Travel Strut - Thailand & Japan
DOR
Two Ron Toe 9,902 Posts
Times like this, I really do wish there was a Travel & Tech forum on the strut.My gurl & I finally booked our flights to Thailand. It just so happened that out flight goes through Japan and since we could do an extended layover at no extra cost, we are now spending 5 days there.I've already have some friends & family hitting me up on some things to do in Japan. But I was really hoping that a few of you would hip me to anything you found interesting on your journeys or homelands.Foods, things of interest, off the beaten path where tourist aren't everywhere, etc. The special things that make trips great.While I'm into big cities & amazing beaches. My gurl is more into the cultural & how the average person spends their day. So, we are pretty much open to anything, anywhere. The more remote for her, the better.Thx,BillyPS - We are traveling in the spring of next year & any strutter wanting to meet up and eat some food and have some drinks would be cool.
Comments
I will PM u some DL info tho on Japan, and hookups and records to find in Thailand, etc.
Send me your e-mail addy.
peace.
I know there have been posts on Japan (Tho, searching for them can be a touch tricky). But I was not aware of Thailand post. Thx for the heads up.
PM sent!
I recently went to Japan and still have some of the threads from here:
SS Japan Post 1
SS Japan Post 2
SS Japan Post 3
I would highly recommend the Tjuiska (sp) fish market and climbing Mount Fuji. I believe you will be there in the appropriate climbing season. It is only about an hour 1/2 out of Tokyo.
Not to mention that it will absolutley fuck u up for a week, i took a week off work after that... definitely a lovely thing to do, but not on a holiday....
peace.
I hear ya...I was most def sore after the climb....nothing a few beers at night didnt help however..
true that... that climb KILLED me and I am thankful I bought 2 cans of oxygen!
"a wise man climbs fuji-san once, a fool does it twice", u heard that proverb before... i would do it again tho!
5th level. thats where I started from... still took the shit outta me!!
no way bro. i went with my grandma and parents n stuff. theres one that gets u even closer!
FOOD[/b]
japan: its all really good. honestly, just dont eat anything that isnt japanese and you will be happy. i tend to like the hokkaido style ramen meself, though i never ventured up that far. but it always seemed like a cool place to go and there are these mythical honkeyasians up there. or so the story goes. oh, i used to get my doj from hokkaido if that helps any. not that it was any good, but they do grow it up there.
one thing you should do in japan is go to the grocery store or combini store [7-11, circle k types]. i cant tell you how awesome they are.
thailand. well, ive honestly never been. but ive eaten the food. so alright, you want different? i would head up to the isan area of thailand. its the northeastern part of thailand, really close to laos and cambodia. and prolly really remote. im guessing. anyways, theres an isaan style thai joint down here in LA and its pretty good. from what ive learned, the food is much spicier than regular thai food. its like powerful flavors. i cant really describe it, but thats where youll find stuff like bugs on a stick or fried cockroach livers or something. anyways, its different from the run of the mill thai food and shares some commonalities with laotian and cambodian foods, which are hard to come by in the states as well. in fact, ive never eaten at a laotian restaurant. im not even sure if they exist out here.
well, thats it for the food recs. i might be able to give you actual addresses in japan n stuff, but its been a long long time. oh, i really liked mos burger if you are hurting for white mans food.
co-signator!
ramen in asahikawa = one of my all-time favorite dining experiences. venture up that far if you ever have the occasion.
next week i'll be in nagoya for a week then on to kyoto for a week before bouncing back and forth between nagoya and tokyo for a while... likely spending new year's in osaka.
holler at me, if you're around...
Fuji killed me too, I wish I had taken oxygen bottles.
The thing that gets me is the old guys climbing without a problem and having a beer and a smoke at the rest spots too!
DOR, send me a PM if your keen on getting a beer or two when you're in Tokyo.
Hi Paren.
http://www.soulstrut.com/ubbthreads/show...true#Post994472
main spot is china town. there are 4-5 stores on charong krung. ask to be dropped at "sapan laer" (meaning new bridge) as charon krung is a pretty long street.
on saturdays there is a night market in china town that has some people selling records too.
another shop is near kao san (513 Boonsiri Rd., Phra Nakorn).
one more is on the weekend market. if you arrive with a bus it's right on the corner when you first see the market from the bus.
fortune tower has some stalls too. they mainly sell expensive western records though.
good luck finding stuff. if you score doubles of that thai boxing 45 let me know:)....
And I'm totally up for meeting up for food or drinks.
I'll post in here when the time is coming and see who's around!
Many Thx once again!
Billy
Tokyo & Kyoto for 5 nights.
