Japan
 

Morning folks,

Waiting for next year's school calendar to check dates with the Mrs but at the moment Japan is winning at the next destination of choice.....and let's face it, it's not really much of a Sand Pit without me asking for holiday advice and experiences.

I've always wanted to go but caught up with Joanna Lumley's show on Japan and that got the better half totally hooked as well. :thumbup:

So, Bahtat should be useful here, but who else?

I'm thinking a couple of weeks which may look roughly like this:

Tokyo few days
Bullet train
Kyoto
Bullet train
Hiroshima
Bullet train
Tokyo

Anything else worth really going to see or do?
I'm quite excited about the Bullet Train.

We've been recommended an island or two, but not looked into them at all yet.

Anyone been recently?
Hotel recommendations etc?

Any help much appreciated, you lot never let me down and when I know more for certain I'll go posting in the other bit of the forum.

Arigatou :eek:

Re: Japan
 

I haven't been to Japan since circa 1994 but what I remember is that Kyoto was where the historic stuff is and it's beautiful. Tokyo was flattened in the war so it's ugly but quite lively. Japanese culture has a reputation for being formal and you see that manifest itself in people's relationships all around you (not a bad thing, just interesting to observe).

Japanese food can be fantastic, both their stuff and their versions of French/Italian.

And it's very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very expensive. Although I'm sure there are ways to cut costs.

Re: Japan
 

A mate of mine (From Norwich) goes there every couple of years. Have a read Here and Here

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Thanks chaps.

Limited looks at hotels so far but prices seemed reasonable.

Expensive for food / drink type things?

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In retrospect maybe I should take back my comment about Japan being very expensive. It was at the time and historically it had that reputation but things may have changed. If you look at the link IKnow provided the guy had beer and meals and didn't seem particularly expensive if you're used to Dubai prices.

I wouldn't mind going to Japan again. Getting older has affected me in one way, I'm fussier about sanitary standards and cleanliness, I want reliable coffee every day and good food.

What airline are you flying and how $$$ are the tickets?

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A few of my mates went a few years ago on a boys holiday (random I know). Two out of the three of them were tall, one being 6'3'' and the other 6'5'' and they got treated like celebs in the street.... So if you're tall prepare to be stared at, stopped in the street and asked for selfies. They also said finding a bed long enough as a struggle.

Not a problem I am ever going to have. ;-)

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I thought the same having just gone through those food blogs. Top work and total dedication there.

Emirates want 4,500 ish
Qatar Business want 6,500 ish.

Might go with the latter purely because I'm getting really bored of Emirates.

Interesting stuff. On a good day I'm 6'2", bad day 6'1". My Mrs is 5'10" so maybe we'll look daft together, but why not. Normally in Asia they just rub my tummy and call me buddha. I'm not even that fat....

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They said it wasn't in a nasty way, more just a laugh and that overall they thoroughly enjoyed their trip.

Haven't ever 'really wanted' to go to Japan but wouldn't turn it down either.

Never had any desire to go out of my way to visit China though.

Re: Japan
 

China doesn't interest me remotely. No thanks.

Japan is more recent - it's just somewhere I would never go if was in UK. It's a deeply interesting place, they're a fascinating bunch of folk and I am always interested in war things - even if potentially disturbing and upsetting as Hiroshima appears.

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Don't forget what the Japs did to the Chinese and Koreans, as well as British POW in Malaysia. War is nasty. Remember that when you see Hiroshima.

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There were potentially 250,000 people killed between Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I'm not either side of the war in the Pacific covered themselves in glory...

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it's probably full of little stalls selling Hello Kitty stuff to tourists

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Probably....but what tourist places aren't now. :zzz:

Re: Japan
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Massacre

The Japanese record in China, particularly Manchuria, before the war even began is devastatingly horrific.

It's too easy to criticise the dropping of the nuclear bombs but the Japanese showed no signs of surrendering and the only alternative to ending the war in the Pacific theatre was a full scale invasion of the Japanese islands. In the latter scenario, far more people would likely have been killed over a much longer period, including deaths to the allied troops. The island by island battles elsewhere in the SE Pacific had come at great cost of lives and resources to the allied forces and they knew that the Japanese mainland would be even worse.

