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Travelling round Japan.

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P.
Red Rocket



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PostPosted: 13:46 - 28 Dec 2018    Post subject: Travelling round Japan. Reply with quote

Hey,

I'm off to Japan in May. Heading to Tokyo, so looking at getting around there, but heading out to Mt Fuji, possibly further out but trying to work out stuff first.

Main one is Narita to Oshiage, says there are private trains/buses/cabs etc but unsure if anyone else has done this/has any advice on travelling round. I won't have a car out there as it costs the same price as the holiday 😂
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owl
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PostPosted: 13:58 - 28 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Haven't been yet, but we are planning on going out there next year too.

From my understanding trains get you pretty much where you need to go. There's something called Hokuriku Arch Pass which is valid for 7 days.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/transport/getting-around/train

how long will you be out there for?
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Nobby the Bastard
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PostPosted: 14:21 - 28 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Jewlio Rides Again LLB
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PostPosted: 14:24 - 28 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Didn't Hezter live out there for a while?
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Ste
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PostPosted: 17:54 - 28 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

He lived in a Japanese prison, I think.
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 18:00 - 28 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

I lived and worked there for a good few years - Yokohama most of the time.

I always used the coach from Narita to Tokyo/Chiba or Yokohama. Quick and relatively for Japan cheap

I can't say specifically the route you are talking about but the Japanese transport system is bloody wonderful except for two points.

Rush hour - forget it. Go early or late if you are going through the industrial/city areas. The stories about pushers squeezing people on are true.

There is bugger all English anywhere on the transport maps or train timetables (or at least when I was there 15 odd years ago). The only concession is the place names are in western text as well as Japanese hieroglyphs. Plan your route and know where you are going. This could well have all changed of course.

I went to Mount Fuji a couple of times and don't remember having any problems. Taxi's are NOT cheap though.

If you get the chance, go to Kamakura. It's a stunning place. A lot of the buildings were moved here during the war and the Yanks didn't bomb it. Some sort of secret agreement. Funnily enough there is a shrine to the Japanese soldiers who fell in WW2. The old Japanese venerate it. The young don't.

I loved my time there but it took a while to get used to the culture especially outside the metropolis.
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chickenstrip
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PostPosted: 18:38 - 28 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Polarbear wrote:

There is bugger all English anywhere on the transport maps or train timetables (or at least when I was there 15 odd years ago). The only concession is the place names are in western text as well as Japanese hieroglyphs.


Bloody inconsiderate foreigners! Mad

Laughing

Quote:
I went to Mount Fuji a couple of times and don't remember having any problems.


Two attempts eh? Bad times, bad times Sad

Laughing
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 18:53 - 28 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

chickenstrip wrote:

Quote:
I went to Mount Fuji a couple of times and don't remember having any problems.


Two attempts eh? Bad times, bad times Sad

Laughing


Once with a load of ships personnel from a ship in drydock which I was supervising and once at the invitation of a Japanese family I got to know very well.

I didn't climb it. just up to the lower temples which are accessible by road.

Oh, and the next ship I had in dock, I asked them where would they like to me to arrange for them to go for their day off, the philistines said Tokyo Disneyland. Rolling Eyes
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M.C
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PostPosted: 19:08 - 28 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

chickenstrip wrote:
Polarbear wrote:

There is bugger all English anywhere on the transport maps or train timetables (or at least when I was there 15 odd years ago). The only concession is the place names are in western text as well as Japanese hieroglyphs.


Bloody inconsiderate foreigners! Mad

Laughing

That does put me off visiting (I'd like to) as I wouldn't have a clue what anything said and AFAIK English isn't that widely spoken. I wonder how much augmented-reality/translation apps would help.
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Freddyfruitba...
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PostPosted: 19:32 - 28 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

M.C wrote:
That does put me off visiting (I'd like to) as I wouldn't have a clue what anything said and AFAIK English isn't that widely spoken.

Yeah, you got that right!

When we went about 5 years ago we took this little 'photo dictionary' called "Point it" which we found pretty helpful. "You may be fluent in many languages but sometimes you could find yourself 'off the beaten track' where you can't communicate. 'Point it' with 1300 photos, maps and drawings to point at, is the answer. Everyone in the world will understand you. This passport-sized assistant is used not only by tourists but also by UN peacekeeping forces, Olympic athletes and speech therapists."

Transport (buying tickets) was quite difficult; eating out wasn't bad as the menus almost always include pictures of the dishes (and why not? how sensible is that?); and there are often realistic plastic models of the meals displayed in restaurant windows etc (yes a bit weird but quite helpful).

I hope the OP is aware it's bloody expensive out there though!
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P.
Red Rocket



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PostPosted: 23:23 - 28 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Doesn't look too expensive, tube from Aoyame to Oshiage is the longest journey I'll do aside from bullet and that's under a tenner.

Tempted to coach/bus from Narita to somewhere around the tubes and jump on that for the remainder. I've done serious money in America and this instantly looks cheaper.