Bangkok, Chiang Mai & Krabi for 10 nights.
Any last tips? Any events going down?
I'm looking for great places to eat!
RECORDS -
Hit up Recofan and Disk Union for the records. Consistent. Hit the Japanese section in Recofan, do your research on eBay and just remember covers. Disk Union jazz is downstairs, hip-hop is up 2 levels. Rock is up another level.
Visit Muro's store (Savage!) and get some CDs and cool stuff. Go say whats up to my man Viblam at Still Diggin'.. cool dude with really cool store, right in the alley to the left of Manhattan Records.
FOOD -
Gyu Kaku (Yaki Niku), delicious, must stop, trust me. Get the Kalbi beef and cook away. In Shibuya, ask around (Summimassen Gyu Kaku wa doko desu ka?).
MoMo Paradise - inside the Beams building in Shibuya, $15 all u can eat Shabu Shabu, and ALL YOU CAN DRINK. Top quality Sesame sauce for the beef.
If you need quick and cheap eats, nothing can beat the Hamburg set at Matsuya or the Gyudon at Yoshinoyo. If you wanna get a burger, I would recommend the Mos Burger at Mos Burger, or hit Freshness Burger - Their Freshness burger is dope, and cheeseburger even better..
KYOTO
Buy the 500 yen bus card at the tourist information centre. Tell them to give u a map and map out the best route for these sights, they are all must see's and different. You can do them in a day starting from about midday and ending in the afternoon at Kiyomizu. I would do them in this order -
Kinkakuji (gold temple)
Ryoanji (stone garden)
Kiyomizu (big temple)
After that take a stroll down to Gion and try catch some working Maiko's or Geisha's...
people are friendly and will help u with directions.
Hope this is helpful. Enjoy your time in Japan, it's amazing.
peace.
here is the logo, look for it, its kinda next to Disk Union in Shibuya, on the way to Manhattan
MOMO PARADISE
MOS BURGER
FRESHNESS
YOSHINOYA (ORANGE SIGN, CANT MISS IT)
MATSUYA
looks gross, but trust me... amazing TASTE!
head straight for a foot/back massage at the nicest place u can find... I ate mainly chinese food out there, I would steer clear of the street food... be ready to dodge tuk tuk's and for people offering u services of ALL KINDS in the street
peace.
PAGING RAJ! hit me on AIM!
Can't wait to hit up Japan again in May.
BASIC LANGUAGE
casual thank you - domo
a little more formal thank you - arigato gozaimasu
very formal thank you - domo arigato gozaimasu
DO NOT SAY DOMO ARIGATO ROBOTO. Japanese people don't know what this means for the most part.
"summimassen" is excuse me, but u can use it in any situation, like if u step on someones toes or want to pass someone or you are breezing thru a crowd.
If you are in a record store and want to check the conditon of the records. Just say "CHECK" and hand the records to the counter. If you want to listen say "LISTEN". If there are items you do not wish to purchase, hand them to the clerk and say "CANCEL".
Conditons for records - A is EX, B is VG+, C is anything below.
"wa doko desu ka" means where is..
so you could say "recordo" "wa doko desuka" where are the records.
TRAVEL -
The most handy line for a few days in Tokyo is the Yamanote line, the light green line on the JR Rail. it's the basic loop of Tokyo, stretching out to Ueno and thru Shinjuku, Shibya, Yoyogi and Haraijuku. it's about 130 yen per jump stop ($1.50)
Buy a Suica card, and put some cash on it, this will speed ur way thru, just hit the card when u walk in on the sensor, and then hit it on the way out and it will calculate and deduct your fare. Or you can be a bad gaijin like me and just jump the gates
The exit to get to the action is the Hachiko exit in Shibuya, basically walk flush out the train till u see that exit, walk out and walk in between the TV screens with Starbucks on your right hand side.. the stores and action will be all around there.
If you want clothes and shoes, head down to Harajuku and walk down Omotesando and turn left into the side streets.
GOING OUT - Unfortunatley, clubs such as Harlem and the bigger clubs in Shibuya have enforced a semi "no foreigner" policy. Due to some unfortunate incidents involving foreigners in the past. The easy way around this is to find a girl thats going in the club and asking if she can accompany you in the club, usually giving one of your drink tickets up will be enuff. They feel that if you are with a Japanese person you will act better. Usually the fee to get in the club will include 1 or 2 drinks, which explains why its sometimes $15-20 to get into a club. I recommend Harlem if you want a good night out. Also check out what's happening at Club Nuts as they usually have some cool gigs.
any questions just ask.
b
SUICA
DISK UNION SHIBUYA
HACHIKO EXIT