Travel Japan

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i made 12,000 yen off pachinko when I was there. Had absolutely no idea what was going on, just started playing with 1000 yen, got about 3/4 through my balls and thought stuff it, im losing, cash out. was told I couldnt cash out as I didnt have enough credits, so i went back to playing.

with about 50 balls left i hit some jackpot thing, the machine started going *******, and the bloke running the shop ran over and showed me what to do - for every ball i got in the dragons mouth it spat about 50 out, so at the end of the game i had about 3 crates of these metal balls.

went to cash out, and they first tried to sell me smokes/alcohol/other s**t, said no, just the money. they gave me this plastic boxes with some silver design on it and pointed me to a little window down an alleyway about 300m from where i was. (i still had no idea what i'd won, i was assuming maybe 2000 yen)

got to the window, gave my little plastic boxes and they started counting out 1000 notes, couldnt believe my luck. ill never play it again out of principal of going out a winner
 

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And_ROOS said:
I leave for Osaka tomorrow with three guys seeking something cultural that doesn't involve temples. What do you suggest we do/eat?
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Kyoto - only a 20 minute bullet train trip from Osaka. Plenty of temples but plenty to do without visiting any, including bamboo forest, the Geisha district, and the food
 
DrVanNostrand said:
Living in South Korea at the moment, and with a four day weekend, I thought I'd make the most of it. Went well, really enjoyed it. Very different place and people to Korea. I was shocked how clean and orderly the crowds were. Korea has neither of those things going for it. I see what you mean about pachinko, it was absolutely everywhere in the nightlife areas. It was a bit quieter and less crowded than I expected, especially where I was staying in Taito.

Comparing Seoul and Tokyo; Tokyo is unquestionably the better city (1000000% cleaner, better traffic flow, wider footpaths, more parks and gardens, less crowding) but I get the impression your average day out in Seoul would be more exciting than your average day in Tokyo. I also found the distinction between the JR trains and the metro to be unnecessarily confusing. I found Tokyo to be more accommodating of English speakers than Seoul (every cafe or restaurant I went to had an English menu and at least one English speaking staff member). I was very surprised about the smoking laws: you can't smoke on the footpath, but can smoke in Maccas! Overall an enjoyable experience. Got a long weekend coming up next month as well, looking at Fukuoka or Hiroshima for that one.
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Re your English language comment - I found the opposite - I lived in Yokohama for 3 years and then later Tokyo for a few years and rarely encountered staff English speakers in the restaurants/bars or supermarkets etc nor menus in English. But I picked up street Japanese OK and got by. Lived in Seoul for a year and no comparison - living in Tokyo/Yokohama spoils you forever. Best big city on the planet (and lovely countryside to explore by train or car or boat).
 
Heading over to the great land again next month, racing a half marathon in Nagoya. Anyone got any tips for that part of the world?
 
wadistance said:
Heading over to the great land again next month, racing a half marathon in Nagoya. Anyone got any tips for that part of the world?
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I used to go to Nagoya when Qantas flew direct there. Only been there once though in past 10 or so years and that was for a connecting flight. Nice place but has a real country town feel after being in Osaka and Tokyo. Big industrial city from memory?
 

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wadistance said:
Heading over to the great land again next month, racing a half marathon in Nagoya. Anyone got any tips for that part of the world?
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Nagoya is quite businessy from what I've heard, if you've got some spare time and want to have some fun take the bullet train to either Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto. Even if you've been to them before, you'll have a better time in those cities than you will in Nagoya.

passionate81 said:
Jetstar Sale has flights from Melbourne to Tokyo from $219 for most of the year from May - December. Very tempting.
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One way or return?
 
juss said:
Nagoya is quite businessy from what I've heard, if you've got some spare time and want to have some fun take the bullet train to either Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto. Even if you've been to them before, you'll have a better time in those cities than you will in Nagoya.


One way or return?
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It'll be one way plus add ons is my guess.

