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Looks like they've put up the climbing fee/restrictions info on the English version of the Fujisan-Climb website now:
Japan Travel |OT| We have to go back
- Thread starter MikeHattsu
- Start date
Has anyone had rings made? we were going to do Ringram in Osaka or Tokyo, but it looks like wedding rings are only available if you do their couples ring making course. Just saw Glanta in Kyoto can do them for you in 10 minutes, might opt for that. Any other good options?
Just looked up where I remembered a ring making thing and it was a Sharla video here which was at Ringram lol, not sure if this is where you saw it but maybe it'll help seeing it.
View: https://youtu.be/3eCz-nxDmn8?t=493
Thanks! i haven't seen that vid yet. But yeah, that kind of confirms the difference for me, looks like you can only get wedding rings there if you do the pair course, and we don't want to do that kind of time commitment, so we're leaning towards Glanta. Thanks again!
Noise cancelling headphones personally for me are a must. Makes the flight much more pleasant.
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Foreign visitors to Japan top 3 mil. for 2nd straight month in April
The number of foreign visitors to Japan totaled over 3.04 million in April, up 56.1 percent from a year earlier and exceeding the 3 million mark for the second consecutive month, amid the weak yen, government data show.
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So we're going to the Japanese Alps, but instead of using the Hokuriku pass, we're going to use the Tourist Pass that goes through Nagoya into toyama and then towards Osaka. It includes the busses to shirakawago.
Our plan (for now) is:
Our plan (for now) is:
- arrive at Tokyo, two nights there.
- We get a shinkansen to Nagoya and inmeditely get into the Train to Takayama. Stay there two nights. Maybe go to Gero or Toyama one day.
- The third day take an early morning bus to Shirakawago stay there for the day and take a bus to Kanazawa. Stay there two nights.
- Go to Tsuruga using the shinkansen, and then to Osaka/Kyoto using the Thunderbird. Stay there three nights.
- Go back to Tokyo using the shinkansen. Stay there three nights.
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Sure. Make sure you check the timetables for the trains to/from Takayama though, there's not a lot of them each day. You probably want to pre-book as much as possible both for the buses and the Hida limited express train you plan to take as well.
Just a couple questions for my trip coming up.
Would someone be able to give a quick explanation for how esim works? From my understanding, I buy it before I leave but can I set it up before departure and still use my primary sim and then swap once I land? It also looks like it would be cheaper than doing ATT international service (which looks to be about $10 a day), but using an esim wouldn't allow me to do call or texting, which seems fine since I could still use iMessage/discord for all that stuff. Also for 2 weeks, what would be the recommended amount of data, is 50 gb overkill? And finally, does anyone have any recommended providers, from what I've seen, airalo or ubigi seem like they are two of the more popular ones.
Also if anyone has any recommendations for areas to stay would be great! I was initially looking at Shinjuku since that seems to be most popular online, but I also like to run everyday and wasn't sure if that was as runner friendly compared to other spots (like if it was like trying to run in Time Square). The other spot I was looking at was Asakusa since then I could run along the Sumida River, but wasn't sure if that was not as easy to get around compared to Shinjuku. If anyone has any suggestions for either, OR any other nice spots to run in Shinjuku/Tokyo that would be appreciated!
Would someone be able to give a quick explanation for how esim works? From my understanding, I buy it before I leave but can I set it up before departure and still use my primary sim and then swap once I land? It also looks like it would be cheaper than doing ATT international service (which looks to be about $10 a day), but using an esim wouldn't allow me to do call or texting, which seems fine since I could still use iMessage/discord for all that stuff. Also for 2 weeks, what would be the recommended amount of data, is 50 gb overkill? And finally, does anyone have any recommended providers, from what I've seen, airalo or ubigi seem like they are two of the more popular ones.
Also if anyone has any recommendations for areas to stay would be great! I was initially looking at Shinjuku since that seems to be most popular online, but I also like to run everyday and wasn't sure if that was as runner friendly compared to other spots (like if it was like trying to run in Time Square). The other spot I was looking at was Asakusa since then I could run along the Sumida River, but wasn't sure if that was not as easy to get around compared to Shinjuku. If anyone has any suggestions for either, OR any other nice spots to run in Shinjuku/Tokyo that would be appreciated!
The hida limited express is the one from Nagoya to Toyama, right?
Have you taken it before?
I'm a bit worried about luggage in the Takayama part of the trip, because we might stay at somewhere where it's not an hotel and I've never had to deal with that case when sending luggage.
