Japan--who's got the hookup?
hogginthefogg
6,098 Posts
So we were planning a trip to Thailand for early February, but we canceled it last night. We're now trying to change our itinerary to a trip to Japan. I'm about to wrap up my first Japanese class this week, so I'll be able to get by OK linguistically. For now, we're thinking of focusing on Tokyo and Yokohama. I'll be traveling with my wife and we're looking for reasonable hotel recommendations. A few things to keep in mind:b, 21b, 21We're not trying to stay in a hostel, but we're also not trying to break the bank with our hotels. I've heard that you can find a nice room for two for roughly $100/night. Is that so? b, 21b, 21We can't do a place with public baths, as I am covered in yakuza-style tattoos. I am well aware of the stigma and plan to remain covered up.b, 21b, 21We're not there to go shopping. Beyond the odd souvenir, I doubt we'll buy anything but food. b, 21b, 21Thanks in advance!
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Plan: little to no shopping, tons of walking, and many, many bowls of ramen/soba. Wifey wa ninshin shite imasu (preggers), so no raw fish for her, but we're not too concerned, otherwise.
So one last time: cheap eat recommendations in either city? Food will be our only major expense, and while we're not exactly scurred, we also don't wanna blow the budget by dropping $150 a day on food (which sounds like it would be easy to do).
there is a really good tofu restaurant in shibuya that i liked, if i remember the name I will post it. hope you got a good map to find your way around.
have fun. i was there a little over 16 days and it was not enough.
Watch out for the restaurants that let people smoke though! Obviously no good for your wife. Take pictures and post em when youre back! Have fun!
anyways, i was just wondering, how is it that you are going to prolly one of the biggest shopping meccas in the world and u arent gon go shopping? whatever you want, theyll have it. and in about 120 different colors. i mean, i am no shopper by any means, but thats like going to disneyland for the funnel cakes F*ck THE MATTERHORN.
in any case, youll be pleasantly surprised by the cost of things out there. i think even nyc is more expensive in both food and clothing. also, get to know the combini. u can survive off nigiris and genki drinks for like a buck a pop. and NOMIHYODAI!!!!
Being winter, you might want to look into shabu shabu, nabe, etc. Besides ramen/udon/soba, there are also yakitori joints, izakayas, etc....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E65pCqHOjm0
http://www.rameniac.com/resource/archives/C64
have fun....
I did Tokyo & Kyoto last April and it looks like I'm doing Japan again this April. My home boy DJ Serious is doing 3 months in Asia and I'm doing the first 3 weeks with him in Japan & Korea. All I can say is you're gonna have a blast!
I've got a billion pics, but here are some possible places to check out in Kyoto. Side note: When you walk into the subway in Kyoto. Hit up the info counter and pick up the free tourist maps they have. It will show all transit info (Subway, trains, buses) plus all main attractions. They really made everything a breeze to get around! I can't stress home much they came in handy! Plus, you can buy any transit passes you might wanna pick up from them that let you travel around for a few days with the one ticket. Cheaper, plus it makes it easier than trying to figure out prices each time you go somewhere.
Got off the train and this was the first thing I saw and needed to eat!
Kyoto has some wicked Zen Gardens!
Make sure to hit up Gion in Kyoto and be sure to get off the main streets and hit up the amazing backstreets that are simply beautiful. The realness is there...
If your lucky you'll run into some real Geisha's on their way to work. They are like rock stars on the streets.
Hit up the Fushimi Inari Shrine with the Torri Tunnels!!!
Oh shit, don't miss the Tenryu-Ji bamboo groves in back behind the temple grounds!!!!!!!!
Lots of good food!!
Everything under the sun with Green Tea/Matcha! Try to get a traditional Matcha/Green Tea Whisk thing done somewhere!!!
I'm missing my Tokyo pics right now (Cept this one). But you'll have zero problem finding things to see and do there...
Have a great time!!! OH, and if ur going with the gurl and really wanna knock her socks off and you got the cash and a bit of free time. Take her to a hot spring outside Tokyo. A good spot is a bit expensive, but shit is AMAZING!!!
Great pics, too!
Toritake is a nice Yakitori (kind of grilled chicken) bar near the Shibuya station. which is rather cheap (around 30bucks/person at night if eat & drink gently..) but great on taste. recommended.
http://shibuyachuogai.com/toritake/index.html
http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1303/A130301/13001702/
do you have specific food you want to have?
As far as specific foods, wifey can't have namano sakana, but anything else is fair game. We're pretty open. Oh, and OKONOMIYAKIYA recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Looking at those menu photos in your second link makes me realize that I'm gonna have a tough time not knowing kanji! At least the words "yakitori" and "unagi" are in hiragana on the sign.
Yo, just so you know. It's pretty well known in Japan that Kansai rocks the best okonomiyaki.
RAMEN
its like maybe 8-9 us dollars prolly even cheaper. found everywhere. there is also a ramen museum in yokohama that you might want to look into.
rice balls at the combini are about $2 good for lunch or snack and the drinks are great. not too sweet and they have a bunch of gatorade type thingies with "amino acids" although i could never tell if that was true or not. the kiosks at the train station are reasonable or comparable to combinis. itll most likely be cold and there are sodacan hot drinks and hot drink vending machines that fucken rule.
breakfast is gon be hard to come by if youre used to traditional western style. there are bakeries that are ok and theyre always in the dept stores and grocery stores.
careful of the okonomiyaki cuz it traditionally has fish in it. octopus and what nots.
there are all kinds of curry shops that are basically fast food joints. if u gotta gotta go western, id suggest mosburger. there may be some newfangled burger thing in tokyo now, but i remember mosburger being delicious.
there are tonkatsu houses that fry everything from pork chops to oysters. mmmmm. the ase-man mentioned izakayas which are like japanese tapas. hint: those arent chicken nuggets, its nosebone cartilege and shit. but yeah, bar atmosphere with tasty plates of food.
there is a big flea market in yoyogi park on the weekends. vintage american and some old japanese stuff for fairly cheap. i mean, it is all quality shit of course but its reasonable and not any more than you would pay here at a vintage shop. clothes, bric-a-brac
im pretty sure this is all over japan but the busking scene in places like shibuya and stuff are ridiculous. jazz bands, noise bands, u never know. its kinda cool to just walk around.
hmm, i'll try and think of some more cheap fun stuff for u. keeping in mind youre preggers.
Does anyone know the name of this chain from the logo on the bowl?
I wanna go back in April. I know it's like going to Burger king or some shit.
But damn that was a good cheap meal when I was dead from walking for 10 hours...
^^TRUE HOBBIES REVEALED^^
But I did find this cover on a blog a few seconds ago: