Tokyo?

[FoudreGuy]

I went to Popeye in 2006, it was cool. I should probably go back.

DonKi is the most insane store I've ever been in.

I really liked Tanakaya last time, we like riding the Yamanote all the way around and it's right off one of the stations. And they always have Cantillon 375s.

 

[Tyrsis]

I went to Popeye in 2006, it was cool. I should probably go back.

DonKi is the most insane store I've ever been in.

I really liked Tanakaya last time, we like riding the Yamanote all the way around and it's right off one of the stations. And they always have Cantillon 375s.

I've traveled to other countries, but none of them made me think, "Man, I really miss that place. I need to go back."

But that's how I feel about Japan. I need to go back ASAP.

 

[FoudreGuy]

I've traveled to other countries, but none of them made me think, "Man, I really miss that place. I need to go back."

But that's how I feel about Japan. I need to go back ASAP.

We've got a soft spot for Friesland in the Netherlands, but Japan is definitely our place. We've been going every four years since our honeymoon in 2006 and always miss it. Did you get out of Tokyo at all? We've done Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nara, Miyajima Island and Nikko on past trips. Gonna spend two or three days in Kyoto this time around.

 

[Tyrsis]

We've got a soft spot for Friesland in the Netherlands, but Japan is definitely our place. We've been going every four years since our honeymoon in 2006 and always miss it. Did you get out of Tokyo at all? We've done Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nara, Miyajima Island and Nikko on past trips. Gonna spend two or three days in Kyoto this time around.

Nope, that's one of the reasons I want to go back. I mean, there's still stuff in Tokyo I want to do as well. We were supposed to go to Nikko but ended up not going.

 

[FoudreGuy]

Yeah, we've never seen all of Tokyo and don't even really try. We just hit up our favorite areas (Yanaka, Shimokitazawa, Koenji, Nakameguro) and call it good. Gonna have to do a bit more touristy stuff this time since our daughter has never been, but it should be a blast. And I need to go back out to Odaiba for the Unicorn Gundam.

 

[jeevo]

What airport do you guys fly out of and how much does a round trip ticket cost? How long do you usually stay and how much do you spend?

 

[FoudreGuy]

What airport do you guys fly out of and how much does a round trip ticket cost? How long do you usually stay and how much do you spend?

If you can fly into Haneda I strongly recommend it. It's only a 20 minute train ride into Tokyo proper as opposed to the hour ride in from Nartia (which is out in Chiba prefecture). Delta used to do a non-stop flight from Seattle to Haneda and it was amazing, but they've sadly canceled that route, so back to Narita for us.

Our flights this time were roughly $1,100 a person, but you could get lucky and find something cheaper. $1,100 was the cheapest my wife had seen in months (we exclusively fly Delta for the miles) so she jumped on it.

We stay at least 10 days and split that between Tokyo and one other city. On our honeymoon we did Tokyo and then 2 days in Kyoto/Nara and one night on Miyajima Island off the coast of Hiroshima. Second trip we just stayed in Tokyo and did a day trip out to Nikko. Last time was 3 days in Osaka and the rest in Tokyo with a day trip to Hakone (Fuji). One of these times I really want to get up to Hokkaido in the winter.

You can do Japan a lot cheaper than you think once you're there as long as you don't stay at fancy hotels, eat at Michelin star restaurants and take taxis. What's your budget and what are you looking to do and buy?

 

[jeevo]

If you can fly into Haneda I strongly recommend it. It's only a 20 minute train ride into Tokyo proper as opposed to the hour ride in from Nartia (which is out in Chiba prefecture). Delta used to do a non-stop flight from Seattle to Haneda and it was amazing, but they've sadly canceled that route, so back to Narita for us.

Our flights this time were roughly $1,100 a person, but you could get lucky and find something cheaper. $1,100 was the cheapest my wife had seen in months (we exclusively fly Delta for the miles) so she jumped on it.

