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Forum - View topicANNCast (Video) - Live From Shinjuku
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5499 Location: Iscandar |
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It is great to hear that In This Corner of the World is a good movie. This movie was not in my radar, but now I am looking forward to watching it.
By the way Zac and Jacob, did you see any merchandise of Hand Shakers? |
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5922 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Saw some Hand Shaker displays, don't know about merchandise. Wouldn't be surprised if they had it.
Wish I knew Jacob and Zac were going to be there, must have missed their missive about it, if they made one. |
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leongsh
 Posts: 181 |
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I would disagree with one of the advice given - getting a data plan for your phone or a local SIM. It is much better to rent a mobile wi-fi unit with unlimited data. Much cheaper and shareable. Your phone on international roaming can still receive SMS and calls for your personal phone number in case of emergency and credit card/bank messages.
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Dfens
Posts: 462 |
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If you plan ahead of time and really nail down the details you can visit Tokyo Japan by yourself and get around without getting lost your first time visiting. I did it a few months ago and had a great time, and when work lets up will try to take another trip this time half in Tokyo again other half try to see Kyoto for the first time.
What's funny Is I too stayed in Shinjuku for my trip and the biggest thing I would tell people is stay as close to the nearest big train station as possible because walking to and back from is exhausting. I'd say no more than 1/4 mile if you can I was over 1/2 a mile away from Shinjuku Station and with walking all day on top of that I lost like 10 pounds on my trip. If you are staying in a Hotel which can be had for 70-100 USD a night for a nice business Hotel you get free unlimited wifi, That's what I did, also certain department stores have free wifi and train stations as well. Data plans suck for US carriers mine was 40 dollars for 100 minutes of talk which was more than enough to call home every morning, 100 texts which I really had to watch, unlimited text received and a measly 100mb of emergency data. Now if you rent a pocket wifi at the airport for about 70 dollars a week you get 250mb of data per day before they throttle you so if you only use it to get around and don't stream videos and other data killing content that is more than enough. Now what I did was save on Google Maps back home state side all the trains stations, places to eat, deparment stores I wanted to shop at, places to see and visit on my trip etc you save them on your favorites. Then with data turned off on your phone Google Maps still works as long as you don't need turn by turn directions and use the GPS arrow to navigate to your destination since GPS is free. By doing so I never got lost and didn't have to rent a pocket wifi. And I put notes on my phone ahead of my trip of all the stations, train lines, platforms, prices and what not so I didn't have to ask or get lost when out and about. And if on the fly use Google Maps at your hotel on the free wifi to plan out your route etc. One big tip for getting from and to the Narita Airport use "The Narita Access" shuttle bus service. It's only 1,000 yen takes about 50-60 minutes depending on traffic, comfortable seats with seat belts, has a toilet on board, phone USB charging ports. And runs about every 20 minutes and no tickets required you just line up board and pay in cash. It takes you to and departs outside of Tokyo Station. The train will cost you 2,000-3,000 yen and take about the same amount of time and can be confusing. Last edited by Dfens on Sun Mar 26, 2017 8:40 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Zin5ki
 Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
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An illuminating show as always!
I was quite surprised to hear that renting an apartment was more economical than a hotel room in this instance. Is there that great a premium for standard hotel services and overheads in Shinjuku? |
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ChibiKangaroo
 Posts: 2941 |
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Thank you for the sane commentary on Netflix Death Note. I have seen too many people totally losing their shit over the casting choices. It seems so obvious that people could go enjoy the 4 Japanese live action works that have already been made if they are obsessed with having only Japanese people in it. I can't wait to see what it looks like, and I am so glad that the directors of this thing have decided to do something different! Different is good! That's something that so many anime fans seem to have completely forgotten in their quest for sameness and endless clones of what came before.
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Dfens
Posts: 462 |
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Normally in Shinjuku a Hostel which is a bunch of bunk beds in a room and no privacy is the cheapest you are going to get and runs about 20-25 USD a night. If you want to stay in a Capsule Hotel it will run 35-45 USD a night, more privacy and better overall conditions, fun to try once and useful if you want to crash 1 or 2 nights on the cheap.
Now a actual apartment which can accommodate up to 2 people which is assuming why Zac and Jacob choose one runs about 60-70 USD per night. I'm guessing they were on a budget from ANN and it was the best choice. You do get a get a kitchen if you want to cook but it's cheaper just to go out if you are just visiting. Some will include a pocket wifi at no additional charge some do charge for one or make you get your own. You won't have someone coming in daily to clean and change the towels etc like at a Hotel. But it's a great value if you have 2 people divide the bill in half it's 30-35 dollars per person. Most air bnb listings the first 2 people were 70-80 dollars a night and each additional person was 35-40 a night so split 3 ways 40 dollars or less per person for a 2 bedroom. Only downside to a apartment if something goes wrong or you need assistance the owner isn't on site and you have to call them and wait for them to show up if their is a problem with something. A business Hotel will run you about 70-100 USD a night for a single room and bed, you could fit 2 people if you share the same bed not recommended. When it comes to a luxury 5 star Hotel like the Hilton will run you 200-400 dollars per night depending on when you stay and the Hyatt runs about 150-300 a night. These will easily fit 2 people so you split the bill in half if you have a roommate. All these prices are if you book and pay ahead of time through a Hotel booking site you won't get a discount from the current foreign exchange rate unless you book directly through the Hotel. Usually the Hotel direct is more even with a discount from the exchange rate. Right now it's as low as 11 to 15 percent advantage for using USD. The biggest thing to remember is big holidays like Christmas or major Japanese holidays or certain times of year these prices will nearly double for the same room. Other than a place to sleep, shower, and store your luggage and other belongings most people including myself will be out and about the entire day so staying on the cheap is good enough unless you want more luxury's. |
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invalidname
 Contributor Posts: 2480 Location: Grand Rapids, MI |
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I'm loving all the tips about visiting Japan, how to stay cheaply, how to get around with Google Maps, how to get a decent data plan, etc. Thanks both to Zac & Jake and the forum.
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