Orphan Member

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    I was wanting to head over mid-late march to catch the cherry blossoms, festivals, night markets etc and travel around a bit. Is that time of year actually a good time to travel? While I want to check out some of the cities I also want to see the country side, mountians and hit up a real hot spring.
    Any idea what the car rental situation is in Japan regarding age? I wanted to hit up New Zealand and rent a roadster for a week and drive the south island but no roadster rentals will rent to an under 25.
     
  17. moist.au

    moist.au (Banned or Deleted)

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    Next Feb/March I am doing Ten days in Thailand, followed by six days in Vietnam, then off to Japan to hit the slopes for a few weeks.

    My main question revolves around money required, since I'll be visiting a couple of SEA countries before Japan, I would imagine Japan would be quite expensive in comparison. I plan on snowboarding for ten days, before hitting up Tokyo for the remaining six or seven days. Approximately how much spending money will I need?
     
  18. Fraggle

    Fraggle Member

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    Not too sure sorry, I'm about over the hill (34 :lol:) so didn't pay much attention to age restrictions. Was pretty much hassle free tho, only annoyance was having to get an international permit from NRMA (in NSW, different for each state afaik). Searched around the station on Google Maps for レンタカー and then searched up prices etc. (ended up booking through the europcar.jp website) MX5 was quite expensive (NC), nearly AU$700 for 4 days. Smarter choice would have been a Mazda 2 or so for about $260 but personally I enjoyed it so much I would definitely do it all over again without a second thought :) If you use the Japanese websites and can't read Japanese (like me!), highly recommend using the Google Translate script at http://translate.google.com/translate_tools (drag the English box at the bottom to your favourites bar/list).

    Heading to NZ this August and looked at getting one there too, unfortunately going in a very large group of friends/extended friends so I've resisted the urge and decided to just go with the flow. Was only looking for Christchurch to Queenstown pickups/drop-off but ended up choosing direct to Queenstown so haven't persued it much further. If memory serves, there's only one or two places that do MX5s in that area.
     
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  19. TERRA Operative

    TERRA Operative Member

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    It's a long way away, bit I'm planning to head over for a working holiday in about 18 months time.
    I have a Japanese sister in law who will be giving me a crash course in conversational Japanese, but I'm wondering what sort of work would be available to a foreigner who somewhat speaks Japanese?

    I'm an electrician by trade, and can do just about anything I guess.
     
  20. Raptor_Eye

    Raptor_Eye Member

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    well work is sending me over to our Asian offices for a week (Hong Kong, Beijing China and Tokyo Japan) i have the option between all 3 to have a couple of days for personal time.

    Assuming you have been to all 3, where would you recommend i spend my leisure time?
     

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