WhackyWill Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 We're staying in Shinjuki Will, mainly because it's just easy for us as first time visitors to Japan. It probably wouldn't be our first choice next time round, but for the first time visit, why not dive straight in to the deep end! We saw a couple of really good things on japanican.com. There seem to be great combined tickets for the bullet train plus accommodation for Tokyo to Kyoto. So we're having a bit of a dig in to those at the moment OK Shunjuki is a very touristy area and is also the Red Light Area, bit like Soho, but there are two parts separated by the the railway line, other part is a bit like Mayfair. At least you will never bored in Shunjuki.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Bet you don't see may Zeds or GTR's.. WW you clearly didn't see the google street view thread, many o' zeds were found in Japan (just none by me!) I found a few. Link: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/88022-silver-350z-tokyo-japan-google-street-view/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seasider Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 I'm well jel - it's my dream to go to japan and see where all my spare money has gone over the last 20 years! The skyline crew do organised trips every now and again and get treated like royalty - maybe I should buy a skyline and see if they would smuggle me over. Anybody up for organising a Z club tour next year? My wife says as long as I stay away from pin pong girls and ladyboys - I can go. So, as long as there isn't an optional tour to Thailand - I should be fine! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Bet you don't see may Zeds or GTR's.. WW you clearly didn't see the google street view thread, many o' zeds were found in Japan (just none by me!) I found a few. Link: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/88022-silver-350z-tokyo-japan-google-street-view/ I remember.. I was as equally p1ssed of then about it hahaha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Ladyboys in Tokyo are a bit rare..!! Maybe you know something I dont, Seasider.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 (edited) Wouldn't worry about red light district, one of the safest cities in the world Tokyo. You can wander through there 2am and never know what you just wandered through. What to do in Tokyo, so much cool stuff, the typical touristy stuff to do on a first trip: Meiji Shrine and harajuku area, all the alternative Japanese plus a huge shrine area - go on a weekend and you will probably see a traditional Japanese wedding (have to be millionaires to marry there so its pretty amazing) Sumo wrestling isn't as popular as it used to be but for a foreigner its a stunning day out - think its on in May, you will need to check - great thing is you wander around the outer arena and literally have the wrestlers walk past you, they are 30 stone of solid muscle, enormous! Shibuya, where all the cool kids hang out and has the multi way pedestrian crossing as well as the bronze dog there (Hachiko, google it) There is a national park in Shinjuku, you will be able to walk there, fantastic tranquility in a busy city There is a twin tower government building, you can go to the top for free something like 48 stories, great view of the city, again walking distance from Shinjuku Roppongi Hills for your posh shopping experience, similar can be said of Ginza which has all your designer stores plus traditional theatre Also get the tram across to odaiba you will go over the rainbow bridge which is amazing Fresh sushi at the fish markets, but make sure you are there for 5am latest Try all the local food, just don't ask what it is, you will enjoy it more If you have no tattoos, get yourself into an onsen - get naked - be brave In terms of places to visit outside Tokyo, Nara is a good shout, I never got the chance to go to Okinawa, wish I had. Oh and if you are near Yotsuya station, you can visit this pub the Three Threads for an English pint - it was my local! Very bizarre building in the middle of such massive high rise apartments. I lived in the apartments on the left of the photo! Edited September 1, 2014 by coldel 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 (edited) Wouldn't worry about red light district, one of the safest cities in the world Tokyo. You can wander through there 2am and never know what you just wandered through. What to do in Tokyo, so much cool stuff, the typical touristy stuff to do on a first trip: Meiji Shrine and harajuku area, all the alternative Japanese plus a huge shrine area - go on a weekend and you will probably see a traditional Japanese wedding (have to be millionaires to marry there so its pretty amazing) Sumo wrestling isn't as popular as it used to be but for a foreigner its a stunning day out - think its on in May, you will need to check - great thing is you wander around the outer arena and literally have the wrestlers walk past you, they are 30 stone of solid muscle, enormous! Shibuya, where all the cool kids hang out and has the multi way pedestrian crossing as well as the bronze dog there (Hachiko, google it) There is a national park in Shinjuku, you will be able to walk there, fantastic tranquility in a busy city There is a twin tower government building, you can go to the top for free something like 48 stories, great view of the city, again walking distance from Shinjuku Roppongi Hills for your posh shopping experience, similar can be said of Ginza which has all your designer stores plus traditional theatre Also get the tram across to odaiba you will go over the rainbow bridge which is amazing Fresh sushi at the fish markets, but make sure you are there for 5am latest Try all the local food, just don't ask what it is, you will enjoy it more If you have no tattoos, get yourself into an onsen - get naked - be brave In terms of places to visit outside Tokyo, Nara is a good shout, I never got the chance to go to Okinawa, wish I had. Oh and if you are near Yotsuya station, you can visit this pub the Three Threads for an English pint - it was my local! Very bizarre building in the middle of such massive high rise apartments. I lived in the apartments on the left of the photo! Interesting you mentioned tattoos as I am slightly, very slightly that is concerned as I am heavily tattooed with an 'aggressive' Japanese style. - I have been told that you can't sunbathe on certain beaches and can't visit certain baths etc, but I have also heard that it's possible to be removed from restaurants etc if they notice you have tattoos.. Any observations? Edited September 1, 2014 by WINKJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 (edited) The only Japanese people you see with tattoos are the Yakuza. I was once on the Metro and there was a tattooed Japanese man on the train and the carriage was half empty around him, rest of the train was rammed, so I went and sat next to him, well I got a a seat..!! :scare: Edited September 2, 2014 by WhackyWill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 As Will said traditionally tattoos were only on Yakuza who are the Japanese mafia - it tends to be less of a problem if you are western as they know that tattoos are not a sign of criminal involvement.I