I know I can't really take the luggage in the Takayama-Shirakawago-Kanazawa day.
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I've usually seen people jog at Yoyogi Park, near Meiji Jingu Gaien and in the area in front of the imperial palace near Tokyo Station. If you're doing really early morning runs, then Ueno Park is ok as well, but after like 9-10 it's filled with tourists though. Edit: Oh, and out in Odaiba, but you don't want to stay there as a normal tourist on your first trip to Tokyo.
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Yes, many times. There's like 10 trains each day from Nagoya -> Takayama and 4-5 that goes further up to Toyama (and the same amount the other way). The normal reserved seats are often-ish fully booked, but usually there's unreserved seats free, at least if you get on/off at Nagoya and Takayama. I have seen people standing if they get on at Gifu for example.
Oh, and the train does a switchback at Gifu station, so it's better to set the seats up to ride 'backwards' from Nagoya to Gifu, then you ride forwards from Gifu to Takayama/Toyama.
Edit: I stayed in Toyama when visiting Kanazawa btw. Toyama got a better transportation network if your hotel is a bit away from the JR train station. Toyama got trams, while Kanazawa is all bus. If you're staying at walking distance from Kanazawa train station it's not a problem though.
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The loop around the outskirts of the imperial palace seems really popular in all the heatmaps I have seen of where people go running. It's definitely flat and has some nice scenery. It's pretty much exactly a 5K loop.
Finally have all hotels reserved. Now onto trying to find more things to do while we're in the areas we're in.
The only truly mandatory thing we have on the list of to-dos is Shirakawa-go, because that is what my partner wants to see (massive Higurashi fan). Spending a whole day doing that.
The only truly mandatory thing we have on the list of to-dos is Shirakawa-go, because that is what my partner wants to see (massive Higurashi fan). Spending a whole day doing that.
I absolutely adored Shirakawa-go when I went in February, was magical with all the snow everywhere and a real highlight of the trip.
Sadly, no snow for us since this is July, but still, it should be gorgeous :).
Finally confirmed that I'm going back to Japan once again this October. One week in Tokyo and one week around Okinawa. Still open for suggestions on towns / places to stay in Okinawa. We've booked places in Nago, Chatan, and Naha for the week, which I think should be a good mix, but Okinawa definitely feels trickier to plan than all the other places I've been to in Japan
Yeah, MikeHattsu is amazing
Yeah, MikeHattsu is amazing
I'll comment on the esim from being there in April. My wife and I both wanted service, but she had a better plan from technically being a first responder so she did the international plan through carrier. I didn't want to do $10/day so I got an esim. I did it through Airalo and had a great experience both in terms of product and price, in my opinion.
50 gb is overkill in my mind. I did the Asialink pass as we were also going to Thailand - not sure how the prices differ if just in Japan. I got the 10gb pass originally, and Airalo allows you to top off if you need more - the process is really simple. Think I topped off another 6-8 gb during my 3-week trip, and I was doing the heavy lifting in terms of navigation, searching, etc. so I was a pretty heavy user during that time.
Best I can tell, you can't activate the esim until you land. I turned off my data,, turned it back on when I landed, but it did immediately prompt ATT to activate the international $10/day plan. Given I couldn't text I was worried that would be active for all 22 days, but they only charged my $10 for the first day so I just ate that.
Hope that helps
In terms of running, didn't while I was there but as mentioned I saw a ton of runners around the palace grounds. Not directly related but we stayed in Shinjuku for 4 nights and Asakusa 2 on either end of the trip. I loved Asakusa - if you stay there go for a nightime stroll near the temple and alleys. Absolutely beautiful and memorable. And I have some restaurant recommendations if you do. Plus the indredible knife/kitchen shopping.
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Law change lets Japan police crack down on rule-breaking cyclists
Japan's parliament passed a bill that will permit police to fine cyclists for minor traffic violations, as authorities respond to an increase in accidents that has come in line with a boom in cycle commuting that began during the coronavirus pandemic.
Wonder if they'll actually fine anybody though
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I've always seen bad mannered cyclists. Are there more of them now? Maybe?
Yes! That was very helpful thank you! And I'll absolutely take any restaurant recs!
Running around the palace is nice but Yoyogi Park is also a great place to run, with a couple different options built into the park for shorter/longer loops
Have never encountered bad cyclists, though with new cycle laws coming in there might be an improvement
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I linked an article about the new laws like 6 posts above your post, that's why we started talking about it :p
Lol I'm getting old! I will be in Japan on Friday - so will report back!
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