Trip to Japan

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Minty14** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:24 am

Knoyleo wrote:Oh no, I'm in Tokyo in 2 weeks and assumed I'd be able to just get tickets to the Ghibli museum when I'm there. Have I strawberry floated it?

I went through Viator when I went and got them pretty close to the time: https://www.viator.com/tours/Kanto/to-P ... 4-27666P29

Looks like there are a few available if you want to give it a try. This looks like a different tour provider to the one I used, so I can't personally vouch for this one.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Knoyleo** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:28 am

Minty14 wrote:
Knoyleo wrote:Oh no, I'm in Tokyo in 2 weeks and assumed I'd be able to just get tickets to the Ghibli museum when I'm there. Have I strawberry floated it?

I went through Viator when I went and got them pretty close to the time: https://www.viator.com/tours/Kanto/to-P ... 4-27666P29

Looks like there are a few available if you want to give it a try. This looks like a different tour provider to the one I used, so I can't personally vouch for this one.

The earliest tickets I can see on there look like November.

Is booking this far ahead common for most tourist things in Japan? I hope not. :dread:

Maybe one day, I'll learn to plan my holidays in advance. I did exactly this in New York, not realising you had to book ahead to visit most of the big attractions. I think I've been spoiled by London where you seem to be able to do just about anything by just turning up on the day.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Minty14** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:38 am

Whoops, I should have looked closer. The Ghibli Museum is a bit of a special case when it comes to booking in advance. I made the same assumption that you'd be able to get tickets anytime like most attractions, but luckily managed to grab the last ticket for the only day available during my visit.

In general, I don't think you need to worry about booking in advance unless it's for sports events, concerts etc. For example, I also went to Disney Sea and was able to get a ticket from the Disney Store for the next day with no problem.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Skarjo** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:58 am

Knoyleo wrote:Oh no, I'm in Tokyo in 2 weeks and assumed I'd be able to just get tickets to the Ghibli museum when I'm there. Have I strawberry floated it?

Yea, sorry man. They go on sale for at the beginning of the previous month and are sold out within minutes.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Skarjo** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 8:01 am

But yea the Ghibli museum seems to be the exception rather than the rule. I kept getting caught out by it because this is the first year I've even thought about it far enough in advance to actually stand a chance.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Yoshimi** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 8:21 am

Skarjo wrote:
Yoshimi wrote:
Skarjo wrote:Whew!

Got a ticket.

Damn they ain't kidding when they say that gooseberry fool sells out fast as strawberry float. A month in advance too.

We'll done Skarjo. When are you going? I'm booked for thu 17th.

Friday the 10th. You gonna be in Tokyo then?

Afraid not. We're in Seoul from 11-15, Tokyo 15-22, then back to Seoul 22-26.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Yoshimi** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 8:22 am

Knoyleo wrote:Oh no, I'm in Tokyo in 2 weeks and assumed I'd be able to just get tickets to the Ghibli museum when I'm there. Have I strawberry floated it?

Knoyleo, there are very limited tickets left for October. Last entry of the day. Get in quick! https://l-tike.com/st1/ghibli-en/sitetop

EDIT: Sorry, just re-read your post and realised you're going in 2 weeks. I think you're out of luck for those dates.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Knoyleo** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 9:08 am

Skarjo wrote:
Knoyleo wrote:Oh no, I'm in Tokyo in 2 weeks and assumed I'd be able to just get tickets to the Ghibli museum when I'm there. Have I strawberry floated it?

Yea, sorry man. They go on sale for at the beginning of the previous month and are sold out within minutes.

Same as the sumo, then. Tickets for that went on sale the morning I was getting married. :lol:

Good to hear it's the exception rather than the rule, though.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Parksey** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 2:49 pm

I don't think everyone is like that in Japan, but the Ghibli Museum is definitely not a solitary exception.

The Japanese really like to travel.within their own country, so if it's peak season, then it's not just going to be full of foreign tourists. If it's a public holiday or a seasonal event (like the cherry blossom viewings) then it get crazy busy. I find accomodation sells out a lot more in advance than in other countries, if it's something the Japanese are also going to want to be visiting.

For most stuff in Tokyo, you're probably going to be fine on the day. Though there could still be decent queues.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Knoyleo** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 3:43 pm

Parksey wrote:I don't think everyone is like that in Japan, but the Ghibli Museum is definitely not a solitary exception.

The Japanese really like to travel.within their own country, so if it's peak season, then it's not just going to be full of foreign tourists. If it's a public holiday or a seasonal event (like the cherry blossom viewings) then it get crazy busy. I find accomodation sells out a lot more in advance than in other countries, if it's something the Japanese are also going to want to be visiting.

For most stuff in Tokyo, you're probably going to be fine on the day. Though there could still be decent queues.