The American leadership decided that the bombs would bring about a much swifter end to the war by delivering a psychological and physical blow that would be undeniable to the Japanese high command and thus capitulation.

Yes, yes, yes, the pictures of the bombs are horrific but the allies who made that decision already had seen evidence of what the Japanese had done across Asia and the millions of deaths. There was no easy choice to make but they selected what they thought would be the one to bring about the swiftest end to a bloody mess that was not of their making. Talking about blood on the hands of both sides is meaningless when one side just had no choice.

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It's too easy to ignore things as well.

War doesn't produce wonderful tales that often, it produces shame. I'm sure there are plenty of Japanese folk who would refer people to the rape, torture, body part trophies and other war crimes committed by the allies just as quickly as you can justify the atom bombs as critical in bringing the war to an end.

I don't really hold much of an opinion either way or feel strongly for or against in these things. I find the subject interesting, the stories and the understanding and complex nature of it all is fascinating. I struggle to get my head around a lot of the numbers and the horrid nature of it all. That is why I want to visit Hiroshima (and a few other places over there), it's significance in WWII and the war in the Pacific and in the history of humanity. Doing that whilst berating the Japanese seems.....I dunno? Pointless?

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I'll take that big bastard in the corner please! :eek:

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Therein lies the difference between you and me. The Western allied forces in WWII did not engage in large scale and planned rapes, torture, body part trophies or war crimes that the Japanese did. It doesn't mean individuals did but the allies - least the Americans and Brits, I'm not talking about the Russians as they were a different beast entirely - were extraordinarily well-behaved and restrained towards the vanquished even when seeing the great horrors committed by the Germans and the Japanese in the European and Pacific theatres. I'm sorry if I sound a bit annoyed here but I'm appalled at the notion introduced in modern day teachings that there needs to be some moral relativism as well as the thinking that there was a war and therefore both sides did awful stuff to each other and thus that equalises it all, when that is just sloppy and dishonest.

Nonetheless, visiting the sites of the nuclear bombing is certainly thought-provoking because it makes you contemplate the sheer horrors humans are capable of as well as the reasoning why those horrors happened in the first place. Sometimes it's difficult to walk away without having your faith in humanity sorely tested.

Re: Japan
 

Was in Tokyo for a while and did some of the touristy things like the train to mount Fuji and a few other bits and pieces though none of it stands out. There were a lot of temples. Though some of the bars were insane, now that I recall.

The prices were extremely high, especially drink.

As a side brag though it's not usually my active plan, I think I slept with a different Japanese girl every night for a week without much effort on my part.

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Frankly, there's no point in me even responding properly because you'll just disagree and there's no right or wrong here. But please don't be appalled by my attitude towards war and wanting to approach things with an open mind, non-binary opinions and a desire to try and look at things from all angles.

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Chotto matte, ne.

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Arigatō, matsu koto wa dekimasen

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Just remember not to become so open-minded that your brain falls out. Always remember that mate.

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What brain?

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Sumimasen kedo, shouganai ...

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I was in japan in may last year and have been several times, Tokyo and Kyoto are a must for a first visit, if you have time i would recommend the hot springs on the Izu Peninsula and to stay at a ryokan (traditional japanese inn)

Re: Japan
 

When
Obviously you’re constrained to some extent by your better half’s holidays, but bear in mind that summer is worse than in Dubai – not as hot (although recently not far off), but the humidity’s a bitch. Spring or autumn if you can. There is also a rainy season, from early June to mid-July – it’s not monsoon-level wet, but it’s worth avoiding.

