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[OT] Some advice please. [Stuff to do in Japan]


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Marineopferman



Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 1:39 pm Reply with quote
Hey everyone I know this is a place for talking about the magazine but I need some advice on what to do during my vacation in Japan, I am going to be going there after my deployment to Iraq is done and I want a anime/manga filled vacation so please all I have never been there and would like advice on what to do when I get there and so forth.

Thank you for helping me.

[Moved from the Protoculture Addicts Forum. -t]

[EDIT: Tweaked the title to spell "please" instead of "pls" and added the Off Topic label. -TK]
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Tempest
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 2:16 pm Reply with quote
Things to do in Tokyo:

- Visit Akihabara, it's very interesting. Make sure to check out the back streets. Tokyo's best Ramen shop is in Akihabara (the previous Prime Minister himself eats there), unfortunately I can't remember its name. Tons of anime stuff to see, from mainstream to very non-mainstream. Visit the 4-8 floor anime and manga shops, but stay away from the top-floor and basements if the convept of spooge covered pre-teens bothers you (it certainly bothers me).

- Visit Nagano Broadway, a haven for classic anime merchandise. You need to go all the way to the back and upstairs. It's the headquarters for Mandarake and numerous stores catering to similar clientelle have sprung up around it.

- Visit the anime museums, Especially Ghibli Museum (a 3-5 hour experience), Suginami Anime Museum (a 2 hour experience), the Bandai Museum (a 3 hour experience) and the Tokyo Anime Center in Akihabara (a 1 hour experience). Walk from the train station to the Ghibli Museum, don't take the bus.

- Have 105 Yen Sushi at the conveyor belt Sushi restaurant on Central Street. Not the best sushi in the world, but good enough, and plenty of fun. There will be a line-up, and don't expect much in the way of polite service.

- Visit Tokyo Tower. Best view of Tokyo, and best chance of seing some sort of cataclysm (so far I haven't seen one, but I'm always hoping to catch a glimpse of Godzilla every time I visit).

- Visit the Imperial Park, Shinjuku Park, Meiji Park and Ueno Park. Visit the Shrines and Museums at Ueno, and Meiji Park. You can also visit Edo Castle and some of the gardens at the same time as you visit the Imperial Park. The actual Imperial Grounds are off limits for all but 2 days a year. Still the gardens that are open are quite beautiful, make sure to take a walk around the whole block & moat. If in any way possible, visit these parks in early April for Hanami.

-Talk a walk through Harajuku, but if you want to walk down the main street, make sure you visit off peak hours and not on the weekend. Go during the afternoon. Have a crepe at one of the crepe shops towards the middle of the street.

- Visit the Edo - Tokyo Museum. Best (and really only) major historical museum in Tokyo. It's all about Tokyo's history colorful.

- Visit the sword museum. Small museum in the middle of a residential district, probably the best Japanese sword collection in the world.

- Visit Akasuka Shrine and market. Unfortunately the monks have closed off the gardens, but the shrine is still the best shrine to visit in Tokyo.

- Visit a book-off, buy whatever Japanese magazine, book (or anime art book), music cd you want for a fraction of the price. (Used bookks, dvds, cds, games, etc...)



Outside Tokyo:

- Visit shrines in and around Kyoto. No Visit to Japan is complete without spending a couple days in Kyoto. Take the Shin-Kansen to get there. While you're there, visit Toei Uzumasa Movieland (Toei Uzumasa Eiga Mura). (Read Crashing Japan Parts 1 & 2 for stuff to do in Kyoto.)

- Visit the Yokohama China Town and Yokohama's maritime museum. Important parts of Japan's history. China Town is very expensive and not particularly authentic, but very interesting.


-t


Last edited by Tempest on Thu Oct 26, 2006 3:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
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PantsGoblin
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 2:51 pm Reply with quote
tempest wrote:
Tokyo's best Ramen shop is in Akihabara (the previous Prime Minister himself eats there), unfortunately I can't remember its name.


Jangara Ramen. Just as a warning though, the line's always enormous at that place...
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Tempest
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 3:07 pm Reply with quote
PantsGoblin wrote:
Jangara Ramen. Just as a warning though, the line's always enormous at that place...


That's the place!

And yes, the line-up can be rather long. I usually go late, around 9pm when the wait is only 10-15 minutes. Going at peak hours can involve a very long wait. The restaurant only has seating for 20 people (looks like seating for 10 people, but I've counted).

-t
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PantsGoblin
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 3:47 pm Reply with quote
tempest wrote:
And yes, the line-up can be rather long. I usually go late, around 9pm when the wait is only 10-15 minutes. Going at peak hours can involve a very long wait. The restaurant only has seating for 20 people (looks like seating for 10 people, but I've counted).