I'm there for the rugby World Cup, so I know it's going to be busy, and yeah, accommodation is not cheap. I'm just hoping that a lot of the crowds there for the rugby won't be super keen to go and see the bonsai museum, or Daigo Fukuryū Maru Exhibition Hall.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Lotus** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 12:39 pm

Had some annual leave to burn so I've booked myself 10 days in Tokyo in November. :datass:

I was there for about 6 days last time I went, before moving onto other places, so I'm looking forward to seeing what I couldn't get to see before and just chill out a bit too. Surprisingly I managed to get some cheap, direct flights as well, so that was a bonus. :toot:

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Lotus** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 12:57 pm

Can anybody recommend any hotels in Tokyo? I've no real preference as to where to stay, but I'd like to be able to get to/from Haneda Airport without too much hassle if possible. I stayed in Edogawa before, which was great, but a bit more awkward to get to from Haneda.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Skarjo** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 1:05 pm

I always stay in Shinjuku, but had an alright time in Ueno too. The APA chain are good and cheap.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Denster** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:43 pm

I'd recommend the 47 Ronin shrine. it's generally quiet and a very lovely and thought provoking experience.

The Sengakuji shrine.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Skarjo** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 1:14 am

I had a weird chat with some mates the other weekend. We'd all, at different times, been drinking in Shinjuku in an area called Golden Gai which is about three or four streets full of nothing but really cosy tiny bars that sit six/seven people at most. It's a proper tourist trap no doubt, but there's enough locals hanging around to not feel like a complete weeb.

But we were chatting about the bars and all of us mentioned finding bars at the end of the night and had never being able to find it again on subsequent visits. Due to the sheer number of bars, and being hammered when you get there, this didn't seem improbable. We kept talking back and forth about where we thought our holy grails were, becoming increasingly convinced that we'd imagined them and were probably just drunk as strawberry float in 7/11. It wasn't until one of us remembered the 'red velvet walls' that we realised that not only was it real, but we were all talking about the same bar!

Still no idea what it's called or where it is but apparently it's THE place for drunk foreigners to find at 3am and subsequently completely forget about.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Parksey** » Tue Sep 17, 2019 4:49 am

Red velvet walls? Are you sure it wasn't a pink salon? That would explain why you all liked it so much.

I quite like Ebisu and a touch further south, Meguro. Ebisu has apparently gotten quite trendy recently and it's full of bars and restaurants. There's also the Ebish Yokocho (alleyway) with loads of small izakayas. It's pretty hot in the summer in there but should be more bearable as it cools down. Daikanyama is nearby too, which is definitely a bit of a hipster place.

As for staying somewhere near Haneda, how about Shinagawa? I go there often as my girlfriend lives nearby (she also has to live near the airport) and Haneda is about 15 mins away. Shinagawa is a shinkansen station so you have access to the rest of the country, but it's also a major rail/subway station in Tokyo, so you have access to all the other areas. It's on the Yamanote line too, so places like Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ebisu, Ikebukuro, Harajuku, Shinbashi and Ueno are all directly accessible and shouldn't be more than 15 mins or so away.

I second the APA recommendation. Rooms are quite small, but if you're only using them to sleep, the bed and shower should be enough. Normally pretty cheap for Tokyo and located in all the major areas generally.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Knoyleo** » Sat Sep 28, 2019 4:04 pm

I can't get over how friendly and polite everyone here is. Just had some total strangers pay for food and drinks with us, and everyone else we've encountered so far has been amazing, and gone out of their way to help even if it wasn't needed.

Spent the last week in Nagoya and Kyoto, now in Tokyo for 5 nights, staying very near Ueno Park and Ameyoko Market Street.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Parksey** » Sat Sep 28, 2019 6:30 pm

I didn't realise you were heading to Nagoya as part of your trip. That's my neck of the woods. It's a decent city to live/eat/drink in, but not exactly great for tourists unless you're using the airport or treating the city as a stop off point/base moving between the east and west. It's a bit like Japan's Birmingham.

EDIT - Actually I realise it was probably because you were going to Toyota for the stadium and that this was where Wales played the other day.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Yoshimi** » Sat Sep 28, 2019 8:39 pm

Under 2 weeks til I'm off to Seoul, then Tokyo.

Anyone been to Seoul? Looking for recommendations. I've plenty planned out for Tokyo, but less in Seoul so far.

PostRe: Trip to Japan by **Knoyleo** » Sun Sep 29, 2019 1:41 am

Parksey wrote:I didn't realise you were heading to Nagoya as part of your trip. That's my neck of the woods. It's a decent city to live/eat/drink in, but not exactly great for tourists unless you're using the airport or treating the city as a stop off point/base moving between the east and west. It's a bit like Japan's Birmingham.

EDIT - Actually I realise it was probably because you were going to Toyota for the stadium and that this was where Wales played the other day.

No wonder it felt like home. :lol:

Yep, we were only in Nagoya for 2 nights before heading to Kyoto, just for the rugby in Toyota really, although we did go and see the Palace, wander through what looked like an old market district, and go up to the viewing platform at ~~millennium~~midland Square. It was quite an impressive city, absolutely heaving at all times, even more so than I've seen in Tokyo so far, but we've barely seen it yet. We very nearly strawberry floated ourselves by almost missing the last train from Toyota back to Nagoya, and by that point the little pocket WiFi we've hired had also run out of battery, so we'd have been very stuck.

Locals were all super friendly again. Lots of Japanese spectators around us in the stadium all had the lanyards for the Toyota stadium pack, meaning they bought a ticket for all the games in that stadium. I don't think they had any real knowledge of rugby, but they were all so keen to join in and have a good time. Not sure they were ready for the explosion of noise when the first try went in after 3 minutes though. They all looked absolutely shocked by all the Welsh fans leaping up and screaming. :lol:

Trip to Japan

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