Japan, here I come!

[tloekke]

After not having travelled outside Scandinavia for almost a decade, I'm finally treating myself to a real vacation. Two friends and myself are spending almost three weeks in Japan from the 6th of july.

We'll be visiting Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka, with the possibilities of daytrips to Mt. Fuji, Yokohama and Nara.

We've got plans, but nothing is set in concrete, so if anybody got some tips of what to do, especially Tokyo (since we'll be spending half of our time there), feel free to shout out.

[pdanev]

You lucky.....

There was a dude here that went to Japan and made a trip around a lot of the famous tuner shops, if you're interested in that sort of thing you might wanna dig up that thread.

[andyhui01]

Originally Posted by pdanev

You lucky.....

There was a dude here that went to Japan and made a trip around a lot of the famous tuner shops, if you're interested in that sort of thing you might wanna dig up that thread.

wasn't that Jasonchiu?

[BlaRo]

Hey, I'm going to Osaka next week! (July 2-11)

There's a bunch of car museums in Japan that I'll be visiting, namely Toyota, Mitsubishi, Mazda, and Nissan (Well, I'll try to, anyway). And that thread about the Tokyo automotive collection was by Dakmis, here and here.

Have fun, take lots of pictures! (I know I will!)

[tloekke]

Originally Posted by BlaRo

Hey, I'm going to Osaka next week! (July 2-11)

There's a bunch of car museums in Japan that I'll be visiting, namely Toyota, Mitsubishi, Mazda, and Nissan (Well, I'll try to, anyway). And that thread about the Tokyo automotive collection was by Dakmis, here and here.

Have fun, take lots of pictures! (I know I will!)

Cool , Osaka is the least planned stage of our trip, so if you find something interesting, let me know. We're there from 22 - 26 of july I think.

I'm hoping I'll get to see some car stuff, but the two others I'm travelling with aren't as interested in cars as me, so there'll probably be some compromises made. Japan is a lot more than just cars anyway, so I'll be happy anyways.

I'm taking my digital video camera and a still one, so there'll be an abundance of footage!

[pdanev]

Andy - nope, I was referring to this one.

http://forum.finalgear.com/viewtopic...=128991#128991

[rinat2r]

I recommend this site:

http://www.japan-guide.com/

But it really depends on what you and your group are interested in~
Anime? Electronics? Nature? Cars only? Clothes shopping? Tourist attractions?
For Tokyo:
Anime and electronics: Akihabara. I'm a girl so I'm not as interested in it, but the new trend over there is maid cafes where there are girls dressed up in maid uniforms acting all cutesy. And there's tons of electronics and parts all over.
Nature: Did you know you can hike up Mt. Fuji? And you're going at the official climbing season. Here are some pics.

http://www.paradise.caltech.edu/~kfo...ures/fuji.html

Cars only: BlaRo's suggestion is pretty nice
Clothes shopping: Harajuku (for the novelty and some great shops) Shinjuku and Shibuya (for a younger crowd) Ginza and Odaiba (more pricier things)
Tourist attractions: Japan has tons of temples, castles and structural novelties (Tokyo Tower etc.) Asakusa is really nice for old Tokyo and an excellent place to stock up on traditional Japanese-type gifts for your family and friends back home (Kyoto is really good for that too).
Have a fun and safe trip!

[haha604]

You could consider getting those all you can ride train passes from Japan Railways, but I think they are only available abroad at travel agencies. Can't buy them in Japan.

Spending half of your time in Tokyo seems quite long though.

[tloekke]

@rinat2r: I'll definitely be visiting Akibara, I want some add-ons for my Sony HD-cam. I really need a gun-zoom microphone and hopefully I'll find some other cool stuff.

@haha604: We got railpasses for a week, we'll activate them the day we leave Tokyo.

I know it seems a bit long in Tokyo, but we've discussed the issue, and we'll be taking daytrips from Tokyo to visit Yokohama and Mt. Fuji, so we'll have about seven days in Tokyo, which I don't think is too much for such a big city.

We've actually discussed if we're in Japan for too long, 20 days is a lot when you're living close together far away from home (triple rooms all the way), but we concurred that the flight is so long that only spending a week there is a bit stupid.

[haha604]

Have a nice trip. Japan should hold plenty of suprises for a Norwegian .

[BlaRo]

Just found this out: the Udo Music Festival is going on at the Fuji Speedway from the 22nd to the 23, with Santana, KISS, Jeff Beck, the Doobie Brothers (!), Alice in Chains (!!), Godsmack, Steve Vai (), and a lot of other bands. If I were still in Japan I'd totally camp out for tickets.

http://udofes.jp/

Also, the Fuji Rock Festival is going on from the 28th to the 31st in pretty much the same area as well, with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Jet, and a ton of others. I'd probably camp out for tickets here too.

http://www.fujirockfestival.com/index.asp

[tloekke]

I've got a daypass to see Tool, Wolfmother, We are scientists and perhaps the Arctic Monkeys on tuesday, but that's in Norway.
However, I would like to see a japanese heavy-metal band or something....

[Raider]

hey cool, i'm currently in Yokohama for business...i'll be here for 18 days...
have a fun time man...and definatelly visit Nara, that is a must see...I actaully liked it better than Kyoto to be honest...

While in Tokyo go to Shibuya at night, it'll blow your mind, go during the day for some fashion shopping, Akihabara for your electronic needs (USB powered pencil sharpener anyone?), Harajuku Park to see some interesting sights and it's also a really cool park (they have some nice shopping too), go to the Toyota center and test drive some cars, it's like 300yen per test drive, you sign up, pick any car int he toyota line up and go on a small test track, you need an international drivers lic though, so grab one of those before you leave.

if you're planning on climbing mt. fuji, leave in the early morning...
other places of interest Ginza, Asakusa, Odiba...

[Kebab gud]

have a trip to the Toyota dealership in the new Fifth gear episode
or to the Toyota museum
(not just toyotas at the museum... but there are some of the moest exspensive cars in the world there .. and there toyotas! (2000GT Cab and GT-one Road car!) )

[Paddy]

Originally Posted by pdanev

Andy - nope, I was referring to this one.

http://forum.finalgear.com/viewtopic...=128991#128991

Yup and he's going back again in September with an army of Irish people ! I was supposed to be going but decided to keep the head down for college instead for the next three years ...

I've met Tsuhcyia already so that'll keep me going !