-t


Hmm, should take note of that. I went there in the middle of the day last time and the wait was so long I decided to eat somewhere else... I heard there's another one in Harajuku too that doesn't have nearly as long of wait, as well as more seating. I don't know if its ramen is a good as the one in Akihabara though...
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Marineopferman



Joined: 25 Oct 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 4:25 pm Reply with quote
wow thats alot of places to visit in a week I will do my best to visit them but I dont know. what do you advize are the absolute places I must visit so I can make sure to go in and the raman shop I alredy must go to for I love raman. and I do plan on spending time in Kyoto but what do you suggest as must see's.
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unhealthyman



Joined: 20 Jun 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 5:20 pm Reply with quote
Hostess bar...

End of discussion.
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AirCooledMan_2006



Joined: 09 Jul 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 5:21 pm Reply with quote
Go to a sumo wrestling match. That or All Japan Pro Wrestling (Although that stuff's fake, it's sometimes still fun to watch.).
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fighterholic



Joined: 28 Sep 2005
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 5:27 pm Reply with quote
Please do not forget to see the Buddha Statue at Kamakura. And while you're in that area, maybe go to Enoshima or Zushi Kaigan, which is a part of my seishunjidai Wink
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Marineopferman



Joined: 25 Oct 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:19 pm Reply with quote
Please do not forget to see the Buddha Statue at Kamakura. And while you're in that area, maybe go to Enoshima or Zushi Kaigan, which is a part of my seishunjidai.....

I dont know what that last word means. sorry
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Tempest
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:48 pm Reply with quote
Marineopferman wrote:
wow thats alot of places to visit in a week I will do my best to visit them but I don't know. what do you advize are the absolute places I must visit so I can make sure to go in and the raman shop I alredy must go to for I love raman. and I do plan on spending time in Kyoto but what do you suggest as must see's.


Well, you could see everything I listed in just 1 week. But it would pretty much fill up your whole week, and I'm sure you have some plans of your own.

As an anime fan I *highly Recommend*

Akihabara
Ghibli Museum

Nagano Broadway is a must see if you like old stuff and/or plastic figures. Otherwise it remains "highly recommended."

Suginami Anime Museum is very interesting from a historical point of view, if the history of anime interests you, go there. It's on the way to the Ghibli Museum, so you can do the two of them in one day (that's a whole day).

The Bandai Museum is a must if you're a Gundam fan, otherwise, it's still nice but not a must.

If you want to shorten your Kyoto Visit, skip the Toei theme park. The two main shrines and the castle can all be visited in a single day.

Meiji Park is right outside of Harajuku, so you can do both together.

Ueno Park is a must see during Hanami, but off season it's not a *must* see. I still go back everytime I go to Tokyo though.

Edo-Tokyo museum is a must see IMHO if you're the least bit interested in Tokyo's history.

You should definitely visit Shibuya (Central Street is in Shibuya) at night. Say "Hi" to Hachiko,

The 105 Yen place isn't much better than any other conveyer belt sushi restaurant. Just Good and Cheap together. If you like Sushi, make sure to try at least one Conveyer Belt Sushi restaurant, but it doesn't have to be this one.

I also suggest buying food from the stalls in which ever Park(s) you go to.

Oh, visit a Manga Cafe (Manga Kisa).

Tokyo Tower is one of those experiences that isn't awesome in itself, but you'll always wonder about if you don't go. Only annoyance is that it isn't close to a JR station, you'll have to take the Metro.

Oh, that reminds me, take the JR to get around in Tokyo.
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unhealthyman



Joined: 20 Jun 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:51 pm Reply with quote
Even if you are a big anime fan, don't fall into the trap of assuming that the entirety of Japan is anime anime and more anime. There is a lot more worth seeing and any anime enjoyment you get should be an added bonus rather than the main purpose of your trip.

I mean, a day of Akihabara and so on is probably enough, there is a lot more to see than just an otakus itinerary.
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tenkado-shujin



Joined: 25 Oct 2006
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 2006 12:42 pm Reply with quote
tempest wrote:


- Visit Nagano Broadway, a haven for classic anime merchandise. You need to go all the way to the back and upstairs. It's the headquarters for Mandarake and numerous stores catering to similar clientelle have sprung up around it.



I think it is Nakano Broadway. Nagano is a prefecture (and its capital) in central Honshû.


tempest wrote:


- Visit Akasuka Shrine and market. Unfortunately the monks have closed off the gardens, but the shrine is still the best shrine to visit in Tokyo.



Did you mean the Buddhist temple with a garden attributed to Kobori Enshû? If so, the name of the area in question is Asakusa.
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TheBebop1022



Joined: 15 Oct 2006
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:47 pm Reply with quote
i heard theres an exact replica of the merry go there
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Animefreak6969



Joined: 18 Aug 2006
Posts: 587
PostPosted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 6:22 pm Reply with quote
TheBebop1022 wrote:
i heard theres an exact replica of the merry go there


seriously? awesome
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