We stay at least 10 days and split that between Tokyo and one other city. On our honeymoon we did Tokyo and then 2 days in Kyoto/Nara and one night on Miyajima Island off the coast of Hiroshima. Second trip we just stayed in Tokyo and did a day trip out to Nikko. Last time was 3 days in Osaka and the rest in Tokyo with a day trip to Hakone (Fuji). One of these times I really want to get up to Hokkaido in the winter.

You can do Japan a lot cheaper than you think once you're there as long as you don't stay at fancy hotels, eat at Michelin star restaurants and take taxis. What's your budget and what are you looking to do and buy?

I was just curious as to how much a vacation out there would cost. I live in Pittsburgh, so obviously flights will be much more. When I take vacations/road trips in the states, I have pretty much every activity and meal planned down to the minute, but I would be ok with just going to Tokyo and walking around and exploring. I never get to do that on trips anymore. I don't know if I would really buy anything besides food and drink.

 

[FoudreGuy]

I was just curious as to how much a vacation out there would cost. I live in Pittsburgh, so obviously flights will be much more. When I take vacations/road trips in the states, I have pretty much every activity and meal planned down to the minute, but I would be ok with just going to Tokyo and walking around and exploring. I never get to do that on trips anymore. I don't know if I would really buy anything besides food and drink.

There are definitely things you need to have planned (Studio Ghibli museum, DisneySea if you're interested) with specific dates and times, but Tokyo is best seen just wandering.

I don't normally bring beer back with me but I always stock up on Japanese craft bottles and cans to drink back at our place in the evenings, some clothes at Muji and some used video games at Book Off and other used game stores. And random Gundam crap.

 

[jeevo]

There are definitely things you need to have planned (Studio Ghibli museum, DisneySea if you're interested) with specific dates and times, but Tokyo is best seen just wandering.

I don't normally bring beer back with me but I always stock up on Japanese craft bottles and cans to drink back at our place in the evenings, some clothes at Muji and some used video games at Book Off and other used game stores. And random Gundam crap.

I need to visit Tokyo. Been a bucket list thing for me for a while. I hope I get the chance to someday. If I do, I'll make sure to come back to this thread.

 

[Tyrsis]

What airport do you guys fly out of and how much does a round trip ticket cost? How long do you usually stay and how much do you spend?

It really varies. I live in San Diego, and I was able to score tickets out of LAX for $420 - which is insanely cheap. It would have cost twice that usually. Sign up for "Scott's Cheap Flights" and wait for a fare to pop up. Japan usually pops up once a month at least.

I was just curious as to how much a vacation out there would cost. I live in Pittsburgh, so obviously flights will be much more. When I take vacations/road trips in the states, I have pretty much every activity and meal planned down to the minute, but I would be ok with just going to Tokyo and walking around and exploring. I never get to do that on trips anymore. I don't know if I would really buy anything besides food and drink.

I was really surprised how cheap Tokyo was - both food and alcohol. Yeah it can get pricey if you're going to the five star sushi places, but honestly even cheap sushi was as good or better than the **** in the states.

 

[FoudreGuy]

Ramen is so damn good and cheap.

 

[seedavid]

I took the cheapest flight I could find, used CC points to pay for most of it, and stayed in a hostel with 4 friends, so I managed to keep it pretty cheap. Public transit is fast, reliable, and ubiquitous, but my favorite mode of transportation was, by far, my feet. The food I really wanted to eat mostly came from hole in the wall type places, markets, or the back of a van at 2AM. Most of the sight-seeing I wanted to do was free or fairly cheap (except for the bullet train to/from Kyoto). Picking a neighborhood or two a day with some bullet points you want to hit, but wandering around and between those spots, was what I did, and I thought got a great feel for the different areas. I mean, my gf and I make money, but we're certainly not rich, so trust me when I say that Tokyo can absolutely be done on a budget.

Tokyo was amazing and magical and I ******* loved it. I'm 32 and it was my first real international trip, so I have a lot of other places to see and things to experience. But slamming Japanese beers with my friends on a bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo on Thanksgiving, getting shithoused on highballs and homemade apple whiskey in a bar the size of my bathroom, eating outrageously fresh sushi for breakfast, seeing a live Pro Wrestling NOAH show at Korakuen Hall--all of it--was just a truly unique experience that I'm going to be chasing for the rest of my life. That is, until I go back. Which I absolutely will.

