Hello Guys,
Some of you may know me from some local meets Planet Zero and RobertK's Coffee and cars meet. I have been wondering about this topic for about 2 years now and today I was checking my PTO hours and saw I have over 315.00 hours available, so I figured its definately time to start traveling.
RickDogg, a socal member, has posted pics about his trips to japan and even answered some of my questions and even made it sound even more intriguing to me.
This topic and trip has been discussed among 3 friends of mine who are definately interested but we still need a lot more info for proper planning, scheduling, and financing this trip hopefully sometime in this new 2010.

I wanted to share these channels we discovered and found them a great source for a useful info about Japan while visiting there.
I have seen lots of videos about japan, read all sorts of literature, and even tried picking up the language from the Rosetta stone, but in these videos this guy really gets down to all the basics of
- How to ACT and what NOT TO do while there visiting.
- How to properly interact with locals without being offensive, either ordering food, asking for information, or just asking for directions.
- basic info on popular tourist spots.
most videos show this dude just sitting there, recording and explaining his experiances with daily life there and aspects of culture shock.

anyways, here you go.

martial arts center

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJapan...41/W4wiCcSUY6U



Beach fashion in japan

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJapan.../6/rRIfpdmoqCA

anime figures and local shops

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJapan...45/RCR7Erdh6XU

How to pick up a Japnese Girl

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJapan...52/Le4gBArK1oU

Like Rollercoasters? Bet you never been in the tallest one- the Steel Dragon
http://http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJapanChannelDcom
Real Ninja house
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raJ770p6vJY

this dude has quite a vault of videos and info. so just check them out if your interested.

Some of you have been in the service, or have just visited there. Perhaps you could chime in and give your ideas, experiances, thoughts, just your .02 cents for the rest of us that would like to go there one day.
-Best time to travel
-Best deals? travel packages?where to look for them?
-Best time to go to japan summer, fall, winter, spring?
-Best places to visit while there? Fuji? tokyodome for a wrestling show?
Sumos? maybe pick up a sick set of wheels or aerokits and ship them back home

as far as me personally, im good on funds to buy the plane ticket,just need to save up more to buy some cool stuff while there and also im just here to see who else would be interested in this trip. Be cool if someone spoke Japanese fluently and could go with us to help us get around

Realistically i understand a major once in lifetime opportunity like this comes around seldomly and wont happen till people get on organized, plan, and take the final step.
NO B.S.
So if you anyone is interested Please let me know.
Of course, im also available to do other trips till then-VEGAS, New York, Costa rica, whatever
thanks for looking-Blackheart

 

Beer+Vending Machine=WIN

 

yeah PRetty cool! You can buy almost anything you need out of a vending machine over there!

 

^^^ Even greddy twins!!

Japan is sickkkkk! lol

 

There are some very "interesting" videos the dude makes about what you can find in a vending machine lol

 

LOL yeah, i seen that, the "porno" vending machines out in the middle of no where how weird.

 

Does anyone have a house/apartment I can rent for a week in
Jland? I'm going this year, but want a legit spot to rest my head.

PM me.

 

^^^Speaking of staying at places. The internet cafes are like small hotel rooms!!
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJapan.../3/ScOfA_y_Hmc

 

blackheart , if ur near houston i would talk with the guy at japan budget express( i think its the name) his office is at wilcrest and westheimer by the japanese grocery store. we got a better deal on our airfare from him by
$300 or $400 and he got us our rail passes which really came in handy. the trip itself can be a whole lot more affordable than people say. hit me up if you have any questions. oh and if im not mistaken, i dont remember well, the sumo tournaments go on every other month but in different cities. like tokyo then osaka and nagoya. we went in may and went to the tournament in tokyo and got box seats the day of the tournament. a very cool experience.

 

Blackheart.....we need to stay in touch......i may be in china this year and will also be wanting to plan a trip to Japan.....i can maybe meet up with you guys there....

-J

 

I've been talking about doing this forever. I'm going to vegas in May for my 21st

 

Hey Crispy,
Thanks for the great info man! I will pm you my questions as well. great to hear there are some good deals out there. I found prices as high as 2600.00 buck for round trip including hotel. I definately want to check out a sumo match, and any wrestling event at the tokyodome!

 

HEy there jason! I will definately let you know whats the word on this. Like I mentioned I have three friends who are definately interested. Im not sure how much they have saved up for this trip or if they are even still capable, but I know I sure am willing to go!
You are more than welcome to come along. I want to stop buy at the top secret japan facility and perhaps buy some things and ship them back home!
I will check will crispy, and do some research on pricing on hotels, airfare, expenses for food, and play money. if you can find any info or help as well that would be awesome too!

 

im down for vegas as well may sounds good!

 

I have watched more videos on the channel and the dude made a comment about some existing forums called theJapanchannel. I joined yesterday and inquired about taking a trip there without speaking a lick of japanese.
I asked about if there are any tourist guides that could help get around to check out the the spots we want to see and help us with checking in at hotels, and transportation.
so far the only response was this
"There are some volunteers in some cities who help tourists.. but Japan is not really geared for tourism (I have never seen a tour bus of foreigners, for example).

Martial arts displays... they usually only do "displays" at festivals and so on.. but you have a pretty good chance of seeing sumo in Tokyo.."

 

Any chance there is anyone who speaks japanese who wants to come along?

 

dont stress to much about learning japanese, we found that there are plenty people there that speak english and even some signs in english. just become familiar with ur subway map and carry a card from ur hotel so that a cab driver can get where u need to be if all else fails. are u planning on just going to tokyo or do u plan to hit other cities?

 

Definately want to go check this place out in person
http://www.topsecretjpn.com/contact.shtml

Also im a big fan of rollercoasters and want to visit the Nagashima spaland get on the mentioned Steel Dragon ride.
I found this old link of amusement park available in Japan. quite old but has many pictures of available spots to see.
http://www.themeparkreview.com/japan...osmoworld1.htm

Other than that, Everyone seems to mention tokyo is the place to be! I have to research more places I would like to see.

 

I'll be there in a week and a half. I'll give my perspective in a while.



Thanks for sharing that video source. I subscribed to the guy.

Couldn't help but laugh at this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYOJ...er_profilepage

 

^^^lol I like that part where the girl is that water park slide and does a backwards somersault as she crashes below.
Thats cool you are going this soon. Please let us know what you find there to see. Pics of course always help!
I look forward to reading about your experiance there