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Japan! Tokyo!

We are heading to Japan next summer and have a fairly hectic itinerary: 4 nights Tokyo, 1 night Kamakura, 2 nights Kyoto, 4 nights Fukuoka, 2 nights Hiroshima and a night in Osaka before an early flight home the next morning.

This is so much more travelling around than I'd like, but trying to find stuff to do that appeals to an anime mad 16 year old, an easily bored 7 year old and two piss-head parents is not going to be easy in a country that is so alien to us all...
 
We are heading to Japan next summer and have a fairly hectic itinerary: 4 nights Tokyo, 1 night Kamakura, 2 nights Kyoto, 4 nights Fukuoka, 2 nights Hiroshima and a night in Osaka before an early flight home the next morning.

This is so much more travelling around than I'd like, but trying to find stuff to do that appeals to an anime mad 16 year old, an easily bored 7 year old and two piss-head parents is not going to be easy in a country that is so alien to us all...

I went with an 8 and a 16 years old a couple of years ago, they loved it.
 
Did you travel around or stay in Tokyo (not that we can stay long in Tokyo, the Olympics are on and the cheapest hotel is fortunes...)

We did 8 days in Tokyo, and 5 in Kyoto.

I also just got bak from Osaka, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka last month. Any questions please ask. I'm fat, so I always try the local food specialities:

Osaka - Takoyaki (stall in the square in Amerikamura, or a million stalls in Dotonbori), Okinomiyaki. Both of those are great Osaka soul foods
Hiroshima - Oysters (simply the best I've had), Hiroshima style Okinomiyaki (even better than Osaka one imo), some maple leaf shaped cake/sweet I forgot the name of
Fukuoka - Hakata Tonkotsu ramen, everything in the Yatai stalls
 
We are heading to Japan next summer and have a fairly hectic itinerary: 4 nights Tokyo, 1 night Kamakura, 2 nights Kyoto, 4 nights Fukuoka, 2 nights Hiroshima and a night in Osaka before an early flight home the next morning.

This is so much more travelling around than I'd like, but trying to find stuff to do that appeals to an anime mad 16 year old, an easily bored 7 year old and two piss-head parents is not going to be easy in a country that is so alien to us all...

For the anime fan, I'd recommend this place. Suginami Animation Museum: Tokyo’s Heart of Anime Culture | Tokyo Cheapo

The Samurai museum is pretty cool, too SAMURAI MUSEUM

(both in Tokyo)
 
Studio ghibli was a ridiculous lottery to book when we went a couple of years ago !
 
For the anime fan, I'd recommend this place. Suginami Animation Museum: Tokyo’s Heart of Anime Culture | Tokyo Cheapo

The Samurai museum is pretty cool, too SAMURAI MUSEUM

(both in Tokyo)

Samurai Museum is a bit on the full side but it is free! I ran into it by accident when out jogging earlier this year. Don't know about the animation museum.

Got some tickets to karate and track and field at the oylimpics next year. Not really into sports, but apparently it's not easy to get the tickets, and I suppose it will be some kind of experience.
 
Samurai Museum is a bit on the full side but it is free! I ran into it by accident when out jogging earlier this year. Don't know about the animation museum.

Got some tickets to karate and track and field at the oylimpics next year. Not really into sports, but apparently it's not easy to get the tickets, and I suppose it will be some kind of experience.

The one I linked to isn't free, unfortunately but the Anime museum is.

(Also have tickets for a few events at the Olympics, still trying for Paralympics)
 
If you love My Neighbour Totoro then I can recommend Satsuki and Mei's house, it's an amazing recreation of the house in Totoro. About 45 minutes from Nagoya.
 
Yokohama's worth the visit and not far away at all, from Tokyo. The Chinatown there is great.
Quite close to me as these days I always stay in shinkoiwa in the east. Annoyingly most of my friends live and hang out in the west the other side of koenji, and with trains ending at 12, often an hour and a half journey away this becomes a real pain.
I have done a few gigs in Yokohama, and it's quite nice getting the train back the same way as everyone else for a change.. . . .

I've not explored Yokohama that extensively in the daytime. Might be worth a look. I'm going for a 'slightly' extended trip next year, so maybe.
 
Quite close to me as these days I always stay in shinkoiwa in the east. Annoyingly most of my friends live and hang out in the west the other side of koenji, and with trains ending at 12, often an hour and a half journey away this becomes a real pain.
I have done a few gigs in Yokohama, and it's quite nice getting the train back the same way as everyone else for a change.. . . .

I've not explored Yokohama that extensively in the daytime. Might be worth a look. I'm going for a 'slightly' extended trip next year, so maybe.

Been a couple of times this year, work and leisure related. I like it, especially down by the bay. It's grand in the evening when there's less tourists. The horror from some of the Irish fans when they had to queue to get into "Irish" pubs was hilarious, though.
 
Been a couple of times this year, work and leisure related. I like it, especially down by the bay. It's grand in the evening when there's less tourists. The horror from some of the Irish fans when they had to queue to get into "Irish" pubs was hilarious, though.

I had free tickets to somewhere in the bay I think. When I looked at the train journey the connections were the worst I have ever seen and it would have taken me about two hours, roughly the same time it would take me to walk in a straight line down the river (or whatever you call those things). If I'd had my skateboard or it wasn't late at night it might have been a fun adventure.

. . . . As usual I bailed.
I really regret not attempting that one, but if it had gone tits I would have been seriously fucked.
 
I had free tickets to somewhere in the bay I think. When I looked at the train journey the connections were the worst I have ever seen and it would have taken me about two hours, roughly the same time it would take me to walk in a straight line down the river (or whatever you call those things). If I'd had my skateboard or it wasn't late at night it might have been a fun adventure.

. . . . As usual I bailed.
I really regret not attempting that one, but if it had gone tits I would have been seriously fucked.

I'm even further out than yourself, so when we went there we stayed in cheap hotels. Mind you, the rugby trip the hotel cost double even though we'd booked nearly a year before... overall, I prefer the slightly more relaxed vibe of Yokohama, compared to Tokyo. But then, seeing as Tokyo is so vast and so many different sides to it, I guess that's subjective.
 
I'm even further out than yourself, so when we went there we stayed in cheap hotels. Mind you, the rugby trip the hotel cost double even though we'd booked nearly a year before... overall, I prefer the slightly more relaxed vibe of Yokohama, compared to Tokyo. But then, seeing as Tokyo is so vast and so many different sides to it, I guess that's subjective.
Yes, very much like London I think. . . . But less grass.
 
Some pics

omoide-yokocho-shinjuku-01.jpg


omoide-yokocho-shinjuku-04.jpg


omoide-yokocho-shinjuku-06.jpg


omoide-yokocho-shinjuku-08.jpg


In photos: Omoide Yokocho at Shinjuku – a bustling Izakaya alley in Tokyo, Japan
 
The levels of office worker drunkenness was mighty impressive on a Saturday night.
Seems to be an every night tradition as far as I can see. The good news is it doesn't appear to take that much actual booze so English people can really save serious money on the 'all you can drink in two hours' deals.
The weird thing is that the super mega cheap drinking holes are still pretty good quality and with nice drinks, it's just that they can be hard to find, even for some of my local friends. I should start making a list. . .
 
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