Current Events > Ever wanted to visit Japan but couldn't (for whatever reason)?

(+) Yeah! (+)

These videos are the next best thing:
https://youtu.be/2PqkuJMbHaw
Watch 'em on a big screen, feels like you're there.

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I love these videos, so many of 'em too.
https://youtu.be/qhMnOIzsm14

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And when you get tired from walking, you riiiiiiiide.

https://youtu.be/DqPgURTYygQ

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Well, ignoring cost and time its intimidating as hell. I've never been overseas. Plus theres so much to see and do, and on top of that not knowing the language makes me more then a little hesitant visit.

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Vicious_Dios posted...

And when you get tired from walking, you riiiiiiiide.

https://youtu.be/DqPgURTYygQ

Nice, this one's a vibe for sure.

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Prismsblade posted...

Well, ignoring cost and time its intimidating as hell. I've never been overseas. Plus theres so much to see and do, and on top of that not knowing the language makes me more then a little hesitant visit.

Yeah, I would at least learn basic Japanese before I went.

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I have no desire to go there.

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smoke_break posted...

Yeah, I would at least learn basic Japanese before I went.

If you're going to be in one of the cities, it's fine. Learning greetings are okay, but there's English almost everywhere I went.

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I've wanted to visit Japan for years, but yeah, me learning at least some basic Japanese would be a requirement before doing that. Plus, the cost of travel. And now, the pandemic putting a stop to all global travel for the foreseeable future.

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Hayame Zero posted...

If you're going to be in one of the cities, it's fine. Learning greetings are okay, but there's English almost everywhere I went.

Oh okay, that's good to know. It takes the pressure off a bit, though still I would like to learn a little.

Solar_Crimson posted...

And now, the pandemic putting a stop to all global travel for the foreseeable future.

Yeah, it's kind of depressing to think about. There are at least three different places I wanted to visit including Japan, but meh. We'll see I guess.

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I've been there a few times, climbed Mount Fuji twice, went to Disney Japan (though it was crowded, didn't get to go on a lot of rides :().

I loved it, would like to go back one day. It's weird being in a place where you don't know the language at all and I didn't encounter too many people who spoke English. Really strange feeling.

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Hexenherz posted...

I've been there a few times, climbed Mount Fuji twice, went to Disney Japan (though it was crowded, didn't get to go on a lot of rides :().

I loved it, would like to go back one day. It's weird being in a place where you don't know the language at all and I didn't encounter too many people who spoke English. Really strange feeling.

Sounds like a fun trip. It must've been dope climbing Mount Fuji. I can only imagine the sights.

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It was weird both times but man totally memorable experience and definitely great for just some soul searching and finding your inner strength.

First time guy I was with and I decided at midnight we were gonna go with other people in our group, we had to get up at 4 AM to catch the train. They wound up leaving us behind, it was cold and raining the whole way up and you couldn't see the peak. People were coming down the ascent trail... made it up and it was totally clear and you could see everywhere. Didn't have flashlights (or anything lmao just like two bottles of water and a few Clif Bars), it was dark coming down, guy and I slipped a few times... A few actually prepared hikers helped us get down but told us we weren't going to make the train if we waited for the bus, so we had to pay like $150 for a taxi to get to the train station.

SECOND time everything was better prepared, there was a schedule we stuck to, no one left anyone behind. It was totally clear on the way up... and cold and cloudy at the top and you couldn't see anything lol.

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smoke_break posted...

It must've been dope climbing Mount Fuji. I can only imagine the sights.

Actually I might not have to imagine as much as I thought I did. Just found this video:
https://youtu.be/ONXyse9KHNA
This one's going right on the playlist.

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Hexenherz posted...

It was weird both times but man totally memorable experience and definitely great for just some soul searching and finding your inner strength.