Where
Kanto
Tokyo, obviously (although not necessarily – but I’m not a lover of big cities).
Mt Fuji (close-ish to Tokyo). You could even try walking up it, along with 2 million other people.
Hakone
Kansai
Kyoto – an absolute must. To my mind the city itself isn’t so great, but the temples on its outskirts are fabulous.
Nara (not far from Osaka or Kyoto). The only (and I mean only) unspoilt town I ever found in Japan. A gem.
Osaka you could give a miss, but if you take the shinkansen to Hiroshima then Kobe’s worth a visit, one of the few cities in the world I love.
Also between Osaka and Hiroshima is Himeji, which is pleasant.
Hiroshima
Everywhere
Get up in the mountains (there are lots of them); valleys with wobbly footbridges; arboretums; castles; waterfalls; fishing villages; weird and wonderful architecture. Lonely Plant or some such …

What
Food
Most restaurants specialise in one type of food. They tend to be pretty good at it.
Kuru-kuru (conveyor belt) sushi; in my experience crap in Kanto, often very good in Kansai. (Don’t ever, ever eat in a little sushi shop which doesn’t have clearly-displayed prices: it could make your flight tickets seem like loose change.)
Tonkatsu
Soba
Okonomiyaki (DIY Japanese-style pizza, great fun)
Tempura
Kaiseki ryori: you’ll likely get this at a ryokan or minshuku (see How below)
Yakitori
Ramen

In addition to the above, try some Akachochin and Izakaya restaurants: these refer to the type of restaurant, rather than the food: think pub selling great food / cheap restaurant selling lots of booze. The Akachochin (literally “red lantern”) have, er, red lanterns hanging outside, and are usually cheap n cheerful. Some I used to go in had menus only in Japanese consisting of pieces of paper stuck to the walls – just pointing at them randomly generated some interesting meals. And the MO is not to order a “meal”, but just a few dishes, share them (always share), and then a few more, and so on.

There are also lots of street vendors at night, selling a variety of food (although typically Ramen and Oden): great at the end of a night’s boozing.

Also there are many family-run micro-restaurants, often seating only a dozen or so guests. Most are modestly priced, and the food’s usually cooked in front of you. They’re great, friendly places, and even if you can’t communicate that well you’re generally assured of a good time and some superb food.

Drink
There are only about 6 main brewers, but I believe recently there many micro-breweries have popped up. The main-stream beer is generally excellent: Ebisu is perhaps the least-common of them, and is excellent. There’s also an excellent black beer, only bottled though (Sapporo Black, I think).
Most places serve Sake. There are 3 ways to drink it: heated, room temperature, and chilled (usually this is Sake brewed specifically to be drunk chilled). Etiquette demands that you never fill your own cup/glass, only that of those you’re with. Beware Sake – it can creep up on you, and you usually drink from egg-cup sized cups so it’s impossible to track how much you’ve had. Gives me a hangover like a 6” nail between the eyes, but still worth it. If you fancy a two-person bender, buy a full-sized bottle (1.8l), plonk it down between yourselves and commit to drink it all in one session. I turn green when I do that. Still worth it.

Wine: avoid.

Experiences
Kabuki. A great experience if you can find an Ennosuke-inspired one.
Sumo. Have a look before you go to see if there’s a basho taking place. This is also a great experience, but it’s worth reading up on it before you go so you know what’s going on. As with many activities in Japan, many take it as an opportunity for a piss-up. Join in.
Love Hotels. Allegedly the vast majority of visitors are married couples, seeking some privacy from small apartments / living with parents. Rent by the hour. All very discreet.

How
I imagine you’ll fly into and out of either Tokyo or Osaka (KIX), although it may be worth seeing if you can fly into one and out of the other.

As a visitor you can buy a JR Pass in advance, allowing unlimited travel on JR for various durations (7, 14 & 21 days, I think). There are various sites selling these – I’ll find out which is the best. It’s not cheap, but the distances can be long (and, of course, the service is typically Japanese); it is, though, the cheapest and most efficient way to travel round the country. The big cities have extensive rail / underground networks, which are efficient and cheap.

Don’t think about hiring a car. Motorways are all toll roads, expensive, often very busy; the driving standard is piss-poor, and parking’s a nightmare.

Taxis are all metered, and moderately expensive. Taxi drivers come from a far-off planet, and are incubated until they’re at the required level of rudeness and then released into the community. Almost everyone else in the country is polite to the point of being obsequious.

