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Maxi and Jens (Chap) - Japan November 2024

Iron Heart Meet Ups & Travel
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  • C
    Chap
    見習いボス
    @Nik
    Joined: 24 May 2016

    @Nik said in Maxi and Jens (Chap) - Japan November 2024:

    Looks great @Chap and makes me excited for my wife and my trip there in April. How are you finding getting around? Must be good to be with your son and his knowledge of the language?

    Thanks @Nik getting around in Japan is quite easy. Public transport is fantastic you can get almost everywhere.
    First thing you need is mobile Internet, you can get routers from provider at the arrival airport. Then you can use Google maps everywhere which also works perfect to plan your trip by trains and buses. Regarding payment for public transport, easiest thing is a payment app on your phone (Suica for example for Tokyo-Kantō, Kyoto and East Japan Railway) but doesn't work for the Shinkansen lines. Shinkansen tickets can be bought at the station. If you carry a lot of luggage with you and travel around, luggage transport can be very easily arranged (by hotels or agencies at airports and train stations, Yamato for example ).
    What plans do have? Where are you going to?

    God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

    last edited by 29 Dec 2024, 07:11 N 1 Reply Last reply 29 Dec 2024, 12:27 Reply Quote 1
    • C
      Chap
      見習いボス
      Joined: 24 May 2016

      Dinner in a Sushi restaurant in Tokyo. Those small (Omakase) restaurants can be found everywhere in Japan although they are sometimes quite hard to find (no signs, no menu) and difficult to book. They are very small, often only a couple of counter seats. You need to book them in advance often months before and also have to pay in advance. You can't just call them and ask for a reservation (at least as a non local). If you are in a hotel you can ask the concierge to book or use a booking platform. We had some very good experiences with booking via Pocket Concierge and Omakase.in. No disappointment so far. I love to sit at the counter and watch the awesome skills and precision of the sushi masters.

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      God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

      last edited by 29 Dec 2024, 11:01 T 1 Reply Last reply 29 Dec 2024, 11:08 Reply Quote 10
      • T
        tody
        啓蒙家
        @Chap
        Joined: 24 Feb 2021

        @Chap That looks incredibly delicious.

        last edited by 29 Dec 2024, 11:08 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • T
          Tago Mago
          Mod Squad
          Joined: 16 Jan 2021

          @Chap amazing, thanks for sharing

          last edited by 29 Dec 2024, 11:50 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • N
            Nik
            Raw and Unwashed
            @Chap
            Joined: 12 Nov 2020

            @Chap Thanks that's helpful. Someone told me Shinkansen are the same price in advance or on the day, is that true? We will get Suica. In the second half of April we are spending a few days in Tokyo, then a ryokan in Hakone, then Osaka and Kyoto before returning to Tokyo for a few days.

            last edited by 29 Dec 2024, 12:27 C 1 Reply Last reply 29 Dec 2024, 12:46 Reply Quote 1
            • G
              Giles
              IHUK Crew
              Joined: 22 Sept 2009

              No discounts on Shinkansens, but do try and book in advance, they sometimes get fearfully full. If you have large luggage try and book a seat with luggage space (end of a carriage).

              "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

              last edited by Giles 29 Dec 2024, 12:44 C 1 Reply Last reply 29 Dec 2024, 12:46 Reply Quote 1
              • C
                Chap
                見習いボス
                @Nik
                Joined: 24 May 2016

                @Nik Sorry, we never prepaid/prebooked Shinkansen so I don't know. We always came to the station looked when the next one in our direction goes and bought tickets. There are Shinkansen between Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka every 10 to 30 min and there are three lines. The fastest (and most expensive, although not that huge difference) is the Nozomi line it has only a few stops between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. A little bit more than 2 hours as far as I remember. There are three different categories, regular, Green Car and Gran Class.

                God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

                last edited by 29 Dec 2024, 12:46 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • C
                  Chap
                  見習いボス
                  @Giles
                  Joined: 24 May 2016

                  @Giles said in Maxi and Jens (Chap) - Japan November 2024:

                  No discounts on Shinkansens, but do try and book in advance, they sometimes get fearfully full. If you have large luggage try and book a seat with luggage space (end of a carriage).

                  Good advice!

                  God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

                  last edited by 29 Dec 2024, 12:46 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • C
                    Chap
                    見習いボス
                    Joined: 24 May 2016

                    ...and don't forget to get a Bento box before boarding 😉

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                    God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

                    last edited by 29 Dec 2024, 12:53 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 13
                    • T
                      Twistlock
                      啓蒙家
                      Joined: 31 Dec 2015

                      One day i will visit Japan. Thanks for taking us along @Chap !

                      last edited by 29 Dec 2024, 12:57 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                      • P
                        pechelman
                        啓蒙家
                        Joined: 24 Jan 2022

                        Fwiw, we've always booked shinkansen tickets in advance using the smart ex app. You link the ticket to your ic card, tap in the gate, and it spits out your ticket. You can buy and link multiple tickets so only one person in the group needs to do it. We have found ticket prices do vary slightly but not enough to buy wildly in advance. Usually getting them a few days in advance is plenty to get a seat unless it's golden week or something. But basically, if you know youll need a ticket, get one when you can.