actually got my tattoo done in Tokyo, sat next to a Yakuza guy getting his back done - he spoke some English, was a really good few hours actually! So I did the onsens before that - I did play for a football team and in the hot summers wore sleeveless tops and I got a bit of a reaction but not to the extent Will mentioned above (which I can imagine could happen if you are Japanese). You wont get in an onsen with any tattoos which is a shame as its such a unique experience. I went to a gym once and said I had a tattoo, they let me use it that once but I had to change in a cubicle not in the general changing area and I had to wear a long sleeve top. Oh and thought of some other things in Tokyo overnight! Pachinko vanues - gambling is illegal so the guys go in and drop thousands of ball bearings into machines which can return more at the bottom (think the penny shove style games in the arcades) - if they get more then they take them to a clerk and get a prize which could be a teddy bear or something branded to that establishment - you can then go outside and find a vendor who will buy that teddy off you for the amount you should have won so they sell for like £500 or something if you win big. Just their way of dodging the laws! Karaoke - you must do this, its not like UK karaoke - you will often find stressed businessmen go and do this on their own after work to wind down before going back home. Make sure you go for ones that have deals, you can pay something like £20-£30 each and you get plates full of great food, all the alcohol you can drink and 2 hours in a karaoke booth (with English subtitles so you can sing along!) Make the most of the food - worth learning about yakitori, katsu, and all the different variations of food (sashimi is lovely and even though it might not appeal) If you want a boozy night out Roppongi (not to be confused with Roppongi Hills which is very different) is bar and club lined - I did an all nighter along there once, started at 7pm did about five bars/clubs and ended up having pepperoni pizza at 4am in a diner before clubbing on till 7am and then heading home! Shinjuku has tonnes of stuff, but it is very much the more commercial part of Tokyo, very busy, lots of department stores (such as Iseten I think its called) the train station itself is sprawling and covers something like 4km of walkways. So its tempting not to venture far. But you are in a great hub so make sure you get on the metro (which will astonish you with its reliability, never late, never delayed, it just works all the time - and watch out for the white gloved 'shovers') and venture off to different parts of Tokyo. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 If you go to a Pachinko Parlor take some ear plugs... Agree with all above from Coldel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 cannot bl00dy wait!!! keep the advice coming, and not just for Tokyo chaps!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Kyoto! Anagram of Tokyo and the old capital city I went there for a weekend with some Japanese friends - they surprised me and my wife with a make over session. Kyoto is famous for the Geisha and Rebecca got done up in that kind of outfit and me as a Samurai. You are then allowed to walk around atop the hill in your outfits for the day. So you will see 'geisha' being photographed but mostly they are tourists done up! Bullet train is awesome - Japanese friends paid (they ran the biggest law firm in Tokyo) so we went first class. I also saw whilst there a 300 strong Santa Claus charity run (we went on the 24th Dec) which was a strange sight! Nara is awesome for temples, loads of them and a very famous red bridge there. Book yourself into the B&B style places for a great unique expereince. There is also a famous little bar in Nara where all the visitors pin their business cards to the wall. tens of thousands of cards, so remember to take one if you have one. We also did skiing in Nagano - about 2 1/2 hours from Tokyo by train and bus - I did onsen there on a mountain side outside in a rock pool which was fantastic. Loads of great skiing, very expensive though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Did you go to see the Golden Temple in the Lake and Buddha enormous house in Nara ?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Yeah took a few photos of that golden temple - something like 1 tonne of gold leaf covering it or something? Also when doing that tour you can stop and have green tea - they will show you how to drink it in traditional fashion as well (so quarter turns of the cup etc) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 A few pics on my iPhone. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Is that the woman from "The Ring"? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Is that the woman from "The Ring"? That's the Missus pretending she a Ninja...!!! :lol: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bockaaarck Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share Posted September 2, 2014 Great info and great pictures Col / Will, fantastic! Now wondering whether I can extend our stay by a few days 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Don't worry you can do a lot in 3 weeks. A few more pics. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Had a quick dig through on Facepack and found some old photos Golden Temple Some statues in Nara Getting ready to tackle Nagano ski slopes! Also we climbed Fuji, I think it was August, there is literally an 8 week window you can do this an amateur. Walked up and stopped at a base camp halfway up from 10pm till midnight, then set off again and was at the top for sunrise - awesome! And one fearless dude trying to get a signal! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Great photos. Love the Country, could live there for 3 months a year, 3 months in my flat in Nice and 6 months in the UK. :thumbs: (That's ideal) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Is that the woman from "The Ring"? That's the Missus pretending she a Ninja...!!! :lol: She must be a Ninja if she was home earlier Extend her my apologies, don't wanna die by poison administered by trickle down a thread from the ceiling 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Is that the woman from "The Ring"? That's the Missus pretending she a Ninja...!!! :lol: She must be a Ninja if she was home earlier Extend her my apologies, don't wanna die by poison administered by trickle down a thread from the ceiling You were safe Mark, she was at work. :lol: Got the spacers done, looks a lot better. Did you go to RT. ?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Great photos. Love the Country, could live there for 3 months a year, 3 months in my flat in Nice and 6 months in the UK. :thumbs: (That's ideal) If you can, why don't you? I'd be out of here like a flash. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Great photos. Love the Country, could live there for 3 months a year, 3 months in my flat in Nice and 6 months in the UK. :thumbs: (That's ideal) If you can, why don't you? I'd be out of here like a flash. I will probably never happen, but that would be ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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