There’s a whole range of accommodation available. Business hotels are an option in most towns and cities; top-end hotels (both western and Japanese) are extremely expensive; ryokan and minshuku / pension (let Google be your friend) are generally superb, and the food in them is often mind-blowing, plus they can be very reasonably-priced.

Language
Most places you’ll go will have signs in English or Romaji, and you’ll invariably find someone who speaks English if you need. However, basic Japanese is both structurally and phonetically straightforward, with set phrases which are used in most common situations. Try Michel Thomas, he’ll get you speaking on day 1.


Odds ‘n’ Sods
Don’t tip. Ever.
The population is around 120m. Be prepared to think that every one of them’s on your platform, and then you’ll understand why uniformed guys with white gloves are physically pushing people into trains. Worth seeing once, and then travelling outside of peak times.
Don’t leave your chopsticks sticking into your rice (lay them across your rice bowl, or on the table propped on something), and don’t transfer food between your chopsticks and somebody else’s. Really big no-no’s.
Expect people to stare.
Don’t haggle.
Don’t drink in a bar that doesn’t have clearly displayed prices.
Don’t blow your nose at the table (and, preferably, keep your handkerchief for drying your hands after washing them (toilets often don’t have hand driers or paper towels)), and keep a travel pack of tissues for bodily-fluid-related activities.
Read up about medicines which are common in the west (eg nasal sprays) but which are banned in Japan.
You won’t need jabs.

It’s wonderfully weird.

Re: Japan
 

You Sir, are an absolute Gentleman.

I really, really appreciate it mate. Thanks very much.

I now have about 11 tabs open with most of the words / phrases / places / foods below googled in them.

Will forward this on to the Mrs. Found out we have to wait until March to get her dates for school starting next year (Aug/Sept this year) - once we have them we can book and sadly it looks like it'll be August. Like so much of Asia I'll just be the big sweaty mess asking for beers.

Thanks again. Will come back with other questions / ideas if you don't mind.

Re: Japan
 

bring me back some green tea kit kats

Re: Japan
 

If that interests you go to the Buji honbu dojo and meet Hatsummi Maasaki - one of the last real ninjas, there are usually many americans/English training there so go and introduce yourself to him.

Re: Japan
 

And don't forget to watch/rewatch "You only live twice" as a superb cultural enlightenment exercise! I stayed in the New Otani one time (HQ of Osato Chemicals in the film): the only large hotel room I ever encountered in Japan. I think the building's been levelled now. Speaking of which, I can't believe there was no thread on here about the cruelly short-lived James Bond channel on OSN...

But anyway, Japan is the one place I have visited most unlike any other and yet somehow always familiar. Mind you it has probably become a bit more "normalised" in the last couple of decades. You are doubtless too young to remember the extraordinary and rapid evolution of Japan's image through the late 20th century. From post-war bombed out wasteland to a source of all sorts of cheap crap in the 1960's (that era's China), switching sometime in the 1970's to a place of exotic allure and a puritan exemplar (diligent school-children, devoted workers unlike our slack trade unionists). And then in the 1980s, with the rise of Sony and Matsushita, it flipped again to scary high-tech, acquisitive, wealthy and vaguely threatening our civilisation. Then finally the 1990's crash rendered it into this cuddly Hello Kitty bonkers high-tech theme park that has broadly persisted to this day. I haven't been for a while but doubtless you'll still come back with lots of "only in Japan" stories. One of mine: turning a corner in the very ritzy Ginza area of Tokyo to see a small crowd clustered on the pavement looking up at the first floor of the building opposite. There, in front of the full length windows were four or five hairdressers performing their craft in perfect synchronisation. A strand of hair would be lifted, snipped, the chair would be spun exactly a half rotation and another piece of hair cut, all flawlessly synchronised like a Beyonce dance routine. I'm not sure how the resulting haircuts looked on the subjects but as a piece of bizarre performance, it could only have happened there!

