Nara might be worth a little visit, if only so you can stop by Yamato-Saidaiji station to pay your respects to a certain hero. 
The city looks kinda like a mini-Kyoto and was the capital of Japan for several years. Go say hi to the deer.
this post was submitted on 02 May 2024
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going to Nara for the Deer
going to Nara for the Doohickey
trains
seconding trains
Sweet! I went a few years ago with my partner and absolutely loved our time there.
In Tokyo, for nerd shit, I'd recommend checking out one of the Pokemon Centers, hitting up an arcade, and maybe checking out Artnia if you like Square Enix IPs. If you have a more niche interest, Tokyo may have something specific for you. I'm into Warhammer so checking out the Games Workshop store there was neat. For touristy stuff, going up in the Skytree is pretty awesome and can be cool to time at sunset if you bring sunglasses with you. If you don't want to pay for that, the Tokyo Metropolitan Gov't Building has an observation deck that isn't as tall, but it's free. I'm assuming you'll be doing the Shinkansen to Kyoto. You should definitely pick up some bentos from the train station before you go and eat them on the train. It's great. When you book your tickets for the train, try and be on the north-facing side. If the weather is clear enough, you can see Mt. Fuji on the way. I'd also recommend going to the Yodobashi in Akihabara and walking through there just to see a wide spread of things commonly sold in Japan. They have everything from PC parts to pens to home appliances.
Kyoto is a bit different than Tokyo. It's an older, quieter city, but still really interesting. It's common for people to wear kimono and walk the old districts. Mass transit is different there from what I recall. There are fewer subways (I believe they didn't want to bore underneath the very ancient temples) so I ended up walking more since buses are confusing to me and I wasn't there too long. If you have the time to spare and feel like a bit of a workout, I'd recommend climbing Mt. Inari. It's famous for the huge number of torii gates. There are some beautiful overlooks of Kyoto from the mountain on the way. I climbed it at night and the views of the city were fantastic. If you are looking for a new bag/backpack, check out Ichizawa Shinzaburo Hanpu. When I was there, they only sold locally in Kyoto, but it looks like you can order them online now. There are also some very old (and expensive) kitchen knife shops in the city.
buses are confusing to me
In Japan, I don't blame you. Japanese bus services, unlike their train services, are pretty terrible. Kyoto actually has a pretty decent bus network but many cities have buses that run on incredibly inconsistent schedules, and are confusing to understand. Japanese buses tend to be slow as well.
Yeah it was more the lack of prep on my part, the need for exact change based on distance traveled, and not knowing kana that kept me from using them in Kyoto. That said, I'd rather use trains 10/10 times.
At some point in the future I'm going to do a post about how bad Japanese buses are. Most bus systems in Japan have terrible frequencies (like every 40 minutes or worse, even in heavily urbanized areas) and have incomprehensible schedules. Kyoto is one of the few exceptions, with some lines that have decent branding that run every 10 minutes or better all day.
I would highly recommend the Enoshima area. It's a gorgeous destination and the trains that serve the area are all unique and fun. To get there, take the Ueno-Tokyo line to Ofuna and then take the monorail. The Shonan Monorail is great fun and is my personal favorite monorail. Then, walk around the area and head to the area's namesake, Enoshima Island. The island is beautiful and well worth the visit. Next, take the Enoshima Electric Railway, a gorgeous railway that winds its way through the backstreets of the area. To top it off, you can either take JR back or splurge on the Odakyu Romancecar services back to Tokyo.
You beat me to the recommendation, dammit. Enoshima Island is great. Extremely scenic and a recommended spot for couples. If you have time there, I'd also recommend looking up the Great Buddha of Kamakura (aka Daibutsu) and walking there, letting the whatever cellphone mapping software you use guide you. It took my partner and I through some very relaxing neighborhoods.
I can't stop geeking out over how good the Shonan Monorail is. It does what most monorails fail to do, which is to do things a regular train cannot. Steep hills in minimal space, single tracks with passing loops, it does it all and monorail was the right choice for the line.
If you can, do a bike tour in Tokyo or Kyoto. It isnt exhausting but is a great way to see the city.
Onsen. If you don't have tattoos be sure to enjoy them. If you do find a public one.
Pachinko. Absolute great way to lose 1,000 yen.
The golden temple in Kyoto is cool, but there are like thousands of temples. Find some and enjoy.
In Tokyo visit the tsukege fish market. Amazing food and perspective on culture.
Ramen. Best after a long night drinking.
If you have not booked arrangements stay in a Ryokan. Service is top notch and the experience will set a great tone for the trip.
If you are a weeb go to a maid cafe in tyoko. Play all the games and drink all the drinks and go along with whatever they suggest.
Trains. Everyone else was right.
Baseball was an awesome idea.
See a gheisha perform in Kyoto.
Idk. Have fun I guess
Tsukiji still has some great food to eat, but the market has moved to Toyosu
Nice. Good update. Thanks. Time does that to me
good to know, and also awesome because i'm trying to see The Pillows concert in Toyosu.
Onsen. If you don't have tattoos be sure to enjoy them. If you do find a public one.
i think there are some that allow tattoos. Not a problem for me because i dont have any, but my partner does.
Ya. Find a public one. Depending on the amount you may get some leeway in privately held but know your partner may be asked to leave
Depending on when you're there you could go watch live sumo! The next tournament will be in the Kokugikan in Toyko starting on the 12th. It's pretty fun to watch and in the long form you get to see a lot of cool ritual practice and brightly colored traditional clothing and stuff.