First time guy I was with and I decided at midnight we were gonna go with other people in our group, we had to get up at 4 AM to catch the train. They wound up leaving us behind, it was cold and raining the whole way up and you couldn't see the peak. People were coming down the ascent trail... made it up and it was totally clear and you could see everywhere. Didn't have flashlights (or anything lmao just like two bottles of water and a few Clif Bars), it was dark coming down, guy and I slipped a few times... A few actually prepared hikers helped us get down but told us we weren't going to make the train if we waited for the bus, so we had to pay like $150 for a taxi to get to the train station.

SECOND time everything was better prepared, there was a schedule we stuck to, no one left anyone behind. It was totally clear on the way up... and cold and cloudy at the top and you couldn't see anything lol.

Sounds like it was a nice experience, and a bit of an adventure too. $150 for a taxi though, damn.

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There's also this awesome channel called "Abroad in Japan". It's a vlogging channel about this funny British guy that lives and teaches in Japan. I've always been fascinated with Japanese culture and history, and short from visiting there myself, I've learned more from this guy's videos than I could ever have from any book, web page, or article.

He goes into so many different areas and topics regarding whether you want to live or visit Japan, along with the culture. I discovered his channel about six months ago and very quickly binged it all.
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I'd love to go but US citizens aren't currently allowed to visit Japan

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Spent 8 days in Tokyo back in 2013 when I attended a conference and it was pretty cool. It was super fucking expensive though, and it was my first time leaving the states and I naively thought I'd run into a few English speakers in such a big city. Not a single person outside a restaurant or the hotel I stayed in spoke English lol, and I got lost one day and played charades with one dude who helped me get to a metro stop.

If I ever go back to Japan I'd like to visit a more rural area for like a week and then go back to Tokyo for like 3-4 days. I can confirm that taxis are a scam there. Trip from the airport to my hotel was like 6 miles and $70 USD, and found out after I got there that the metro goes straight from right outside the hotel to the airport >_>

I visited everything in Akihabara except for the maid cafes

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I definitely want to go back again once the pandemic ends. I've gone a few times and was there not too long after they started getting covid cases themselves. What I miss most if just walking around and finding all sorts of restaurants and food spots to visit. Even if I lived in Japan I don't think I would be able to visit every place I want to go to.

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smoke_break posted...

Sounds like it was a nice experience, and a bit of an adventure too. $150 for a taxi though, damn.

It was a crazy situation, we had to stop at a convenience store to hit the ATM up and I pulled the money out and we made it to the train station with like five minutes to spare (because it's a drive from the base camp to the town).

When I got home I actually had a letter from my bank, dated *before* I left for Japan, saying that they were issuing me a new debit card because of fraudulent/suspicious activity on my account. So I always wonder how screwed we would have been if my bank had actually deactivated my debit card when I needed to pull money out lol.

The worst part was that we were scheduled to fly back the next day, so we didn't have a choice but to make that train -_-

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Demigod_Elessar posted...

There's also this awesome channel called "Abroad in Japan". It's a vlogging channel about this funny British guy that lives and teaches in Japan. I've always been fascinated with Japanese culture and history, and short from visiting there myself, I've learned more from this guy's videos than I could ever have from any book, web page, or article.

He goes into so many different areas and topics regarding whether you want to live or visit Japan, along with the culture. I discovered his channel about six months ago and very quickly binged it all.

This channel sounds pretty good, going to check it out.

MacadamianNut3 posted...

Not a single person outside a restaurant or the hotel I stayed in spoke English lol, and I got lost one day and played charades with one dude who helped me get to a metro stop.

Other people were probably like what the hell are they doing, lol. At least you got where you needed to go in the end. How could you not visit a maid cafe though?? That's like the primary reason I want to visit Akihabara tbh.

Hexenherz posted...

So I always wonder how screwed we would have been if my bank had actually deactivated my debit card when I needed to pull money out lol.

It would've been the start of a new but not so fun adventure, "Stranded in Japan."

NinjaWarrior455 posted...

Even if I lived in Japan I don't think I would be able to visit every place I want to go to.

Same, they have all these interesting little shops and stores, impossible to get to them all.

The Nintendo Master posted...

I'd love to go but US citizens aren't currently allowed to visit Japan

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