LogFAQs > #969250081

my best travel times in japan were with friend who expertly scheduled everything and best highlights were in osaka/kyoto area which was a couple hours long shinkansen ride away and we stayed there for a day

first day was mainly reservation check-in + concert but second day went to a lot of really nice sites all nearby starting from some foresty shrine and bamboo grove.... hrmmm I know I have pamphlets in my memories box *checks*.... the tenryuji, oh right yup the arashiyama area, then not far from the famous fushimi-inari mountain with the torii gates. it was all real gorgeous in the fall with the red leaves and a few tops for food along the mountain climb, ice-cream up top and a real cozy place in the mountain

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/9/9/AAeYFbAAD2zT.jpg

there was actually one other part to the trip they wanted to take that ultimately didn't make schedule but would totally be perfect to take a partner was the sagano romantic train

as for my time in tokyo i kinda just travelled about randomly like a vagrant, like early in for my hunt for an otamatone I'd randomly decide on some shopping centers and during my transit have some exploring around on the way and stumble onto some gems like crossing the bridge between kamoi station to lalaport yokohama. I've even stumbled upon cool festivals going on along the streets with drums and it's like oh hey woah

but yeah my tokyo travels are pretty rando outside of school taking us to museums or assigning me to go visit a museum on my own time (hell yeah I got an A+ on one of my art papers and the prof asked me if it's alright to post it online as an example for other students, my compsci ass was stunned). day one uni orientation we were assigned friend groups to travel about, tokyo tower was just north of the uni and the nearby shrine

also before returning home i made sure to visit burly's japanese sister-city Itabashi, and it had a plaque with my hometown's name on it with a small maple tree....... it was kinda funny because it's like just randomly at the side of a street by town hall, it's not like a special park or anything

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/9/8/AAeYFbAAD2zS.jpg

lmao

but yeah aside from that I mostly had events to go to like concerts / festivals / conventions

such a missed opportunity that i didn't cosplay at comiket ffffff so much regret

food you'll find saizeriyas everywhere and i love them and miss my carboneras so much I've started making my own at home now, and most obvious place to go, especially so for nerdy types, being akihabara - great hobby stores all around surrounded by arcades and cafes. part of my otaku culture course prof wanted us to visit before and after the course and take a note at all the changes because development is kinda rapid

shinjuku also got real great christmas lights, i was in the area for my technology for aging society course fieldtrip to the toto showroom (bathroom products company, probably not a date night lmao) but on my way back i went to a perfectly placed krispy kreme smack in the middle of the lights

shibuya's got the most iconic intersection in the country towards the Forever 21... lol I remember once with friend we just so happened to stumble into my singapore pal which like geez what are the chances bumping into someone you know just out in a major city like that. I didn't really go there much but singapore pal took me there for shopping & eating with indonesian pal. also went to Tokyu Hands for supplies for art class (I remember my york jp1000 sensei always commending tokyu hands for having a lot of goods). also loved ramen place there with a vending machine ticket system that makes ordering a breeze (also present around the corner of akihabara station)

i went to ikebukuro a lot, mainly for the malaychan restaurant i frequented because food good and staff friendly and chat me up in english (right away first visit commended me for my order of nasi lemak + teh tarik (and i think ais kachang & pisang goreng afterward)

but ikebukuro also got other things like an animate store and a pokemon center. I also went when there was a specific Tales Of merch event going on lol

oops it's nearly 5am and wow this is a lot of text that's more "these are places I went" rather than actual recommendations i should stop