I bought tickets in January for June - July for 3 people and it came in at circa $2.5k. I remember paying $2k return for 1 person around 2001.
 
passionate81 said:
One way. Some flights are direct and some have a stop over in Cairns. The aircraft is the 787 Dreamliner. Has anyone experienced this aircraft before? Is it much different to the regular planes Jetstar use?
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It's tolerable over the 10 odd hour flight. I don't notice much difference plane to plane tbh though, they're all ****ed after 2 or so hours.

http://www.jetstar.com/au/en/dreamliner#/intro
 
wadistance said:
Heading over to the great land again next month, racing a half marathon in Nagoya. Anyone got any tips for that part of the world?
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You should eat Nagoya style tebasaki (chicken wings) and miso katsu. Its not really a sushi town. Nagoya castle is pretty cool - was site of major siege if I remember correctly. If you are into it, to the south of Nagoya is one of the major classic kiln districts of Japan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seto_ware). Can pick up very interesting Japanese ceramics - everything from decking out your own kitchen to a major piece. Nagoya is a good place to get out on the turps - People are pretty cool. Sumo is on in Osaka in March - quick train ride
 
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basashi said:
You should eat Nagoya style tebasaki (chicken wings) and miso katsu. Its not really a sushi town. Nagoya castle is pretty cool - was site of major siege if I remember correctly. If you are into it, to the south of Nagoya is one of the major classic kiln districts of Japan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seto_ware). Can pick up very interesting Japanese ceramics - everything from decking out your own kitchen to a major piece. Nagoya is a good place to get out on the turps - People are pretty cool. Sumo is on in Osaka in March - quick train ride
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excellent ideas - much thanks. I really want to eat Cochin Chicken - going to smash some chicken sashimi. If i die, Milang_Panthers can have my garmin
I've been watching Adam Liaw's Destination Flavour Japan - got cravings for miso grilled eggplant. Basically it seems everything miso goes
 
wadistance said:
excellent ideas - much thanks. I really want to eat Cochin Chicken - going to smash some chicken sashimi. If i die, Milang_Panthers can have my garmin
I've been watching Adam Liaw's Destination Flavour Japan - got cravings for miso grilled eggplant. Basically it seems everything miso goes
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I can't remember if I tried it when I was there, I may have tried it and not known (there was a fair bit of that), however I was told that chickens in Japan are salmonella free and are very very safe to eat. The Japanese are massive on hygiene, so don't worry about getting ill from food there.
 
I have a couple of shops in Tokyo where I am happy to eat blanched or raw chicken (tori sashi).

Just make sure it is a proper menu item at a real shop - no home cooking.

In Japan they have a separate supply chain for this chicken. It is not killed on the normal line. It is killed carefully so that the contents of the gut do not make contact with the flesh. This flesh is then frozen at deep temperature like sushi and then distributed. It must be used within a short time frame.

The flesh will not be slimy and you will observe firm, almost steak like texture. There will be no blood. The fibre/grain of the flesh will be very prominent and not something we normally associate with chicken. It will probably be cut from the breast. The tenderloins of the breast are usually blanched so that the outside is white and the inside is pink and then chopped up for a salad. Goes very well with a citrus flavoured vinegar dressing.
 
juss said:
I can't remember if I tried it when I was there, I may have tried it and not known (there was a fair bit of that), however I was told that chickens in Japan are salmonella free and are very very safe to eat. The Japanese are massive on hygiene, so don't worry about getting ill from food there.
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No - if you want to eat tori sashi you can't just go and buy supermarket chicken.
 
basashi said:
I have a couple of shops in Tokyo where I am happy to eat blanched or raw chicken (tori sashi).

Just make sure it is a proper menu item at a real shop - no home cooking.

In Japan they have a separate supply chain for this chicken. It is not killed on the normal line. It is killed carefully so that the contents of the gut do not make contact with the flesh. This flesh is then frozen at deep temperature like sushi and then distributed. It must be used within a short time frame.

The flesh will not be slimy and you will observe firm, almost steak like texture. There will be no blood. The fibre/grain of the flesh will be very prominent and not something we normally associate with chicken. It will probably be cut from the breast. The tenderloins of the breast are usually blanched so that the outside is white and the inside is pink and then chopped up for a salad. Goes very well with a citrus flavoured vinegar dressing.
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youre too cultured for a freo supporter
 
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