Japan! what to do?

Dodo

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Hi internets,

Flying to Japan next friday, landing in Osaka saterday. The weekend after I'm in Tokyo for a good week and a half. 2 days of TGS, and a hanging around with colleagues and a friend. What things are a "must see"? What things should I do? What things shouldn't I do?
A short list of does and donts would be great : )

PS: Veggy, yes, ill bukake young tokyo lolita's in back alley's with a dirty grin on my face while thinking of you, don't worry.
 
TGS? I remember a year ago I did a project in class for what to do in a particular area of Japan, I didn't get the Tokyo region but I kept all of my classmates' work and I'm sure one of them had a good dandy list of things, but that's in a box at home, I'll send the info when I can get back the coming weekend. Well anyways remember to go train groping!
 
Head to Harajuku and take pictures of people dressed funny.

Or not.
 
Take Vegeta with you. Little unpatriotic U.S. battleship suicide bombing rice eating god hating ching chong nip noodlening nong prick needs to go back to his own country.
 
Rape 'em all.


I said "all", no exceptions.
 
Where is vegeta? He should have been the first reply in here. He knows what to do in Japan. I'm pretty sure that the only mandatory thing you need to do, is what you said in your PS.
 
I'd probably go to the Ghibli museum, but that's just me. They've taken down the full-scale Gundam from the Tokyo park it was in, so you won't be catching that. Old flatmate went to Akihabara, I think he said it was just kind of weird. I'd probably head somewhere historical or rural since I'm not an urban person, but having never planned to go, I don't really have any specifics.

edit: Put on something loose and a blonde wig and try to get yourself train-groped. Western people probably look all the same to them.
 
Taking a trip to the superior nippo-

I'm not even going to start with that. Anyway, I have absolutely no idea what to do in Tokyo. Maybe you should go to China instead and overthrow the government.
 
Dude, the weekend you're in Tokyo is the final two days of the September Grand Sumo Tournament! That shit only rolls around once every 4 months in Tokyo so it's not something you're easily going to get a chance to see again.

It looks like that Sunday is sold out and Saturday only has certain arena seats available. Those seats are about $50 dollars from what I can tell, which sounds very expensive but they're among the cheapest from what's available. IMO It's worth splashing the cash for what is a great day out, so if you have anyone in your party who can decipher Japanese for you, consider buying tickets via this page:
http://ent-sumo.pia.jp/date.do;jsessionid=0a16000830d58bdf34fade6b4206b222cc6472e8502d.e3uSahqTbhyMe38LahqQah0Tb3j0?eventCd=0924691&perfCd=014&showTyp=1&vacantSeatFlg=0&monthIndex=200909
Once in a lifetime stuffs, mang! You can also try buying a ticket from a combini (convenience store) once you arrive in Japan, but the odds of Saturday being sold out by then are high. The tournament is quite often decided on the penultimate day, too, so in all probaility you would miss nothing from not being able to book on Sunday. It's more or less acceptable to sit in seats much closer to the ring during the lower profile matches until the real owners of those seats arrive and shoo you away.

I believe they also withhold a certain amount of tickets to be sold on the door, so even if you can't arrange pre-booking, if you're in downtown Tokyo in mid-afternoon on that weekend you should stop by the Kokugikan and see if you get lucky. The Kokugikan is near Ryogoku (??) station, which is reachable via Chuo Sobu (?????) line from Akihabara or via Toei (??) line from Shinjuku. Even if you don't get in, there's bound to be a lot of fuss and kerfuffle there at around 6-7pm on Sunday, since the prize ceremony will be going on inside - Sumo wrestlers will probably available for meet and greets outside and stuff. Don't hold me to that though.

Other than that, I don't have much to recommend. Tokyo's mostly good just for shopping, so if you're interested in that, check all the big downtown areas. Shinjuku (and Kabukicho - red light district, Yakuza, etc...) for general stuffs; Harajuku for stalls selling wacky clothing, for the park/shrine (Meiji Jingu) and all the cosplayers; Akihabara for electronics, second hand consoles from days of yore, hentai games (although you find these everywhere), and truly mindbendingly perverted hobby shops; Shibuya for flashy lights, big video screens, girls wearing weird fashions and a general quasi-Blade Runner vibe. For sightseeing stuff, there's the Imperial Palace and Gardens, but its a little underwhelming so I recommend combining it with something else on the same day - perhaps honour some war criminals at the nearby Yasukuni Jinja. I believe there's also a cool temple in Asakusa but I never went. Visiting Mt. Fuji is also an option. Oh yeah, and the Ghibli museum is one place which I regret never visiting.