Pretty fun time to watch too, we're seeing a real changing of the guard, Lotta new faces rising in the ranks and ousting longstanding top rankers.
Hakkiyoi!
Took my suggestion. It’s shaping up to be a great basho too! Doing my best to not nerd out on sumo right now, but I definitely recommend it. Sumo is an awesome sport and still culturally important. I know when I go, I’m 100% going to visit the Kokugikan.
I’ll nerd out in here
It’s going to be a super exciting basho. It’ll be very interesting to see if Takerufuji can keep up his immense effort at Maegashira 6 since he won’t be able to bottom feed for the first week of the tournament. Onosato being bumped up to sanyaku status is exciting if you’re able to ignore his recent warning for his deplorable conduct. Asanoyama being back in sanyaku is exciting, but the man is injured again and will probably not be at full power. Daiesho finds himself out of sanyaku for the first time in a VERY long time and that sucks. He’ll be put through the winter week 1, so I hope he can persevere. Hoshoryu looking very strong right now and is going to be strong at the top of the active banzuke as I expect Terunofuji to not participate in any meaningful way since he reported a decent bit of discomfort in practice this week. Kotozakura taking up his grandfather’s shikona this basho is exciting. He’s my fav and I really hope he gets his first to level yusho. I’ve been rooting for him for years and it makes me happy af to see him as an ozeki let alone O1w ffs. Enho may actually be participating for the first time since he was practically paralyzed last year. I honestly wish he would retire, but he needs just one more basho in sekitori to have a chance at elder stock. Nabatame is looking to barge his way into sekitori this tournament sitting at Makushita 2w. Love the man and I hope he succeeds. Juryo is going to be super exciting as a lot of talent is starting to beat each other up in that rank. My bet remains on Wakatakakage taking the Juryo sushi, but I think that’s an ice cold take. Should be fine now that he has managed to get a full 15 but basho in after his return from injury. Shirokuma is always fun to watch and easily had my favorite shikona out of all active sekitori.
This is going to be a super exciting 15 days and I can’t wait for it. But enough about that, I only have a passing interest in the sport :3
I'm super excited for Hoshoryu and Kotozakura, they both seem like they obviously have Yokozuna in their future and it's great to see the consistency out of both of them. I've grown a soft spot for Keisho over the last year so I'm glad he's holding on. Now that there's all this competition at the top it's easy to overlook him but he did all of us a real service being a consistent quality Ozeki when there were basically none around.
I was happy for Takerufuji, and I'm glad we're seeing all this new talent rising, but I really hope some of the guys at the top get their shot at the rope soon, which is gonna mean these one-off Maegashira yusho have to stop, at least for a while.
My usual faves were Endo and Kotoeko, who both appear to be on their way out. Guess I'll need new faves.
Akihabara is mostly focused on current release stuff. For older and second hand anime stuff you can go to Nakano Broadway. Ikebukuro is like Akihabara but aimed at women.
If you have any extremely niche interests, google for a store in Tokyo that caters to it. Almost certainly something for every specific hobby. I've seen a bespoke make-your-own ink shop for fountain pen enthusiasts.
see the life size Gundam
The moving RX-78 got decommissioned a month or so ago. I think there's still a Unicorn and Nu Gundam - definitely double check before you go out of your way.
Sounds great, though, have a good trip and eat some good food!
yea the big moving one is gone, but one of the other ones is actually bigger than it. im about to eat more fish than ive ever eaten in my life.
im about to eat more fish than ive ever eaten in my life.
That reminded me of this song lol
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Toyosu Fish Market, you have to get there really early to see the coolest stuff though
EDIT: it's a great option if your jetlag (or all-night karaoke) has you up at 5 AM
Check out Kifune Shrine near Kyoto. Beautiful linear shrine in the hills. Take the scenic Eizan Electric Railway there.
no i'm not jealous 
this trip has been something i've wanted to do for 20 years, it took me a while to have enough money to do this.
Real life Mario Kart (well, just go-karting in costume, no shells or anything). You need a Japanese drivers license to drive, but just seeing it is something else. I don't even know if there's a particular place to watch from, I was just walking along one night and the whole crew zipped by. Also decent food at the 7-11. It won't change your life, but the quality difference is more parallel-universe than different-country.
Real life Mario Kart (well, just go-karting in costume, no shells or anything). You need a Japanese drivers license to drive, but just seeing it is something else. I don't even know if there's a particular place to watch from, I was just walking along one night and the whole crew zipped by.
Just know that if you actually participate in this, most of the local onlookers will regard you with complete contempt. Also, Japanese drivers (especially taxis and minivans) are absolute maniacs.
Go see some wrestling at Korakuen Hall - I had to go there as a wrestling nerd pilgrimage and happened to get to an anniversary show of a decently-popular wrestler, but they run shows like every night of the week so you could just pick one any time.
Here's the schedule - i'm sure me and a few others could give you a rundown on some of these promotions.
Hint: the Joshi (women's) promotions hit fucking harder than the men most of the time. Every cool wrestling move you've seen in the last 20 years was invented by a Japanese woman.
Korakuen is also part of the Tokyo Dome City, so there's all the other stuff to do surrounding it too (the rollercoaster, shopping centre & restaurants, the Baseball HoF/museum, the Dome itself for tours and baseball if you're lucky)