Going to Japan for two weeks

[SpacePirateNeko]

Im going to be in Japan for two weeks at the end of July, i was wondering if anyone could help me find some interesting places to go to. I hate being a tourist so when i go places i usually "live in" when im there , i speak fairly decent japanese so i should be ok. I will be staying in Toyko ( it seems like a reasonable place to start ) and could use help on places to do things , see , buy etc .

Also if any of you live close id be more then happy to hang out. What im looking for is the best places to buy stuff hobby related , best clubs to go to ( that have live japanese bands ) places to see , and basically anyway to go out into the countryside.

Any help is appreciated

P.S. feel free to email me at SpacePirateNeko@aol.com

Edited June 11, 2004 by SpacePirateNeko

[Angel's Fury]

Try PMing Monkey-N. He lives in Japan. He might be able to help you.

[gnollman]

Yeah, all my japan knowledge is five years out of date... and it's not even Tokyo related, to boot.

[Mechabuilder]

I wish I could go there some day.

But it sucks to not understand anything.

When will those brain chips be available so I can install Japanese-Pro 2.0?

Then I coulg find a really cute girl there, and I could say nice things to her...

We would go out and buy obscene t-shirts together.

[peter]

I've been there 4 times this year already, and I'm leaving for Japan next week, and I'll probably go again near the end of July. I don't usually stay in Tokyo, but my first point of entry is Narita. I know there's a pretty awesome toy store across from Ueno station. It's 6 floors and has a decent Macross selection. I was there once and found Hasegawa Super Battroid kits for 1,400 yen. There was a toy store in Akihabara that was clearing out 1/48 Hikaru VF-1S Valks super cheap...other than that, can't really tell you much else.

Hey, anyone here from Tokyo? Want to meet up next week? I'll be hanging around Ueno eki for a couple of hours waiting for my shinkansen....my kei-tai number is 090-6627-5239. I'll be arriving in Narita at about 1500 on the 23rd of June and getting into Ueno eki at around 1645-1700 or so.....let me know!

[Solscud007]

Ah Peter you are talking about Yamashiroya. That is a good toy store. That is the only one I can remember. All the rest are scattered throughout Tokyo.

1. Do not pm Monkey-N. He is a very busy man and although very accomodating it is a huge inconvenience to go to Tokyo from where he is. Imagine you were visitng LA. and you want Monkey-N to come visit you, who lives in SF. I know some of you dont realize where he lives. My first time to Tokyo I didnt know that either and he couldnt make it. Now Seiichi on the other hand, due to his Japanese culture (Monkey-N is not Japanese) is willing to travel form Osaka area to Tokyo. However now its not so much of an inconvenience as he has moved to Tokyo. If you can try in get in touch with him.

[EXO]

That bastard Eternal_D is there right now... he's there for a day and I'm pretty sure he's raping every toy store there is. Tokyo might not be there by next week Peter...

[Beltane70]

Heh. If things go right, I'll be making my third trip to Tokyo next spring.

Believe it or not, you don't really know how to speak Japanese to get along well in Tokyo. I understand a very basic amount of Japanese and had absolutely no problems.

[F-ZeroOne]

Its perfectly possible to have an enjoyable holiday in Japan while not speaking Japanese - I've done it that way twice. However, be prepared for mis-understandings and a little confusion from time to time. Theres no doubt that knowing some Japanese does help quite a bit.

Take a good guidebook. You will get a good map of Tokyo.

That toy-shop ouside of Ueno is easily identified as it has what looks like the starship Enterprise mounted above the entrance; if you go out the exit by the Hard Rock Cafe, turn right and look over the balcony you should see it fine.

Kiddy-Land in Harajuku is also good. "Mainstream" toyshops like these are sometimes better for certain things than dedicated hobby stores; they often have slightly older items that have been stock-cycled out of the dedicated places.

Akihabara is a good place to explore for new anime items. Just walk around and keep your eyes open. The Nakano Mandarake is interesting for more vintage stuff; you can't miss it - take the Chuo line to Nakano and look for the cathredral-like corridor across the street from the train station. Walk down the long corridor, go up a the escalator at the end and then just explore the various floors. Opening hours tend to be variable, though - the shops all seem to pick the day I visit to close...

[min]

i live in tokyo now. close to shibuya. if you wanna meet up, just contact me.

send me a pm. i can take you guys to a few places.

[Mechabuilder]

Man, I'm jealous now

One of the first places I'd go would be the used video game stores.. I am going nutz looking for a PC-Engine or Super Grafx that won't cost me a couple hundred bucks. Those S&H charges are almost $100 for a game system from HK or Tokyo.

I love games, when you guys post about finding an awesome toy in the box, for a great price, I'm just like that when I get a good deal on an old game or system . More stuff for my "Game Museum" I'm working on

Then of course, the shopping areas where the cuties go after school or weekends Man, I'm so pathetic!!! (^__^)

[Beltane70]

Last time I was there, I did see some used PC Engine games in a couple of stores. However, that was 7 years ago. They might be a little harder to find now.