Holy Crap I'm Going to Japan!

"Snuze: Needs another Swede" (markg) 08/17/2016 at 15:54 • Filed to: None

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I won’t bore you with the backstory (there’s been a ton of back and forth on this for the past 3 months) but I got a call about 2 hours ago that I’m going to Japan. On Friday.

*cue Benny Hill music as I frantically make travel arrangements*

I’ll be in Tokyo for a day or two and then working at the Navy base in Yokosuka all next week. I will probably be pretty busy so I don’t think I’ll have time to go hunting for JDM goodies or anything like that, but if anyone can recommend stuff to see and do in the area, or has any other travel tips for Japan, it would be greatly appreciated.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Snuze: Needs another Swede 08/17/2016 at 15:55

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I used to live near there, at Kashiwadai. That isn’t Tokyo, its on the other side of Yokohama.

For Sweden > Snuze: Needs another Swede 08/17/2016 at 16:00

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Congratulations on your depolyment

jimz > Snuze: Needs another Swede 08/17/2016 at 16:00

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Tokyo is pretty international, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting around. it’s definitely bustling. If you haven’t been there before, you’ll be surprised how many homeless people you see sleeping outside of train stations.

stay away from Roppongi; it’s a tourist trap and basically where they stick all of their foreign residents. it’s the only place in the country where I was worried someone might try and boost my wallet.

Akihabara was pretty neat, but since most electronics are made in China now it was underwhelming for me.

the good restaurants are small ones which specialize in a particular dish.

The trains run on time. ON TIME, without fail. if your train departs at 9:00 pm, and you get there at 9:00:15, you’ll be watching it from the platform.

be polite and don’t do anything jackassed.

You are going to see a TON of cars you don’t see here. You won’t have to go looking for JDM stuff, it’s everywhere. The first thing I thought when I got off the train from Narita to Ueno was “what the fuck is a Toyota Alphard?”

you will see a surprising mix of USDM stuff. I saw a few Neons, Mustangs, and for some reason there’s a subculture there which loves the Chevy Astro/GMC Safari.

tromoly > Snuze: Needs another Swede 08/17/2016 at 16:33

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Hooray 12+ hour flights....

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > jimz 08/17/2016 at 17:12

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This. So much this. This time last year I was on my way back from Saipan and took 2 days of leave in Tokyo. You’re going to be bombarded with as more “JDMness” than you’d ever imagined. Hell, in a span of 2 hours, I was greeted by an R35 & an R34 Sedan (so many erections from the 34). As was stated, the trains are no joke, and people are super helpful in and around the train stations. DOWNLOAD GOOGLE TRANSLATE AND OTHER TRANSLATION APPS!!!!! They saved my ass. Also, buy a portable battery pack if you don’t already have one. It’s going to be a huge help while you’re blowing through battery trying to translate everything.

Chasaboo > Snuze: Needs another Swede 08/17/2016 at 19:13

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Just open your mind up. Accept Japan as is, don’t try and force your European ways on it, and you’ll enjoy it. I know I did!

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Chasaboo 08/18/2016 at 11:50

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Yeah, I’m not going to pack the American Flag pants for this trip. Haha.

That’s generally how I like to travel, I want to go be immersed in a culture and see and do weird and crazy stuff. That’s the point of traveling. If I wanted it to be like America, I’d just stay the hell home.

I’m not really sure what to expect, though... part of me thinks Japan must be the most crazy, far out, alien place to visit. The other part of me thinks that expectation is crazy and that I’ll probably end up feeling slightly let down that it’s not going to be as strange as I think it is. So I think I’m at a happy medium and I’m just going to go and see it and experience it for what it is.