I never stayed in Osaka, but everyone knows that the big tourist draw there is Osaka Castle/Osaka-jo (???). Also has a very large red light district, I hear.

TBH IMO the best place in Japan for touristy temples and sauntering around is the old capital of Kyoto. You can get there easily on the Shinkansen from Tokyo in a couple of hours, so I recommend spending a day or two there. The amount of stuff to snap pictures of in Kyoto is pretty immense; Higashiyama, Arashiyama, Gion, countless temples, the old palace... Even Kyoto station is a feast for the eyes. You can get a return trip deal + accommodation for about $200.

I'd recommend getting something like a Lonely Planet guide to Japan and picking out the best shit you want to do in each city.

Above all, try to get to grips quickly with the train and subway systems for Tokyo and Osaka (and Kyoto, if you visit). Maybe try to grab a map that has both the romaji and kanji names for stations on it, to help you decipher stuffs. If you can use the transport system well, you can get pretty much anywhere in Tokyo in under an hour, which makes tourism much easier. You might also be able to get good deals on daily/weekly train passes, but I'm no longer clued up on what's available. If you're going to do much travelling between cities via train, maybe have a look at the Japan Rail pass, which is also valid on certain Shinkansen services (so it would present an alternate means of paying for a trip to Kyoto should you wish).

EDIT: bah, ignore all the question marks. Stupid forum lays a smackdown on Japanese chars.

EDIT2: Make sure you intimidate every Japanese person you come into contact with. Fix them with an intense gaze while asking for directions in loud, slow and slightly aggressive English. Once you've done this enough times so that they understand you, observe their trembling finger as they point out the answer on your map. Also, if anyone tries to grope you, punch them out. Watch the tremblefest among the other passengers!
 
Don't bother to speak English. It doesn't work.
True to an extent, but only to an extent.

It's true that no one really knows any English for shit. However, if you resort to just speaking bad Japanese you just look like a fool and you end up getting patronised. Two of the guys I knew in Japan who got by easiest knew barely a word of Japanese. It's certainly a drawback not to be able to easily convey what you want, but when it comes to stuff where there's a power balance involved - eg. haggling, chatting people up, arguing in your own interest, etc. - then it pays to keep the enemy confused and on the back foot. Plus they all want to practice their English with whoever will humour them.

INGURISH IZU KUURU DESU.
 
go see that ginormous ****ing gundam. i dont even like that show, but its something to see.
 
True to an extent, but only to an extent.

It's true that no one really knows any English for shit. However, if you resort to just speaking bad Japanese you just look like a fool and you end up getting patronised. Two of the guys I knew in Japan who got by easiest knew barely a word of Japanese. It's certainly a drawback not to be able to easily convey what you want, but when it comes to stuff where there's a power balance involved - eg. haggling, chatting people up, arguing in your own interest, etc. - then it pays to keep the enemy confused and on the back foot. Plus they all want to practice their English with whoever will humour them.

INGURISH IZU KUURU DESU.

From what I heard, English is a good way to sort of "defuse" a situation. Like you said, people will kind of back off.
 
Fulfil Vegeta's every dream, and PM everyone but Vegeta about it.

Not me, though, I'm honestly not interested.
 
You will not see the true face of Japan in Tokyo. It's too sterile and touristy. You'll definitely get it in Osaka, i.e. through the most unhelpful shopkeepers and train attendants.

But not all is bad. Hentai shops are a dime a dozen there.

Also if you have any sensitivity to pollution you will die in Osaka. You know in Blade Runner how sunsets were always dark orange/red from such insane amounts of pollution filtering the light? Yeah, that kind of polluted.

I'll post more later.
 
When in Tokyo definitely check out yoyogi park - it's awesome. Sunday's probably the best day. You can check out all the cute girls at harijuku bridge at the same time - make sure you have your camera.

There's so many awesome places to visit in Japan, you're really spoilt for choice. Check out some huge arcades!
 
hl2.net weeaboos unite and give plentiful advice. Seriously though, buy some panties from a vending machine.
 
Much to my disappointment, I didn't see a single pantie dispensing vending machine while in Japan. They're a god damn myth! :/
 
They existed for a brief (lol) time before being banned or something for obvious reasons.
 
Now i watch a lot of JAV stuff. Teacher bang bang, black man initiation, big breasted multiple massage fantasy parlour, lovely office girl slut wild excellent dong worship. This kind of themed stuff. It gives you the impression that Japanese women have incredibily wild attitudes towards sex making.

In Japan i would like you to discover the truth. This task is appointed to you if you do not find a way...i probably will.
 
fuko01.jpg


LOL
 
I'm honestly surprised Sparrows could pronounce the "b", bro.
 
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