They've added English to most signs and that now, I watch a lot of YouTube vlogs of non Asian folk living there and it seems simple enough, aside from multiple tube operators.
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grr666
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PostPosted: 00:13 - 29 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

A part of the world I would like to visit just to see. Nearest I've been is Malaysia.
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P.
Red Rocket



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PostPosted: 13:15 - 29 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

grr666 wrote:
A part of the world I would like to visit just to see. Nearest I've been is Malaysia.


Was 850 return and 3 star hotel near the imperial palace near Chiyoda. Solid prices.
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kawashima
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PostPosted: 14:21 - 29 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/skyliner/us/timetable/index.php

I think keisei line is easy and simple.
Changing at Aoto station.
Also cheap.
- - - -
Avoid skyliner.
Press orange button(access express) on the above page.
Take access express. If it's bound for Ueno, get off at Aoto and change, If it's bound for other destination, you can go to Osiage directly. But please make sure by asking station staff.
Time table may change in May so please be careful.

You can also take marine line(red in the map) to go to Aoto, but you need to get off and change there, and some trains are slow.
As Polerbear suggests, please avoid commuting time, it'll be nightmare.
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P.
Red Rocket



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PostPosted: 02:03 - 30 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah, the man in the know!

Yes I'm avoiding busy times, I've read they can be.... Busy Laughing

I can go from Ueno, that's not a problem, just getting from Narita to there is my worry, I also have to do it back 10 days later Laughing
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doggone
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PostPosted: 09:05 - 30 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Was watching some youtube last night where a guy recommends hiring a car if at all possible, apparently if you hire from a site with English version you might be charged almost 2x as much as if you were able to go through Japanese version.
Although signs rarely have English satnav will tell you where to go so not as impossible as it first seems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwefnt23D98
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RhynoCZ
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PostPosted: 10:45 - 30 Dec 2018    Post subject: Re: Travelling round Japan. Reply with quote

Paddy. wrote:
... there are private trains/buses/cabs etc


Y U NO rent a Skyline/Lancer/Impreza/Supra... to drive around? Very Happy
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P.
Red Rocket



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PostPosted: 01:20 - 31 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Average price of the smallest car is £350+ for the time I'm there.

Given it costs me about £200 to hire a Mustang for a week in US, I don't think I'll hire a car 😂 plus, road signs and me would be shite.

Ideally they'd have Uber or similar... Will have to look at the options
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Ste
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PostPosted: 10:04 - 31 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Paddy. wrote:
plus, road signs

Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 12:38 - 31 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Paddy. wrote:
Average price of the smallest car is £350+ for the time I'm there.

Given it costs me about £200 to hire a Mustang for a week in US, I don't think I'll hire a car 😂 plus, road signs and me would be shite.

Ideally they'd have Uber or similar... Will have to look at the options


When I was over there Shell discouraged us from driving because it was so easy to fall foul of laws you didn't know existed, traffic signage and the like. I did it a few times when I had to get to and from the ship yard in a hurry but even though they drive on the left it's still quite a challenge. I had an english speaking sat nav with me for every journey though.

I liked the lorries though, 3 green lights on the cab, how many were lit showed how fast it was going. No escaping the speed cops there. Laughing
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M.C
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PostPosted: 13:02 - 31 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Polarbear wrote:
No escaping the speed cops there. Laughing

You mean this isn't realistic? https://youtu.be/rqMi5DxARJ8?t=92 Crying or Very sad
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Clanger
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PostPosted: 13:11 - 31 Dec 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Before travelling anywhere, I check out stuff online:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk (https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g298184-i861-k10540278-Travelling_on_public_transport_in_Japan-Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html )
https://www.travellerspoint.com (usually have messages on the forum about specific travel destinations)

I did a quick check under google and found this too:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e627.html
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Hetzer
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PostPosted: 05:53 - 06 Jan 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ste wrote:
He lived in a Japanese prison, I think.


Fifteen months out of five years. Scored me £30k compo though. Very Happy
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Lord Percy
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PostPosted: 12:53 - 06 Jan 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hetzer wrote:
Ste wrote:
He lived in a Japanese prison, I think.


Fifteen months out of five years. Scored me £30k compo though. Very Happy


I've read a few things recently about racism and ethno-centrism in Japan.

Apparently it's almost always considered to be the foreigner's fault if something bad happens.

Care to enlighten us on what got you into Japanese prison? Were you a victim of this Japanese exceptionalism?
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Hetzer
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PostPosted: 13:11 - 06 Jan 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lord Percy wrote:


I've read a few things recently about racism and ethno-centrism in Japan.

Apparently it's almost always considered to be the foreigner's fault if something bad happens.

Care to enlighten us on what got you into Japanese prison? Were you a victim of this Japanese exceptionalism?


Armed robbery, acquitted 15 months later. Ten months of it was in solitary. It was on UK TV and the US ABC '60 Minutes' did a 20 minute slot on it. The Japanese people are lovely but the ones in the police and prison service are utter scum. I watched three pigs slapping the crap out of a homeless person while I was still in the police station. Sitting in a chair, doing nothing but refusing to kow tow verbally.
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