                        We also discovered chatting to a couple from the UK that this app wasn't available to them in their app store. Neither of us understood why.

                        last edited by pechelman 29 Dec 2024, 17:15 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • C
                          Chap
                          見習いボス
                          Joined: 24 May 2016

                          (Japanese) breakfast with a view

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                          Nattō anyone?

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                          Another beautiful day in Tokyo

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                          Kabuki theater

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                          God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

                          last edited by 29 Dec 2024, 19:40 R 1 Reply Last reply 30 Dec 2024, 01:37 Reply Quote 9
                          • R
                            ROman
                            Haraki san Prodigy
                            @Chap
                            Joined: 5 Jan 2015

                            @Chap Really great photos, thanks for taking us along.

                            last edited by 30 Dec 2024, 01:37 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • M
                              Mizmazzle
                              見習いボス
                              Joined: 29 Jun 2021

                              @Chap what an incredible trip. You must be incredibly proud of your son for his initiative to explore and immerse himself into a new culture and learn a new language. I’m curious, how did his Japanese skills develop over his time there? Was he able to open doors in your travels that may not have been possible for a non Japanese speaker?

                              Also, what a handsome kid. He’s clearly developed some sense of style from his old man and his time in Japan. Can you give any insight into these boots!!? They look very striking!!

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                              In the easy chair with my boots on, melted whiskey in my hand. Could'na been asleep for more than three hours...time to go to work again...

                              last edited by Mizmazzle 30 Dec 2024, 03:34 C 1 Reply Last reply 30 Dec 2024, 08:19 Reply Quote 1
                              • C
                                Chap
                                見習いボス
                                Joined: 24 May 2016

                                @Mister_Brue said in Maxi and Jens (Chap) - Japan November 2024:

                                @Chap Natto; not my favourite component of a Japanese breakfast, but I struggled through it. 😆

                                Shinkansen journeys on the other hand, were never long enough. 😴

                                I gave Nattō a couple of tries and we also have it at home but I agree, we won’t become friends…

                                God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

                                last edited by 30 Dec 2024, 08:08 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • C
                                  Chap
                                  見習いボス
                                  @Mizmazzle
                                  Joined: 24 May 2016

                                  @Mizmazzle yes definitely. His Japanese is amazing, he can do conversations with the locals and he is also pretty good with the way how to behave in Japan, those little but very important ways how to interact with the Japanese. Both helped a lot during our trip.
                                  His shoes have a Japanese background too, split toe (Tabi) boots from Maison Margiela, I had to Google them too: Tabi Bianchetto Boots
                                  …and he has snatched my Fine Creek jacket 😂

                                  God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

                                  last edited by 30 Dec 2024, 08:19 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • C
                                    Chap
                                    見習いボス
                                    Joined: 24 May 2016

                                    Our next stop was a Buddhist temple near Kanagawa. Took us a while and a couple of train changes to get there but it was worth it. It is a tiny temple with only one resident monk (the first picture). We stayed there for two days and slept on tatamis in the temple. We had meditations with the monk, evening and morning prayers, did sutra copying and learned a bit about Buddhism and the philosophy of Zen in Japan. The temple had no bath or shower so we went to a public onsen in the area. Amazing experience as well... sorry no pics 😉 .

                                    Couple of pictures from the temple.

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                                    Breakfast

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                                    Sutra copying

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                                    God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

                                    last edited by 30 Dec 2024, 14:56 G 1 Reply Last reply 30 Dec 2024, 15:05 Reply Quote 14
                                    • G
                                      Giles
                                      IHUK Crew
                                      @Chap
                                      Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                                      @Chap said in Maxi and Jens (Chap) - Japan November 2024:

                                      sorry no pics

                                      Phew

                                      "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                                      last edited by 30 Dec 2024, 15:05 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • C
                                        Chap
                                        見習いボス
                                        Joined: 24 May 2016

                                        In Kyoto we had a Machiya house for about a week. We were located in the northern part of Kyoto which has lovely quiet neighborhoods and is a bit less tourisitc. Machiya houses are Japan's traditional wooden townhouses that can be seen all over Kyoto. Some of them are renovated and turned into holiday homes, shops, cafes. Ours was owned by a young couple that put lots of effort into the renovation to make it as authentic as possible. It has the typical entrance called 'Genkan' where you leave your shoes while the rest of the house has 'Tatami' floors.
                                        The owners lived just around the corner and were very helpful. The house does come with its own bicycles and Shimo, the owner has even made a Kindle with many suggestions for bike tours around Kyotos North.

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                                        https://rokushou.net/karigane-en/

                                        God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

                                        last edited by 31 Dec 2024, 10:06 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 8
                                        • KasiK
                                          Kasi
                                          見習いボス
                                          Joined: 9 Oct 2014

                                          @chap

                                          Some of those pictures remind me of the movie last of the samurai

                                          The world's insane
                                          While you drink champagne
                                          And I'm livin' in black rain 4Q 🖕

                                          last edited by 31 Dec 2024, 10:34 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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