 

[FoudreGuy]

2010 we went to a Yomiuri Giants game, drank 40s of Suntory All Malts Beer, then off to an all you can eat and drink Brazilian steakhouse for two hours. Then took our unfinished bottles and finished them as we stumbled over to Baird’s Harajuku Taproom for some Suruga Bay DIPAs. Then almost got in a fight on the JR with some dudes on the way to Kabukicho. Then went to a Yakuza-run bar and those dudes were there but my buddy (married to a Japanese gal, lived there for 15 years) sweet talked them so instead of fighting we ate gyoza an drank beers with them until we got on the JR and stumbled back to our place in Yanaka. Where I watched professional men’s volleyball on TV and puked while my wife went shopping the next day.

******* I love going to Japan. I’m glad others do, too.

 

[FoudreGuy]

Off to Tokyo in a couple weeks. Anyone have bottle shop recommendations? I think I found a diamond in the rough (Liquors Nodaya) while wandering our neighborhood on Google Maps and I'll probably hit Tanakaya, but anything else would be recommended. I'd love to get a bottle of a beer aged in a Ichiro's Malt barrel but not holding my breath.

The vending machine outside Nodaya. I love Japan.


And there's a Liquor Mountain near our place in Kyoto, so maybe we'll get lucky and find a nice whiskey for my wife to bring home. A recent GIS showed some 3,000 yen bottles of Hakushu which would work.

 

[MrKennedy1]

Off to Tokyo in a couple weeks. Anyone have bottle shop recommendations? I think I found a diamond in the rough (Liquors Nodaya) while wandering our neighborhood on Google Maps and I'll probably hit Tanakaya, but anything else would be recommended. I'd love to get a bottle of a beer aged in a Ichiro's Malt barrel but not holding my breath.

Try Liquors Hasegawa in/near Tokyo station for the Japanese beers. Otherwise, if you catch the train to Otsuka, Titans bar and bottleshop is good for grabbing a beer to drink while you have a look at bottles and cans for takeaway.

 

[FoudreGuy]

Titans is too US-focused for my liking. I think I hit Hasegawa back in 2014 for some Shinkansen beers.

I’d love to track down something aged in an Ichiro’s Malt barrel. Anything. Not picky.

Damn shame that the Japanese contingent over at Rate Beer bailed on that place after the purchase. I don’t blame them but they were a great resource.

 

[FoudreGuy]

Went out with some friends from Tokyo on Monday night. One of them works for a beer distributor so he brought along a couple brewer friends from Distant Shore Brewing as well. Hit up Vector Beer Factory (cheapest craft beer in Japan I swear. 500 yen pints of their beers during happy hour WOW) in Shinjuku and Watering Hole in Yoyogi. The juice is loose in Japan as well, had a hazy milkshake chestnut DIPA on nitro from Repubrew and a really nice hazy IPA made by Hitachino under their Brewbase collaboration line.

 

[reidjoshua1]

Any new developments in Japan...? heading there for most of Feb next week.

 

[FoudreGuy]

Any new developments in Japan...? heading there for most of Feb next week.

Get some bottles of Ichiro's Malt Barrel Aged beers, and bring me one back. Please kthxbye..

 

[reidjoshua1]

Get some bottles of Ichiro's Malt Barrel Aged beers, and bring me one back. Please kthxbye..

Any ideas where I can find it?

 

[Tyrsis]

Any new developments in Japan...? heading there for most of Feb next week.

bring me a case of Suntory highball cans, please and thank you

 

[BoatsAndHoes]

 

[BoatsAndHoes]

 

[BoatsAndHoes]

Here for a few more days if anyone has suggestions...thanks!

Where do I find Sakura Zima?

 

[Lutter]

That Okonomiyaki looks killer.

Try to find some breweries.

Maybe stop by Tokyo DisneySea and pick Lutter up some merch?

From my understanding 7-11 has you covered for Zima.