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Advice on Visiting Japan

OoTmaster

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23 Oct 2012
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I was thinking of visiting Japan this next spring. I have a friend that lives in Nagoya and was thinking of visiting that city and the surrounding countryside. I am not fluent in Japanese but have been studying for about 2-3 years somewhere between N5 and N4 level. I'm just wanting some advice on saving money for booking a hotel as the cheapest I've seen is around $60/night. Do they have anything similar to America? For example we have what are called "Extended Stay Hotels" where instead of paying $60/night you book a month or week all at once and end up paying like $200-300/week saving money. Anything similar or do I just have to face facts and shell out the $60+/night? Also would be interested in things to do in Japan as I've never been. I am interested in anime/manga as well as samurai and Japanese history. I'm planning on the spring but if people know better places to visit at different times of the year I would be interested to hear input. Thanks in advance!
 
I was not aware of this option. I did a quick search and it looks like this would be very helpful for me. Thank you for your help!
 
Do a google search for Japan and "weekly mansion" or "weekly apartment"

Are we meant to take the message in your gratuitously antagonistic avatar image as being directed at us?
 
I was thinking of visiting Japan this next spring. I have a friend that lives in Nagoya and was thinking of visiting that city and the surrounding countryside.

I do not want to sound too negative, but in my eyes Nagoya is the most boring big city in Japan. It just doesn't have a lot to see, and I was done with it a day. I would rather advise you to stay in Osaka. From there you can enjoy that city, while taking side trips to Kobe, Kyoto and the like. It is also a short Shinkansen (or two hour normal train ride) away from Nagoya, so you could still visit him/her :)
 
Are we meant to take the message in your gratuitously antagonistic avatar image as being directed at us?

No not by any means. I love KH2, Roxas, and cursing. The combination of the 3 in one image was too tempting to pass up. If it's offensive to anyone I can change it.

I do not want to sound too negative, but in my eyes Nagoya is the most boring big city in Japan. It just doesn't have a lot to see, and I was done with it a day. I would rather advise you to stay in Osaka. From there you can enjoy that city, while taking side trips to Kobe, Kyoto and the like. It is also a short Shinkansen (or two hour normal train ride) away from Nagoya, so you could still visit him/her :)

No offense taken. This is exactly the reason I've posted this thread. I've never been to Japan and am hoping on having a good time. If you think the city is boring by all means I prefer you to say something like this. I have a friend in my Japanese language group that has suggested Osaka as well.
 
I'm very glad I posted this here. I've gotten some very good advice on accommodations and things to do. Thank you all so much!
 
Nagoya is kind of like Detroit. On the top of nobody's list as a place they want to visit. But there are some cool things to do when you get there. On day trips from Nagoya I saw Meiji-Mura which is very cool if you like history. (Also some similarities to Detroit as it's somewhat like Henry Ford's Greenfield Village). And I visited Inuyama Castle -- one of the few originals to have survived to this day.
My point is, you don't have to go out of your way to avoid Nagoya. Ultimately it depends on how much time & money you have.
 
The Detroit of Japan. Well living in Indiana I know what the Detroit of America is like. Certain places I wouldn't mind visiting but only for a few days and lots of areas I'd rather avoid. Meiji-Mura does look interesting. As for time I'm attempting to plan a full month in Japan so the closer to the end of the month probably the more limited my resources will be pertaining to cash.
 
The Detroit of Japan. Well living in Indiana I know what the Detroit of America is like. Certain places I wouldn't mind visiting but only for a few days and lots of areas I'd rather avoid. Meiji-Mura does look interesting. As for time I'm attempting to plan a full month in Japan so the closer to the end of the month probably the more limited my resources will be pertaining to cash.

If your resources are limited, I would recommend you to buy the Kansai Wide Area Pass: West Japan Railway Company - Kansai WIDE Area Pass Information

For just 9000 yen (or 8500 when bought in advance) you get a 5 day train pass that will cover Osaka/Kyoto/Nara/Kobe/Himeji and Okayama. It is amazing value for money if you use it well. The great thing about it is that you can use the Shinkansen between Okayama and Osaka, so you can stay in a cheap hotel in Shin-Osaka, go all the way to Okayama, and easily make it back to Osaka on the same day.
 
I echo the recommendation for AirBNB. I was surprised to see a fair amount of listings in Nagoya...but you probably don't need anything there.

I was looking at listings in Kyoto lately and found some very interesting listings. Three things about AirBNB: (1) Make sure there are plenty of reviews for the host and location; (2) actively communicate with the host (introduce yourself, etc.); (3) be sensitive to the host re: the language they want to speak. I think you'll find that many Japanese hosts want to practice English.

The great thing about AirBNB is that the host (if you find the right one...again...read the reviews) can give you a "local" experience you couldn't get by staying at a hotel. Restaurants, lesser-known shopping areas, scenery etc.
 
When in spring are you planning to come? I think in May there is a festival at the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko. That means a terrific shrine to see, plus a parade of people dressed in olden days' garb, and I think that's when they have a demonstration of shooting arrows at targets while the rider is on horses.
 