Like many of the others here, I am a complete Japanophile, especially the food. One treat I have only had in Japan though I hear is now available elsewhere also, is Robatayaki. This is country-style flame grilling, originated from Hokkaido, with theatre that only the Japanese could drum up. Patrons sit at a huge U-shaped table around an open fire. The chefs squat on a dais surrounded by the fire facing the patrons. The uncooked food is on display and you point to what you want which is then fetched and placed over the fire by means of long paddles wielded by the chefs. This is all orchestrated by lots of macho shouting among the wait staff and chefs - utterly brilliant if you go to a good place (I've had two amazing experiences and one not bad). My favourite thing was tiny crabs which were basically rendered into the most intensely crab-flavoured crunchy bites, shells and all, by the grilling. I only had that once, back in the '90s, but they weren't available on any subsequent visit. Thoroughly recommended.

I should say, one of the worst meals I had ever was also in Japan - very early '90s motorway café spaghetti Bolognese: our hosts kindly but mistakenly thinking we might prefer "western" food. I guess there is lots of decent western food now all over Japan but much more interestingly, all sorts of inventive Japanese adaptations of western cuisine like the previously mentioned okonomiyaki.

The bullet trains were nothing special in my experience (and I like trains) except when the conductor enters the carriage, slams the door and loudly exclaims a greeting to all the passengers while bowing deeply. That and the vending machines on the platforms, handy if you run out of knickers and noodles mid-journey.

With your hunger for experiences Scamp, you will absolutely lap it up and the great thing is Japan is such a safe place that you really can see what fate ordains and take risks that you shouldn't elsewhere...

Re: Japan
 

Thanks M-A-T.

Much appreciated. I can't wait to start properly planning and booking.

I like the sound of this Robatayaki. My personal 'fear' or trepidation about Japan in general is the heavy seafood presence. I'm not a big fish eater, I do eat some but just don't enjoy it greatly. I don't want to miss out on too much in terms of trying food, nor do I want to end up stuck just devouring boring food.

I'm generally quite good at avoiding Western food on holiday totally, because that's part of the experience. Just a touch nervous about choice in Japan (not having looked into it massively) being very much that way inclined.

I'm probably being daft and it just needs 4 minutes research, but I just haven't done it yet. :lol:

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Just because it's western doesn't mean you should avoid it. The Japanese have these bakeries that look "western" but upon closer inspection the baked goods have a slightly different and unexpected twist to them. Check out Yamanote in Dubai to see what I mean.

Be sure to get the curry donut. Japanese cheesecake is also delicious, it's light and airy. They use far less sugar in their sweet goods :thumbsup:

Browse through the local convenience markets and the range of flavours are fascinating. And the quality much better than comparable crap processed food.

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Yes this is what I was referring to when I mentioned their inventive interpretations of western cuisine: this is a more recent development I think. Alas, last time I was there was almost 10 years ago and these developments seemed to be picking up momentum (compared to 10 years previously when there was nothing much of this kind). In the meantime I have seen and heard a plethora of these kinds of crossovers making their way back out of Japan also. Anything involving dairy or baked goods is not from traditional Japanese cuisine but there seem to be lots of these innovations now, and all intrinsically interesting and different from the originals. Think Panko breadcrumbs for example as well.

Not liking seafood is going to constrain the experience but the seafood in Japan is so great that it might change your perspective, Scamp. Except maybe the slimy raw octopus nestling in the middle of the bento box...

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I mean - I couldn't think of anything worse than bowling around Japan having steak and chips every night because of a lack of alternative.

Now, I'm sure it won't be an issue, I just think I may find some selections limited because of my own fussiness. But sod it, I generally get on and try stuff regardless. I ate mushrooms in Thailand....:lol:

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Have a curry dam.

Look it up.

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Saw it on a blog a few nights ago. I'm absolutely, 100% all over it. :thumbsup:

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A week of Wagyu is very doable.

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Good point. I shall definitely sample some. :thumbup:

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If you've never had wagyu be aware that it tastes like grilled butter.

I wasn't impressed.

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You can't get a burger in the mall without them ramming the fact it's wagyu down your throat. :rofl:

I've had a couple of nice wagyu steaks but the best I've had recently was Argentinian. Absolutely mega.