Going To Japan In May

[JMAK74]

In May I'll be heading with the wife to Japan for my brother-in-laws wedding.

Any suggestions of what to do and see in Japan?

[Kevin@nextmod]

wanna pick something up for me?
i want j's racing exhaust....hahah....j/k

But i do want to pick up a few vtec sports magazines.

[RX9]

b/c you go with ur wife and of couse u got married. ehn.... not too many suggestion then, keep ur eyes on her only.:chuckle

[///M]

Where in Japan are you headed? Assuming you'll be going to Tokyo, here are a few of my suggestions:

* Toyota Megaweb Showcase at Palette Town (bring your international driver's license - they have a test track where you're allowed to take their cars for a spin, and they have a lot of interesting JDM models not sold here)
* Super Autobacs - http://www.superautobacs.com/
* Akihabara - electronics and gadget haven!
* Ginza - financial district / downtown Tokyo. Be sure to check out the department store that sells stationery (it's cooler than it sounds, and there's a lot of neat stuff in there). I don't recall the name, but it has a big red paperclip as a logo.
* Shinjuku is very nice to walk around at night
* You must pay a visit to Tokyu Hands. It's a dept store that sells all sorts of weird and wonderful things
* Don't go to Mt. Fuji unless it's a clear day and the weather's perfect - otherwise you'll barely see it.
* The Tokyo tower sucks. It's very ugly compared to the Eiffel, and the view up there isn't anything special. Feel free to take pictures around it, but don't bother paying to go up to the viewing platform.

It's been a couple of years since I've last been to Japan, so the above suggestions may not be the most up to date. Things develop quickly there, and I'm sure there are other new and cool things that I've missed out on.

As for transport, the JR train in Tokyo has a circular green route that will take you to all of the places I mentioned above and most other places of interest - it's almost impossible to get lost. If you're a bit more adventurous, consider renting a car. Almost all rental cars have some sort of GPS system, albeit in Japanese.

[Kevin@nextmod]

^^ Jason..just bring clem with you...and do'nt bring him back...hahha..i'm pretty sure he'll love that.

[matt9]

Where in Japan are you headed? Assuming you'll be going to Tokyo, here are a few of my suggestions:

* Toyota Megaweb Showcase at Palette Town (bring your international driver's license - they have a test track where you're allowed to take their cars for a spin, and they have a lot of interesting JDM models not sold here)
* Super Autobacs - http://www.superautobacs.com/
* Akihabara - electronics and gadget haven!
* Ginza - financial district / downtown Tokyo. Be sure to check out the department store that sells stationery (it's cooler than it sounds, and there's a lot of neat stuff in there). I don't recall the name, but it has a big red paperclip as a logo.
* Shinjuku is very nice to walk around at night
* You must pay a visit to Tokyu Hands. It's a dept store that sells all sorts of weird and wonderful things
* Don't go to Mt. Fuji unless it's a clear day and the weather's perfect - otherwise you'll barely see it.
* The Tokyo tower sucks. It's very ugly compared to the Eiffel, and the view up there isn't anything special. Feel free to take pictures around it, but don't bother paying to go up to the viewing platform.

It's been a couple of years since I've last been to Japan, so the above suggestions may not be the most up to date. Things develop quickly there, and I'm sure there are other new and cool things that I've missed out on.

As for transport, the JR train in Tokyo has a circular green route that will take you to all of the places I mentioned above and most other places of interest - it's almost impossible to get lost. If you're a bit more adventurous, consider renting a car. Almost all rental cars have some sort of GPS system, albeit in Japanese.

Those are some good suggestions. Plenty of resources on what to do/see in Japan. Tokyo has so much to do there if you know where to look.

Like the other guy said, keep your eyes on your wife, don't let all the good looking girls there distract you :P

[rktsci]

I've heard from a friend that lives there that the only time to consider seeing Fuji is in the morning before the afternoon smog cloud hits...assuming that the morning is clear to begin with.

[whodilly]

you def gotta go check out kyoto.. beautiful city and plenty of temples shrines. It is a good place to spend a day. Think about getting a Japan Rail pass if you plan to go visit more than one city as it allows you to travel on the JR trains unlimited including some of the bullet trains.

got a few other places but none that i can think of at the moment

oh yeah if you can make to a hot spring definitely do that

[matt9]

+1 for Fuji.

Although its apparently always foggy such that you can't see the top. When I went it was crystal clear and I was told we were "lucky" because it only happens a few times a year.

[sulk]

Yea definitely check out Pallete town, its in Odaiba, you can spend a good day there walking around. Its basically an island with a lotta touristy attractions. And a really nice car museum type thing.

If you wanna go outside of Tokyo to other places (Like Kyoto, or even Yokohama) definitely get a JR rail pass. It's basically unlimited travel on the JR railways, so you can book bullet trains, and trains within Tokyo as much as you want. Definitely worth the money if you want to see other places.

Kyoto is really nice too, its completely different from Tokyo, almost like going back in time.

If you want to see/buy car stuff, super autobacs is good too, gigtantic car store with tons of stuff.

[dentinger]

oh! and they have the second hand car stores there too
Modified mag did a write up on it a while back, all these catbacks, racing seats, wheels, suspension components for dirt cheap!
like, Volks for $500 US and less!

[matt9]

oh! and they have the second hand car stores there too
Modified mag did a write up on it a while back, all these catbacks, racing seats, wheels, suspension components for dirt cheap!
like, Volks for $500 US and less!

No worries, pack all that in the suitcase...

[Domokun]

I just got back from Japan last month from TAS.

Get a prepaid Suica card from any JR station. It's a machine with a penguin on it. The card holds money for train fare, vending machines, food, basically anywhere that accepts Suica. When you've used up all the money, just refill it at any participating location.

It's very useful and a time saver!

[jaguar]

I think you gotta check out this restaurant called Alcatraz E.R. Its a prison/hospital theme restaurant where you eat in a prison and get served by nurses. Its quites jokes, here are some of my pics when I was there 2 yrs ago.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k268/jaguar251/S3000181.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k268/jaguar251/S3000170.jpg
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k268/jaguar251/S3000173.jpg

And if you're wondering what those 2 pills are... its actually liquor inside. Instead of getting it in a shot glass, they put it in pills. Other crazy things like stirring your drinks with a dildo not included in this set of pics :D

EDIT: This is Alcatraz ER in SHIBUYA!

[dentinger]

hey Jmak, can you bring me back a Japanese license plate if you can?
that'd be sweet!

[matt9]

That's pretty cool :P

[Swerny]

thanks for the tips everyone, I'm headed to Japan for 10 days and Thailand for 7 at the end of March.

Cheers.