List of guest houses of Nagoya
"Nagoya Guesthouse Otohaya"
"HOSTEL ANN NAGOYA BACKPACKER INN"
NAGOYA BACKPACKERS HOSTEL ANN/ENGLISH
"Cafe Restaurant & Guest House Nishiasahi"
西アサヒ│NISHIASAHI
"GUEST HOUSE WASABI NAGOY"
ゲストハウスわさび名古屋駅前

Sightseeing spot of Nagoya
"Atsuta Shrine"
"Tokugawa Art Museum"
TOKUGAWA ART MUSEUM
"Osu Shopping District"
Welcome to the Osu Shopping District in Nagoya, Japan | Japan's Most Enjoyable Shopping District
"Ōsu Kannon"
"Nagoya Night View Cruise"
Nagoya Night View Cruise | 名古屋観光のお手軽参加ツアー「なごやんツアー」のトラベルコンシェルジュ
 
When in spring are you planning to come? I think in May there is a festival at the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko. That means a terrific shrine to see, plus a parade of people dressed in olden days' garb, and I think that's when they have a demonstration of shooting arrows at targets while the rider is on horses.

I'm not quite sure yet. I was thinking either April or May but was looking for some advice on this. I am interested in festivals I want to come when Spring is starting or in full swing. I want to see a beautiful Japan, trees and flowers in bloom and such.
 
I'm not quite sure yet. I was thinking either April or May but was looking for some advice on this. I am interested in festivals I want to come when Spring is starting or in full swing. I want to see a beautiful Japan, trees and flowers in bloom and such.

In that case you better come between 15 March and 15 April I would say. It also depends on the area that you will be staying at:
The Bloom of Cherry Blossoms 2015 (this was last year)
I recommend to come a bit before the full blossom, because it is nice to see it developing!
 
i believe if you use hotels.com, booking.com or a related website and stay more than 3 days at one place they start dropping the price. depending on the deal they worked out with the hotel. i remember using one of them and i was only playing $25 a night in Tokyo. Also maybe you should ask on the forum or find blogs that talk about sleeping outside or camping outside at parks or somewhere related, if money is really a problem. Your not suppose to really do and people on here may say blah blah blah don't listen to him, but people have done it, finding the right location is a problem and you can always find a public bath to use. i did it on my last few night in Tokyo and i had a great experience. i met some others who were stuck and one guy who also plan for this, on their travel and stayed the night around the train station.

(please note that i plan for this and i did my research)

during that night i somehow connected with 4 people at a mcdonalds by the train station when the mcdonalds was closing at 2am, i was making my way to the park to chill and maybe sleep, i met this guy who asked me where is the nearest park, so we talk and while on our way outside the mcdonalds, we met this girl who stop us and was traveling, she got stuck there and she connected with this lady who was there sleeping. Lucky, the lady knew the area and showed us this other spot to go too. we hang out and talk all night at this noodle shop. i have to say it was fun, it was one of the best experience i had. i'm looking forward to doing it again next year in 2016 when i will be in japan for work related.
 
i did it on my last few night in Tokyo and i had a great experience. i met some others who were stuck and one guy who also plan for this, on their travel and stayed the night around the train station.
What did you do with your luggage? Locker at the station?
 
I'm not thinking that will be the case for me as far as camping out in Japan. I like amenities and staying warm. I have direct deposit on my check as well. So it's not a lack of funds just not sure I'll easily be able to access my funds while in Japan.
 
I'm not thinking that will be the case for me as far as camping out in Japan. I like amenities and staying warm. I have direct deposit on my check as well. So it's not a lack of funds just not sure I'll easily be able to access my funds while in Japan.
Yes.

The older I get the more excited I am at the prospect of not sleeping on the ground outside.
 
His advice of not bothering to sleep on the last night could make sense. You'll be flying the next day to the opposite time zone anyway. There are places -- bars, clubs, etc. -- that stay open all night. Save money plus get more memorable experiences while you're at it.
 
i met this guy who asked me where is the nearest park, so we talk and while on our way outside the mcdonalds, we met this girl who stop us and was traveling, she got stuck there and she connected with this lady who was there sleeping. Lucky, the lady knew the area and showed us this other spot to go too. we hang out and talk all night at this noodle shop.

Not to pick on you or criticize, but because I have been out of the United States for quite a long while and spend practically zero time with anybody who speaks English and am way out of the loop on things like slang, catchphrases, current usage, etc....

I listen to quite a few podcasts from the US and one of the things I have been noticing and puzzling over recently is what strikes me as a greatly increased incidence of using the very definite "this" to replace the indefinite articles "a/an" in speech.

I understand the function and that such usage is nothing new. But it seems to me that lately there is a trend to just arbitrarily replace most or even all occurrences of "a/an" with "this".

Is it just me? Or have any of you who actually interact with English speaking society on a regular basis also noticed this?
 
His advice of not bothering to sleep on the last night could make sense. You'll be flying the next day to the opposite time zone anyway. There are places -- bars, clubs, etc. -- that stay open all night. Save money plus get more memorable experiences while you're at it.

I once had a weird flight schedule (okinawa --> haneda - transfer to narita --> Europe), in which I arrived at haneda with the latest flight and had to go to narita in the morning. I was planning to stay at Haneda, but back in 2009 that still closed at night. Don't know how it is now. So I was forced to pay for a cheap hotel or stay awake. I chose to stay awake, but the money I spent on drinks and food (some out of boredom) in the end was nearly enough to pay for a capsule hotel. At my last night I just wanted a smooth transfer, so I cannot recommend to stay awake. That's just me though, everyone has different situations and interests :)
 
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